Bandwagon

Posted on 26 Apr, 2022
By IPOS International

Bandwagon is a Singapore music media company which fosters a community of music lovers through its online concert listings, events and content showcasing Asian gigs and artistes. Started with a vision to champion the local music scene, Bandwagon has since expanded regionally with new offerings such as end-to-end music campaigns. In recent years, the start-up worked with the National Arts Council to launch Hear65, a national movement to promote local music. It also co-presented brand new audio visual spectacle titled Sound Port Clark Quay, with a stellar line up of electronic artistes at the iconic Clarke Quay Fountain Square. With new intellectual property (IP) challenges arising in the digital space, Bandwagon worked IPOS International to seek greater protection and explore leveraging its intangible assets (IA) to maximise market reach.

Key Outcomes

  • Devised roadmap for business expansion, and recommended steps to secure revenue streams through IA

  • Mitigated commercial risk on securing and clearing copyright in the digital space

  • Advised on appropriate protection for key IA driving the business 

The Innovation

Bandwagon Pte Ltd is a leading independent music media company in Southeast Asia, with deep industry links and expertise in delivering music news, entertainment and events to a global audience. The company conceptualises, organises, and promotes music campaigns and events with major brands and government agencies, and collaborates with technology partners to enhance its service offerings and customer experiences. 

The Challenge

With its business impacted by the cessation of physical events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bandwagon swiftly adapted and expanded its range of offerings to include live streams. However, the digitalisation of its services brought about new IP challenges and raised questions about the IP rights involved in these live streams and event recordings. Bandwagon was also seeking greater protection of its IA in the digital space, and was keen to explore leveraging its IA to maximise market reach. 

The Solution

IP Strategists at IPOS International performed an IA audit to understand Bandwagon’s unique differentiators, their core IA, and identify any potential risks arising from existing IA management practices. Advice on the range of copyrights that needed to be secured for various event types were then provided, along with actionable steps to enhance clearance processes for greater efficiency. Practical recommendations on how the company could protect and prioritise key IA like its brand, trade secrets and valuable know-how were also developed to optimise resources. In addition, the team also helped Bandwagon assess how it could adequately protect the technology it was co-developing with its partners. Beyond risk management, the team also explored options on building internal IA and capabilities to enhance Bandwagon’s value proposition to partners, to further amplify reach for its new services.  

Results

Bandwagon took immediate action in documenting and restricting access to their trade secrets to key personnel only, effectively safeguarding current and future IA developed. With branding identified as a key IA to its success, the company actively strengthened its brand building efforts to bolster brand equity, such as by exploring co-branding opportunities, and using the “TM” symbol on its proprietary frameworks. Bandwagon is also currently enhancing its processes and agreements to clear and secure copyrights for its digital content, which not only mitigates risks, but bolsters in-house IA capability in the long run.

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