Generating Buzz: Music Industry Promotion and Publicity

As a mainstream public relations practitioner and communicator, I receive quite a few inquisitive looks, misinterpretations and negative comments when I begin discussing the topic of public relations within the music industry. Most people who are uninvolved with the inner workings of the recording industry are completely unaware of how records and concert tickets are sold and promoted, much less how artists and recording labels actually generate their revenue. The general public is often guilty of assuming that music naturally sells itself and positive artist publicity simply "falls from the sky." Entertainment industry public relations practitioners and recording industry professionals, however, know that the previous assumption could be nothing further from the truth. 

In the past, the recording industry did rely heavily upon sheer album sales and marketing-based promotion to support their growing revenue streams. This, of course, was long before the highly competitive, digital music market had emerged, and music was still solely distributed by local, homegrown record stores and corporate retailers. In today's overpopulated, every-man-for-himself music market, basic marketing and advertising methods will simply not generate enough album and tour sales to support the recording industry's shrinking digital profit margin. 

The truth be told, talent simply isn't the measure of success anymore. With all of the opportunities for exposure and publicity that digital distribution and the Internet has afforded the music industry, it has also become somewhat of a double-edged sword, rendering a very limited music market overrun with innumerable, self-made hopefuls garnering for the same portion of the market as the legendary music icons. In most cases, the only way to "stand out of the crowd" is to generate enough "buzz" surrounding the artist and their music through innovative public relations methods and grass-roots efforts. 

Through the use of the Internet and social media, public relations practitioners and publicists have more weapons in their "exposure arsenals" than ever before. Although many artists have successfully handled their own public relations and marketing efforts, most large-market recording labels have learned to rely on the power of exposure and third-party endorsements garnered by experienced, entertainment industry public relations firms. With the evident decrease in album sales, recording labels have no choice but to turn to the avenues of media relations and social media marketing. 

However, not all media relations and public relations efforts are created equal. The key concepts that lead to success within music industry public relations, for example, are quite different when compared to techniques used within mainstream public relations work. Effective media relations within the music industry are dependent upon a keen knowledge of the inner-workings of music industry publications and news outlets. Public relations practitioners must be familiar with journalists covering music industry beats to determine whether or not their particular client or story is suited for that respective journalists' news assignment and expertise.

The real secret to generating music industry buzz is learning to harness the influence of social media by engaging influential bloggers and fans. By reaching out to professional music industry bloggers, freelance bloggers and fan sites, public relations professionals can garner coveted third-party endorsements through album and concert reviews, as well as engage loyal fans that will generate album buzz through word-of-mouth marketing. With an engaged fan base and loyal social media following, music industry buzz can be generated surrounding a new album release within a matter of mere days.   

With the right buzz, recording labels can quickly build a loyal fan base, generate positive publicity surrounding an artist or album release and, last but not least, increase record, concert and merchandise sales significantly. As a result, it seems clear to me that public relations-rooted promotion is the obvious choice for a struggling music and recording industry. The recording industry should harness the power of both traditional and new media to their benefit, not their eventual deficit. It is for these reasons that I strongly advocate an industry-wide shift from marketing-based promotional and publicity methods to promotional techniques that are strongly rooted within the public relations discipline. 

Beats Electronics' Digital Music Development

Beats Electronics, maker of the elite line of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre, has recently announced its plans to launch a revolutionary, new digital music service that is comparable to popular digital music distributors and streamers such as iTunes, Pandora and Spotify. While un-welcomed by most competitors, the announcement was "music to the ears" of many artists, songwriters and recording industry professionals. This innovative, subscription-based digital music service will provide subscribers with a listening atmosphere that is generated through mathematical algorithms, listening patterns, user-generated content and professionally constructed playlists. 

Unlike most popular online music streamers, Beats Electronics' proposed digital music service will simultaneously link listeners to related music merchandise, concert dates and artists' social media platforms, without ever interrupting the stream of seamless, recommended tunes. By integrating music retail elements, concert tickets and social media components, Beats Electronics will be able to create an interactive listening experience that allows artists and fans to communicate in real-time. Slated to cash in at around $10 per month, the service's subscription rate will be priced to compete with other existing digital music providers. 

Beats Electronics' CEO, Tim Rogers, is excited about their team's progress with the digital music service and the associated opportunities that the service could afford to a struggling recording industry. “These guys have the ingredients to build a mainstream subscription service that’s going to reach huge numbers of people and have that emotional connection that we all want music to have in the digital age,” said Rogers.

As previously mentioned within this blog, it is my opinion that an industry-wide embrace and employment of digitally geared music distribution and social media platforms will equate a more profitable, successful music and recording industry in the years to come. Innovative technological advances such as Beats Electronics' upcoming digital music service simply illustrate the magnitude of the digital revolution that is currently occurring within the music industry. As I suggested earlier, the recording industry can either embrace the digital transition or suffer the consequences, which will most likely amount to them evolving into a mere figment of music tradition. 

Regardless of whether existing digital distribution platforms such as the highly debated online music retailer, iTunes, are the "ideal listening environment," the statistics do not lie; digital distribution is the "wave of the future." For example, the digital music market, as a whole, currently generates nearly $1 billion in revenue. With the opportunity for simultaneous digital music streaming, music merchandising, concert sales and increased social media engagement, it appears that digital music revenue will continue to increase in the near future. The recording industry, as a result, simply cannot afford to "overlook" the impact of the eminent digital revolution. 

For more information regarding Beats Electronics' new digital music service, please click on this link. Please leave a comment and let me know which digital music provider you prefer (iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Rhapsody, Deezer, Xbox Music, Muze or etc.)!

The Public Relations Approach to Music Promotion

From the outside looking in, it may appear that the music and recording industry functions like a well-oiled machine, a machine that, in theory, runs free from any significant administrative and creative strategical input. In reality, however, the recording industry requires significant contributions from experts within various different facets of the music promotion process. After all, platinum selling records are not mass-produced on some sort of "musical conveyor belt," programmed with one-size-fits-all promotional tactics that are guaranteed to catapult the record, and the artist themselves, into industrial stardom.

Countless talented artists, songwriters and musicians have gone unnoticed by the public with no immediate hope of ever breaking into the mainstream music scene. Success and notoriety are not guaranteed and, unfortunately, talent is not always a consistent measure of record sales. If talent is not an accurate predictor of record sales then what is? The answer is simple, advertising and promotion.

Similar to any other industry, the recording industry requires a little help from its friends in advertising and public relations in order to function effectively and achieve their primary target objective: to sell millions of records. The concept of "good music" selling itself is an ideal concept, but, unfortunately, it is not quite feasible within today's overpopulated music market. Artists have to "stand out of the crowd" in order to get noticed and attain merely a fraction of their musical genre's market.

The trick to succeeding within this cutthroat music industry is, as you may have guessed, traditional public relations methods guised as music promotion and artist publicity measures. In the past, the music industry has relied heavily upon antiquated marketing and advertising measures that may have been effective 15 years ago, but they have long since outgrown their prime. The modern-day version of recording industry music promotion and artist publicity is, fairly simply, collaborated public relations and marketing efforts, with an emphasis on public relations within the recording label decision-making hierarchy.

Public relations based music promotion and artist publicity tactics will, in my opinion, help the music industry to harness and employ the alterations occurring as a result of the industry's transition to digital distribution and promotion. Consumer engagement havens such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and iTunes are simply too successful and frequently used to ignore. Public relations-rooted promotion is, indeed, capable of handling and optimizing social media and music sharing platforms that will eventually prove to be instrumental to the music industry's digital success.

In the future, I hope to see a significant paradigm shift or transition within the recording industry's preferred methods of music promotion and artist publicity. I expect to see an increase in promotional tactics that are rooted within the public relations discipline and, as a result, a decrease in alternative promotional methods such as marketing and advertising. Considering the industry's current restrictive financial situation, the comparison of earned media (public relations) as opposed to paid media (marketing) is a real "no brainer."

A Public Relations Equation for a Music Industry Solution

With all this talk of a digital revolution within the modern-day music industry, you must be wondering where the public relations part of the equation, the purpose of this blog, fits into the "music industry solution." The answer is simple. They are one in the same. 

How can this be? How could the digital distribution revolution that threatened to abolish the recording industry, as we knew it, only a few short years ago be a part of the public relations equation to the music industry's ultimate solution? Once again, the answer is simple. 

The public relations profession, like many other modern professions, has recognized the powerful influence of social media and digital communication and, as a result, has harnessed its influence and directed it toward accomplishing their industrial goals and objectives. Because of the public relations professions' understanding of the modern marvel known as digital communication, the industry has been able to demonstrate the effectiveness of audience engagement and organizational transparency. 

Within the context of the music and recording industry, the same theory and methods of public relations sustain. The music industry solution is not to ignore digital distribution and Internet-mediated communication, it is to embrace it. As many recording industry conglomerates and independent labels have recently demonstrated, the music industry has slowly, but surely, began to recognize, harness and embrace the digital and social revolution. 

You might be wondering by now how public relations (PR) can help to improve and further legitimize the traditional recording label within the age of digital music. That, in and of itself, is a legitimate question and concern. As I mentioned earlier, I personally believe that the solution to the music industry's current anguish over industrial legitimacy within an era of digital distribution, self-promotion and social communication can be answered with two simple letters, "PR." 

Compared to the recording industry's traditional and widely accepted methods of music promotion and artist publicity, public relations is a relatively new concept to the music industry. In years past, the music industry has heavily relied on marketing and advertising-based methods of promotion to sell records and concert tickets, as well as publicize new and existing artists. Considering the increased popularity of digital distribution and social media platforms devoted to music lovers and entertainment junkies, I believe that a public relations-rooted approach to music promotion and artist publicity is more appropriate in light of a modernized recording industry. 

In my next post, I will highlight a few more concrete reasons why I believe public relations is a big part of the music industry solution for both today and years to come. 

Go Digital or Go Home

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog, graduate school has quite the knack for getting in the way of life outside the classroom. In my last post, I discussed a few of the issues and opportunities that have rolled in on the coattails of a seemingly daunting digital music age. Today, I would like to elaborate a little more upon this fundamental paradigm shift within the music industry and, ultimately, suggest a few strategies for turning this "virtual threat" into a "virtual opportunity." 

Regardless of whether or not the music and recording industry chooses the "fight or flight" approach to digital distribution, the trend is obviously here to stay. With this in mind, it seems as if the choice is an obvious one. In the beginning of the digital transition, the recording industry was extremely apprehensive and, often times, close-minded to the new technological advances. In the recording industry's defense, however, the transfer from retail to digital was quite an intimidating transition at the time, and it seemed as if it would eliminate a large majority of their diminishing profit margin. 

Over the years, the recording industry began to realize that digital music distribution was something that they simply could not ignore. The dreaded iTunes, iPod and iPhone were here to stay, no offense Apple. After much reflection and restructuring, the music industry now understands and values the vast opportunity that lies amid the land of social media, infinite domain names and virtual music libraries. 

However, with much opportunity comes much challenge. Although the chance for virtual exposure and unprecedented sales has rapidly increased, the availability and accessibility of music has also increased with digital distribution. This means that recording labels are able to offer music dating back as far as they can remember, as well as the albums that were made since the integration of the iPod and the cellphone. Some early adopting recording labels and artists have transitioned to strictly digital distribution, meaning a physical copy (CD) of their music simply does not exist in any retail store.

Digital music distribution has also brought about a unique purchasing alternative for the music consumer that allows them to purchase individual songs from an album without purchasing the entire 10 to 12 song album. For consumers, it allows them to purchase the songs that they really want without being tied down to the entire album. For recording label executives, however, it means that consumers are able to spend anywhere from $1 to $5 getting what they really want, and the standard $9 to $15 album is virtually out the cyber window. 

What does this mean for the recording industry? No more filler songs on albums. Every single song cut has to stand on its own two feet, because that is exactly how it will be evaluated by the listener, all "on its own." Select loyal music consumers will still purchase the entire album, if it's a good one, but the majority will evaluate each song individually to determine if it is worthy of the 99-cent price of admission. 

Personally, I believe that this concept of song individualism is a healthy change for the music industry. Now, maybe we can get our hands, or shall we say our mouse pads, on some albums that are consistently good from cover to cover. 

The digital music transition that the recording industry could not foreshadow so many years ago has now turned into a land mine of opportunity, revenue and infinite success. Despite our love loss over the tangible record, we understand that digital is, indeed, an opportunity for success and not a threat to the recording industry's legacy and legitimacy. 

What Music Industry?

As a rookie blogger, it has taken me a little while to get accustomed to this whole concept of broadcasting my thoughts to the entire world. Although I sincerely doubt the majority of the blogosphere is even remotely interested in this blog's topical content, the idea of my personal opinions being etched in virtual “hyperlinked stone” is quite intimidating to a writer/journalist by trade. All apprehension and personal constraint aside, I determined that the best plan of action would be to simply rip the proverbial “cyber Band-Aid” right off.

If you have had a chance to read my introductory post or check out my About Me section, you have probably already gathered that I am a public relations practitioner by trade, and a music industry enthusiast by choice. Although my specialty is crisis communication and reputation management, very little of my educational background has anything to do with the music or entertainment industry, aside from a minor in Vocal Performance during my undergraduate work. My fascination with the music and recording industry stems from a childhood devoted to mastering every musical instrument in sight, honing my vocal chops and developing a deeply-rooted appreciation for timeless, traditional music that was far beyond my adolescent years.

It was that same devotion to music and the preservation of the traditional recording industry that prodded me to attend graduate school. I already knew that southern Mississippi’s educational opportunities would lend me nowhere near the master’s degree in music business that I had always desired. However, I determined that I would settle for a degree that was closest to music business and would, hopefully, one-day get my “foot in the door” down on Music Row. The next best degree, in my mind, that would help me to advance my career in the music industry was public relations and communication. Bare with me, I promise I’m getting to the point…

As I started to form and mold my research interests while attending graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi, I began to realize the significant lack of research dedicated to the unidentified and unexplored research chasm, more commonly known as the music and recording industry. Sure, there were stacks upon stacks of hardbound books in the library covering the ins-and-outs of the recording industry, but they were all dated back to the 70s and 80s when the music industry was booming. With the occasional exception from 1990, there was virtually no substantial recent research to be found on the music and recording industry. Where were the peer-reviewed journal articles and trade publications that can be found, at the touch of a keystroke, for almost every other legitimate profession?

The answer was simple. They did not exist. While I was writing my first formal graduate research paper concerning public relations and its impact on the music industry, I literally thought I was going to pull out my hair when trying to compile academic sources for a proper literature review. Why? There simply were not any appropriate sources available. There may have been an occasional journal article written concerning music, but they rarely addressed the inner-workings of the recording industry or its methods of artist publicity and record promotion.

Why is there such a lack of current academic sources concerning the music and recording industry? I believe that the recording industry, as a whole, has grown silent in light of a daunting new digital music age that has granted consumers unlimited access to music through digital online libraries, like Apple’s iTunes for example. These so-called “digital music libraries” have, one-by-one, silenced traditional recording labels by threatening the very legitimacy of the recording label itself and, as a result, virtually silencing their professional voices. As a result, the music and recording industry has amounted to nothing more than a tribute and faint reminder of a once powerful and influential industry mogul.

The good news: the music industry does not HAVE to remain silent. Instead, the music and recording industry must learn how to empower itself by reinventing its traditional methods of distribution and promotion in light of an increasingly digital music market that is, most definitely, here to stay. In my next post, I will elaborate more on this eminent crisis within the recording industry and offer a few suggestions that will help the music industry learn to embrace, instead of fear, this new digital music revolution.