BMW UK Presents Play Next, a New Weekly Podcast Series Hosted by Edith Bowman

Aug. 10, 2020

BMW UK have enlisted Edith Bowman to host a brand new 10-part podcast series that talks to pioneers in music on a range of hot topics facing the industry. The podcast, Play Next will also feature tracks from Edith’s top picks of the hottest new artists to have on your radar. Episode 1 is available to stream on Weds 12 August.

BMW’s Play Next podcast series will invite some of the key players in music to take a deeper look at the big topics facing the industry, including the future of festivals in a post-covid-19 world, the role of technology in music production and where it goes next, and the power of music in driving change for social movements.

The podcast will bring some of the most pioneering musicians to the table to talk about topical matters in the industry. It’s unscripted and relevant but with a BMW lens of quality curation. The series will cover topics that are both timely and relevant as well as personal to the music fan, whether that be the future of festivals, gaming and the rise of esports, or even music and social change.

BMW has a long history of involvement in music and festivals. Alongside local partnerships with Snowbombing and Tomorrowland, for the last three years they have been one of the official partners of the Coachella music & arts festival which was the basis for the #roadtocoachella campaign.

The brand has also tied music into their Frieze art fair, golf and Formula E events and opened them up as opportunities for new bands. Music also has a strong link to the automotive business as cars are the number one place for people to listen to it, which is why in January 2020  BMW launched Connected Music to create seamless sync between their driver’s streaming service and BMW dashboard.

The Play Next podcast was concepted and delivered by BMW’s experiential agency Wasserman and is being supported across social and publicity by the brand’s lead creative agency FCB Inferno. The series was produced by Listen, with music licensing and label management from Dolce. Acast is hosting, distributing and promoting the podcast, as well as providing consultation throughout the process.

In episode one, Edith is joined by Gilles Peterson, broadcaster, DJ and founder of the Worldwide Festival in France, which in 2020 should have celebrated its 15th edition. The duo will discuss the future of festivals - arguably the subject on every music fan’s mind.

For episode two, Edith will be speaking with the legendary film-music composer Hans Zimmer to talk about how the production of music is changing. With cutting edge technology now available including AI tools (Artificial Intelligence Visual Artist) that can create music, Hans will share his views on what this means for the future of music production, and whether machines can ever be as creative as humans.

Each week, Edith will also share a variety of tracks from some of the hottest new artists on the planet, shining a spotlight on the ones to watch and the tracks to stream.

Edith Bowman said:

“I am thoroughly excited about this podcast. The music industry is an ever-evolving machine and I’m looking forward to speaking to a fascinating collection of people at the top of their game to find out where we go from here.  But I’m particularly thrilled to be celebrating new music. It’s been exhilarating to explore and discover some wonderful bands and artists who are doing really fantastic things.”

 

Michelle Roberts, Marketing Director at BMW UK, added:

“Music plays such an important role in our lives – from attending live events to simply listening in your car, it’s hard to imagine where we would be without it. This podcast talks to some of the innovators in this world, and also shines a light on the next generation of artists. We felt this was particularly important in 2020, as many of these artists haven’t had a platform this year. The Play Next podcast is an extension of BMW’s support for music. Like all other music fans, we might have had to cancel our festival plans this year, but we’re proud to bring this podcast to the listener.”

 

PLAY NEXT INDUSTRY TOPICS (FIRST 5 EPISODES ONLY):

• Ep 1, Future of Festivals with Gilles Peterson, Weds 12 Aug
• Ep 2, Making Music with Hans Zimmer, Weds 19 Aug
• Ep 3, Game Changers (Guest TBA), Weds 26 Aug
• Ep 4, Playlist Me (Guest TBA), Weds 2 Sept
• Ep 5, Say It Loud (Guest TBA), Weds 9 Sept

The Play Next podcast, in partnership with BMW, is available from Weds 12 August on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, the Acast app, Spotify and Google Podcasts.