What is a good promo budget??

[usefullidiot]

Looking for advice, experiences as to what kind of dollars to spend on an independent debut release over a 12 month period..

The music is definatly commercially viable but not in mainstream sense. We have disribution but are looking at employing a publicity company to take care of pushing the album/video to radio/tv and the media.

Anyone here done a similar thing??It seems silly to spend money on recording an album and then not spending much to promote its release.

Thoughts/experiences....thanks

[XHipHop]

is it the music on your myspace? just curious.

[usefullidiot]

Not entirely, those groups are some of the different bands I play in at the moment....

go to Tamara Rickett - Official Tamara Rickett website for a couple of full lengths of this particular artist


thanks

[usefullidiot]

wow..I cant believe that no one has any experience/ideas!!

Are things really that bad??

[rack gear]

well - this question should probably be in music biz and not studio biz. other than that it's such a broad question there's really no answer.

you could spend next to nothing, or you could spend thousands, or tens of thousands... there's no limit to how much you could spend - touring costs, posters, product, merch, publicists, radio promoters, web marketing specialists... etc...

I think you need to rethink the question:

we have x amount to spend over the next year, where & how is it best spent.

our goals are to _______, _______ and _______.

is the goal to make money selling your music?

is the goal to get noticed and be attractive to a label?

the general responses will be what EVERYONE is doing:
- myspace page
- viral videos for youtube
- maybe hire a publicist
- music to bloggers

here's what trent reznor says:
my thoughts on what to do as a new / unknown artist

[XHipHop]

Originally Posted by redvelvetstudios

well - this question should probably be in music biz and not studio biz. other than that it's such a broad question there's really no answer.

you could spend next to nothing, or you could spend thousands, or tens of thousands... there's no limit to how much you could spend - touring costs, posters, product, merch, publicists, radio promoters, web marketing specialists... etc...

I think you need to rethink the question:

we have x amount to spend over the next year, where & how is it best spent.

our goals are to _______, _______ and _______.

is the goal to make money selling your music?

is the goal to get noticed and be attractive to a label?

the general responses will be what EVERYONE is doing:
- myspace page
- viral videos for youtube
- maybe hire a publicist
- music to bloggers

here's what trent reznor says:
my thoughts on what to do as a new / unknown artist

Good post!

To add to that, after listening to your music, I'd do whatever I could to get a connection with whoever is responsible for picking the music for prime-time dramas like grey's anatomy and try to get your songs in those.

Those shows have put bands like The Fray on the map.

Also, I've just begun promoting my upcoming American release in Australia so I'll let you know how that goes.

[usefullidiot]

Cool thanks for the replies, I didnt realise this section had been split into two so sorry for the mis-placement....

FYI we are looking at spending about 7 k on a 12 month promo plan, employing a specialist promo company to work with print media/TV etc etc...we will see how it all goes


Thanks

[britdick]

You guys are insane. As someone who has been in "Commercial Radio" for a loooooong time...you'd be better off putting the money in a pile and setting it on fire...at least that way you'd be able to at least keep your hands warm...there is NO record label looking at anything other than POP and Hip-Hop these days...there are plenty of brilliant Indies out there...what you need to do is spend the money on a rehearsal space and a tour...playing live is the only way to build a real buzz that anyone is going to pay attention to...and to be brutally honest i didn't hear ANYTHING on that website that i would call "Commercial"...the truth of the industry is that it is ****ed...be legit...be real...be talented and be OUT THERE PLAYING and you'll build an audience and a life for yourselves musically...hope this helps.

[The Byre]

Cart - horse, horse - cart! 7k won't buy you any meaningful PR.

If I am a radio station or (nowadays) a radio chain, I need to know that if I play your songs, there will be CDs and concert DVDs on Amazon and in the shops and that people will have heard of you and will want to listen to your music.

If I am a distributor, I need to know that there is a label or similar force behind you that will put real muscle into promotion and getting the CDs out there and onto the shelves.

If I am a label, I would want to know how many people attend your concerts and will be out there wanting to buy your latest offering. That means I need to see full concerts.

If I am a venue owner or promoter, I would need to know just how many extra bums on seats I will get if I book you. That means I need to see an active fan base.

So it's like the man said - get out there and gig. Build up a following!

[usefullidiot]

Originally Posted by The Byre

Cart - horse, horse - cart! 7k won't buy you any meaningful PR.

If I am a radio station or (nowadays) a radio chain, I need to know that if I play your songs, there will be CDs and concert DVDs on Amazon and in the shops and that people will have heard of you and will want to listen to your music.

If I am a distributor, I need to know that there is a label or similar force behind you that will put real muscle into promotion and getting the CDs out there and onto the shelves.

If I am a label, I would want to know how many people attend your concerts and will be out there wanting to buy your latest offering. That means I need to see full concerts.

If I am a venue owner or promoter, I would need to know just how many extra bums on seats I will get if I book you. That means I need to see an active fan base.

So it's like the man said - get out there and gig. Build up a following!

Thanks for your reply but I disagree on a number of points...

7k buys me a foot in the door, the firm that we are employing is a go between. They perform a function that traditionally was done by the labels..these firms are filling the market for the indie musician who still needs the attention of the media but doesnt have the contacts...these guys organise radio interviews, newpaper interviews, magazine articles etc etc...


As for radios, we are probably going to target the student/independent ones before "crossing over" to the mainstream...this should ensure that we make money off the "cool" guys who dont want to be associated with the mainstream before crossing over to the mums and dads....student radio will be the focus for the next 6 months, see what happens after that.

Distribution wise, we have a good deal. Its their job to ensure the thing is on the shelves..nothing to do with a label.

I agree get out there and gig....but its easy to become over-cooked in the smallish cities....(we are from NZ)...plus the costs of travel, paying musicians, sound guys really means that gigs serve as loss leaders for the time being.


Again thanks for your ideas/thoughts keep em coming

[usefullidiot]

Originally Posted by britdick

You guys are insane. As someone who has been in "Commercial Radio" for a loooooong time...you'd be better off putting the money in a pile and setting it on fire...at least that way you'd be able to at least keep your hands warm...there is NO record label looking at anything other than POP and Hip-Hop these days...there are plenty of brilliant Indies out there...what you need to do is spend the money on a rehearsal space and a tour...playing live is the only way to build a real buzz that anyone is going to pay attention to...and to be brutally honest i didn't hear ANYTHING on that website that i would call "Commercial"...the truth of the industry is that it is ****ed...be legit...be real...be talented and be OUT THERE PLAYING and you'll build an audience and a life for yourselves musically...hope this helps.

Thanks for your comments,

Firstly commercial radio is not a great concern for us and its not that high on our agenda, secondly there are tonnes of record labels looking for lots of different acts (Ipecac/relapse/one little indian etc etc) but I never said we were interested in anything of that nature anyway. In fact if we were offered a deal tomorrow I would turn it down....we have an album, we have distribution, at this stage we need to gig and get promoted. Simple.

Thirdly I dont actually think the industry is fu**t at all. This band is one of many that I play in, I make a living playing for a variety of groups in a variety of styles. Our expectation for this record is to sell around 3000 copies over 12 months, build a solid fan base and build a long term business. Everyone in this band has jobs that "he or she" likes, we dont hold any dreams of being famous we just want to be able to sell enough to keep the albums coming out, pay ourselves and the musicians..no big deal.

You also need to remember that we are in NZ, its a very differnet game down here. There is a HUGE amount of government funding for projects/music videos etc etc, again companies like the one we are dealing with provide an angle into those things....virtually every succesful band in NZ has had albums/singles and or videos paid for by government at one level or another....its a really strange setup but one that you have to work with down here.

Anyway, I agree on the touring thing.

Thanks

[usefullidiot]

Jules can you move this to the music business section please...

[narcoman]

actually if you can double that that would be a good indie promo figure for NZ. You can work a series of two singles to promote and act/album in the UK for £10k. As soon as you talk mainstream though - gotta add a zero and multiply by 5.

[soundsundergroun]

Originally Posted by The Byre

Cart - horse, horse - cart! 7k won't buy you any meaningful PR.

I would disagree. It can buy you several small ads in Alternative Press and other similar publications and internet sites that cater to that market. I was in a band that released a CD in '06 which was distributed by Red Distribution through Victory Records (though we were not on Victory). We sold enough physical CD's that our label and the parent label made their money back and then some.

No, 7k won't sell you a million units, but it's entirely possible to sell 10k units or more if you play your cards right--and most importantly, if the music is good and has a market.

[narcoman]

adverts? Only useful as a way into magazines etc. And in 2010 {for that be what the OP must be looking at now} magazines are not all that useful anymore!

PR company would be the way - and a press agent. The rest is in the lap of the gods at that price point.