How do brands set up collaborations with musicians?

In September 2020, McDonald's sold a limited-run menu called "The Travis Scott" at some of its North American restaurants: a variant of the Quarter Pounder. Demand was so high that some restaurants ran out of the ingredients needed for the promotion. The same month the two sides also released Cactus Jack-branded merchandise. This is one form of musician-brand collaboration: the artist's name becomes the name of the brand's product.

Three different doors

In April 2020, Travis Scott gave five virtual concerts in the game Fortnite between 23 and 25 April, drawing more than 27 million unique participants. This is one example of building a stage inside a product. The same artist also has shoe partnerships with Nike: since 2017 he has had 36 Nike shoe collaborations, one of which is the Cactus Jack Air Jordan 1, announced on 30 April 2019 and released in May 2019.

Another route is to carry an existing song into an advertisement. According to Diken, in an ad film from July 2024 showing different athletes, Nike used the chorus of "Gold", which the band Bijî released with DJ Conducta on 28 June 2023. The song is the work of a group formed by Robin Nazari and the Swedish director Maceo Frost.

The third route is small in scale. In an article published in Hypebot in February 2023, SoundFly writer Angela Tyler advises independent musicians to start with local brands. Her ideas include using the song in the brand's Instagram video, wearing the brand's T-shirt in a video and tagging it, offering to play at an event in exchange for a place on a playlist, or doing a residency at a venue in return for a named product. The article recommends bringing the brand a ready-made plan, that is, not leaving it to plan the work itself. It gives two examples of why brand fit matters: a positive one, in which Lizzo's Yitty products with Fabletics fit the body-positivity message the brand is known for, and a negative one, in which Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad was seen as being in poor taste.

Tyler's advice comes in order. First, know who you are and what you stand for, because finding a partner only gets easier once you know your ideal fan. Look for local brands in Instagram location searches, city tags, fairs and the participant lists of street festivals; ask your friends and followers about their favourite local brands. Approach the brand with an original offer explaining why you value it. As your follower count grows, you can ask for sponsorship of a tour or an album launch concert. These are the routes the author suggests; the article gives no data on how much each one earns.

The obligation to disclose advertising in Türkiye

If a collaboration is shared on social media, advertising rules come into play in Türkiye. According to the Ministry of Trade's website, the Advertising Board (Reklam Kurulu) adopted the "Guide on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices by Social Media Influencers" at its meeting on 4 May 2021, and the Ministry published the guide on 7 May 2021. The guide is based on the Law on Consumer Protection (Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun).

The basic rule is that the commercial relationship must be clearly stated in the post; hidden advertising is prohibited. The disclosure must be distinguishable by colour and background and noticeable at first glance. On platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, at least one of the labels in the guide must be used together with the brand's name or mark. On video-sharing platforms, the fact that it is an ad, the name of the advertiser and whether the influencer received payment or a gift must be stated without the user having to click "read more." For short-lived content such as stories, labels like "#Reklam" or "#Reklam/Tanıtım" (#Ad or #Ad/Promotion) are recommended. For podcasts, the same disclosure is required.

The guide sets other limits too: an influencer cannot endorse a product they have not tried or give the impression that they have tried it. If a brand gave them a gift or discount, they do not present it as if they bought the product. If they used a filter or effect, they state it. Responsibility does not lie on one side only: advertisers, advertising agencies, media organisations and influencers are each held separately responsible for complying with the guide; the advertiser is also expected to inform influencers and take measures against violations.

Whether a musician's account falls under the guide's definition of "influencer" has to be assessed case by case; we do not decide that here. The guide dates from 2021. The advertising regulation was also changed on 1 August 2026; we summarised the new rules here.

Sources

• T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı: Ticaret Bakanlığı sosyal medya etkileyicileri için kılavuz yayımladı (May 2021)
• Wikipedia: Travis Scott (rapper)
• Diken: Nike yeni reklam filmiyle gündemde (July 2024)
• Hypebot (Angela Tyler, SoundFly): How independent and D.I.Y. musicians can partner with local brands (22 February 2023)