Chicago band Paper Thick Walls seized an unorthodox performance opportunity.
I really enjoy it when bands and music companies use creative marketing campaigns. Rather than trotting out the same old same old, just the right amount of innovation can really increase hype and help you reach a goal, whether that goal is selling tracks, tickets, posters, collecting e-mails, or anything else.
I’ve also noticed that the greatest opportunities for creativity are local, and as I am based out of Chicago, I’d like to highlight five examples of really cool campaigns I have seen over the past several months. [click to continue…]
The following post was written by Kate Findlay-Shirras.
To many participants and onlookers, Record Store Day is a really big deal. On one day every year, thousands of music fans across the country have a perfect excuse to glut themselves on vinyl, buy limited edition releases, and generally revel in the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of going to a record store again.
And to Michael Kurtz, one of Record Store Day’s founders, that celebration is the main point. ““I came out of a time when rock ‘n’ roll was a lot of fun,” Kurtz recalls. “A lot of parties…a lot of blowing shit up, and Record Store Day was just an excuse to throw a party again.”
It is also, like most events that draw real music enthusiasts, a unique promotional opportunity for bands. [click to continue…]
Talia Osteen, left, and Dov Rosenblatt are the Wellspring.
The Wellspring is one lucky duo.
Currently in the midst of a nationwide tour with indie singer-songwriter institutions Pete Yorn and Ben Kweller, the Los Angeles-based duo of Dov Rosenblatt and Talia Osteen has been working at their music career full-time for just over a year, and in that time they’ve recorded little more than an EP. So how can they afford to play gigs from Vancouver to Nashville, from Phoenix to Philadelphia? [click to continue…]
Christopher Tin is a quick study.
Thanks to a chance connection at his college reunion, the Santa Monica-based composer recently got the opportunity to create his first video game score, and he made the most of his chance: “Baba Yetu,” the theme of Civilization IV, is the first piece of video game music ever to be nominated for a Grammy (Tin’s debut album, Calling All Dawns, which also features “Baba Yetu,” was also nominated in a separate category). [click to continue…]
