Posts Tagged band promotion

At the height of commercial success, Glenn Hughes at the record breaking California Jam in in 1974. But how do you follow that?

My good friend Glenn Hughes (left) has now written THE rock n’ roll story which is being sold initially as a Deluxe edition for £550 (approx $800). Sounds expensive but then again, there is sound commercial justfication for the price.

It’s certainly going to make a good read. Linda Blair, Richard Burton, John Wayne, David Bowie, Keith Moon are all featured in a roller coaster of story which nearly led to the near death of the former Deep Purple star who, by his own admission, spent a million on drugs and survived.

I guess as one of his “people” I am biased and bound to PR it all, but today I am going to talk about the context in which artists operate.

In days gone by, the music press either gave you the thumbs up or down. Either way, you went out and bought the record anyway. Then along came the tape decks and we began to tape our friends’ albums. T’internet led to downloads and Napster’s famous battle with Metallica. That seemed like the end for file sharing. But sites like UTorrent, Bear Share and The Pirate Bay persist.

It is becoming increasingly the case that bands are accepting the dodgy download scenario (even if their record companies don’t). The radio show I co present with Kev Mc gives us evidence of bands saying “I don’t give a **** who downloads our songs as long as you do the courtesy of coming to see us.” Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry was one such respondent.

But, aside from live shows, which you can’t download, artist of all genres are now using social media as a way of rewarding their fanbase for loyalty. Think Tesco Clubcard simply gets you back in the shop after having given you some sort of special “club” discount. The principle is similar.

Enter the sexy package. In Glenn’s case it is hand bound in the style of the white satin suit he wore for the record breaking California Jam in 1974.

The classic example in the industry was Nine Inch Nails who used below the line tactics – toilet cubicles included – to attract hits to the website. There you were invited to download the new album for free. £$1.6 m resulted from the follow up deluxe package.

It’s nothing new. New web marketers like the late Corey Rudl were advocating the “back end marketing” method since the late 90′s. And the back end has its roots way before then. Offering tan guard for nu buck boots at the till is the most common example. With advent of Twitter, the back end deal can be secured almost at will once a trust has been established between artist and fan.

And why not?

It’s a classic case of supply and demand. Presumably we’ve all been aware that when we used to spend money on a gig, an LP, a CD a T shirt some of it would go in the artist’s pocket. The problem was of course that the shiny shod money man was taking most of it.

“Businessmen they drink my wine” (All Along the Watchtower, Dylan) “By the way which one is Pink?” (Have a Cigar, Pink Floyd) sum up most succinctly the strained business relationships between artist and contract. The fallouts between Prince and Sony are well documented.

All that’s happening now is that artists are wresting back the business elements of their art so as to regain control. Sometimes they do it themselves and other times they work with the publishers, promoters and also the more enlightened record companies to ensure the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Team work is vital.

The press are just as important as they have always been. Quality journalism is complementary to what can be achieved through social media.

Either way, we as consumers just have a choice to make. There’s no right or wrong decision. It’s just that the money has shifted. So hats off to Glenn and yes I am recommending the book as testament to a talented one who survived where others perished. Yes I think I can justify PR ing the £550. No doubt about that!