November 30, 2009 Money can't buy you love
If I had $5,000 to spend on music promotion, I certainly wouldn’t waste it on any of the following:
Ads. It’s easy to get “dazzled by the numbers” when given the opportunity to reach thousands of people. We think, “If only 1% of those people bought the album, I’d double my investment!” Don’t let the math fool you. Unless there is a compelling reason to respond to your ad, nobody will. That goes for print ads, banner ads, and Google Adwords. One exception is letting your already massive fanbase know about a new release or tour.
Press. Words don’t sell music. Music sells music. Few people bother to read reviews, features, or interviews with bands they aren’t familiar with. Even fewer take the next step and search for the music. A feature in a music blog is much more effective, because readers are one click away from hearing or even downloading your song. Sure, a four-star review in Rolling Stone has its uses, but it ain’t gonna happen. While good press usually doesn’t have an explicit price tag attached, you’re often expected to purchase an ad.
Radio promotion. I’ve spent over $10,000 on radio promotion, with negligible results. A European campaign that got my songs in regular rotation on over 40 commercial stations in Italy and France, plus a highly targeted US campaign that got me on the CMJ Charts, earned me a combined total of zero royalties and zero sales. I’ve had a lot more luck with Jango, at a fraction of the cost. Before you invest in a radio campaign, ask yourself 1) who are you trying to reach, and 2) what exactly do you want them to do?
Nobody has ever contacted me or bought a CD as a result of seeing my ad, reading about me in the press, or hearing me on the radio. From a promotional standpoint, it may as well have never happened.
Compilation CDs. When I was getting started in the mid-90’s, landing a spot on a compilation CDs was a big deal. Back then, just having a CD was a sign of success. Today, anyone can burn their own. The compilation CD has been supplanted by the playlist. You’re better off uploading an iMix to the iTunes Store and calling it a day. Under no circumstances should you pay to be on one of those compilation CDs “A&R companies” shotgun to their database of industry contacts. They go straight into the trash. Even if it doesn’t cost you anything, think twice about letting include your song on their compilation. You’ll be competing for sales of that track on iTunes.
Promo CDs. Thinking about pressing an extra 500 CDs to give away as promos? I wouldn’t. Believe me, if the 3,000 CDs in my garage had any promotional value, I’d give them away in a heartbeat. Shotgunning promos to DJs, music supervisors, A&R departments, and your favorite bands undercuts your own sales. Within a month, you’ll see a dozen copies going for $0.99 on Amazon. No joke.
Song Contests. This year I had the incredible luck of being named a Grand Prize Winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Despite sending out press releases and doing everything else I could think of to snowball the win into something bigger, it didn’t do much from a promotional standpoint. Still, I received over $8,500 in cash and gear, and it was gratifying to be recognized by my peers. My recommendation is, only enter a song contest for the prizes.
So what would I spent that theoretical $5,000 on? I’ll have to get back to you on that one, because I honestly don’t know. I promote to establish and nurture a genuine relationship with my fans. While money can buy you “exposure,” it can’t buy you love. I’ll expand on my reasoning next time as I make the case for online-only promotion.
Brian Hazard is a recording artist with fifteen years of experience promoting his seven Color Theory albums. His Passive Promotion blog emphasizes “set it and forget it” methods of music promotion. Brian is also the head mastering engineer and owner of Resonance Mastering in Huntington Beach, California.
Reader Comments (21)
Your advice seems to focus on what will directly generate money, which granted is very little. But the promotional tools may gradually help generate revenue. Music takes time to "grow" on consumers, and these methods help achieve this. Why would you care if your promos are traded for 0.99? Surely that's great, as they're being traded to people who may never have heard of your music, which is passively spreading your presence. It's definitely better than your promos being thrown in the bin.
Many of the tools that you have put down have worked on me and my friends as consumers. All of your reasoning is based upon your personal experience; with the wide array of promotional tools available today, I believe that different methods suite different artists. Very importantly, it also depends heavily upon the quality of the music.
Hmm. I would spend it on a tour of some kind, local, or interstate. Just reaching out to an audience that is receptive to your music. Hire musicians and so forth.
With money I cannot buy love, but fans with my hardwork. I think you know well how to spend money.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments! I'd like to address Richard's points:
While money is the easiest metric to measure, I'm also factoring in fan activity. That's why I mentioned that none of the first three items even garnered a single contact. For example, I had a full-page feature in my local paper that, for all I can tell, nobody noticed. The European radio campaign has had 10 years to grow, yet I have a much more robust fanbase in Sweden and Germany than I do in Italy and France where the promotion took place.
I'd be happy to have my promos traded for $0.99 on Lala, but I'd rather not have it show up on Amazon next to my full price listing. Arguably, the consumer is considering a purchase by the time they arrive at the album's detail page, and I prefer they buy it from me.
Finally, while I do have personal experience in all the areas discussed, I'm factoring in friends' results. As a mastering engineer, I'm in close contact with a number of bands and labels, and have been involved in countless shared promotions over the years. That said, I agree that different methods suit different artists, and that quality is paramount.
If anyone has had recent measurable success with the methods above, I'd love to hear about it!
Thanks for the response Brian, really appreciated it. FYI, I'm looking to release some work soon and I'll mainly be using free services (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Last.FM, SoundCloud etc) for the bulk of promotion.
Cheers, Rich
Promo CDs work.
Nobody uses them right, though, and you nailed it with your paragraph summary. People run around trying to put that CD into as many hands as possible, and that's the problem. I can find 3000 who don't give a fuck about my music, easy. I live in a city with 111,000 of them, at least.
But that's not what your promo CDs are for. They're for handing to the people who come to you and ask for them. They probably won't ask specifically -- but when you find someone who 1) loved your set and wants something to listen to or 2) wants to buy your album but doesn't have the money for it, then these are the kinds of situations where a promo CD is effective.
But the direction is key. Don't push it out to people -- give it to the rare few who approach you directly and actually want it.
I've played in a band that booked an entire 18 stop tour strictly off promo CD's with contact/booking info on the back. It really does work.
(But only when it works.)
"I promote to establish and nurture a genuine relationship with my fans."
Love that quote.
That totally makes sense Justin!
I wonder if the "I want everyone here to have a CD, whether they can pay for it or not" approach would work just as well and net you more cash. Or maybe your approach is better because you're ensuring that everyone who gets a CD really wants it. Either way, it sounds like a solid technique to me. I haven't played live in 10 years, and don't plan to, so I won't be able to benefit from your wisdom directly.
Wow I would take that 5K just so I wouldn't have to read this article again. Whats this guy talking about. Really it just sounds bitter if you ask me. If you had a break through hit and were headlining sold out arenas around the world. I bet you wouldn't be saying anything of this. But because you have a fair to ok music career, your experience has left you reeling on what didn't work for you. From my personal experience almost all the above works for me. Add's have opened me up to fans, Press Releases has earned me cover story's in various magazines, radio stations and tons of exposure that in turn = Sales. So, maybe your opinion is good for those who don't really expect anything out of there career, but for the rest of us, play ball.
You wouldn't know it from reading one article, but I'm actually quite happy with my career. If yours is so great, why comment anonymously? Could you go into more detail on how you made ads, press releases, and radio promotion work for you?
I can see how the article comes off as negative, but the overall message is simply that money isn't the answer. That's a good thing for those of us who aren't rich.
Yeah, I thought this was pretty good advice and it didn't read as "bitter" to me. Then again, I have actually been called "bitter" this year myself.
(Also, I'm curious about why someone would get paid $5000 to not read an article again. That doesn't compute for me.)
Great article. I was curious about your success with Jango as I've been weighing this option. Could you elaborate on how it has helped you?
Forget my stupid question. Just clicked on the link are read your post on Jango. Quite informative. I think I'm about to become a member...
I'd probably take that $5 and spend it on touring. Get into a new market or spend some time cultivating one where there's already some interest. Touring is a lot more work than the examples you listed in the post, but it's also the most reliable way to "establish and nurture a genuine relationship" with fans.
First off, I love the 'what not to do' lists rather than the ''you must do this' lists.
There has been so much talk around this topic and social media. I won't recap every point I have read recently, but you can get so far promoting yourself without even spending the $5000.
The one thing I will relay is the 50 cent approach. (yes the artist) He put up a track for free. Got feedback (negative feedback mind you) and then worked from that.
It's sad to say this when I want all musicians to make money off of what they create, but give something away for free. One track, that's all it may take. Free music has become the norm sadly and it will get you SO far with promoting yourself rather than trying to scrape every penny from what you have created.
Thanks for the post and inspiring some thoughts I have had built up in me.
Thanks for condensing a confusing subject for us Brian. While each artist must go his or her own way, the point shouldn't be lost. Don't spend your time and effort on things that don't help you succeed. I think the mix will be slightly different for everyone, but we can all learn from each others experience. You are mostly correct on these issues. As humans we learn from mistakes (or we're supposed to), so readers should take this and learn from it. While I think your article shows a good deal on some things to avoid, finding the right mix will require an artist to really have a good idea on what they want. Only then can they properly direct their marketing and glean what they should from your article. For example, if you have dreams of fame and riches, why spend your time looking for measly record sales? Write hits, record them, build a base and shop for the big deal. Otherwise you'll truly be unhappy. You do know the chances right? Slim to none. So why get mad when it doesn't happen. If you don't like to gamble, concentrate on what it takes to make a decent living. If you do that your marketing mix will be very different. And I suspect you'll be much happier. I bet your focus now is pretty good Brian. I bet you're a fairly happy guy. Keep on rockin'!
Thanks for this post! I recently had one of my artists raise $10,000 for a CD. He printed up 1500 copies and devoted the rest of the money, almost $8,000 for promotion. He was certain that hiring a well-established promoter of indie rock bands would make his CD a hit.
I begged him to reconsider, using most of the reasons you cited.
He was sure the promoter was the magic bullet, "The promoter really wants to work with us, and loves the record."
THEY ALL SAY THAT!! You're about to hand them $8,000 to send out emails to a list of blogs! You're never going to have trouble finding someone willing to take your money.
Yeah, there are some sharks out there. I'd like to find a promoter who will work for a percentage of sales!
You bring up a good point Greg. You have to know why you're promoting in the first place! Some people will accept nothing short of superstardom, and might be more inclined to go for broke by gambling with high stakes approaches.
Judging the comments on my blog, touring and licensing seem to be considered the best approaches. A compelling live performance is certainly the answer for some, and I've had my first successes with licensing this year, though the "exposure" (in my experience that word always calls for air quotes) hasn't brought me any new fans or sales that I can trace. I won't be able to deliver a final verdict until I receive my ASCAP statements.
Yes, a killer live show has a believability factor and an intimacy that's off the charts, in terms of winning new fans. No amount of promotion can substitute for that, because, due to being bombarded with marketing, people are mistrustful. As a performer, you're much more a part of a given fan's life than somebody they read about in an ad or on a blog. It's difficult, at best, for a solo electronic artist to generate that kind of onstage excitement.
The writer gives a lot of disheartening advice with very few answers as to what an aspiring artist should do. This is why so many have not warmed to his post and are suspicious of his reasoning and experience. I have not ventured out yet and started an indie effort...so all I can say is that this guy has more experience than I do. With that being said...there is no way your going to tell me that giving away economically designed (priced) promotional cds, wont help a band. Many major label artists (see 50 cent) have used this model. No, every promotional cd may not even get listened to, but that is not the point. If 1 out of 10 listens and likes then word of mouth can be substantial. However I do appreciate his advice. The bit about a blog feature as opposed to an article resonated with me very much.
I did a couple thousand promo CDs a couple albums ago and couldn't GIVE them away, even just handing them out to people at concerts. When people see you handing stuff out, they make an effort to avoid you (I can't blame them - I do the same thing). A friend who runs a record store included them with orders for awhile, but nothing really came of it. Of course with all of this stuff, ymmv.