Above The Static | Web Presence Development & New Media Marketing

Case Study: How Kishi Bashi Brings Fans Further Into the Fold

"Open Kimono" is business jargon upon which I stumbled just last year, yet it has fast risen to the top of my buzzword bollocks list. (Yes, such a list exists, albeit deep in the annals of my memory banks, filed away for future loathing). That contempt notwithstanding, the intended meaning of the phrase does actually hold … Read on...

April 24, 2013 by Steve 8 Comments

Filed Under: Case Studies, Success Stories Tagged With: case study, Facebook, kishi bashi, personality, promotion, social media, social media strategy, success stories, visual, visual social media

Facebook Fail? How To Improve Your Music Ads & Shares

What's a 'Like' worth? Less than a share, if you agree with the latest marketer analysis, but plenty of artists are seeking the thumbs up across social media, with the king of social networks being the most vibrant hub of activity. Facebook's place in the realm of music marketing has topped my mind this past week for various … Read on...

April 5, 2013 by Steve 3 Comments

Filed Under: Case Studies, Fail Files, Marketing Tagged With: facebook advertising, facebook marketing, fail, fail files, music marketing, promoted posts

Next Steps Towards Your Virtual Merch Table

As we close out the month and move into the next phase of Manning Your Virtual Merch Table, let's take a second to recap and gather together what we've learned so far. For any artists just joining us, this is a great … Read on...

March 26, 2013 by Steve 1 Comment

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: marketing, music marketing, recap, virtual merch, virtual merch table

The Now & Then of Marketing Your Music

Just a little over ten years ago, the business of promoting your music to an audience was a very different animal indeed. Certainly, Napster had hit and its impact was being felt to some degree. But the relative … Read on...

March 19, 2013 by Steve 2 Comments

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: attention economy, digital, free music, lefsetz, marketing, price, product, promotion, record labels, release schedules, rules, then and now

Advergaming for Independent Artists

This is a guest article by Simon Walklate, co-founder of Bristol, UK based game developers The Motion Monkey. He is also a drummer, former independent record label owner and music fan. Having played in bands for years … Read on...

March 11, 2013 by Steve Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: advergaming, game music, guest, guest post, independent artists, music marketing, simon walklate, the motion monkey, video games

Individual Importance: Add Personality to Your Music Promotion

As we move into the last of our 4 Ps in the marketing mix that we're applying to music marketing, it will also be the most familiar to artists: Promotion. Fear not, though, as there's much more depth here than you may … Read on...

March 5, 2013 by Steve 3 Comments

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: artists, marketing, merchandise, music, music marketing, promotion, virtual merch, virtual merch table

New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Musicians Down

New York City has some undeniably iconic music scenes. From the Bronx-based birth of hip hop, through the leather-clad punk swagger led by the Ramones and the infinite influence of new wave, the five boroughs have … Read on...

February 28, 2013 by Steve Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: artists, fan base, fans, geography, market segmentation, marketing, music, music scene, new york city, niche

How Do Price & Product Affect Your Music Sales?

As the most literal point of the physical to virtual merch table analogy, price and product are simple enough to explain in a similar manner. As this post last year on the importance of product diversity explained, a … Read on...

February 25, 2013 by Steve 1 Comment

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: albums, art, artist marketing, artists, clothing, marketing, merchandise, music, music marketing, price, price points, product, records, virtual merch table

Passion In People: How to Get Listeners to Love Your Music

This post is one in a series called Man Your Virtual Merch Table, looking at how music artists can best use marketing practices to share their work and make life long fans. You can read the rest of the posts here or … Read on...

February 17, 2013 by Steve 1 Comment

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: fans, marketing, music, music fans, social media, true fans, virtual merch table