Monday, August 08, 2005

Music marketing 101

Reading lots of materials lately on advertising, promotion, and publicity which are presenting different strategies for raising the visibility of my musical project and various political issues (Korean peace and reunification, inter-ethnic relations, community empowerment). From Malcom Gladwell's Tipping Point to CD Baby CEO Derek Sivers' excellent writings on music PR to this recent article from the LA Times discussing the spate of Hollywood action box-office bombs this summer, it's obvious that changing times and demographics call for increasingly creative, end user-focused approaches to marketing. I could read this stuff all day long but at some point need to take action and see what works best. It goes without saying that controversy sells, sex sells, being REALLY unique sells, but this artist refuses to engage in unprincipled whore-dem simply to sell records. Short-term behavior with long-term implications, too many cautionary examples to cite.

RIP Peter Jennings. I recall seeing him up-close many years at a rally in New York, seemed slightly too cool to be bothered but I guess that was also his screen presence.

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