Ah, the ever-changing art of artist promotion. Back in the day, artists' shows were only advertised on the big three: radio, print and television, for large tours. Just take a look at the older concert posters - very stylized, but still informative. Can you imagine one of the current indie bands using only print for their promotion? Or can you imagine what Jimi Hendrix's MySpace page would look like? Exactly. The times have certainly changed and I'm here to explore what the changes and the implications are.
Now, artists can, sometimes solely, rely on the Internet for the promotion of their shows and music. While many musicians still use creative and eye-catching posters (we'll be exploring this in later posts) for the announcements of their information, arguably the most efficient and cost-effective way to bring warm bodies to the show is to use the net.
The MySpace phenomenon has reshaped the industry and how it can greatly help a band land a record deal or to get to the top of the charts. MySpace is a social networking site that artists can use to promote their band - here is Dave Matthews Band's page, so you can get a feel for what the site can offer. Bands can post songs, videos, links to merchandise, tour dates, fans, links to download music, band history, etc. so fans can get to know their favorite groups. Artists can often get a lot of notice by the amount of "plays" on the counter - there are even codes bands can pay for to increase the amount of plays per day. (Yes, bands will actually pay hundreds of dollars for something like this.) Anyway, the reason the play counter matters is that record executives and booking agents will often keep watch for upcoming bands - aka, bands who have high play counts, meaning a high amount of listeners, meaning a high fan base, meaning a good band to sign.
This week we'll continue to explore how MySpace and other social networking sites are shaping the new generation of groups coming through the radio waves. Or the MySpace plays.
1 comment:
Perhaps you'll be getting to this later in the week... But do you think the number of MySpace plays will stand up as a valid measure of a band's potential?
During the height of the dot com boom, I remember receiving remarkable advertising rates on a CPM and CPC basis. The rates were well beyond what those views and clicks were truly worth, and I wasn't even doing anything to inflate views and clicks. Some of those measures of advertising "value" fell apart as people start gaming the system.
Do you think MySpace plays might follow a similar road? As bands figure out how to use programs to increase their play count, will executives and booking agents continue to view them as trustworthy?
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