In a recent discussion with some musicians I heard someone talk about promotion in a way that confused me. Nowadays every conversation about music and business veers toward the issues of what to give away, how much to give away, and whether people will ever pay for music the way they used to.
The comment in question went something like this: The Internet, with sites like Last FM, has allowed me to get listens from all over the world. Maybe that hasn’t equalled sales, but at least it’s good promotion.
Is it, though? I have to question how, in this instance, something is being promoted. The artist gives away all their music. As far as I know, they are not touring. They have no product, so I wonder what it is exactly that is being promoted by garnering a wide spectrum of “listens”.
Most of us have seen something gain a massive amount of attention in mainstream or niche press, then fizzle. Why do you think that is? Most of time, it is because the party gaining attention has provided insufficient outlet for the sudden press and praise. What good is press if, when five thousand people are directed to your website by a single article, you’ve got nothing for them to buy?
Here in Chicago, a lot of small businesses talk about “The Oprah Factor”. If you run a business, you have likely heard someone say “Oh, if you could just get your product on Oprah, you’d be set!” The idea is that because Oprah commands a massive audience of sycophants, a single nod from her will send the flock over to buy your wares. This is sort of true.
I worked at a company who had a product that was chosen as one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things”. This is a big deal, but it involves a ton of work on the part of the company getting the “free advertising”. You have to guarantee to Oprah that you have a certain number of the product in stock, you have to give her one of each for her audience, for free, and there are a host of other issues involved. All of this goes into the hope that when she mentions your companies product, your sales will skyrocket. There are no guarantees of course. All of your company’s hard work could totally fizzle. But you have to be ready nonetheless.
Oprah’s magic touch, as well as any other type of press, is a crapshoot. It may change your life, it may amount to nothing.. but you have to be ready for it.
So, how does promotion work for musicians and labels? I’m certainly no expert, but I do know that people will grab anything for free if you shove it in their face. Yet this in no way means they’ll seek you out to give you money. Giving away all of your music for free can be a good thing, IF you can turn all those freebies into a head count at a live performance. It will likely not sell albums, though 
Next: Passive Internet
