As a result of the Humphreys and Keen thing over the past week, I’ve been thinking a fair bit about promos – free copies of albums sent to people in an attempt to find and build an audience – with the end goal of selling some records.
When I ran an independent jazz label back in the late 1990s, conventional wisdom was pretty simple: press 1000 CDs, and send out 100-200 of those copies as promos to influential people with radio shows, television programmes, newspaper columns and so on.
It was a bit of a lottery, and usually your record would either get a cursory mention in passing, or – most often – no mention at all.
2-step theory
Whenever you did get a mention, however, it was cause for celebration. Because we knew that despite the fact that the people who browsed the record review section of the Howick and Pakuranga Times were a reasonably select group, and that probably hardly any of them acted on what they read in any economic sense, there was a principle working in our favour.
The 2-step theory of influence suggests that people would read the review, and even if they did nothing about it, maybe they’d mention it to a few of their friends. And when those friends saw the record in the CD store, they’d recognise the title, think to themselves ‘Oh yeah – I think I’ve heard that’s good’ – and give it a try.
That was the theory we were working with, and we were sticking to it. All the same, you were always far more likely to fall at the first hurdle. I dread to think how many copies we sent out that never even made it to the top of the listening pile.
And that’s the problem when you’re dealing with the traditional tastemakers and gatekeepers – there’s a huge amount of competition for attention, and the whole thing’s a complete lottery.
Planting seeds
But when you’re dealing with 500 copies of vinyl, and an ostensibly limitless supply of digital downloads, it’s time to work with a new theory. You can still play the lottery, of course, but you can also use another metaphor: gardening.
With the Humphreys and Keen record, instead of simply taking a punt on people with massive audiences, we’ve taken the decision to plant a lot of seeds. Conversation, when used well, is a much more effective tool than broadcasting.
I’ve sent promo copies of the album – in its entirety as 320k mp3s, or as full lossless CD-quality files if they prefer – to people that fulfill the following rigorous criteria:
1) I already know and like them personally; and
2) I think might enjoy the record.
Most of these people do not have radio programmes, newspaper columns, or TV shows. Most of them have fewer than 100 friends on Facebook, and many do not have MySpace accounts. Several are on Twitter, but by no means all of them.
These are actual friends and acquaintances. I’ve at least met and chatted with every single one of them. Most of them I’ve had a drink with at some point, and the vast majority of them do not work in media. All of them, I would happily invite into my house.
They’re just good people who like good music.
And you know what’s most different about them? Hardly any of them EVER receive album promos. It’s noteworthy. Remarkable. Something to talk about with their friends.
And it’s that sort of conversation (and the fact that the H&K record is a really marvellous album) that starts buzz.
I’ve asked everyone else directly involved with the record to come up with a list of as many people they know and like who would appreciate the album, so we can send them a download code too.
We have to know them personally, and be able to send them a unique, personalised message that pretty much just says:
“Good to catch up with you on Friday. By the way, I’m working with this record. It’s really great – I think you’ll like it. It’d be really cool if you had a copy. Hope you enjoy it.”
Or (appropriate) words to that effect. And that’s it. Not “please tell everyone” or “here are a few tracks, and if you like it, please buy it”. Just “I really like this, and I think you will too. Here y’go…”
It’s just a theory
Conventional lottery-thinking would see this as madness. If you don’t get the five star Mojo review, the write-up in The Observer or the review slot on a cable TV show, the last people you want to be giving freebies to are your friends. They might end up being the only people in the world who’ll buy the damn thing.
But my theory is that there is virtually no end to the potential market for a really good record. It needs to find people and connect with them, and it has to be out there in the wilderness, outside of your control, in order to do that.
Fortunately, there’s also no end to the number of promo copies you have in stock. In fact, when you do it this way, they’re not ‘promos’ – they’re gifts for friends.
Worst case scenario, people you like will also have an album you love. Brilliant.
Best case scenario, they’ll mention it – or even play it to their friends. It’ll show up in their Last.fm profile. They might do a Facebook status update or send out a tweet. They could put it on in their car while they drive someone somewhere.
I tell you what they’re not going to do: leave it under a pile of other un-listened-to albums that turned up this week and are all competing for their precious attention.
Gardening is harder than the lottery
I should probably mention: it’s hard giving albums away like this. It’s not just a case of simply printing out mailing labels from a database of press contacts, and stuffing CDs in envelopes.
It’s about going through your personal contacts (real, proper, personal friends – not ‘MySpace friends’), thinking about the people involved, and whether they would actually appreciate the record.
Then it’s about contacting them in their preferred manner – mine were mostly emails and Facebook messages – with the digital equivalent of a hand-written note that says ‘I thought of you for this – and here’s why’.
But I suspect, like gardening, the results are worth the effort. That’s not to say you shouldn’t still do the lottery thing – but I think that’s a game with diminishing returns.
Organic, naturally-occurring word-of-mouth recommendation is an incredibly powerful thing – especially when amplified exponentially online.
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[...] is a follow-up post after yesterday’s piece about who you should send promos to. While we’re thinking along those lines, I thought I’d also get you thinking about your [...]
[...] more specifically, with promotional copies of your music. His suggestion? Gardening. Learn more here. What do you think–is he on to something? (We think so.) No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to [...]
[...] promo CDs to Sarah Morrison from the UK music site insomnia radio, and then finding this post about who to send promos to on newmusicstrategies.com was a little too…coincidental…for me NOT to post on the blog [...]
[...] May 26, 2009 in Marketing An article and theories on who the best people are to send demos and promos to within the industry : Who to send promos to via Indielab [...]
[...] If you’re an artist or a record label, getting Kevin Rose, Stephen Fry or even Oprah Winfrey (perhaps an extreme example) to tweet one of your tracks is gonna take you to the top of the music charts. This is going to lead to more exposure and ultimately a bigger fan base and more opportunity to sell something (if that’s your goal). Therefore you really need to start taking a look at who you’re servicing with promos… a point also raised very eloquently by Dubber recently. [...]
[...] Dubber maakt weer een goed punt over het uitsturen van promocd’s. De essentie: concentreer je niet op de usual suspects waar je demootje ergens onderaan de stapel terechtkomt, maar geef een gratis exemplaar en je beste vrienden en kennissen van wie je denkt dat ze de plaat zullen appreciëren. Mensen die eigenlijk NOOIT een promopakket krijgen. Meer kans dat zij het doorvertellen. [...]
17 Comments
Hi!
I just recently released a record with modern jazz, and this gives me some inspiration. I think I´ll try this!
Cheers!
We’re about to finish of an EP that no one in the mainstream music media will give a hoot about, ‘cos they don’t know us (too bad!). But this is an excellent alternative to getting the word out. Plus it does something I’ve been wishing for for a while — reconnecting with people long-since gone from my day-to-day existence.
A friend and I once discussed the idea of the “commons,” the old English village square around which everyone lived and where villagers kept livestock or sowed crops or played or met crossing to and fro on during their daily lives. The idea of some central place to bring everyone in your world together to interact feels so important in this digital “virtual” age.
But sharing something like a bit of music is one way to rein in those disparate, distant friends — it’s like the beginning of rekindling relationships that have been allowed to flicker and fade because we’re all so isolated and willing to take shortcuts in our human interactions. (This blog falls into that category, of course — I’m writing you and not sitting at a pub talking to you!) But sharing is the key. A good place to start. Sharing what you love making is even more important.
I’ll let you know what happens when that EP emerges!
I think that it is good to first promote to friends and family, but I think it is still good to promote to tastemakers. The trick is to get a few tastemakers on your side as a friend, so that there is a personal relationship established with them as well
A quite interesting theory. I’d love to receive a promo copy and I definitly would tell all my friends about it (and probably send the copy to them).
I agree with Jami Jackson that there is a need to priorize those who should receive a copy on the one hand, on the other hand, we are talking about a digitalized product that is available for almost everyone without it’s use being reduced for one reciever by another copy made and sent out.
The question is: Can’t there be done both, gardening and lottery without causing more costs to a band?
You’ve put succinctly (as ever) an idea that I’d come across when faced with the big wall of silence, trying to generate interest in my new EP.
No-one from the media is interested – why would they be? – so I had to go back to basics, and be personal and genuine in contacting people known to me (as well as utilising MySpace ‘friends’ and Last.fm listeners).
Your post has given me a couple of new angles to use though.
I’ve just recorded my debut EP (self-released) and I did this automatically – not only will I be sharing my passion with people I love; but their criticism means far more than anyone elses. What’s more, I know that they’ll recommend me to other people if they like it (a lot of them probably will anyway, even if it isn’t to their tastes).
It’s glad to know that I’m going right somewhere at least!
I’ve also made a few mugs with the cover art, my myspace, e-mail and EP details tastefully decorating it. I thought that, being in Britain – the world’s tea-swilling capital – this might help boost interest in my work. I’ve given some to my friends, but have sold a few at gigs.
Here’s the thinking: it’s a novelty; you can NEVER have too many mugs; and most importantly, when you’re pouring a brew for someone, they’ll probably ask about it – if not, I strongly believe it’ll stay in their memory.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this :D (bear in mind that I am completely new to this business)
Anything you can do to create a talking point is probably worth doing – mugs, t-shirts, USB drives. Friends of mine had a baby recently and I got them a Canabrism baby-sized t-shirt as a present (maybe that’s taking it a bit far, but it was cute, and they really liked it…!)
Hi!
I read this article with particular interest, there is much being said about the changes in the music industry at this time and it’s great to read about other peoples experiences, especially when they offer insights into possible methods to ‘beat’ the system.
We released a charity single last year and, after receiving replies of deafeneing silence from all the industry contacts we tried (competing with the X-Factor single for the same charity on the same release date didn’t help!), we decided to make it available only from our website.. and depended on word of mouth from friends and family to help us promote it.
After an apparent period of non-movement we suddenly found ourselves in local magazines, newspapers, we were approached by Music Programmers on radio stations for interviews and copies to be played, we even appeared on several US based internet radio stations… and all through people talking.
We then released our original demos as downloads and a CD and used the same strategy… we’ve only managed one gig in the last 4 months due to other commitments but have maintained consistent sales on iTunes and our own site, again, purely by word of mouth.
And, from a commercial point of view, the resulting interest has nearly paid for all the CDs and merchandise we produced!!
Times have changed and innovation is the way ahead, the problem now is too keep one step ahead (or at least in step with) all the opportunities availalable!
Thanks for the article,
Grae
Being a Music Director at a small radio station in New Zealand I thoroughly agree with Andrew on this. There’s nothing worse than receiving stacks of CDs every week from people who haven’t even listened to how your radio station sounds. I’m more likely to put something on the radio that has been recommended by a friend whose opinion I trust than one that arrives with a one page press addressed to “Dear Programme / Music Director”.
Andrew, you’re the shiz!
Peace,
Dr H
I run a small indie label based in Oxford and recently attempted a similar approach with one of our new bands. The group in question hail from Luxembourg, meaning that touring possibilities are fairly limited in the UK and magazine space in their genre (sort of ‘math rock’, for lack of a less vague, more meaningful term!) is very limited, not to mention the fact that this is their first release in the country. The plan was to try announce and promote the record in 3 stages.
1) I sent the full album out to a number of friends about 12 weeks ahead of release. It started cropping up in Last.fm lists, receiving mentions on social networking websites, and a couple of them even decided to book the band in their local venue, when they come over this summer.
2) One week before we announced the release I posted on Twitter and Facebook saying that we have a new band about to be ‘unleashed’ and I’ll send 3 MP3s to anyone who wants them. Within the first hour I had 200 replies and conversation quickly began, with lots of positive feedback being shared in public.
3) On the day of announcing the release, I uploaded the three MP3s to http://www.bsmrocks.com/friend – a minisite we use to give fans exclusive free content. It’s kind of like an extension of our mailing list, but with more incentives for those who can be bothered to dig. Via this website, as well as being able to download the free music, fans could also purchase the CD for a special low price, for a limited time only. Again, only a small gesture but showing that we want to reward people who care.
To date, we have actually received more pre-orders for this album than we have many of our other upcoming releases, including ones who have received page after page of glowing press from some very well read magazines.
I’m not saying this approach is always right, but as I keep saying in my Drowned In Sound column (including this weeks one – http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136878), creativity is key. Sales are declining and competition is increasing, thinking outside of the box is pretty much the only tool we have left right now!
(sorry for the long post, I got carried away!)
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the good thinking and constructive ideas. We produced an expensively packaged and manufactured 2-hour live flamenco DVD –a real collector’s item – and are still struggling to get it known by the potential 1,800 aficionados definitely out there who we know will love it. The hardest task is locating them without the professional help an indie production like ours couldn’t afford. Your thoughts were inspiring and well worth a try. Thanks again, Michael (director & co-producer)
This comment is directed to GRAE:
Hello:
I read your post on about how you promoted your charity single and it was very encouraging. We are a US band just starting out(cello-bella.com) and we were recently featured on a national radio show in the US. We received about 50 email responses requesting CD’s after doing that show. (We haven’t recorded a professional CD yet). I know 50 doesn’t sound like much, but some of them were so heart-felt,–one man said listening to our music was like a hug from a long lost parent(!)–I couldn’t help but feel there was a potential for a serious fan base (that could grow) just from those few responses. We are now making a 5-song promo CD from songs gathered from various recording sessions (including our basement studio). We will give one of those to each person who contacted us, with a personal email note, and see where it leads. We want to record a professional CD, but for now we want to hold on to these fans, and show them they are appreciated. After all, they went to the trouble to write to us. Best of luck to you and thanks for posting your experience. BTW I like your music very much. Great energy and guitar work especially!!!
Alison
Great article.
I’m running an independent record label in Singapore, Asia, and I tried some of the ‘Gardening’ mentioned in the article. I definitely found it true because I got absolutely no response from people in the media, but when I started to really sit down and talk to people about my music with passion, people really listened.
I found facebook and twitter a great tool tho, just by word of mouth Im at 1,000 downloads of my first single!
Cheers Andrew!
Really great article. You’ve provided much food for thought.
Great article, very inspirational indeed.
Interesting theory, Andrew, and one I immediately like.
One question: How did you send the promo copies? You imply that you sent them digitally, but if I were on your list I’m not sure I’d want a full length, 320k album – perhaps 75MB of data – suddenly clogging up my mailbox!
If you physically mailed a CD a plain audio CD would seem more appropriate.
Or did you direct people to a website where the album is available? If so, do you run the risk of people not bothering to do so, and you then have another album that “never even made it to the top of the (virtual) listening pile”?
as to gardening in music, go to: http://www.rudynicoletti.com and u may discover new electro in music..