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. 

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 Promotional Tug-of-War: PR vs. Marketing

Since we have addressed the annual advertising phenomenon known as the Super Bowl, we can now move on to the "good stuff," music industry public relations of course. What else could it be? Ever since the rise of PR's popularity and increased usage, there has been an air of tension brewing amongst the public relations and marketing/advertising disciplines. Although some seasoned professionals from both arenas have looked past the petty competitiveness and recognized the potential for collaboration, the two professions remain generally at-large with one another, and most still perpetuate a subtle distaste for each other.

Is this deep-seated disfavor rooted in a fear of professional legitimacy? Possibly. Do some professionals think that the success of one discipline will eventually equate the demise of the other? Most Likely. Do some professionals from each arena believe that their profession is superior to the competition? Definitely.

Before you jump on the criticism bandwagon, this post is not intended to determine which professional discipline- marketing or public relations- is superior or more effective than the other. It is, however, meant to determine, or merely suggest, which promotional discipline is most adept at addressing the current state of the music and recording industry. I am, as you know, of a public relations educational background, therefore I am slightly partial to the public relations discipline, however, I am fully aware and respective of the many positive aspects that the marketing profession contributes to the public relations disciplines' many deficiencies, and vice versa. No profession is perfectly self-sufficient. We thrive through collaboration with other neighboring and complimentary professional disciplines. For example, where would the music video production business be without the original musical contribution of recording artists, engineers and producers? Nowhere, that's where. Continuing on...

Although the two promotional professions are very similar in purpose, they are, in fact, quite different in approach. The marketing and advertising profession, for example, is largely devoted to acquiring effective "paid-media" opportunities such as Internet, television, radio and print advertisements that promote a specific business or organization, as well as any associated products and services. This type of promotional approach has proven to be effective for various types of businesses and organizations, although it is extremely costly and, often times, difficult for many small businesses to afford.

In contrast, the public relations profession is primarily dedicated to garnering "earned-media" mentions such as newspaper articles, press releases, press conferences, trade magazine articles, interviews, industry-related publicity, public service announcements, word-of-mouth advertising and charity affiliations. This is not meant to insinuate that the public relations profession does not dabble in "paid-media" opportunities, however, it is based- in theory- on the utilization of "earned-media" promotional and publicity tactics. Now, you might be beginning to understand the ensuing competition and dissension between the two disciplines. After all, they are, indeed, both dedicated to the same purpose: promotion.

When two competing professional disciplines scramble after the same profit margin, desired commodity and end result, the potential for opposition is unavoidable. Think about it. They both want the same thing; all promotional efforts from both disciplines boil down to one, single commodity, audience and consumer approval. There is, however, one fundamental difference in the way these two disciplines measure their definition of success.

Traditionally, the marketing discipline has been primarily dominated by sales and figures. As a marketing professional, if you don't meet your sales quota for the month, you are, as they say in the business world, "history." Public relations, on the other hand, is largely dedicated to building and maintaining strategic relationships so that organizations, as a result, are able to either progress or preserve their positive reputation, as well as garner coveted third-party endorsements. Word-of-mouth advertising, often embodied in the form of third-party endorsements, can be witnessed within any issue of a local newspaper, Internet blog, social media platform, trade-appropriate magazine or consumer review. 

Complimentary mentions and business plugs composed by unbiased, non-affiliated third party personas are, without a doubt, publicly perceived as more credible than self-promoted advertisements. Ponder this for a minute. Would you believe something, for example, that the brand Taylor Guitars says about their own products or would you, instead, believe something that a credible, seasoned studio guitarist said about the guitar itself? I thought so... we'll go with the unbiased third-party endorser. Similar to the previous example, these so-called "third-party endorsers" are in no way coerced to provide their product testimonies (unlike paid celebrity endorsers), they are, in fact, willing participants in the promotion of a credible, reliable brand that they have personally come to trust through experience.     

As a result, it depends on what, in particular, your business or organization is looking for when it comes to promotion. Do you want "the sales" or "the reputation?" The money or the relationships? Personally, I believe that increased sales win the race, but a sound, positive reputation wins the marathon, every time. Again, this is just my personal opinion, and not a corroborated scientific theory. It basically all boils down to one thing- you have to decide what's best for you and your organization. Whether that decision delivers you short-lived fame or eternal glory is entirely your prerogative. 

In my next post, I will suggest which promotional discipline- marketing or public relations- is best suited for the current condition of the music industry. 

The Super Bowl Strategy

I usually try to avoid venturing off topic in this blog, but I deemed the millions of dollars worth of advertising spent during the Super Bowl to be an appropriate exception to the rule. Unlike most Americans, I don't actually watch the Super Bowl for the great football, I watch if for the commercials. I know, the truth is ugly....

At any rate, regardless of the quality of the game, the coaches and the players, the Super Bowl commercials still play on and, often times, they are subject to as much scrutiny as the football game itself. It could be easily deduced that the Super Bowl is not only the prime time for football, but for advertising as well. Recently, marketers and advertisers alike have taken it so far as to refer to the Super Bowl as the "AdBowl."

While no disrespect is directed towards a good game of football, the level of audience engagement and viewing statistics that are earned annually during the Super Bowl are simply undeniable for "players" within the big-ticket game of advertising. As a result, Super Bowl advertisers usually go "all out" when it comes to creating their commercials, whether that be the sexy, sappy or funny approach to consumer appeal.

This year, I was a bit disappointed in some of the auto companies and Super Bowl staple advertisers such as Doritos, GoDaddy and Coca-Cola who chose to adopt the strategy of crowd appeal, even when it meant sacrificing their organization's mission and traditional advertising theme. Although the commercials were entertaining and moving, it was often difficult to identify the brand within the advertisement's key message. In my opinion, advertising and marketing professionals should strive to develop ideas and advertising content that is consistent with their organization's "brand" and target audience.

Developing commercial content that is consistent with a brand's message and purpose should be far superior to developing content that is entertaining or generated purely for "shock value." Associating a commercial or print advertisement with a specific brand and associated message is, after all, the very purpose of advertising. Without that purpose, there would be no valid reason to spend millions of dollars on a single 30 to 60 second Super Bowl commercial and, in fact, we would not be having this very discussion right now.

All things aside, there were several standout advertisements that were, indeed, consistent with their organization's brand, message and target audience.

#1) Budweiser, "Brotherhood"

As a horse lover, this Budweiser Ad was one of my personal favorites. Strategy wise, however, it was a good move for Budweiser to bring back the traditional brand symbol, the Clydesdale, that is so iconically associated and intertwined with the Budweiser brand. All around, it was a well-communicated, "feel good" Ad that delivered the Budweiser theme loud and clear. Sappy or not, I'm a fan...

#2) Ram Trucks (Dodge), "Farmer"

To me, this is the epitome of what a Super Bowl Ad should be. As soon as this commercial aired during the game, you could literally hear the silence fill the room of crowded people where I was watching the game. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to Paul Harvey and watch this brilliant commercial that, in my opinion, will keep people talking about this brand for quite sometime. The inspired message and depiction of the farming and agricultural industry that keeps this country alive was a clever association to the message and values that the Dodge and Chrysler brand stands for. Kudos to Dodge and Chrysler for developing an Ad that is true to their brand, as well as tradition. 

#3) Oreo, "Whisper Fight"

I thought this Ad was just generally funny, although it did an excellent job of including key product messages within the actual humorous dialogue of the advertising content. However, the real award here should go to the advertising and marketing team behind this commercial that reacted, in real-time, to the game's controversy over an unexpected power outage. Here is a picture of the Ad that became a sensation over social media in a matter of mere minutes:

In an ironic turn of events, it looks like the award for "Best 2013 Super Bowl Ad" might go to an advertisement that was virtually free, promoted solely via social media, and created on the spot. The success of this advertising image alone demonstrates the true power of social media engagement and digital distribution. 

#4) Tide, "Miracle Stain" 

Again, I thought that this Ad did an excellent job of providing humor and key brand messages simultaneously. The viewer is not left wondering what the commercial is about or what brand it is associated with. Tailored specifically to the 2013 Super Bowl game, this Ad effortlessly appealed to the game's target audience, as well as disseminating Tide's key "talking points"and messages. 

Leave a comment, and let me know what you think about these Ads! Were they relevant, effective, entertaining or confusing? Coming soon: stay tuned for more posts concerning the "public relations equation" to the music industry solution.