CMG Live! 6:30p-7p EST - Episode 01: 2012 Marketing

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Politics: New Music Marketing Frontier? Or Forgotten Friend?

Recently, an article by Jem Oswad for Billboard.biz spoke of the SXSW music festival. This year SXSW got involved by providing fundraising efforts toward Japan in wake of the natural disaster ripping through the country earlier this year. SXSW and Hanson came together for an  online, live, streaming telethon featuring performances and chats by artists at SXSW in Austin, Texas.  Interestingly, the donation was funneled through to Red Cross. Moreover, the Red Cross is calling all artists to participate in the fundraiser.
Flag of the Red CrossImage via Wikipedia


Question: What do you believe in? Think about the answer to this quandary long and hard because when you can come up with a definitive answer, you will have the meaning to life...not really, but perhaps it will help you there as well. What I am actually getting at is to have you list things around the world you would like to get involved in or have changed.


So many things can come out of passionate compassion. One, songwriting will be more in depth, focused, and felt by your fans. Two, your stage performances will be charged with new emotion that can be tangibly transferred to your fans. Three, Recording the record becomes less about you and more about helping others get through, understand, cope, feel, desire, or grow. Interesting how those sorts of descriptions are synonymous with most record topping hits of all music generations from Tina Turner to Lady Antebellum. Four, doors will open for you that may not otherwise be accessible in lieu of you partnering with others to further reach and help get the word out about your passion. Fifth, marketing becomes easy based on the wide reaching effect of outreach efforts concerning your passion already. Believe me the positive effects of politically charged music initiatives is intense and not just a tool used by the hippies of the 1960's and '70's. This is something useful right here and right now, so, go ahead be original, be hip, be engaged, sip some coffee and do something novel...read the news, it might just be the hit you   have been waiting for all along.



Artists interested in participating should contact 3CG's Rebecca Sarkar at rebeccas@3cgrecords.com.
To find out what you can do to help with Japan eartquake relief efforts, go to RedCross.org or SXSWCares.

Tina Turner at MEN Arena April 2009 11Image by loscuadernosdejulia via Flickr
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Teach An Old Dog New Tricks: Radio Single Marketing

In a recent article by Jon Ostrow for Miccontrol.com, he describes an oversimplified marketing tool in music, the radio single. I am going to briefly describe each type of radio single. Afterwards, this post will go deeper into proper application to create a diversified revenue stream for an artist at any level of their career.

iTunes IconImage via Wikipedia
1.     Normal Radio Single – This is the typical single pushed by recording acts for radio play and fan support. Generally, it is kept around 3 minutes in length. In addition, it is most often the focus of artist press kits.
2.     Street Single – In the days of vinyl, the street single was referred to as the B Side. This single was forwarded as a way to showcase musicianship, diversity to the band’s appeal, and a creative way to push songs the record label didn’t particularly like but the band members loved.

3.     iTunes Bonus Single – Welcome to the digital age. A new sort of single is now being pushed to increase the new revenue stream of digital downloads. Do not be fooled. The iTunes Bonus single is a proven marketing tool that can help increase market saturation because this single should further increase band appeal through diversity. Unreleased tracks, LIVE tracks, or even remixed tracks reign supreme as great iTunes bonus singles.

4.     Free Download Single – Sadly, music sales are much lower than decades past. Also, the music industry is flooded with new talent. The Free download single is a necessary evil and should be used creatively. Do not just offer it without a deeper driving force behind it. This clever tool can drive traffic to websites, blogs, forums, and more. Please be sure to incorporate its marketing power because it can become so popular that other opportunities spawn from its creation.

5.     Leaked Single – A new rebuttal to the pirating war. This sort of single is used to create a “buzz”. It is accidentally released to subside fans desire to have something they are not supposed to have until the official release date. The key is to get the “leaked” track in the hands of influential people to help the track spread. One downside of the leaked single is the bad publicity that results if consumers find out that it was not actually “leaked”. Be careful.

6.     Viral Video Single – The ploy is to choose a song either incredibly original or racy/edgy…either will do the trick. Although there are no guarantees anything will become “viral”, the benefits are exponential due to the ease of which videos can be shared. Once a video becomes viral, every blog, website and social media will not only carry it, but they will also feature its content.
7.     Remix Single – The idea here is again to increase visibility in a diverse consumer market. For instance, if you have a Hip Hop radio single, then create a remix using an indie rock band. Or vice versa because the perfect remix marketing strategy will augment fan base amongst listeners untapped before.  Moreover, there is the opportunity to collaborate and use the notoriety of one artist to increase the appeal of another.

Promotional recordImage by renaissancechambara via Flickr

These individual musical creations need to be understood as businesses in and of themselves. All copyrights, publishing assignments, and marketing stratagems should be created individually to hone in on how to best maximize their profitability. Do not take for granted each single will have the effect you intended without crafting where it will be marketed, why, and having a clear understanding of how the revenue stream works. In addition, profit goals put forth in each single’s marketing plan will be different due to a list of factors including market visibility, influence, and target market persona. Keep these things in mind and you can multiply revenue with just a few song selections without the need for long albums and increased production costs. Welcome to the age of radio singles and EP’s reborn.

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