Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

This is the forum for all things Melbourne beats. Post your gigs and other Melbourne music related information here. Keep it about the music and music only, please keep on topic.
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

Hey guys,

Id like to bring a few things up for discussion, for both punters and promoters. Advertising always changes and moves with times and current trends, and im interested what those of you in this industry think about these few things. I know im only hitting a smallish demographic here, but at least you guys know me and why I would be asking these questions.

- A0 postering on the streets. do you see it, do you take notice of it?

- 3DWorld and Inpress split, do you all pick up both mags now, or only one, did you only read Beat before, do you read these cover to cover or flick through, do you check out listings or find your info online?

- Facebook events/groups and personal pages for nights : do these annoy you, do you read them before RSVPing, is this the best way for you to receive information and be reminded of things that are on?

- Personally, I'm questioning a lot of the current media, the value it has, for the spend, and effort, and I'm wondering if anyone is feeling spammed to the eyeballs but opts in to be polite to people they know etc. There are certain things I refuse to do to promote my stuff, and we have seen a reduced number of text outs as now everyone gets hit online. (i used to get 20 a weekend for example, now hardly any) Is this better? Worse? Do you read mailouts from events, venues or delete without opening?

Any comments on all of this much appreciated.

love kitty.
User avatar
deviant
Posts: 18213
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 6:52 pm
Location: couch
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by deviant »

I usually see events I'm interested in attending on this board.....

Facebook is ridiculous, I have 600 unread event invites... I have to actually look for the ones I'm attending, coz there's no way I'm touching that unread pile. Mind you, I still believe it works to a degree.

I like A0s... don't know if they actually work... I look at them every day.

ITM advertising is very exxy for what it is, and dun think it really works (for us at least).....

Youtube is the way imo... I want to start using it more. have you seen the Bass Jump promo vid???

Emails are fail, I don't ever read bacn....

TEXTS ARE FUCKING ANNOYING, I'm glad people don't do this any more.
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

i hear you Dan.

so do you opt out of facebook groups that spam you too much eventually?

A0s, do you notice them in the CBd or only outer places? do you think there is a glut of them?

youtube vids are great, yes, but often can be a bit exxy for smaller things, they need to be updated and relevant!
i haven't seen the bass jump vid but i will check it out.

whats bacn? i hardly read email outs too, and dont really send them myself.

word on texts being annoying, glad this has been phased out, and it was an expensive way to promote too!

appreciate your comments.
User avatar
gnat
Posts: 14315
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: In the Shadows

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by gnat »

i often see posters in brunny and go ooohh.. and then check the deets on mb

never use FB or email

i get inpress all the time, mainly becoz it is the only one at my local video shop where i reg walk past and grab it but then i always have read inpress over beat

agree on txts- gave me the shits. on FB- i always see 3297 people confirmed and think yeh right- lots of people talking the talk who won't be there on the night
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind - Dr. Seuss
User avatar
deviant
Posts: 18213
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 6:52 pm
Location: couch
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by deviant »

^^ true that... as a rule of thumb (for our events) at least double the people who confirm on facebook will turn up... so 160 confirmed usually equals about 320+

Bacn is email which has been subscribed to and is therefore not unsolicited, but is often not read by the recipient for a long period of time, if at all.

I don't opt out of groups... I just don't end up checking/reading my messages or event invites at all.... Kind of sux, coz friends and music collegues (even touring agents and international DJs) seem to think that a facebook message is a valid form of communication.. So every few days I try to do a quick skim and pick out any personal/important messages.

People should go back to text/email/phone calls for personal/important communication imo... facebook is fecking annoying tbh
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

gnat - yeah i find i take more notice of A0s in places other than the CBD really.

so do you now read 3D world instead of inpress or both. (you know 3D is all the electronic now and inpress is only band stuff?)

with Fb events, i think a third to half is a good indication of how many actually show up, but then some gigs have 80 people attending and 400 turn up, so it depends on the market i guess.

keep it coming!

yup dan, word on the FB thing, totes unpredictable.
roger that with bacn.

i have begun to opt out of groups which spam too much or dont usually interest me, but i feel rude for doing so tbh.
FRAKSHA...
Posts: 342
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:44 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by FRAKSHA... »

i dont pay any attention to posters on the street, by the time they're up the gig is usually common knowledge but i think they probably help to a degree still, particularly in the outer suburbs

get a million FB invites a day and dont check a single one, but they do work still i think, just gotta not overdo them

very very rarely pick up a streetpress, but i do prefer 3d world to inpress when i have picked it up

i dont mind texts if its from someone i know and its targeted rather than just someone i know sending me all sorts of rnb clubs texts which i used to get

i think the video promo's are a good ides (a friend does all the wobble ones you can see here and he aint really that expensive http://wobbleout.com/ )

i think its hard maybe for myself and a lot of others here to comment on this topic because a lot of us are not the people the advertising is aimed out as we invariably know of a lot of stuff before its announced anyway

i think promo mixes are good idea

i also think a good idea which dont seem to happen over here (or maybe it used to) is to actually hand out flyers at the door when people are leaving instead of just sticking a load on a bar top...yeah you'll get a load just thrown away, but thats the fate of most flyers anyway i'd say
User avatar
EvilSnakeWoman
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by EvilSnakeWoman »

imo... anything postable (on walls and appliances/furniture) or collectible has value

AOs :retzielikes:

A5 Stickers :retzielikes:

A4 posters good quality graphics/image can have cult status on bedroom walls so they just keep on giving :retzielikes: :retzielikes: :retzielikes:

Playing card/wallet size flyers/stickers are collectible and easy to pass on/stash etc :retzielikes: can double for drink specials on arrival

CDs with mixes & events promo printed on them (i have a stanton warriors one in my car atm thnks to RLT - awesome :) )

or if u want to be a bit radical & have cash to spend on promo - USBs with mixes/AVI stuff on them maybe :retzielikes:
User avatar
gnat
Posts: 14315
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: In the Shadows

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by gnat »

bo i read inpress still weekly. rarely 3D but that's becoz i'm generally unexcited about going to clubs at the mo

hoping for some small summer day parties. imo these are what will bring all the old timers out of the woodwork
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind - Dr. Seuss
User avatar
tee193
Posts: 630
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:01 pm
Location: sandringham

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by tee193 »

I pick up both street presses every week, mainly because my musical tastes go beyond electronic stuff and i don't really have the capacity to check other forums everyday, so i still think that they are extremely effective in reaching punters of all kinds.

Facebook has been really good with gaining a large reach for gigs, but as stated nowadays it is so cluttered with shit that is becoming a little unbearable, just need to sift through it i guess.

Stickers and more viral media stuff would be good, works really well especially the latter in creating hype.
Harz
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:05 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by Harz »

I like the idea of handing flyers out, wen i first tuirned 18 it was a buzz for me to kinda meet the DJ's as they were handing out flyers and showed that they were putting in heaps of effort into all aspects of putting on a gig and meeting the punters,

Posters/stickers are all good if put in the right spots,

Facebook is ridiculous now, along with the invite, you get every DJ and his mate spamming you right up untill the day and annoys the crap out of me,
especially getting people constantly adding me just to spam about gigs, its a good tool for keeping in touch with people but jus seems to easy to promote a party behind ya computer screen these days

I read inpress and beat jus for sumin to read in my lunch break and definitly think it still works,

gime a flyer over a FB invite any day..
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

i hear you all on viral stuff and i love stickers too. did anyone else collect flyers form every rave they went to in the 90's and have them all covering your walls, I did! but then they got not as special and not as colourful, and i dont think i have any anymore (god i wish i kept them for nostalgic moments)

harz/fraksha/snake woman, i totally agree that hand to hand flyer promo is currently THE BEST form of promo for gigs. Its chap to make, has the personal touch and vouch, and can be taken home if one wants to go or ditched at will. no clicks needed! This is one of the main ways i encourage my crews to promote.

hear you all on Fb becoming too cluttered, and also like the idea of cds and usbs but tbh thats a pretty expensive road to go down.

its also nice to know that you guys do actually pick up and read the papers each week even if not going out as much as you used to, my biggest weekly spend is printed media, and i often wonder if its worth it.
i have dropped my street press advertising when working for both lounge and miss libertine at times to see if theres any impact, and honestly the only people who have noticed is the artists looking for their names! (which is also very important to make them feel as if we are representing/supporting them)

the recent split of 3D world and inpress had thrown a spanner in this though, we usually only have elecronic events on 1-2 nights a week and the other nights are anything from hip hop to acoustic to burlesque gigs etc, so its hard to justify the spend when im only hitting a small part of our demographic.

appreciate the feedback guys. keep it coming! (im getting great feedback on Fb too, and Fb is often better for unadulterated opionions as at least you are speaking mainly to friends or extended peer networks, the forums are a little safer i reckon, but im not putting this on ITM cos im too busy to wade through the answers heheh)
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

i know there are lots of lurkers of this thread that probably have great things to say about this.

tell us your thoughts!

:P
User avatar
RGLZ
Posts: 627
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:57 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by RGLZ »

melbournebeats.com
User avatar
EvilSnakeWoman
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by EvilSnakeWoman »

ghetto kitty wrote:did anyone else collect flyers form every rave they went to in the 90's and have them all covering your walls, I did! but then they got not as special and not as colourful, and i dont think i have any anymore (god i wish i kept them for nostalgic moments)
hells yeah, i have a box of them at home and ripped an A3 EPTAS 2010 poster off the window of a local pub one night... teehee. How the hell else are we supposed to remember where we've been?
ghetto kitty wrote:i have dropped my street press advertising when working for both lounge and miss libertine at times to see if theres any impact, and honestly the only people who have noticed is the artists looking for their names! (which is also very important to make them feel as if we are representing/supporting them)
peeps read beat mag in cafes & TAFE/Uni cafs at lunch time, not so much in clubs where the gigs are being held maybe
User avatar
gnat
Posts: 14315
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:18 pm
Location: In the Shadows

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by gnat »

i still have the earthcore one that said simply in black and white block letters

'the hills are alive with the pound of music'

and their logo

sick promo imo
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind - Dr. Seuss
User avatar
fooishbar
Posts: 8660
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:56 am
Location: there and/or elsewhere

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by fooishbar »

FRAKSHA... wrote:i also think a good idea which dont seem to happen over here (or maybe it used to) is to actually hand out flyers at the door when people are leaving instead of just sticking a load on a bar top...yeah you'll get a load just thrown away, but thats the fate of most flyers anyway i'd say
i've handed out thousands personally ... thank fuck i never have to have another 'so are you getting paid to do this? why don't you just chuck them away and tell them you handed them all out?' conversation.

in unrelated news if people want to hand out too much! flyers onna regular, get in touch.
myspace / too much! / photos (flickr) / photos (tumblr)
aroes wrote:promising, but lost me at offensive mid range snarl
User avatar
fooishbar
Posts: 8660
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:56 am
Location: there and/or elsewhere

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by fooishbar »

ghetto kitty wrote:hear you all on Fb becoming too cluttered, and also like the idea of cds and usbs but tbh thats a pretty expensive road to go down.
i'll spring for usb sticks when they approach the 25c mark including our logo on it, assuming as well that pays for someone to preload them rather than me sitting at home with a huge box of thumbdrives ...
myspace / too much! / photos (flickr) / photos (tumblr)
aroes wrote:promising, but lost me at offensive mid range snarl
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

i wrote a huge reply and its not here.

hmmm.

wtf?
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

anyhow.

gnatty, loved that promo round for ecore too. simple and effective.

foo - same here, probably in the multiple thousands by now hehehe. and i continue to have bundles of flyers for gigs im excited about, whether im personally invested in them or not. currently carrying ghetto arts, messy creations 10th bday, shine on festival and twisted audio flyers. and only give them to those who are actually interested.

i would totally be up for usb sticks if they were cheap enough.
in fact, i think online mixes have also reached saturation, its too mcuh effort for me to d/l, copy to itunes, then transfer to ipod, as a result the music on my ipod is around 5 years old and i skip more than i listen too. tragic but true.
I pretty much only listen to mixes given to me on CD because i can listen in the car with no distractions.
my box of demos at home is treasured, and one of the things id grab in a fire, and there is mixes on there that are VERY old now, even from some on this forum hehehe.
User avatar
Kaiproject
Posts: 1191
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 9:45 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by Kaiproject »

just quick one re: youtube vids - good little promo idea; the wobble ones got my attention and i rekn wouldve enticed ppl

the bassjump one is a bit tacky IMO. not saying its bad, its ok and its a great idea but i could knock up some better mootion graphics/edits in a day or so - so i don't think its expensive people just have to want it.

streetpress...as a punter never read them and never used to much.

FB: being subscribed to so many promo groups etc it does start to seem like spam and no time to read everything...
they're good reminders tho, and i'd just pick selectively based on crew/Artists at each gig as most ppl would do i reckon
User avatar
Rhythmik
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:47 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by Rhythmik »

Face book is still damn powerful. You just need to be getting out to the right networks relevant to what you do and not flooding people once they're interested.

The streets are pretty flooded! Requires time, money and thought to stand out there.

Beat and 3d are still great i reckon, because people are choosing to access them which definitely helps.

Fliers are the freakin bomb but require a lot of effort to actually do them justice, too often they just turn to waste.

Mick :-)
User avatar
aroes
Posts: 2131
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:33 am

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by aroes »

-I don't know what "AO" means, but yeah, I see posters on the street. Agree with Fraksha.......I don't think I've ever seen a poster for a gig I was interested in and didn't already know about

-I very rarely pick up street press

-Facebook is ghey. The only invites I read are ones from friends for private get togethers/ going away drinks/parties etc. Other than that I'm constantly inundated with rubbish. I've only got about 150 friends, so I shudder to think how much more crap I'd be getting if my friend count was in the 500s or 1000s. Also sick of people adding me to spam their gigs. A couple of people on here have done it and tbh it shits me. Pretty sure it's coz I'm friends with you (Bo), Arunas and Broken Beat Assault. lol

<3
User avatar
menace
Posts: 2482
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:08 am
Location: 3051

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by menace »

Harz wrote:

Facebook is ridiculous now, along with the invite, you get every DJ and his mate spamming you right up untill the day and annoys the crap out of me,


..


:scr1pt:

snowie biggest spammer imo :guilty:
User avatar
fooishbar
Posts: 8660
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:56 am
Location: there and/or elsewhere

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by fooishbar »

AO = A0 = massssssssive posters

most of the street ones are A2 or A3 ... we just do A2 and A0s only. (plus the odd double-A0 for stuff like ramadanman.)
myspace / too much! / photos (flickr) / photos (tumblr)
aroes wrote:promising, but lost me at offensive mid range snarl
User avatar
youthful_implants
Posts: 4379
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: bracken
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by youthful_implants »

In a perfect world good marketing has to engage it's target audience using relevant media.

If you take a holistic approach to advertising in my experience its usually more successful and is most successful when it has provable results. (ie: flyers that get handed in for a discount)

I think every campaign requires a different approach, basically.

While postering is good for general awareness I think its hopeless if you want to measure its success + its expensive.

I reckon that developing a solid email list of people you know are already interested via subscription and then hitting them with content that is going to captivate them further is the best way to go. Have a website with a members forum. Offer them deals, freebies, concessions whatever. Make em feel special. Too Much! already do this and I like getting the emails + they're always well presented.

Youtube is brilliant. Its such an engaging format and people share Youtube links all the time. Plus you can better show them what to expect.

I dont read the street press, does anyone?

People do check Facebook events, they're just not promoters or DJs, so I think its still pretty useful. my 2 centimes.
Strontium Music

Image

SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | TUMBLR
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

aroes wrote: Facebook is ghey. The only invites I read are ones from friends for private get togethers/ going away drinks/parties etc. Other than that I'm constantly inundated with rubbish. I've only got about 150 friends, so I shudder to think how much more crap I'd be getting if my friend count was in the 500s or 1000s. Also sick of people adding me to spam their gigs. A couple of people on here have done it and tbh it shits me. Pretty sure it's coz I'm friends with you (Bo), Arunas and Broken Beat Assault. lol

<3
what they add you cos you are friends with us then spam you, SPAM BY ASSOCIATION? heheh
thats not cool. even if they are my 'friends' tell em to fuck off :lol:

mick - agree with what your saying, all of it. the effort is often worth it, your magnet flyers are dope and are still on our fridge! handy! ;)

menace - i have hid certain peoples from my FB feed, simply because they only post about gigs incessantly, and FB is supposed to be about SOCIAL networking. so i would rather hear about peoples thoughts, feelings, funny moments rather than only what gigs they are playing each week. ive actually told some of my promoters and djs to inject more personality if they want more interaction, and it has worked for most!

alex - agree with what you have said too, and each event needing its own approach etc.

however, I truly feel as if none of us are reinventing the wheel, i mean, street stencils and posters have been around since viva la revolucion, and handbills, the 60's etc, magazines are still relevant even with the influx of online media, lots of people still like the tactile experience of books on paper and mags (i certainly do, cannot read on the ipad, wrongtown)
i guess its just about not saturating any one angle, but i still think there are things outside the box that can work.

Im up for pop up installations in the city streets.
im up for vox pop stuff to find out what people want, and to make them feel special (lounge would never let me do that hehe)
im up for involving the crew without making it some elite members only shizznit,.
its just hard to quantify direct result from advertising spend.

a while ago i made special drink cards for uni students and took djs to 4 RMIT campuses to play during O week.
I was uber fantastic bubbly kitty and gave out drink cards for 241 beers to uni students, for lounge, right down the road.
i gave out over 1000. not ONE came over the bar.
so you know, some things, even when relevant to market, doe hand to hand with extra stuff (live musical awesomeness) still do absolutely nothing.
HearNoEvil
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by HearNoEvil »

we do A3 postering and coloured flyering at various shops around the area. We DO do a facebook thing, but it doesn't do much for us. The way I see it I think the people going out to have fun have better things to do than be on Facebook. Then finally, we post the fuck out of forums (as I just have a few mins ago).

Its very overkill but you have to realise, new guys coming up are doing all this and more. If you want people you have to put in effort whether you like it or not. Its all about networking unfortunately. But, networking SHOULD (In theory) bring you numbers. Thats when the promoter really has to show his/her worth with the quality of event they are throwing. Its no good to get heaps of people to a gig and then have it be crap because it will birth a bad reputation.

End of the day, word of mouth will always be your most vaulable asset.
Image
User avatar
quiet roar
Posts: 1543
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: Brunswicked

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by quiet roar »

gnat wrote:hoping for some small summer day parties. imo these are what will bring all the old timers out of the woodwork
Yep!


Gotta be something special to get me to an club event, these days so I'm probably not the target audience for the marketing but FWIW I don't take notice of facebook, texts, emails or youtube promos. Posters, streetpress, melbournebeats and word-of-mouth are the methods that will reach me.
Last edited by quiet roar on Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

hearnoevil - agree that networking is your biggest asset, all my projects are only possible due to being supportive of other's gigs etc.

gnat and roar - there will be day parties this summer, and I will be at all of them! YAY!
User avatar
fooishbar
Posts: 8660
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:56 am
Location: there and/or elsewhere

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by fooishbar »

gnat wrote:hoping for some small summer day parties. imo these are what will bring all the old timers out of the woodwork
even if they're dubstep parties? :)
myspace / too much! / photos (flickr) / photos (tumblr)
aroes wrote:promising, but lost me at offensive mid range snarl
HearNoEvil
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by HearNoEvil »

ghetto kitty wrote:hearnoevil - agree that networking is your biggest asset, all my projects are only possible due to being supportive of other's gigs etc.

gnat and roar - there will be day parties this summer, and I will be at all of them! YAY!
I don't know. I think going to someones party to support them is a bit deconstructive to the overall picture in some senses but on a human level I spose we're all striving for that success and have to support eachother to get it even if in the end it just means we become successful within our own little social circles.

I heard the word dayparties... I'd love to be involved if anyone needs some.... Support :wink: (Sorry couldn't resist, but really. I'd love to help out with day gigs.)
Image
User avatar
kiss & tell
Posts: 613
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:04 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by kiss & tell »

fooishbar wrote:if people want to hand out too much! flyers onna regular, get in touch.
can i just throw them out and still get paid?
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

HearNoEvil wrote:
ghetto kitty wrote:hearnoevil - agree that networking is your biggest asset, all my projects are only possible due to being supportive of other's gigs etc.
I don't know. I think going to someones party to support them is a bit deconstructive to the overall picture in some senses but on a human level I spose we're all striving for that success and have to support eachother to get it even if in the end it just means we become successful within our own little social circles.
um, what?

why would going to support gigs you have no personal investment in be 'deconstructive" ??

i dont just go to my friends gig's, i go to gigs put on by people who I think are doing something different/exciting/worthy, whether i know them or not.

:tard:
DBoy
Posts: 11265
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:08 am

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by DBoy »

Not sure how fruitful this topic is here. The kind of people that are active on this board are the kind of people who are plugged into the scene and are likely to hear about parties word of mouth / via this board etc.

Really street promo, in my opinion, is about targeting those who would not hear about it from word of mouth.

I did promo at the bottom level for all kinds of promoters, from Earthcore to Agent Mad and WetMusiz, to TBH and other little players as well. I often wondered the value of putting up 500 posters along inner city streets at 4am in the morning. But I did see the value in handing out flyers on campus. I would often hand out flyers to people and speak to them about the gig, finding out they were sick of the same old clubs and interested to know more about other scenes etc. Then see them at the parties.

I suppose that is the other thing. In terms of targeting people in our own scene, the need is little. They are in and will come to events based on the quality and feeling within the scene about that crew, gig, venue etc.

It is targeting those who are on the outskirts of the scene, new to it, or not yet aware of it. Most likely to move into a new scene is always going to be uni students. Older than that and it become less and less likely to get someone into something new... Uni students are far more likely to be adventurous or want to get involved with a new scene - especially if they have been noticing promotion on campus, in the 'cool' neighbourhoods, outside venues etc.

Just train of thought stuff here, and I’m no promoter so I got no cred on this, but my marketing brain would tell me this is all fairly logical.

1. getting more of the current scene to be loyal to your crew within the scene
2. getting more of the equivalent scenes (techno) to step sideways by getting more cred for your genre (street press, websites other places of cross over)
3. remain accessible enough (or have gigs that are) to bring new people into the scene.

No 3. is hard if you want to have the cred in the scene and you are small. No. 3 also requires broader promo.

meh - I could be way off, never really thought about this before.
User avatar
eN
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:00 pm
Location: North Carlton
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by eN »

A0 postering on the streets. do you see it, do you take notice of it?

Yes!!

- 3DWorld and Inpress split, do you all pick up both mags now, or only one, did you only read Beat before, do you read these cover to cover or flick through, do you check out listings or find your info online?

I get both but haven't seen anything of interest to me in Inpress for the last 3-4 weeks. I read a fair bit of 3D world. I used to get beat when they delivered it to my work but haven't seen it around as much, is it gone?

- Facebook events/groups and personal pages for nights : do these annoy you, do you read them before RSVPing, is this the best way for you to receive information and be reminded of things that are on?

I say 'might attend' to almost every public event I get invited to. Due to the sheer volume of invites I get I usually don't even look at the event if I don't know what it is. If I decide I'm heading out on the weekend I'll jump on and see what is happening at that point. What does piss me off is getting heaps of messages sent to me from the event. I was having a rant about this the other day. I received 8 messages from the recent MXML gig so I deleted it... and probably will again if invited to a future one. I usually don't read them anyway and they just fill up my inbox, just annoys me that I have to wade thru all this shit to check for any messages from actual friends.
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

response to dboy first =
DBoy wrote:Not sure how fruitful this topic is here. The kind of people that are active on this board are the kind of people who are plugged into the scene and are likely to hear about parties word of mouth / via this board etc.
i understand that, and said that from the start. but i also wanted promoters views on whats effective or not these days. and i did not want to wade through 1000 retarded replies that I may have got on ITM

It is targeting those who are on the outskirts of the scene, new to it, or not yet aware of it.
agree wholeheartedly. which is why im often encouraging promoters to put SOME kind of words on the flyer that decribe the music/vibe because a lot of the Dj names mean shit unless you avidly listen to that kind of music (especially internationals) one of my catch calls is
"we cant just preach to the converted!!"

1. getting more of the current scene to be loyal to your crew within the scene
true, but how to do this? there is no formula. I think putting on varied lineups with nods to other crews, making your parties a safe and positive environment for people to have fun at, and regularly doing extra special things for your crew, are the ingredients to loyalty like this. The crews who have this following, and there are a few that come to mind, do these things. And they arent ego trippers.
2. getting more of the equivalent scenes (techno) to step sideways by getting more cred for your genre (street press, websites other places of cross over)
Not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying techno gets more editorial loving in general? TBh my recent experience with events has proved that techno is not in the heyday it once was. Broken beat stuff is getting way more love in these parts at the moment. (YAY! and i used to be miss techno, but i dont really like most of it now, bored)
3. remain accessible enough (or have gigs that are) to bring new people into the scene.
agree. one of the fine lines one must walk. cater to enough of the uneducated to draw them in, while giving the headz who do support and buy the tunes and go to every gig, new things to talk about/listen to. very tricky tbh. can also think of some crews that are doing this quite well, but its a fine fine line at times!

all good points. im not doing a thesis, im just questioning some of my advertising spend, and im about to do some work for a printer putting together promo packages/explanations, so i just wanted some opinions, all this is great so far.
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

eN - yeah, i hear you on the inpress now, i still read it cos i have to, but only to check if my gallery listing has gone in. i dont like the layout of it now, theres no colour! beat is still around and has overhalued their design. I used to always think that inpress was the better mag for articles and layout, but now im leaning the other way.

i totally 100% hear you on getting messages from events. if im going to something I will go and check the page and find my own ticket outlets, or set times dammit! i know many people who dont even check their inboxes anymore and have 1,000 unread messages, and i bet at least 3/4 of that is spam.
i delete all event messages once ive deemed if they are relevant to me or not, so that at last my inbox is only messages from friends, but its a constant mission!
DBoy
Posts: 11265
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:08 am

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by DBoy »

ghetto kitty wrote:
1. getting more of the current scene to be loyal to your crew within the scene
true, but how to do this? there is no formula. I think putting on varied lineups with nods to other crews, making your parties a safe and positive environment for people to have fun at, and regularly doing extra special things for your crew, are the ingredients to loyalty like this. The crews who have this following, and there are a few that come to mind, do these things. And they arent ego trippers.
No forumula for this - quality parties, quality game in the scene. This is the unprescribed. Get the cats who people respect on side and all that jazz. Treating toursing artists right all that jazz. Just about having the best parties. And will always ebb and flow.
ghetto kitty wrote:
2. getting more of the equivalent scenes (techno) to step sideways by getting more cred for your genre (street press, websites other places of cross over)
Not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying techno gets more editorial loving in general? TBh my recent experience with events has proved that techno is not in the heyday it once was. Broken beat stuff is getting way more love in these parts at the moment. (YAY! and i used to be miss techno, but i dont really like most of it now, bored)
I just mean that people into other types of electronic music are more of a captive audience than those not at all. This is where crews working together to give a sound a good wrap is important. An article about the rise of dubstep on a sight in street press that has a large techno or even house, trance etc audience is going to benifit all the promoters - which returned to point 1.


ghetto kitty wrote: all good points. im not doing a thesis, im just questioning some of my advertising spend, and im about to do some work for a printer putting together promo packages/explanations, so i just wanted some opinions, all this is great so far.
Yeah - woops. I guess what I was trying to get to is if you are running parties that are accessible to new crowds then spending on posters (and i think unis are a good target audience) and spending on street press is worth it. But if you are just working to win more of the scene then put the effort into the game.

As for Facebook - i would never NOT go to a party because it annoyed me on faceook - but i might go because i saw who is going on FB and wanted to see them as much as the party.... you feel me>?
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

DBoy wrote: I just mean that people into other types of electronic music are more of a captive audience than those not at all. This is where crews working together to give a sound a good wrap is important. An article about the rise of dubstep on a sight in street press that has a large techno or even house, trance etc audience is going to benifit all the promoters - which returned to point 1.
true. its a shame that the 'scenes' for the most part are so seperate. i mean, there is crossover, but talking to different promoters, and most of them dont even know what similar crews, are doing if its not the same music!
DBoy wrote: Yeah - woops. I guess what I was trying to get to is if you are running parties that are accessible to new crowds then spending on posters (and i think unis are a good target audience) and spending on street press is worth it. But if you are just working to win more of the scene then put the effort into the game.
Heh, WIN more of the scene. nope, thats not my intention at all. I dont run a crew, I help promoters make their stuff better. I currently spend more on ads in street press than ANY other form of advertising/communication, and I seriously doubt its relevance for the amount of cash it is (especially once you factor in time for creating copy, design fees, etc etc)

Postering at Universities is a lovely idea. But the reality is that the bollards get covered over within minutes, not hours. And any other posters put up in boards, you must pay a fee to the student union of $20 PER POSTER. (Thats at RMIT anyhow)
this basically means that postering at unis is not really that feasible, unless yo send a team out to slam those bollards daily for a week or two. The best way to get uni students is to have other uni students promote to them, coolness by association, none of them know or care who was cool ten years ago. and you touched on that earlier, but its not so easy to find uni students who can do both awesome promotions and understand the ins and outs of running a club night /brand.
As for Facebook - i would never NOT go to a party because it annoyed me on faceook - but i might go because i saw who is going on FB and wanted to see them as much as the party.... you feel me>?
Agree. But i have deleted 'friends' entirely cos all they do is spam me. A Lot. To gigs I always click no to. DELETE. haha.
DBoy
Posts: 11265
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:08 am

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by DBoy »

I hear you on Uni's. Not like you can just do a poster run now and then and get results, needs to be targeted. I did Clayton for about 4 years for most of the big promoters (pre-2000ish). I did do posters a couple of times a week - pretty much every time I was on campus. Did a radio show. Back then we did outside broadcasts on Fridays at lunch and handed out fliers. Was for bigger parties though. Def. needs to be people on campus. But fuk, I did all that just for tickets. Uni students are poor.

Fuk - that reminds me. We set up a club in order to sell tickets to events. Was called - Monash Dance Music Association (MDMA). hahaha - twats!

I got no concept on adspend for street press- but I can imagine for smaller parties it must be a real tough call.
User avatar
ghetto kitty
Posts: 13157
Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 1:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by ghetto kitty »

DBoy wrote: Fuk - that reminds me. We set up a club in order to sell tickets to events. Was called - Monash Dance Music Association (MDMA). hahaha - twats!
:smt005 thats hilarious!

street press is the hardest to justify of every method out there imho. especially if you dont know whos reading it. but if you dont do it, you feel left out, and though both papers adamantly declare there is no link between editorial and spend, i srsly think it makes a difference.
User avatar
eN
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:00 pm
Location: North Carlton
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by eN »

ghetto kitty wrote:
DBoy wrote:
As for Facebook - i would never NOT go to a party because it annoyed me on faceook - but i might go because i saw who is going on FB and wanted to see them as much as the party.... you feel me>?
Agree. But i have deleted 'friends' entirely cos all they do is spam me. A Lot. To gigs I always click no to. DELETE. haha.
Same here but I'll probably remove an event that has spammed me in the past instead of RSVPing. Therefore it won't show up on my upcoming events and will probably slip under my radar when the event actually rocks around.
HearNoEvil
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by HearNoEvil »

ghetto kitty wrote:
HearNoEvil wrote:
ghetto kitty wrote:hearnoevil - agree that networking is your biggest asset, all my projects are only possible due to being supportive of other's gigs etc.
I don't know. I think going to someones party to support them is a bit deconstructive to the overall picture in some senses but on a human level I spose we're all striving for that success and have to support eachother to get it even if in the end it just means we become successful within our own little social circles.
um, what?

why would going to support gigs you have no personal investment in be 'deconstructive" ??

i dont just go to my friends gig's, i go to gigs put on by people who I think are doing something different/exciting/worthy, whether i know them or not.

:tard:

I'm sorry. We thought you meant in a kind of "we go to yours if you come to ours" kind of way. Going to gigs of people you dont know is great but, I think alot of local gigs are starving for an audience and I see alot of people kind of make, promotion pacts with eachother.
I think those kind of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" scenarios are deconstructive. But yeah, just going to a gig to see what new local talent is up to is always good. I'm sorry I just miss understood you.
Image
User avatar
phonetics
Posts: 335
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:41 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by phonetics »

I reckon flyers are a waste of time. That is just my personal opinion of coarse. But when you try to give punters a flyer these days they either don't want one or take to it be polite and then drop in on the ground a minute later. It is harder to find shops that will let you dump them or put up A3 posters as companies like future/hardware pay shops for exclusive access.
A0's can work but I have pretty much never seen an A0 for a gig I didn't already know about. Plus they are very expensive.
I prefer forum's and free inpress and 3d write up's for the tight ass approach :)
REST-LESS Friday October 14 MERCAT BASEMENT

View this on Soundcloud

User avatar
EvilSnakeWoman
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by EvilSnakeWoman »

phonetics wrote:A0's can work but I have pretty much never seen an A0 for a gig I didn't already know about.
imo marketing & advertising, especially AOs & billboards, isn't always about informing someone for the first time... word of mouth can do that. it's about getting in their head subliminally.

Eg. I ride the 219 & 220 bus in peak hour every day x2... AOs are all i have when i forget my book. They conjour thought of what the party might be like, who the artists are, whether i've heard of them before, what the music mite be like, what the images/words on they poster make me feel or think etc.. i might think about what to wear, who will be there, what kind of drinks... i might smile :D everytime i see a poster for a gig i'm looking forward to and forget about the crapness of a hard days work... it can be quite theaputic i guess...

same thing applies to anything that can be seen (or heard) repetitiously in places we spend a lot of time - such as street scapes, work places, equiptment, book covers, bedroom/kitchen/living room walls, workshops/sheds, schools, tables, fridges, radio etc. Even after an event it's important.

also, finding the right promoters can make or break an event i recon. people who are enthusiastic, love the music and put in the energy will bring numbers...
User avatar
EvilSnakeWoman
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by EvilSnakeWoman »

Oh and i recon one of THE best ways of promoting ur party is to be an awesome "host". Djs, barstaff, promoters (even bouncers) who greet you when they see you the next time at a party/club and remember your name will always make u want to come back! Always good to build a rapport with the punters & create a mutual respect. :retzielikes:
User avatar
kiss & tell
Posts: 613
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:04 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by kiss & tell »

EvilSnakeWoman wrote:Oh and i recon one of THE best ways of promoting ur party is to be an awesome "host". Djs, barstaff, promoters (even bouncers) who greet you when they see you the next time at a party/club and remember your name will always make u want to come back! Always good to build a rapport with the punters & create a mutual respect. :retzielikes:
:joy:
User avatar
Sociopathic
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 4:58 pm
Location: on my ass

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by Sociopathic »

Too lazy to read thread, Will post answer to first post.

The postering on the street I defintealy take notice of.
I walk down swanston from Lincoln square to Melbourne central so there's usually something new on the walls next to QB hotel and something on polls on my way down, I like to check out what's up there and what's going on.

I only read beat magazine because it gets delivered to the foyer at my work so I can grab it before getting in the left. I do read it cover to cover but that is because I can do so during the working day between calls. I also find beat rather usefull because I follow quite a few other types of music so reading beat keeps me up to date with different bands touring and shit.

Facebook is fine for me, but then I don't get spammed much. I will leave a group if I am constantly getting spammed with an invite every single blood week to a weekly event. I find it really handy cause I can go through and see what clashes with what etc etc. I can see how it would annoy others who get spammed non-stop with events from every tom dick and harry. I was friends with a few people who do "guest list" style promotion for places like la di da and shit and ended up deleting them cause every single week I would get an invite "such and such's list for this friday at blah blah" ended up just going fuck it if that's all you're using facebook for you're out because it's just annoying the shit outa me.

I do kinda miss the days of people handing out flyers to an extent it was always fun and really did put it in your face a bit more because you were IN the moment cause you were out having a good time and then someone handed you a flyer and you would look at it and go "hell yeah i can have just as much fun at that as I am right now" but I can understand how this is becoming more of a pain for promoters with costings involved.
evilsnakewoman wrote:Oh and i recon one of THE best ways of promoting ur party is to be an awesome "host". Djs, barstaff, promoters (even bouncers) who greet you when they see you the next time at a party/club and remember your name will always make u want to come back! Always good to build a rapport with the punters & create a mutual respect.
This can be REALLY REALLY good but also hard at the exact same time especially when the amount of people coming through those doors is massive. If you're a regular then yeah hell yeah but if you only go to that venue once in a blue moon then bit harder.
The bouncers for mercat were good with this the big islander guy and the smaller woggish guy were great fun always remember me and my best friend really great for a laugh, yelled at me when I cut my hand and made me go backupstairs off the street in case someone of importance seen a random very very drunk woman with blood all over her hand.

Word of mouth and internet forums is prob how I've found most of everything though. I discovered alot of DnB by googling events I'd heard about and finally stumbled across mdnb.c and from there found out about mb.c then chatting with friends who've heard of something coming up and passing on.
This is prob one of the hardest forms though cause you don't know who's talking to who and honestly alot of us tend to run in the same circles. IE, if I somehow randomly heard about something really awesome coming up it'd only take a matter of days before someone on here who's real name I don't even know heard about it from me telling someone who told someone who told them.
The fridge is angry, the cheese told me so.

Watch out for the penguins, they are comming
.
User avatar
FunkyJ
Posts: 483
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:18 pm
Location: Now of Melbourne
Contact:

Re: Current music marketing methods - your opinions.

Post by FunkyJ »

- A0 postering on the streets. do you see it, do you take notice of it?

Yes. It's probably where I get my the most info from next to forums.

- 3DWorld and Inpress split, do you all pick up both mags now, or only one, did you only read Beat before, do you read these cover to cover or flick through, do you check out listings or find your info online?

Used to, until both magazines simply never responded to repeated requests to write for them.

Now, if I was just some kid off the street I could understand why they never responded to me, but I'm not. I've have written for street press for nearly 10 years, with two of them being a fucking editor!

And I could understand it if they could write and interview people better than me, but they can't. And I'm not saying I'm better per se, it's just that I've never read one single item in Melbourne's street press that has made me go "wow, this girl/guy is awesome! I wish I could write like them" unlike I have with other magazines and websites.

Now I check listings on Faster Louder, Inthemix, YourGigs, and MB, mostly because I'm contributing to them.

- Facebook events/groups and personal pages for nights : do these annoy you, do you read them before RSVPing, is this the best way for you to receive information and be reminded of things that are on?

I don't find them that annoying when they're relevant to me - Jerry and Chris and Dan and you can invite me to whatever because it will always be something I like, and I think you guys know this.

What I do get annoyed at is spam from Adelaide and Sydney people or random club people who are only on my list because of the old days of my editorialship.

I prefer direct targeted marketing. I actually want that to come onto TV - I'd watch TV more if I didn't have to see adverts for tampons, or make up, or McDonalds, because I simply don't want nor need that crap.
Ready to drop, Audio rock, here comes the boy from the South!
-= www.funkyj.com =-
Post Reply