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Re: WAYS TO SELL OURSELVES: ONLINE



Thanks, Rick. This is good advice.  I like the part about these people 
just 
being groups of people....humans. You are right. It makes a big difference 
when you make personal contact with people first.  I take this for granted 
often, working for a company of over 100,000 employees, where I work from 
home, and participate or lead virtual meetings and conference calls all 
day 
long. We don't have a choice but to work effectively  in a 
non-face-to-face 
environment.

Kris


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "loop.pool" <looppool@cruzio.com>
To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 10:13 PM
Subject: WAYS TO SELL OURSELVES: ONLINE


> Kris wrote:
> "How about how to get on radio stations. I think I spent a whole weekend 
>a 
> year ago sending out press packs to about 20 radio stations. It probably 
> worked on two of them...not much return on investment, and I'm reluctant 
> to try it again."
>
> I hear your reluctance but also have a couple of things to say about 
>being 
> more effective in your connection with the DJs.
>
> I've been the publicist, promoter, what have you for every music project 
> I've been in (except for a few commercial projects)
> and what I've come to believe is this:
>
> The music business and all of it's branches are just fairly small tribes 
> of people.  We tend to view them as rather monolithic when, in fact, 
>they 
> are just composed of individual human beings who all have their own 
> respective agendas about things. Like any small community,  their are 
> personalities in it who are idiosyncratic and you have to cater to those 
> individual personalities.
>
> Sending material out is important but think about the myriad of 
> unsolicited pieces of mail you get daily by people trying to sell you 
> something.    Unless someone has mentioned something to you in advance, 
> you will have a tendency to chuck stuff,  especially if you are 
>inundated 
> the way most print journalists and on air disc jockeys are.
>
> Consequently, it is important to make a human connection with someone 
>who 
> you want to play and promote your CD.
> I find that calling someone first and asking them if you can send them 
>(or 
> better yet,  bring them) your recording is so much more effective than 
> just sending out packets.
>
> I have also found that if you can attach that connection with an event 
> that you are associated with can really increase the interest of the 
> journalist or DJ.       I try to associate my record releases with 
>Events 
> (CD release parties) or Festivals to maximize the interest of the DJ or 
> Journalist.     They are much more inclined to grant you an interview 
> which inevitably leaves to the playing of several tunes on the CD or, 
> better yet,   a live on the air performance.
>
> Additionally, I have discovered that DJs love to help out, especially if 
> they believe that they are on the cusp of a happening event or movement. 
> I've found it very effective to specifically let DJs know that you (and 
> your movement or style of music) can really
> use their help.     I've had incredible success with the DJs at KUSP, 
> KKUP, KAZU and, especially,  KZSC the local college radio station.
>
> Time of the year is important, too.    This year the new DJs at UCSC 
>were 
> in the first week of their programs when we had Y2K5.  They were 
> discombobulated,   not set in their routines and consequently,  I didn't 
> get an ounce of publicity for the
> show on that the station...........the first time in several years.    
>It 
> makes me want to communicate with the RPM director
> at the station to seek his or her advice about when to best have such an 
> event in the future.
>
> In the case of this particular station, there are luckily several shows 
>a 
> week who might play our stuff (the Live Looping community)
> and that's a lot of energy because you might have to talk to four or 
>five 
> DJs before you find that one gem of a person who wants to help out. 
> It's all worth it, however.   In the last two years two DJs at that 
> station have aided and helped my career and the
> Looping events immeasurably..................now, of course, they have 
> graduated and I have to do it all over again..........lol.
>
>
>
>
>