I'm going to try an experiment.
It dawned on me the other night that the press mailings I did when Life Is Loud was released were incredibly ineffective. The first mailing of about 40 CDs, sent to very specific writers who write about my kind of band/music/guitar playing produced a handful of reviews and pretty much zilch increase in sales or internet traffic. More importantly, the whole point of these mailings was to spread the word about the album, not to the writers, but to the potential fans out there. Hello? You out there?
So here's my experiment. Writers, you're fired. Not that you cared in the first place. Instead, I'm going to see if I can find a dozen or so regular people out there that would like my music, and ask if I can send them a copy for free. In exchange, I just want to know what they think.
If I'm able to look at somebody's internet presence (Facebook, MySpace, blog, Twitter, Last.fm, etc.) and determine that they would probably like my music, I'm betting that they would be more likely to spread the word on their own. I'm not asking them to blog about the music, but if they write a blog, chances are good they just might do it (what else do we blog about?).
I'm not looking for friends who blog, I'm looking for bloggers that don't know me who fit the M.O. of a Cameron Mizell fan.
I mentioned this to a couple friends, and they didn't quite get it. "Shouldn't we be doing this anyway?" Well, kind of. But I'm looking for people kind of like me. If John Scofield personally sent me his next album and wanted my opinion (ahem), I would not only tell him, but I'd share the experience with friends. Not that I'm Sco, but if somebody hadn't heard of me and all of a sudden I wanted to send them my CD, I bet they'd want to figure out who I am, and what's wrong with me.
All I have to lose is a few CDs that would otherwise end up in the abyss of journalists' desks.
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5 comments:
haha are you quoting me?
let me know how it goes. have anything a 40-something year old smooth jazz listener might like? maybe i'll buy one for my dad. ;)
Yes, you make good soundbites. But a few others thought I was stating the obvious too, so I figured I wasn't being clear in my rambling. Good thing I didn't discuss this in a video blog...
I'll hopefully have something to report in a few months. Funny you mention 40-something smooth jazz fans... they fit the demo for my first album. I'll give you a copy for your dad's stocking.
Cam,
I like this idea. You're right - nothing really to lose, and you'll probably get more word of mouth going.
I like your idea a lot. It sounds like more work for you, as the artist promoting yourself, if you are basically researching your potential listeners individually. But all it takes is a few becoming fan/advocates to help spread the word of mouth.
Good luck - I'm sure we'll all be riding on your coattails if it works out for you.
Hiya,
I would love to lend a hand, if you find me of any use. I have an online shop for indie artists (music section included), but I run a blog attached to the site, as well. I would be happy to give your tunes a shout. Let me know whatcha think. www.mybonnieandclyde.com
c@mybonnieandclyde.com
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