Delta Airlines has launched an in-flight music discovery initiative, partnering with YouTube Premium. It’s a new programming project that features live music performances recorded inside a Delta Boeing 767 airplane.
More than just a branding exercise for YouTube, the partnership goal is to enroll passengers on YouTube Premium with a 14-day preview. Not all passengers, though — you need to be a member of Delta’s SkyMiles reward program to get the trial access.
The series was inaugurated with a 30-minute performance by R&B artist Leon Thomas. In the inaugural video the plane is holding passengers, but we are disappointed to learn that it’s not in the air — the concerts take place in an airplane hangar. So: an onboard concert, but not an in-flight concert. Also, we hear background singers, but they do not appear in the video nor, apparently, would they fit into this staging. Our petulant quibbles aside, we like the idea for the pure fun of it, a nice piece of branding for Delta, and a cool gambit for YouTube.
Not a bad piece of promotion for Leon Thomas, as well.