Why Most Music Promotion Doesn't Work (and How to Fix It)

Releasing a new album is one of the most exciting things in the career of an artist, especially an independent one, where you're doing everything on your own. 

After all the time, money, and energy you've put into learning how to play, you've taken things to the next level by writing quality songs, getting a perfect performance of them on tape, and replicating several hundred (or thousand) copies for people to buy.

Then there is the business aspect of everything... People can't buy your stuff if it's not available where they shop for music, right?

And that's just the beginning, since the biggest issue an independent artist has is not getting things into stores, but getting them out of stores.  And unfortunately, this has little to do with how good the music is.  "Good music" is subjective.  The number one album ever, Thriller by Michael Jackson, has sold hundreds of millions of copies and there are plenty of people who think it sucks. 

So now that?  Gotta get to marketing and letting people know what you've got is available, it's good, and you want them to buy it...

There are a million ways to do this.  Today, I'm going to talk about two, then dissect each, so you have a good understanding of what works about them and what doesn't.

First of all, let's take a look at the "bus ad."  If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look to the left.  It could be a simple sign hanging off a bus, which used to be fairly common, but the example here, and what you're more likely to see these days, is more of a "wrap" that covers the entire bus (or possibly one side of it).

The good thing about a bus ad is that it can reach a lot of people and it does so by actually going to them.  Have fans who never leave the house?  Not a problem.  Just put something on a bus and have the bus do a drive by.

This is great if you're somebody whom a lot of people care about, like Mariah Carey.  People will say, "Ohhhh!!!  Mariah Carey has a new album out!!" and if they're fans, likely buy it.

You'd think that Mariah Carey fans would already know if she had a new album, but the horrifying reality is that 84% of music fans have no idea when their favorite artists release something new.

Let me break that down for you.  In other words, this means one of two things...

1. Music isn't that important to people.

2. The music industry is doing a crappy job of letting people know about new releases.

Something like a bus sign is a great example of #2.

Look, Mariah Carey is a big artist.  In fact, she's one of the top artists of all time.  She's sold tens of millions of records and a lot of people know who she is.

A bus sign might work for her, since so many people know who she is, but it's not going to be that effective.  It's likely part of a bigger promotion which includes music videos, radio promotion, performances and interviews on television shows such as David Letterman, print media coverage, and more.

And keep in mind that if people know who she is already, it's likely because she's done something on the list of above promotions before...not from putting her face on a bus and driving around town.

Here's the good news about a promotion like this...

You have a bus with your face on it!!  Hell yes!!

Seriously, this may very well impress some people and allow you to do something that will actually translate into album sales.  It's evidence that you're putting some money into your own promotion, no matter how ineffective, and that counts for something.  At the very least, it's probably a foot in the door at some local club.

Do I recommend it?  No way.  It's not all bad though.

A better option for those who need the ego stroke is wrapping your car.  It's called this because the companies which do it literally wrap your car, like a holiday present.  And in a bit of hilarious irony, it's also a promotion done by a lot of rappers.

The photo to the right is an example of a car wrap.  And this is actually a great car (or whatever it is) for it, since it has a lot of space on the side.

Everything I said above applies.  The big difference is you don't see Mariah Carey driving around in a car that lets you know about her new album.  Why?  Even though she's been dropped by her label, gets bad film reviews, has gained a ton of weight, and isn't selling like she used to, Mariah Carey still has some dignity.

In all seriousness, if you can stand everybody knowing who you are and what you do at all times, this can be a good ice breaker to talk more about your career.  When you park your car somewhere, homeless guys asking for beer money will ask, "Are you a musician?"

Unfortunately, beyond that, it's really not that compelling.  It certainly won't get people to order your album by itself. 

Let's look at why this one doesn't work...

1. Most people have no idea who this guy is.

2. What kind of music does he play?  Hell if I know.  The only thing I know about him is that he plays an acoustic guitar.  That narrows it down a little, but not much.  Lots of styles of music use an acoustic guitar.

3. He's asking for the sale right away.  If I don't know who you are or anything about you, that's the equivalent of you walking up to me into a bar and asking, "Hi. My name is Tim.  Will you marry me?"

Tim!!  You don't even know me!  How about letting me know a little about yourself first!  I don't even know if I like you in that way yet!

Like the SOS Band sings, "Take your time, do it right!"  A buying relationship doesn't just happen and pushing it too fast will kill it.  If somebody doesn't know a thing about you, you can't expect them to spend money with you.

Let's look at what he did right on this one...

What I do like about this particular car wrap is that he's asking for what he wants.  That's an improvement on the bus wrap, where I guess the guy just expects you to find his album and buy it...assuming that is what he wants.  We have no way of knowing since he doesn't say.

That's a big lesson for you... Don't expect people to read your mind and know what you want.  You've got to tell them.

Again though, asking for a sale when nobody has heard your music is like walking into a bar and asking random people to get married.  Not going to happen...

How would you approach getting married?

1. Say hello and introduce yourself.

2. Ask questions.  Listen.

3. Get a name.  Get a phone number.

4. Go for coffee...maybe lunch if it's going well.

5. Go to dinner.

6. Introduce this person to your friends.

7. Introduce this person to your parents.

Ok...you get the idea.  My point is that there are a few steps you have to go through to get to the point of marriage.  And "marriage" with a music fan is the same way.

You could pretty much go through this process with the car wrap example above.

1. Say hello... "Artist Name - (adjective) (style) from (city)" as a headline.  Not just your name at the top.

2. Ask questions... "(Would you like to) Download the New Single FREE at www.artistname.com!"

3. Get a name and phone number... Set up a "squeeze page" where users give you a name/email (basically signing up for your mailing list) in exchange for the free download.

4. Proceed from there...  Once you've established rapport, then ask for the sale.  This could be getting them to come to your show, buying the full album, or whatever.

Bottom like with any music promotion is that you think of it from a fan perspective.  People don't care about your music as much as you do...and in the beginning, they more than likely don't care about your music at all.

Like dating, the music business is all about developing a relationship.  That starts by opening yourself up to people, perhaps by giving away free downloads.  Let them get to know who you are.  Once they see and hear that, they'll be more likely to buy.

Thoughts?  Please add them below.  Also, if you've got examples for good (or bad) music promotions, feel free to send them my way via Twitter.

And speaking of Twitter, if you enjoyed this post, please hit the "Tweet This" icon below.  Thanks! :)

Comments

[Mary]

well, there was a lot about what NOT to do in this article...not really what I think is a productive use of space

[David Hooper]

Regarding what to do, what specific questions to you have?

[Kevin B]

David,

Maybe that guy with the car should hook up a set of speakers on the roof of it and drive around blasting his music? Just kidding... If I saw ads like those, I think I would just laugh. But seriously, I do agree with you that nobody is going to buy his music just because his face is on a car. For me personally, it's all about hearing it. You can tell me all about you and what you can do but if I don't like your music I'm not going to buy it. Even the 30 second "previews" on iTunes and Amazon don't usually cut it for me. I feel cheated when I listen to those.

I'm sad to say that I fall into that 84% category of people that don't know their favorite artist is releasing a new album. I blame it partly on myself and partly on the music industry. There are so many different artists I listen to and love that I could not possibly keep up with who is releasing what and when. If you think about it, there is an amazing number of artists in this world. Being bombarded with so many makes it difficult to follow just a few. Relating to the music industry, the only time I usually find out that somebody is releasing a new album is either from a friend or when I look at my local Best Buy ad. Sad, I know...

Going back to the music promotion aspect, I think that the fans need to be able to access your music if you want them to buy it. For example, The Swell Season made their entire album available to be streamed online for a period of time before it was released. I loved this and I respected them a lot for doing this. It's almost like saying "you are family to us." They are letting us hear their whole masterpiece for free and if we like it we (or at least the few people left that don't steal music) will buy it.

[Pat from RockStar Machine]

What not to do, in some ways, is more important in the case of most musicians.

I hear more musicians than I care to whining about how they aren't selling enough CDs or downloads. They spend a load of cash on recording and then a boatload on silly advertising like this.

It'd be better to forget the costly advertising angles, let people download your music for free and consider the "lost profit" an offset of what you would have spent putting your face on a bus.

Or spend the ad money on a low level PR campaign.

[A. Lauren]

Being a Business management student of the entertainment field I found this to be very helpful. I'm very interested in marketing in the industry i found this blog to be very insightful and brutally honest, it made me really think about the the correct way to market an upcoming artist.

[Kyle J Harris]

David,

As an owner of an independent record label, and student of music business and entrepreneurship, I found this information very useful. I would like your opinion on the idea of a wrapped truck used only for promotional events and music conventions. The truck will display just a logo that creates curiosity, name of company, and a company website where visitors can view videos blogs and links from the artist that the label is currently promoting. The wrapped truck will simply to attract people to the website and if they are interested they may continue from there.

[Walt]

Living in the internet age we as musicians have to look ahead and not backwards and I feel this post is a great way to show that. Instead of all the glamour of advertising and after playing going straight back stage, we have to build relationships, end of story. I love the analogy of walking up to someone and asking them to marry you! Hysterical! Try to always see it from the other person point of view. Your selling a "state" not a product. It's your job to to sell that "state" with your music and your relationship!

[Kimo]

We are in class at Columbia College Chicago and my student Lenrow agrees that: there is not enought detail for implementation. He suggests that you provide other links that will help better understand.

[AirHammer]

Wow you're the first music marketer I've ever herd talk about a squeeze page, this is very clever stuff.

AirHammer

[Adrian]

Well one things to do which is not mentioned enough is to connect with people in the industry that are actually there to help. Many of the artists spend tons of time practicing and recording and since they can do most of this by themselves they look at promotion as a do it yourself task as well. The internet gives everyone the impression that it is simple to do. It is not. There are a few great places to learn about music promotion and how to make it effect. One guy out there who is really good is Greg at http://www.genyrockstars.com/. There are also tons of people listed here http://www.musicxray.com/x/category/career-coaching as well. And a great site for everyone who still wants to do it on their own is MTT http://www.musicthinktank.com/. These are just a few.

Whatever you do I strongly suggest that you look towards people in the industry that have been there, done that.

[Fat Moe]

Did you actually read the article? He says exactly what to do.

[Pat from RockStar Machine]

My problem with the whole bus/van wrap thing... and pretty much most print-based advertising for unsigned/little known musicians is that you usually can't sell music to a public that's never heard of the band (or musician) via a strictly visual medium.

Coverage in newspapers, magazines, music sites, blogs, etc. are different in that they can provide a description of the music and background of the artist - most importantly, from a third party perspective. This kind of social proof is about a thousand times more effective in motivating someone to check you out than the standard "buy my record" ad no matter where it is.

For a fraction of the cost you could have a press release written for you and have it distributed on one of the press release websites like Beatwire. That's assuming of course that you have an angle that you can base a press release on; say a record release or beginning a new tour.

[Alex A]

Regarding squeeze pages, they are absolutely the way to go for collecting emails. Its annoying to many but its probably the most effective way to list build. Its also a good way to "qualify" your list...meaning you are only picking up emails of people who are truly interested. You want serious lookers who are going buy whatever it is you're selling.

Offer something free along with it and people think less negatively about it.

[David Hooper]

Yes! Also, newspapers and media go beyond basic social proof with an added element of authority, which makes any mention that much more powerful.

[David Hooper]

True. You'll get some fake emails, but people who really want your stuff will get you the correct contact info.

This mailing list topic is another one to talk about when it comes to "ego stroke." Feels great to have a list of 10,000, even if it consists of everybody you've ever met, your relatives, addresses you collect at random, etc. The reality is that a tighter list will perform better every time, even if it's much smaller.

[Kusha Deep]

Nice 1
very tight advice
D

[Eternal_sunday]

One obvious disadvantage of the car with the ads/ signs: if you have a gig everyone know that that's your car/ van and that it probably carries instruments and equipments. It can be vandalized.