I got my New Music Tipsheet email this morning form Scott Perry. This had to be re-posted. His point is solid and applies to so many different industries right now:
The other night, I’m heading to The Roxy when I see a big ol’ bus sign for the new Courntey Cox series ‘Cougar Town,’ airing Wednesdays this fall on ABC. And so, they’ve got this 8′ x 3′ closeup of CC’s face (yeah, they used to call her CC back when she was growing up in Alabama, so I’m told), and I’m thinking, “Wow, what a wasted opportunity — with a show title like ‘Cougar Town,’ they could’ve showed a vampy picture of Courtney, and left enough space for fans to take their picture next to her, and posted their pix onto Facebook or Flickr!”
Instead, what do we get? A head shot begging to magic marker a good old-fashioned “balls on the chin” on Courtney’s visage (don’t forget the eyepatch and the blackened teeth there, Picasso).
What I’m trying to illustrate is that these days nothing, and I mean nothing, should ever be created for single-use. With the viral capabilities of the web, every single piece created should be used and re-used to promote your product, from the album art to the t-shirt to the banner ad to the show itself.
This should be every manager’s most-often used question — “How else can we use this?”
Every single touch point for your artist should have a takeaway viral marketing aspect — single song streams should be embeddable, trackable; official pix & videos should have your URL in the bottom right; every show should have the band’s name in a backdrop or at least on the bass drum head; t-shirt designs should have the band’s name legible from a satellite, as well as have easter eggs hidden in the imagery.
As crass as it is, I’d have a kid dressed in Bowling 4 Soup’s “My Wena” (totally NSFW, btw) phallus costume, taking pictures at the merch booth with fans two hours before the show, and then letting the kids download the pix from the Bowling for Soup site in exchange for their email address!
Food for thought: The iPhone is the #1 camera used on Flickr; in 10 months, the iPhone will be the #1 camera used on YouTube. What are you doing to take advantage of this trend? You WANT your fans to take pictures & audio & video and pass it along to their friends. Not every show should be an aliens-and-confetti cannon extravaganza like the Flaming Lips, but give your fans something to talk about.
But speaking fan-to-fan, I’d be remiss in not saying this to EVERYBODY (I’ll admit, I’m just as guilty): you ain’t Scorsese, and this ain’t ‘The Last Waltz’. After the first two songs, quit taking pictures of you and your girlfriend in front of the stage. Put down the camera, pick up the beer, and just enjoy the freakin’ show, okay?
I love Scott’s Post for so many reasons. The word ARTIST in his post could be easily replaces with CLIENT and applied to advertising, but this is precisely where Music and Advertising are linked. As creatives in the Music and Advertising business, we must think ahead, be more clever and not so myopic. “This is a TV ad,” or “this is only outdoor advertising” just wont cut it anymore. There have been a few great examples lately. One I remember was a kiosk attatched to a bus stop for Target. You could plug your headphones into the wall to listen to John Legend’s new record. SMART.
Another direct example of the Ad industry point of view would would be common acceptance for “this is only music for my ad.” Let’s face it, Agencies and by proxy, clients spend a lot of money on music, be it Original or Licensed; you should get more out of it. But as any of us in the Commercial Production world know, that would take a lot of forethought that comes in direct connection with MEDIA, and that my friends, it a whole other posting.
The sooner the Ad biz takes cues form Scott’s post, the sooner they will be able to create more engaging ads and make thei clients money go further. It’s ain’t rocket science folks.
Everyone – check out Scott’s New Music Tipsheet, it is a staple in my information highway.
http://www.newmusictipsheet.com
Thanks Scott!