Instead Of Mass Emails/Widgets Maybe PR, Indie Labels, Unknown Bands Should Be Doing More Of This
  • x4ax4a

    I think that this is part of what Toad is doing with his record label (Sessions etc.) and a good way to do things.


    Indie Bands Find New Outlet On The Web

    "BUENOS AIRES, Jan 7, 2011 (IPS) - A new way of sharing music has caught on in Argentina, with bands -- both new and established -- filmed in impromptu performances on rooftops or in markets and other public spaces in Argentina. The high-quality videos, which are shot in one single take, are then posted on the Internet."


    "We try to find musicians we like and who move around on the independent circuit, without a record label behind them," Carla Sanguineti of Sonido Ambiente, one of the original production companies that, for now, are non-profit, told IPS.

    The performances are not concerts, because there is no audience -- except the odd neighbour who might be leaning out a window while the band records on a rooftop, or a customer who happens to be shopping in the market where the musicians are playing.

    The result is a high-quality recording, in image as well as sound, and revealing in the case of artists unknown to the mainstream public."


    Thoughts?

  • SongbyToadSongbyToad
    It's definitely something we try and do, although the sessions were supposed to be my way of supporting the local scene, not just a selling tool for the label.  Annoyingly though, that's what it's become recently, to a certain extent, because once you have something like that available it's unfair to deny it to the bands you work with.  But I would like to get back to doing more sessions with other bands asap, before the sessions themselves lose all credibility.



    In a more general sense, I personally feel that the best way to get your fans to help you out with your PR effort is not to worry about data-mining too much, but to make it as easy and as rewarding as possible for them to use your material to enhance their own personal brands, so to speak, and not worry about yours. The freer and more shareable, postable, linkable, up- and downloadable you make something the more likely it is to turn up on someone's Facebook page, Twitter feed, mixtape, podcast, or wherever it is that people have to share these things.  I don't want anyone to ever think twice about sharing any of our material, be it songs, videos or anything, because I think that is a significantly negative association to be planting in a fan's mind.  Fans use our music to enhance their statements to the world about who they are, not necessarily to help us build our brand or our audience - we all wear our record collections with pride because of what it says about us, not the bands we listen to.



    So I try and make things as free and unrestricted and as unintrusive or uncomplicated as possible, because I think that way people are more likely to add our stuff to their own lives.  We will then hopefully benefit tangentially, rather than having to milk every single interaction as much as possible for our own direct benefit.
  • BenMetrojoltBenMetrojolt
    Phoenix did something a lot like this in paris. They played shows all around paris with no warning in super random places. No recording though, just free music.
  • SongbyToadSongbyToad
    A few labels are doing this now actually - the 4AD sessions are very high quality.
  • apocketfullofseedsapocketfullofseeds
    Sounds a lot like the Blogotheque videos, at least in form. I Know that Blogotheque are now answering to a man perfume for sponsorship but are there any bigger differences?
  • x4ax4a

    Yeah, it wasn't really intended for our Beggars guy or bloggers. More just to highlight that there are other effective ways for unsigned artists/bands and even labels to utilize the internet instead of banging their heads trying to compile mass email lists and other nonsense etc. Just thought it was interesting.


    Yup, and very similar to Blogotheque.

  • PieTonightJamesPieTonightJames
    This reminds me of the crappy hip-hop band that effectively shut down the 101 in LA for a surprise performance, which only made people mad and got them arrested.

    I think this is an innovative and useful idea as long as "impromptu" doesn't mean "illegal" or "irresponsible"
  • SongbyToadSongbyToad
    Merz, I entirely agree - produce interesting content and trust people to pick up on it - far better than going them for their bra size and the details of any fillings they may have had.

    PieTonight - or indeed just plain annoying!
  • stagedivemaltastagedivemalta

    Reminds me a little bit of Balcony TV.


     


    Watch this one with a VERY shy Marcus Mumford:


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEAZhgu9E88


     


    and yes, great promotional idea.

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