Could Facebook be doing more to help artists and labels with their social marketing campaigns? Recent comments from RootMusic CEO J. Sider were more nuanced than they appeared in print. As Facebook focuses on building a platform for other companies to innovate on, opportunities are emerging for startups and marketers to do just that.

The idea behind Song Castle is to bring together 10 to 20 hand-picked Finnish songwriters with top international writers to concentrate on writing songs for a variety of markets.

With its 22nd edition ahead, Music & Media Finland conference is again looking to bring together over 700 representatives of music and related industries, including over 100 international delegates from all over the world.

Recent months have seen a huge buzz around companies offering daily deals and group buying services, like Groupon and LivingSocial. Now there are startups looking to do the same thing for music, including GroopEase, Fipster and RCRD Deals. But if you’re an artist, manager or label with a decent mailing list, you can learn from the likes of Groupon for your own promotions.

The TV industry already has a big impact on music, thanks to the boom in reality talent shows like X Factor and American Idol. What else can the music industry take from TV? This week, Sandbox went to the MIPTV conference in Cannes, to see what music marketers might be able to learn from their small-screen compatriots.

Growth was boosted by developments in music export companies and diversification of sources of revenue.

Jazzahead! is an event that combines a jazz festival, conference and trade fair in one neat package. This year’s event is very heavy on the Finns.

Labels and artists have been experimenting with apps ever since Apple launched its App Store in the summer of 2008, with varying degrees of success. However, all the trends point to the fact that apps will only get more deeply embedded in the relationship between artists and their fans in the coming months and years.

Fan remix contests have been popular for a while now, but some artists are going a step further, inviting fans into the creative process itself for their songs and videos. Is crowdsourcing more about gaining headlines, though, or will it have a real impact on the way artists engage with their fans? There is certainly no shortage of initiatives to pick over in an effort to find out.

Finland's frontline artists gather funds for the casualties of Japan earthquake and tsunami in Helsinki at Tavastia on Sunday March 27. Pelasta Punainen Pallo (Save the Red Globe) charity concert is presented by Michael Monroe, Jenni Vartiainen, Paleface, Ismo Alanko, Von Hertzen Brothers and Tuomari Nurmio.