What has been an effective way for you to market your completed song(s)/album? And… What were some of the tangible results?
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Be super targeted – do research on blogs and online radio stations to make sure they are focused on your style of music. If you’re doing metal, the indie folk singer-songwriter sites aren’t going to be interested.
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Make it easy for them – have a good one-page summary of what you are about ready, make it easy for them to hear your songs and, if they like them, share with their readers or listeners. Don’t be a pest if they don’t get back to you.
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Build momentum – if you get a good review, share it with the next writer you’re pitching. third-party legitimacy is a very powerful way to break thru all the noise out there.
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This was advice from Miami music attorney John Bradley - from a seminar at Gearfest a couple years ago. He said when you hire a marketing firm, make sure the contract agreement guarantees a service within a deadline. They won’t guarantee a result of a service, but it needs to be clear what they’re producing, how they’re doing it, and what they can show to prove that they’ve executed the plan.
Another thing that has helped me greatly was to get in touch with the promo people at major labels and find out who they job their publicity campaigns to. Its real important to find publicists that don’t rip people off, because its hard to quantify their effectiveness. The most important thing is their reputation, particularly not taking clients they don’t think have a viable chance. Or to not acquire a campaign for a radio single they know is sure to flop.
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Network: use contacts.
We made US radio via contacts.
For many years after I had to quit Fleet Street through health problems, I got pennies in by reviewing Country Music. All the time I was doing that, I was making FRIENDS with folks on the inside of the industry.
The breakthrough for us came with the meeting (via Skype and email etc) with Homer Joy, the guy who wrote “Streets of Bakersfield”.
Homer had invaluable advice but (and, God rest his soul) he knew this: It was his contacts that made the difference. I had two Nashville heavyweight promoters dropping my MP3 on their way past stations, a top label artist in Texas pushing me to everyone she met and it kinda snowballed.
I think I’d mention it took several years of cultivating these folks.
But we’re still in touch.
And don’t underestimate the power of EVERY review web site you can get your music onto.
Many here will decry that, but if you get ONE listener to tell one friend about this great music, you’re moving forward.
Don’t know if any of that helps.
Blood sweat and tears and BE NICE to everyone.
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If anyone else is reading this, I’d take that and point out the importance of identifying the specific types of promotion. Just from those few sentences, anyone trying to learn from @Coquet-Shack 's experience immediately ought to ask, what type of promotion achieved what type of result? How heavyweight does a promotor have to be to execute what specific types of transactions? And do we know what he actually did? Can we find out anything else about how he did it? Not to discredit anything here…no…not at all. Those are the types of questions I would ask in this scenario because those questions are necessary to really understand how this particular guy (shack) made something happen. It doesn’t do you any good if you don’t know enough about his situation to borrow ideas for yourself.
The Texas artist mentioned is interesting. A top label artist pushing to everyone? Break that down. A top label artist in some instances can actually carry weight. An artist with no stock equity in a label can’t make any real decisions but they can occasionally solicit and pitch ideas. Who is everyone? If you can get a reputable artist to solicit investors, publicity, marketing, and legal firms, that could really help. Soliciting tour managers and concert promoters…no good. Soliciting joint headliner ventures…no good either. Soliciting pay to play opening spots? Different story…yes, then it can help.
The clients of mine that have been the most successful have had a friend or family member who has stellar management skills. They build relationships with good radio trackers and keep an upward momentum on live shows. The internet has not changed the fact that you have to pound the pavement.
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I fear the answer to your justified questions will be disappointing. I promised Chuck I wouldn’t ever break his cover.
He works in the background of his clients, never showing his face to the public. Lovely man, and heavyweight enough to have one of America’s top Country singers of the past 20 years on his books.
What did he do? Well, that’s probably really disappointing. He simply gave stations he had contact with links to our MP3s.
He did one publicity shot for our first release, and the spike in interest then was what pushed it onto the airwaves, at small local stations first (I guess they grab for anything new they can get) and then (what I saw as ) the larger city and regional stations.)
The other promoter, lovely lady, sadly now deceased pushed email after email out and mentioned our tracks in conversation with stations.
It was their contact network which we got patched into which got the airplay and sales.
As for the Texas artist. She just played the songs herself in acoustic sets and told folks there origin… she was thinking about covering one though sadly, she never did.
Hope that helps JK.
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Cool stuff 