Sponsorships Rise

That shouldn’t surprise anyone but the Wall Street Journal examined it more closely, especially a campaign with Gwen Stefani.

Stefani’s recent sponsorship by Mastercard has led to a new solo album from the No Doubt singer.

The corporation’s Stefani sponsorship dates back to 2014, although it has declined to reveal how much it has spent paying for her concert production, travel costs, marketing and personal expenses.

Mastercard also declined to share how much the sponsorship has affected its customers’ purchases, although the brand was valued at $5.5 billion last year, a 17 percent increase from the previous year, according to the WSJ.

Corporate sponsorships and advertising revenue for Live Nation increased 16 percent in the past two years, according to the WSJ.

Vans sponsorship of the Warped Tour and the numerous energy drink companies’ sponsorship of EDM and rock festivals as longtime examples of support as record sales dwindle.

Meanwhile, down in Austin, Marriott International is associating itself with Universal Music Group, allowing several of UMG’s artists to “take over” a local hotel during SXSW.