heres an idea...

[Axis]

since most of us can't get our music out to an audience past local or regional borders how well do you think this would work?:


1.burn 50-100 cdrs of a demo of your music
2. write name and webite in sharpie on cdr
3. go to an airport near you and place copies of the demo on the seats at the gate waiting area to different airports.

people are bound to sit there or near it, they see a free cd instict is to take it. and lots of people on planes carry with them cd players so chances are if they pick it up they'll give it a listen.

this way your name and website travels all across the country.

[Jblount]

Nice avatar. I would put a better cd label, maybe the neato stickers, to make it not look sooo honkey tonk!

[gascap]

That's a good idea. Along that same thinking, I've always had the notion to someday make the rounds to all the area Wal-Marts, Targets, Best Buys, etc...and stick my cd in a bunch of the stereos the've always got blaring...making sure it is well labeled etc...Instant braodcast!

[Jblount]

Walmart is the best. People have a regular peddler fest outside every one I have been to. Giving away cats, selling shoes, selling worms (I hope for fishing purposes), bootleg videos.

[Freeform]

My airport won't let you even near the gates thanks to good ol' 9-11

[brokeup]

yea, i was gonna say, try that here in NYC, and your likely to be shot by security no questions asked.

[tanlith]

Yeah, might have worked pre-911, but now Airport Security is liable to think it's some kind of new fangled ninja weapon... or worse... they'll take it and claim it's a data CD of the location to all those weapons of mass destruction.



- Tanlith -

[bdbdbuck]

I'd say the idea is a pretty good one if you just change it to theaters, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc. If you think about it, the list could grow quite a bit.


bd

[gascap]

Especially in this day - I suppose it's vital to keep thinking outside the box....almost like performance art marketing.

[Mountainmirrors]

Don't waste your time. If you can convince people your music will ease their flight you have a revelation!

You need to target your fans to the max.

If your music is about hittin' it - pass out at a porn shop.

Smoking it - headshop.

Dancing - at the local rave.

Chilling with a cup of joe - hip coffee shop.

Of course, I could be wrong, but that's my 2 cents.


http://www.mountainmirrors.com

[Axis]

Originally posted by Mountainmirrors
Don't waste your time. If you can convince people your music will ease their flight you have a revelation!

You need to target your fans to the max.

If your music is about hittin' it - pass out at a porn shop.

Smoking it - headshop.

Dancing - at the local rave.

Chilling with a cup of joe - hip coffee shop.

Of course, I could be wrong, but that's my 2 cents.


http://www.mountainmirrors.com

its not about convincing it will ease their flight its a way to get it across the country or to a larger audience.

its kind of like when you walk into a food store or music cd store. They have free fudge samples or stickers or sample cds sitting their for your consumption. Your gonna take. Its free! The odds of you buying that full length cd or a large piece of fudge are slim but enough people walk in and do that somebodies gonna buy it.

what you said though is a good way to reach the local audience.

damn now im in the mood for some fudge.

[tanlith]

Originally posted by Mountainmirrors
Don't waste your time. If you can convince people your music will ease their flight you have a revelation!

You need to target your fans to the max.

If your music is about hittin' it - pass out at a porn shop.

Smoking it - headshop.

Dancing - at the local rave.

Chilling with a cup of joe - hip coffee shop.

Of course, I could be wrong, but that's my 2 cents.


http://www.mountainmirrors.com

Hey! There's an idea!!!! Hit all the clubs that play music that would be close to your style... talk to the owner/bartender and see if you can take up a small 1' X 1' section of counter at the bar... put a little display there with a stack of FREE CDs -- people will see 'em and probably take em... after all, it's free... of course, there's a good chance that the majority of the CDs will end up sitting in a glove box or purse for a week or two before getting listened to..

... Just be absolutely sure to have a website up and running and make sure it's highly visible on the CD Cover... then make sure you have regular updates and a mailing list available. Post concert schedules etc...

It's actually a good idea! -- You just have to be ready to accept the fact that some people might not ever put the thing in a player... For example, our local theatre handed out CD Roms when The Hunchback was released a few years back. The CD Had a printable coloring book on it and other games/stuff... fact is, the one I got never touched my ROM Drive... My kids don't live with me and they don't have a PC at home... I'm sure I wasn't the only person to toss that Rom out...

- Tanlith -

[Mountainmirrors]

You're actually better off passing out business cards or stickers with your web addy.

At least it's easier to put them in a wallet than in the glove box. You're absolutely right about that, tanlith!

Even so, you can't give out a Heavy Metal CD at the local mall to every teenie bopper walking by. If you're gonna do that, at least do it at Ozzfest or something!

[_ronin75_]

Try it who knows how this might turn out ...

you might end up with a verry loyal horde of fans in say congo or some other far away country ...

heard a story of a local gothic band called star industry
who for some reason had a number 1 hit for about two months in Lebanon of all places lol (lord knows what they did to pull that off )

I even bought one of their CD's quality was soso just bought it out of sheer chauvinism

check out their site if you dont take my word for it...
www.starindustry.be

[tanlith]

Originally posted by Mountainmirrors
You're actually better off passing out business cards or stickers with your web addy.

At least it's easier to put them in a wallet than in the glove box. You're absolutely right about that, tanlith!

Even so, you can't give out a Heavy Metal CD at the local mall to every teenie bopper walking by. If you're gonna do that, at least do it at Ozzfest or something!

Ohhhh yeah... good idea... pass em out at concerts in the parking lot!

I had a buddy who was an artist ... he made "bootleg" custom t-shirts (not copies of existing ones, but his own artwork) and sold em out at greatful Dead concerts... he'd sell out in the first hour before the concert (and he'd stock about 500 shirts each time)

If yer giving em away for free do it before the concert in the parking lot... and try to catch people BEFORE they lockup and leave their car... otherwise it'll get tossed during the concert... or confiscated at the door by the security guys...

- Tanlith -

[Axis]

Originally posted by tanlith
Hey! There's an idea!!!! Hit all the clubs that play music that would be close to your style... talk to the owner/bartender and see if you can take up a small 1' X 1' section of counter at the bar... put a little display there with a stack of FREE CDs -- people will see 'em and probably take em... after all, it's free... of course, there's a good chance that the majority of the CDs will end up sitting in a glove box or purse for a week or two before getting listened to..

... Just be absolutely sure to have a website up and running and make sure it's highly visible on the CD Cover... then make sure you have regular updates and a mailing list available. Post concert schedules etc...

It's actually a good idea! -- You just have to be ready to accept the fact that some people might not ever put the thing in a player... For example, our local theatre handed out CD Roms when The Hunchback was released a few years back. The CD Had a printable coloring book on it and other games/stuff... fact is, the one I got never touched my ROM Drive... My kids don't live with me and they don't have a PC at home... I'm sure I wasn't the only person to toss that Rom out...

- Tanlith -

i don't think though that local clubs would do this. If they agreed to you then every other band that rolled through would get the same idea and it would become a free cd store.

I've been doing this at gigs and gonna try a couple of these ideas at some local coffee shops, music stores, and freebie bins.

[Jblount]

I am a christian artist, 9 out of 10 of the christian book stores agreed to let me use space for my cd. They made only $1 profit from it. But they keep up with the numbers and money. I had one that just let me put it on the shelf and asked for no money in return. All I have to do is go by every week reload and take the money.

[Buck62]

Free CD's are just like anything else that's free..... unappreciated and quickly tossed to the side and forgotten.