Mrfuturistic Says ! How to launch your own Radiohead style album or single without breaking the bank.
This week Radiohead's servers crashed as a result of people rushing out to pre-order their new album, naming their own price in the process. Many will download it for free but a signinficant number will actually set a fair rate for the download. Furthermore a large number of people are pre-ordering the vinyl box set at £40 each. Now many are saying on various music industry messageboards that only artists of the calibre of Radiohead, The Charlatans and Prince are able to pull this off and new or unsigned artists are still going to need the Majors in order to build their profile to such a level as to make this idea work. Perhaps, if you are thinking of doing it on such a grand scale. But what about another major music news story that happened over in the UK. Thurston Revival, had no major labels support, only the support of music messageboard Record Of The Day and went about to release the most expensive single at £100 each ! Now just to dispel this myth, it wasn't unique, nor the most expensive single but despite these minor inaccuracies, they shifted 100 copies of the single ! Fantastic !Now I am going to show you how you can do the same and at a price that you can afford and in a manner that will be beneficial to your career.
How about launching your own EP.
1. First thing you would need, of course, are decent songs, a memorable title and a concept that is much more than your typical single or EP release.
2. Tie it to a memorable date or an important event. How about your lead singer's birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day or the date the band was formed. I would say tie it to a Bank Holiday or similar Holiday.
3. You need vinyl, kids ! Without a doubt, vinyl records are best for this type of release for a number of reasons. They cannot be digitally cloned, they havea mystique and aura about them that CDs/DVDs or Downloads just don't have. Of course you can always bundle a postcard with a unique code for them to download the mp3s for free on release date. Now the thing about the vinyl is that you must get pre-orders so a long lead time is important and you must price it as a premium and for the first 50 copies you can have them signed by the band, picture discs or any other unique quality.
4. How about a unique t-shirt thrown in as well with the band's name and web address at the back. The front of the design must be the album cover or unique artwork and NOT the band's picture. If you must you can have the band's website address on the front.
5. Packaging is very important with this bundle so use experts to create great packaging for your product but also go for unique packaging made of quality material and you can always bundle an A4 sized brochure containing photos of the making of the album/EP.
6. Video. We are in the Youtube era where videos killed the TV star, so get on camera and video your recording session, a special Sandi Thom style basement gig or even a documentary of the band. There are hundreds of outlets for you to screen this and make sure that only snippets of the music is shown in full quality and if you must put length music, then only put lower quality and even mono mp3. You want people to pay for the hi-fi version.
7. Seven is the number of perfection and your OWN website is essential here. If you are using myspace or facebook as your website then as the Aussies say 'You are a bloody idiot'. Get your own dotcom now. Click here for cheap affordable webhosting. You must also set up another domain name specifically for this launch. Why ? Well it is an event and you want people to remember this. Domain names are so cheap to get now and you have no excuse for not doing this. Your website must also link related products, such as record players, Ipods etc that can enhance your visitors experience and of course the t-shirts. Set a premium price and let people know that they are investing in your band when they purchase from your website. Also put a link on Ebay where fans can bid to get an exclusive performance of your band at their local school, college, church, pub or anywhere with a venue. Prices include arriving in style in a limo (you must appear very glamourous), hotels (5 star only) and you can even give one lucky person a date with the band as a prize.
8. PR it. If you have the budget for a PR team then hire one to help you. We use Manilla PR (www.manillapr.com) they are reasonably priced and very affordable. Alternatively, contact the websites of all the top media outlets in your country and pitch this as a news story. Of course it is a PR stunt and they will always make news as long as they are unique and relevant.
The cost of doing this varies and can work with whatever budget you have but don't forget without the music it is pointless. I would also say throw in a cover or two and if you are a bit iffy about that then get back to earth !
The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Madonna all recorded covers. If it is good enough for them and can win you new fans then it is good enough for you. If you would like more information particularly on where to get vinyl one-offs or manufactured then Email me. You have the links right here on this site.
Mrfuturistic!
posted by Myhotmusic @ 10:04 AM
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