Fan-Centric Insights

Last post here - we have a new blog home!

2009-03-03T09:06:00.002-05:00

We have moved to a new blog home. Please take a moment to update your RSS feed. You can find our new blog home at http://blog.fanmailmarketing.com

Thanks,
David

South by Southwest or Bust

2009-02-23T13:48:00.008-05:00

Yup, it is SXSW time and we are thrilled to be returning to Austin for the music industry's biggest party.

Over the past year, I have had the fortune of hanging out in Austin quite a bit. Four trips in all to work with our friends at Front Gate Tickets and C3 Presents. These visits to Austin coupled with support from my friends Jeff Rohrs and Jeff Kreinik inspired me to do something a little bit different this year.

On Thursday, March 19th we will be gathering some of the most progressive direct-to-fan marketers we know to talk about the work they are doing. The event will take place at Threadgill's World Headquarters (which is where Janis Joplin was discovered by Chet Helms, fyi) and will include lunch and drinks. The program will be dished up in three acts from 11am-2pm:

Act 1 will present the"fan's rule" philosophy. Act 2 (this is the juicy stuff) will present case studies and interviews with:

SuzAnn Brantner, Agent, William Morris Agency
Jeff Kreinik, Marketing Director, Front Gate Tickets
Sarah McGoldrick, Marketing Manager, C3 Presents
Ian Rogers, CEO, Topspin Media
Jeremy Rosen, New Media Director, Roadrunner Records

Act 3 is general discussion and questions.

We will be digging in and looking at the real challenges and progress music marketers are making in Fan CRM, direct to fan marketing, social networking and message channels. For example, our friend Jeremy Rosen will be talking about how Roadrunner Records is driving their new label model with social networking and fan focused marketing automation. Ian Rogers will talk about Topspin and the enormous success they are seeing by helping artists connect directly with their fans. Jeff from Front Gate Tickets will show off the tools they are building for their clients that help them understand and target live music fans and Sarah from C3 Presents will detail the work she has been doing for Stubb's, Emo's and the other venues they work with. To top it all off, our friend SuzAnn Brantner from William Morris Agency will be laying out the future of direct-to-fan marketing for artists and managers.

Below is more information and a way to RSVP. People who RSVP will receive a final confirmation email a couple of day before the event. Hope to see you there!

If you can't make it by Threadgills on Thursday but still want to catch up follow me on twitter, send me an email (david a+ fanmailmarketing.com) or come by the panel "Fan Based Marketing" on Saturday 3:00pm which I will be a part of.

Thanks,
David DeVore
FMGM

Reflections on 2008 and hello 2009!

2009-01-03T13:31:00.006-05:00

As many of our long time clients know, we are a service focused company who will drop just about everything to make sure our clients are taken care of. We measure our success by the success of our customers and project our growth based on the quality of our clients over the quantity. By every measurement, 2008 was an outstanding year for us, and 2009 is shaping up to be even better.

Here are some of the things we are particularly proud to have been a part of in 2008:

We were fortunate to have been involved in inaugural festivals Outside Lands and Rothbury as they broke on to the American music scene, and we continued to service established events like 10klf, Jam Cruise, Langerado, High Sierra Music Festival, Wakarusa, Gathering of the Vibes and Reggae Rising.

FanMail became a preferred vendor for William Morris Agency to help them consult with their clients on digital marketing and Fan Relationship Management (FRM) strategy and software.
The Dandy Warhols released "Earth to the Dandy Warhols" on the Topspin platform with FanMail providing the fan communication structure. In addition, we helped The Dandy's bring their Mis Amigos remix widget to the web. Umphrey's McGee launched the Mantis pre-order and widget. Sightly Stoopid, Pepper, STS9, Count Bass D and labels like Astonish Records and SCI Fidelity Records continued to push tours, releases and creative marketing techniques.

In the fall of 2008, FanMail and Headcount helped register more than 15,000 voters. In addition, we have helped our clients the Rex Foundation, The Bill Graham Foundation, Rock the Earth and The Conscious Alliance to make the world a better place with music and community.

Our web and retail clients continue to grow with the addition of Cartfly.com and Amiestreet.com. Our partner JamBase.com launched their Iphone app this past fall and has syndicating tour dates to Jango, Rhapsody, AOL and others. In October of 2008, we showed off the Google Ad Manager integration which JamBase had been pushing as a beta with FanMail and ExactTarget.
Our new partnership with Front Gate Tickets has brought us into working and consulting with C3 Presents and Stubbs in Austin. In addition, we have started helping Front Gate Tickets build out new and improved marketing tools for promoters, venues and festivals.

Whew... that is a lot to cover in a year!

2009 doesn't show any signs of slowing down as we welcome new clients Amie Street and Road Runner Records to our roster. Both of these organizations are at the top of their game, and we are really looking forward to pushing some outstanding marketing programs and innovations in the next year.

In addition, we have begun working on projects for the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington Ky. If you think it is all about horses, you are wrong. The music and entertainment schedule is going to be equally impressive.

We have a ton of new capabilities and tools which we are going to be rolling out with our clients in 2009. Here are our favorites:

AIM: Automated Interaction Management: Yeah, big stuff! Basically, it provides the tools for automating marketing programs. Birthday clubs here we come.

AMPscripting, Data Extensions: Integration, integration, integration!

Measures: flexible tracking features which drill into both subscriber attributes and behavioral attributes/history

SMS automation and "Text Collect" programs

Inbox Preview, Enhanced Tracking and 3Sixty

Landing Pages and Smart Collect

In 2008, we will attending a number of events and conferences and hope to hook up with everyone there. In January, we will be at CIC in LA and a string of meetings in New York City.

In March, we are at SXSW. Watch out! With clients C3 Presents and Front Gate Tickets bringing the best that Austin has to offer, we have decided to take it up a notch. On Thursday, March 19, we will be presenting the inaugural Fan-centric Future Forum at Threadgills in Austin. Lunch will be followed by presentations and interviews showing off what some choice organizations are doing to promote a more fan-centric future in their marketing and business. Keep an eye out as we announce the presenters. Invitations will be going out for this in the next few weeks. If you want to make sure you are on the list, drop us a line.

Thanks so much to all of our great clients, partners and account management team. I couldn't be more proud to be involved with such a great group of people.

Looking forward to a stellar 2009!

David DeVore
FanMail GM

New Client - Road Runner Records

2008-12-15T10:09:00.002-05:00

We are pleased to announce our newest client Road Runner Records. One of the largest truly independent record labels. Initially specializing in heavy metal, Roadrunner now includes a wide spectrum of genres and artists inlcuding Nickelback, Slipknot, Opeth, Sammy Hagar and dozens more.

Check out their full roster here.

The interactive team at Road Runner is super progressive and forward thinking about fan relationship management and we are just thrilled to be able to work with them on pushing the needle.

For a little fun, spend some time with Slipknot:

For you, Mis Amigos, a treat from the Dandy Warhols

2008-12-05T10:40:00.004-05:00

The Dandy Warhols are at it again... and we are still helping them push the limits of digital marketing. Lately they have launched a campaign that even Bob Lefsetz would love. Currently, our good friends are touring in Europe, and if you happen to be visiting the continent this month, you could still win tickets to a show. Just so you know.

Anyway, as I was saying, The Dandy Warhols are constantly looking for fun ways to get their fans involved and to spread the word to those in the know and those who need to know. Anyone, can send an email, that is so 2004, right? But say you have a new music video, and nobody watches MTV. And even if they did, you aren't a polished teen-pop act so you would not get played. How do you get people to see it? You could just put it up on YouTube and hope people stumble across it. Or post it to your MySpace. But what if you could post it on any every MySpace, or FaceBook, or blog, or anywhere? That would be pretty awesome. But wait, what if anybody could post it anywhere, and do it easily and quickly? That would be even better. Of course, music videos have been done before. So why not give fans the video, and let them get inspired and generate some content for the band? Let's get all symbiotic.

Which brings me to the point of this whole long rambling mess of a story. To launch their amazing "Mis Amigos" video, the Dandys wanted to launch a Remix Contest. So, we built them a widget that can be shared by anyone practically anywhere that directs viewers to a landing page where they can sign up to recieve either the audio stems for the song, or the art that was used in the video, or both, for the purpose of remixing it and submitting it to the band.

More details are available at the contest page, but check out the video below, and feel free to share the widget with all your friends.

New Client - Amie Street

2008-11-18T21:00:00.003-05:00

We strongly believe that we are only as good as the clients and partners that we serve. Today we got better. What is the cliche about the company you keep?

Anyway, today we are proud to announce our newest client and one of the best online music retailers out there... http://www.amiestreet.com/. For those of you not familiar with Amie Street, their fan driven pricing model has earned critical acclaim from numerous labels, artists and fans who love the simple premise of allowing demand to dictate price.

We love these guys. Not only are they smart and progressive, but their model (much like our own) is focused on being totally and completely fan-centric. We are looking forward to helping them reach their goals over the coming months and years and driving outstanding communication to their community of fans and customers.

Thanks Elias, Josh and the gang. The future is bright.

New Features and Enhancements

2008-11-10T08:38:00.005-05:00

Sometimes Christmas comes early. For users of FanMail Basic, FanMail Advanced and FanMail Enterprise (as well as partners and partner clients under William Morris Agency and Front Gate Tickets) there are a number of new and enhanced features.

Here are some of the highlights:

Access to the 3Sixty community:

Community. Conversation. Education.

Welcome to social networking — and so much more — exclusively for clients of FanMail who are on the ExactTarget platform. 3sixty is your one-stop shop for everything that the FanMail / ExactTarget platform has to offer. Get the most from your one-to-one digital marketing program by connecting with other users.

Ehanced Tracking:

See email campaign data in a more intuitive tabular tracking interface:

One of the coolest features with the new tracking interface is an email overlay view displaying click-through behavior on top of the email creative.

Inbox Preview:

Preview emails in multiple desktop, web, and mobile email clients--including Outlook, Gmail, iPhone, and more--before sending the message.

New Partner - Front Gate Tickets

2008-11-04T19:16:00.005-05:00

It is my distinct pleasure to announce FanMail's new partnership with Front Gate Tickets to provide enhanced fan management and direct to fan marketing tools to promoters, festivals and artist merchandise stores.

Front Gate Tickets is owned by Front Gate Solutions and provides privately and co-branded ticketing and merchandise stores for some of the nation's top promoters, festivals, venues and artists including C3 Presents, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Slightly Stoopid, The Casbah, The Long Center for the Performing Arts, Higher Ground and Stubbs BBQ.

This partnership brings to market new and enhanced fan relationship management (FRM) technology, tools and expertise to help promoters and artists drive sales directly to their fans.

Our premise is simple. When promoters are able to get a transparent view of their fan’s needs and are able to see how their direct to fan campaigns get massive results, it fundamentally changes the way that they do business. It is better for the fan and better for the promoter. We love that.

Thank you Jeff, Mellie and the team! The future is bright.

- David

Digital Marketing 101: Barack Obama's Campaign

2008-11-03T16:04:00.004-05:00

With election day tomorrow, I figured that now would be a good time to comment on what I see as one of the most brilliantly run campaigns ever.

Barack Obama's campaign this past election cycle has demonstrated just how effectively digital marketing can work and be used to effectively and efficiently organize, expand, and deploy a fan base. Without getting into the specifics of the campaign message, the campaign itself has been nothing short of spectacular in its methods and effectiveness.

Let's start simple. The website. The website is organized great, with easy subscriber forms located conveniently and clear and concise calls-to-action around the site. Take note artists, events, and venues: clear messaging that leads to a convenient call-to-action works.

Next, you have the emails and subscriber profiles. Here they do a great job of getting permissions then building a relationship with their subscribers by targeting their messages to them based on their profile. Full disclosure: FanMail is in no way involved with the Obama campaign, so all of this is speculation on my part based on my experience in digital marketing. By collecting pertinent information about subscribers (location, gender, income bracket, etc.) the campaign can deliver targeted messages that are relevant to the subscribers life. They don't remind a California subscriber about a rally in Florida, but they do have Women's' Rights supporters contacting women and lay out their health-care plan to those who are least likely to have health insurance. The lesson: understanding your subscribers is the key to maximizing message effectiveness by delivering the info that they need to hear.

Finally, there is the voice/sms/social-network-site integration. Not only has the campaign connected itself to the subscribers, but it has built a ubiquitous digital presence that creates a community that connects the subscribers to each other. Facebook groups, text-message updates, phone calls from real people are all tools that can be used to foster a sense of belonging to something greater than one's self. We have seen clients, like Elise Estrada and the Dandy Warhols, who have managed to do this reap untold benefits in many areas. Not only is it easier to get the members of your fan-community to make purchases, but they are also the single greatest source of promotion and marketing that you could ask for. People don't listen to commercials, they listen to their friends. So find a way for their friends to become your friends so they will listen to you.

A lot of what we talk about in this blog is pretty idea/scenario specific, but in the Obama campaign I couldn't help but see a reminder of how effective the underlying meta-idea of all that we do is. Building real relationships with fans is the key to surviving and growing in the new digital marketplace.

Oh, and isn't my niece the cutest thing ever?

Saul Williams is a fan

2008-11-03T10:52:00.000-05:00

Email Works Better than Social Networks and SMS

2008-10-29T10:37:00.008-04:00

Now I know we are in trouble. I should just as well pack up and avoid the computer and phone today. I can hear the uproar now. "WTF Dave... are you kidding?" (Hey don't kill the messenger.)

After all, social networks are supposed to save the record industry. SMS is key to the youth. These things have transformed the way that we consume music, the way we interact, the very fabric of our lives.

True, true, true... but that doesn't take into account WHAT INDIVIDUALS WANT or delivering the right message to the right fan at the right time... through the right medium.

This whitepaper by our partner ExactTarget investigates how different ages and persona's consume media and how they prefer to be marketed to.

Some very interesting points inside. For example:

42% of teens prefer to communicate via SMS, yet 62% prefer to receive promotions via email vs. only 1% via SMS.

and this,

So, yes…teens are clearly more influenced by text and social networks to make purchases than other groups (and are fairly receptive to text-based promotions, polls, and sweepstakes). But when it comes to driving conversions, email still outperforms the influence of text messaging, social networks, and IM combined.

Get it, read it, use it.

The Meters, New Mastersounds and The Neville Brothers

2008-10-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

We are thrilled to announce our newest round of clients. Each of them is seasoned and venerable and throwing down outstanding live performances night after night around the world.

The Meters:

In their 25-year history, The Meters have grooved their way around the globe. They have toured with such talents as The Rolling Stones, and have been the rhythm for such diverse artists as Dr. John, Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer and Patti Labelle.

Considered by many to be the founding fathers of funk, The Meters created a unique sound that lasted through the sixties and seventies and was reborn in the late eighties. Their trademark sound blends funk, blues, and dance grooves with a New Orleans vibe.

The Neville Brothers:

The differences between the four Neville Brothers are as dramatic as the similarities that unite them. The source of the similarities is passionate funk, a feeling for blues-soaked deep pocket grooves that is the basis of their greatness and exalted place in our cultural history.

Art, Charles, Aaron and Cyril have played with everyone from the Rabbit Foot Minstrels to B.B King, The Funky Meters, Otis Redding, The Drifters and beyond. They practically invented the modern New Orleans sound.

The New Mastersounds:

The New Mastersounds are a four-piece band based in Leeds, England, whose modern take on vintage soul-jazz, funk and rock draws influences from Jimmies McGriff, Smith, and Hendrix, as well as their most closely-associated mentors, The Meters. Try to imagine Grant Green and Lou Donaldson having a fight in a Hammond Organ shop while James Brown holds the coats, and you have some idea of what to expect from this band.

Fan Marketing All the Rage at CMJ Music Marathon

2008-10-22T16:51:00.006-04:00

Today at the annual CMJ Music conference in New York panelist after panelist cited the new music marketing mantra: It's About The Fans! Well, they didn't actually chant or roar, but many consistently endorsed thinking about individual fans as artists try to build a strong fan base.

Independent Success Stories panel included several artists and managers and artists acting as managers of their own music venture. Creating quality music is the requisite for being successful, but all agreed that hard work, determination, and never taking no for an answer were the keys to finding paths to success. Sometimes magic happens and bands can blow up overnight, but more often success requires grit, long hours, and a willingness to work at developing relationships with fans, other bands, promoters, and the media. Discussion also ranged to how artists must balance the demands of "the business" with the need to keep the creative saw sharpened, "because ultimately it is the music that makes people decide if they care or not," said one of the panelists. All agreed building a fan base is a key to success.

In the Evolvement of Social Networks and Music, the panel was a who's who in online social web in the music space. Ali Partovi of iLike demonstrated some awesome new tools for artists to tap into the powerful social networking tools at iLike. Bill Nguyan, founder of LaLa.com demonstrated how his website enables fans to discover new music, keep their entire music collection online, and turn on friends by sharing music. Fans certainly discover new music through their friends, and friends share lots of music via online social networks. The lesson here for artists is to take social networks seriously and tap into great tools available for promotion through iLike and LaLa.com. Artists can sign up at iLike to spread your music on social networks.

Inmates Running the Asylum was presented by a set of music marketing warriors running small independent labels and doing quite well in the new music model. They are part of an increasing trend of major label artists dropping their labels or vice versa, and independent artists being signed to short term label deals to help create success by working "the connection between the artist and the fans." These label owners and their artists can own full rights to their music and market it directly to fans and through digital and traditional channels without big label guns to help. Kevin Day of Rocket Science made a strong case that independent artists no longer need major labels to bolster their careers. Rather, great music coupled with great marketing can propel an artist forward and reward the hard work with higher shares of the profits vs. a record deal.

Moderating at CMJ: Lifestyle Marketing

2008-10-20T10:41:00.004-04:00

FanMail founder Dan Heimbrock will be moderating the CMJ Marathon panel "Lifestyle Marketing: Non-Traditional Thinking for Traditional Thinkers"

VENUE: Room 406Kimmel CenterNew York, NY 10012

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008
TIME: 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Dan will be hanging out all week in NYC with a number of our friends, partners and clients. Drop us a line if you would like to hook up.

Anatomy of Successful Fan Engagement

2008-10-17T13:28:00.003-04:00

You can go to home depot and buy all of the best and most expensive tools they have on the shelf. It won't make you a great carpenter or craftsman.

The same is true for great marketing. Being on every single social network, having every widget and chasing after every new shimmering online fan tool, won't make for great results.

Strategy and implemention, testing and optimizing. Thinking critically and being remarkable. Those are things that produce great marketing results.

Of course having the right tool for the right job is essential as any great craftsman will tell you. But knowing how to use the tool and learning how to become a great craftsman... that takes work and experience.

I just love this post in Digital Music News on the subject. All too often we find people using great tools but who fail because they have the wrong strategy.

Our mission at FanMail is to not only give our clients the best tools, but to also help them become outstanding craftsman.

HeadCount and FanMail Get You Registered

2008-10-13T16:21:00.003-04:00

FanMail and long-time clients and friends, HeadCount, teamed up for a voter-registration drive at the beginning of October. With the deadline to register for the upcoming election as early as October 5 in some states, time was of the essence.

As we all know, democracy only works if we all exercise our right to vote. HeadCount approached us with the idea of allowing FanMail's clients to send a free mailer to their subscribers encouraging them to register and vote. This proved amazingly successful. Over the course of just a couple of days, FanMail and it's clients sent almost a half of a million registration reminders and successfully registered thousands of previously unregistered voters.

Thank you to all of our amazing clients, such as Another Planet Entertainment, Outside Lands Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, SCI Fidelity Records, and Umphrey's McGee, who participated in this event, and if you haven't done so, please register to vote. The deadline has not passed in many states yet, but time is running out.

Please go to www.headcount.org to register and see a list of each state's requirements and deadlines.

FanMail Lite opens in Beta

2008-10-07T11:30:00.006-04:00

FanMail has always been the "Cadillac" of fan management. This is great for most of our clients. They need the type of robust software and services that we have built our reputation on.

However we also realize that there tons of artists, independent labels, independent promoters and venues out there who really just need a solid, reliable, no frills system to manage their fans.

We have a solution. http://www.fanmaillite.com/

FanMail Lite includes all of the tools to acquire, retain and grow a fan base. It is built for the indy!

Accounts start off 100% FREE. No cost.. just sign up here and start collecting fans and building campaigns.

If you like what you see and want to upgrade to send bigger campaigns, then just drop us a line.

Google Ad Manager Runs Beta with JamBase

2008-10-07T09:45:00.004-04:00

Over the past few months, Andy Gadiel over at JamBase has quietly been working with our technology partner ExactTarget and Google to pilot a program which integrates Google ad manager with dynmic emails.

In a nut shell, the integration allows websites that use Google ad manager to dynamically place those ads into emails. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal right? But it is.

See, email service providers don't allow java scripts in email and java script is exactly the thing which is used to dynamically place ads on a website. Up to now it has been impossible to place ads from a website into an email. This integration will allow web based retailers to place highly relevant advertising into their email marketing while increasing there ad revenue from impressions.

Anybody want to check it out? Contact me: david (a+) fanmailmarketing

Ticketweb missed the point

2008-09-29T12:52:00.006-04:00

So I bought tickets to The Bandwidth Conference this summer from their sponsor and vendor Ticketweb.

Now in true Ticketmaster style (the parent company), I get weekly "ticket alerts!". errrrr!

The effort is good. The content is dynamically driven off of my location and things that might interest me. The problem is that I never asked for these damn things and they don't really give me an easy way out. They don't respect me or value my permission. They totally missed the point of permission marketing.

See, to opt out of the email I don't get a single click unsubscribe... instead I have to go through a login. What?! I have no idea what the password is that was used to make the purchase. Instead I push my handy "Report Spam" button. Ahaha! Problem solved and future loyal customer lost.

What is the moral of the story?

Serve The Individual - Communicate with people not lists
Honor Their Preferences in content, frequency and channel (ie sms, email, rss etc)
Deliver Value That Serves Their Needs

Subscribers Rule Unleashed

2008-09-23T16:38:00.008-04:00

I first heard about this concept in San Francisco last summer from my friend Jeff Rohrs and I didn't really believe it. Big ROCK hands, screaming fans, street interviews. My man Jeff was talking crazy. He was definitely not mumbling the corporate speak which usually surrounds the subject of email marketing.

No, Jeff wasn't crazy and in fact the language I was hearing from him has launched a whole movement around the idea that Subscribers Rule.

Wow. We agree.

Here is the mad marketers manifesto:

Serve The Individual - Communicate with people not lists
Honor Their Preferences in content, frequency and channel (ie sms, email, rss etc)
Deliver Value That Serves Their Needs

Check out the website: http://www.subscribersrule.com/

Also the Youtube videos:

Live it, Love it, Use it.

Google Teaches Us All How To Go Chrome

2008-09-02T13:13:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Google is releasing their new web-browser today, Google Chrome, in beta for all of us web-heads to play with and ooh and aah over.

Apparently, a comic book that they had made to promote the new browser got leaked last week, so the folks at Google figured, why not go ahead and roll out the browser in beta so we can get some feedback? I gotta say, good call. Instead of trying to play coy, or act like it was all a big mistake so that they could launch a new, perfect product when they were ready, Google is capitalizing on the current buzz that has been created and are using that interest to improve their product.

It seems to me that there is lesson to be learned in all of this... I just can't seem to find it... Oh wait! There it is, right under the stack of napkins from my lunch and next to the coffee stained daily calendar that still says March 14. it seems that contrary to popular corporate oppinion, listening to the feedback of your customers is actually a good thing.

Of course, those of us here in the entertainment business have known that for years. Right? Well, at least we seem to be catching on to it very quick. With the collapse of the traditional sales pipeline, record label>radio>store, to push sales and dictate what fans of music will buy, artists have learned that they do much better actually giving their true fans what they want. Which means the fans have to have a way to communicate with the artists. That's why we give our clients the ability to embed surveys in their emails.

Try it out, set up a few questions to include in your next send and see what kind of a response it generates. It is amazing how much people appreciate being asked their opinion, especially when they feel like it matters.

Who's checking these boxes?

2008-08-29T11:35:00.007-04:00

Recently I opted-in for an online newsletter and I noticed something fishy. Just below the information I provided and above the submit button were a number of boxes pre-checked. The text explained that I would receive information from partners of the organization I originally planned to sign up with. I immediately erased the web collect form.

Is this permission based marketing? If I hadn't noticed these pre-checked boxes, would that deception be considered explicit permission to hear from these "partners"? Isn't that spam?

You have people who want and need to hear from you. There is a group who wants to know what you are doing, saying and playing. Find your fans, know your fans and reach your fans.

It's as simple as that.

No need to use tricks, those are for kids.

Trading an MP3 - the permission flux

2008-08-24T22:16:00.001-04:00

This whole email for a track trend is kind of a slippery slope. Remember the "no purchase necessary" rule (err federal law) that comes with contests? People feel the same way about giving up an email address.

Giving up an email address (or text/sms, or IM, or twitter, or physical addy) is about permission... and long term interest. It is about a relationship. Just because I want to hear your music, doesn't mean that I give you permission to contact me.

The difference needs to be clearly stated upfront and permissions (and rejections) need to managed with integrity.

Bandwidth Conference, NIN and San Francisco Baby

2008-08-15T14:48:00.007-04:00

We are at Bandwidth this week and in San Francisco all next. Really great folks all around thinking and talking about the big issues in the music industry. Over and over we are hearing about fan engagement, word of mouth and the power of direct to fan communications.

My favorite presentation so far was by 42 Entertainment and the word of mouth campaign they built around Nine Inch Nails "Year Zero" release. Super Sick. Check out the case study here.

If you are in the area, drop me a line to grab a drink and a chat.

David DeVore

859-396-7194

New Partner - PFA

2008-08-12T11:07:00.002-04:00

We are pleased to announce our partnership with PFA, one of the premier media and marketing firms in the US. PFA’s current roster includes the likes of: Paul McCartney, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Starsailor, PBS Soundstage, We The Kings, Athlete, Kelly Clarkson, Shinedown and numerous others. Sweet!

Keith and Paul, we are really looking forward to working with you!