Reported by Gian Fiero
May 2, 2008
The San Francisco chapter of NARIP recently sponsored Maximum Music Marketing, a panel discussion at renowned Jazz venue Yoshi’s in the Bay Area. The event attracted indie label owners, marketers, booking agents, personal managers and artists seeking up-to-date information on marketing strategies.
Photo (L-R): NARIP San Francisco Director Kerry Fiero, Miles High Productions President Chip Schutzman, Yoshi’s Director of Marketing Joan Rosenberg, President of PR That Rocks Christopher Buttner and NARIP San Francisco Associate Director Gian Fiero.
Panelists included prominent bay area publicist, Christopher Buttner of PR That Rocks, Director Of Marketing for Yoshi’s Joan Rosenberg, and Los Angeles-based marketing guru Chip Schutzman of Miles High Productions. Each speaker gave his definition of marketing and discussed the purpose and benefits of a marketing plan. The main objective, they agreed, is to increase the odds for career and financial success.Unlike many marketing panels that we’ve all attended (or been a part of), this panel was different because its focus was on the construction of the marketing plan and understanding what goes into it.
Speakers synthesized the finer points of marketing, breaking down the components to address and amplify in a plan. They emphasized the importance of identifying the target audience by conducting thorough research to learn as much as possible about them to be better able to cater to their needs and desires. Joan Rosenberg, who works with artists to boost attendance at both Oakland and San Francisco Yoshi’s venues, is a proponent of lifestyle marketing and encouraged attendees to incorporate this strategy in their marketing mix.
Both Christopher Buttner and Chip Schutzman, who have orchestrated marketing campaigns for such artists as Greg Kihn and Barbra Streissand, advised measuring the effectiveness of marketing plans by evaluating the returns (results) of any efforts in the areas of advertising, publicity, and promotions. The bottom line is that if you are not seeing results, something in your mix needs to be fixed.
On the subject of radio, there was a brief debate about the future of “terrestrial” radio and the threatening forms of media that can supplant it. The panel was divided between college, satellite and Internet/cable radio. But they were unanimous when it came to sharing stories about bad deals with shady independent radio promoters who have swindled hundreds of thousand of dollars from labels and artists with false promises of radio airplay.
Additional issues discussed were touring, event marketing, viral marketing, ways to maximize attention at a CD release party, and how to get the most out of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
Ultimately, the road map to success is dependent on how well you plan, and how flexible you are to incorporate new opportunities. It takes a thoughtful discipline to create (and it needn’t be long or complicated), but a solid marketing plan can make all the difference between solid success and illusive dreams.
Audio Of NARIP’s Maximum Music Marketing Available Online Now
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