Rolling Stone Didn’t Come to Be Impressed
There’s a moment I’ve seen play out more times than I can count. A musician hears “cruise ship,” and we get the knee-jerk response. The “that’s not really my scene” energy. I get it. The reputation precedes us — suits and ties, pre-approved sets, musicians in a corner so we have a warm body there. Basically, a place where music is wallpaper. An afterthought.
It goes like this. My tight network of agents gets them to consider it. Then, the artist starts digging. They check social, and if they know someone who has been onboard, they reach out, and the shift begins. Those who have been on our floating stage usually tell the same story — everything you know about cruise music is a lie. The skeptic gets intrigued. They take the offer, and then we start the onboarding process.
A small but mighty team of some of the most exceptional crew go to work to get them on the stage. At each turn this skeptic is introduced to yet another cool human — compassionate, driven, artist-focused. Thoughts shift… “Maybe what I thought about cruise is a lie.”
Then they get aboard and start connecting with our floating community of crew and Sailors. They make new fans instantly — fans who connect with them on another level, because for 4+ days they have access to the artist, can get to know them, understand their craft, and be moved by it.
A true connection forms (and that is what music is ALL about.)
Rolling Stone is the pinnacle for music tastemakers. It has been since they started. Every musician secretly dreams about being on the cover. But Stone doesn’t earn that clout by kowtowing to a media request. They too know — cruise music is not the same.
Or so they thought.
About a year into my role at Virgin Voyages, I built a strategic plan for our music program. I started where every good strategy starts — a SWOT analysis, specifically of the cruise music market. In it, I found the secret sauce for us.
Our legacy.
Virgin’s music legacy is not a footnote. It’s a foundation. I compare it to labels like Sun Records that brought us rock and roll and Elvis, Berry Gordy, who built Motown, and Def Jam that brought hip-hop to the masses. All of these labels — and Virgin — not only found new artists but did so at moments that would reshape music, popular culture, maybe even history.
Think about it. 1977 was all about soft rock. Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Laurel Canyon vibes — and Virgin drops the Sex Pistols and disrupts everything. Music and culture. A few years later, we do it again with Boy George. This time by simply turning a blind eye to where someone was from, what they looked like, and who they loved. That sparks decades of genre-jumping — everyone from The Human League to Janet Jackson, The Stones, and Phil Collins.
My goal has been simple — package that legacy of disruption. That legacy of inclusion. And make our ships feel like the indie record label that gave artists their spark. That was the vision that came from that business plan.
I say it again and again. This is NOT cruise music.
Now, Rolling Stone sees it too. Read their story here.
🤘