M-CUBE: Sound branding: the relationship between the fashion world and the musical language

M-CUBE
Progect:  Sound branding: the relationship between the fashion world and the musical language
Project Leader: Mike Sponza
Master in Style & Management for the Music Industry a.a. 2022-2023

In collaboration with M-CUBE GROUP SpA, Mike Sponza Founder & partner.

M-CUBE GROUP has been operating for 22 years in close relationship with the main Italian fashion houses and supplies innovative technological and content solutions to more than 450 brands worldwide: music, video, omnichannel projects specifically designed for the fashion world, to all levels. Mike Sponza, founding partner of the company, is the musical artistic director and licensing/copyright of M-CUBE. He has also been a musician, author, composer, and producer for a long time and has taught in various universities, including the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the Brera Academy and Sapienza University of Rome.

The connection between music and fashion has undergone a strong acceleration in recent years, above all thanks to technological solutions that allow brands a quick daily connection with musical touch points. The “sound designer” today is increasingly essential for a correct musical declination of the distinctive features of a brand. From an almost mythical figure, the natural evolution of the deejay, the sound branding professional in 2023 can juggle creativity, business, technology, digital rights, and interactions with the other available media.

Industry Brief

The project that was presented on March 7 by Mike Sponza includes a phase of analysis, listening and discussion of the elements that make up a sound branding project. Some significant cases will then be examined, and various exercises will be carried out to support the design, from the capsule collection to the event, from the launch of a product to the involvement of the entire brand.

The comparison with external professionals and the reasoned visit to some fashion stores will help the analysis and the deepening of the issues connected to the sound branding project.

Each student is invited to develop a Sound Branding project based on a case history, developed in line with the requirements of the Master’s guidelines and to present:

• a book that includes information on the process, materials and developments, in paper format;
• a digital presentation that analyzes all the steps of the research and is self-explanatory of the entire process/route of the project up to the final result;
• a text of at least 1,000 words summarizing the process and objectives of the project;
• a paper and digital copy of the final project.

Thank you Mike for the opportunity given to our students and the time you dedicated to them!