I think that we all didn’t wish it was this way. I’m sure that we’d like for the best art that glorifies God to rise to the top like some sort of musical osmosis without such devices. In some cases that happens to win out, but the reality is that there is a Christian music industry and artists need some kind of marketing to push the music to the most listeners possible. Some do this with a heavy bankroll, while others do it with grass roots means, both work depending on the talent and strategy.
The oldest, simplest way goes something like this: have one really great song, get it played on the radio endlessly, have all the teenagers in the world demanding to hear the song, sell albums. It worked for the Wonders on the movie “That Thing You Do” and last year it worked for Jamie Grace when she released “Hold Me” featuring the legendary Tobymac.
There is a new way to go about it these days, though, which is the same trick, different medium. Just look at what Trip Lee has done recently with his upcoming album “The Good Life”. A radio single is basically played for free anyway, so why not give it out (at least temporarily) to build some buzz? He did this buy giving out his song “Robot“, accompanied by the music video.
That was the first step, making the song go viral (to some extent or another), with the second step being a bit more unique. In conjunction with the album cover for The Good Life, Trip Lee made a way for fans to not only support the artist and the album, but to make them feel like they are a part of the movement, by adding a ribbon to their twitter picture (twibbon to their avatar, for us tweeps).
So now only has Trip Lee and his marketing team at Reach Records gotten a sample of the music to the people, they have also gotten them invested into it with personality and intrique.
I only wish I had thought of it first.
What other strategies have you seen work for promoting great music?
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What’s a Twibbon? I’m on Twitter everyday and I’ve never heard of that.
I can’t think of many examples of music marketing that don’t involve just radio or free downloads. Though I do remember when Showbread was releasing AnorexiaNervosa they had this ARG kind of thing going on that was pretty neat. It was like a journal or something that connected with the story. Can’t remember very well since I never figured it out lol
its like a bumper sticker on your picture that identifies you with a product/movement/etc…go to the link and it kind of explains itself
the showbread thing was pretty cool, but a lot of work for the fans to do haha
A Twibbon is basically some small art thingy that goes on top of your Twitter profile picture.
RED’s Innocence & Instinct ARG was pretty epic. If only every album did one of those…