To generate buzz for an upcoming release, accomplished artists have a variety of methods for digital exposure. The most traditional and straightforward is good old-fashioned pitching, which is essentially reaching out to blogs and publications that hone in on the artist’s stylistic niche. This is often the go-to strategy for independent artists, as pitching can be done without PR representation and rarely requires an expense. Another, costlier route is advertising, often done through a broad variety of spectrums – from traditional print publications to new and engaging mobile media advertisements.
A successful music PR campaign mixes and matches traditional exposure sources with brand new outlets and methods brought on by social media and the internet, and combining pitching with advertising can result in this. Another method is very new, and falls somewhere between pitching and advertising. It’s called advanced streaming. Recently, sites like Pitchfork and NPR have streamed albums in their entirety for free, sometimes weeks ahead of their street date. In an era where artists and (often even more so) their management get extremely upset from early leakages, many fans wonder why artists and publications alike are so receptive to streaming albums from artists that already have an embedded fan base. The answer relies on blog buzz, publication relationships, and – surprisingly enough – leakage prevention.
“Blog buzz” is a fairly recent term used to describe a topic’s increasing presence on the blogosphere, essentially referring to all blogs in a specific niche. For instance, the “music blogosphere” refers to sites like Gorilla vs. Bear, Music Ninja, Obscure Sound, and Knox Road; these are sites written in blog format from a fairly intimate staff, which essentially dish out music recommendations of under-exposed acts. Above the music blogosphere in terms of views and notoriety are sites like Pitchfork and NPR, who are often deemed as goliaths in helping get the word out about independent artists. In reality, many quality independent artists are first discovered on the blogosphere, before being picked up by a big label/PR firm and vetted for the goliath sites; these two steps can occur interchangeably.
When an independent artist undergoes these trials, and catapults from smaller entries in the music blogosphere to sites like Pitchfork, they enter a new realm of increased notability. Simply, this is the stage of an artist’s career where their PR team can send out a new track, music video, or random press release to a large site, and they won’t hesitate to post it – or at least give it a listen. Familiarity equates to easy hits, and editors know this. This stage for artists is an extreme luxury compared to many smaller-budgeted acts that can barely get Pitchfork or NPR to give their track a chance. Often times a shortcut to establishing these elevated relationships with publications is to offer some sort of exclusive. Recently, this involves advanced album streams. Pitchfork may realize that posting your music video or single is simply not worth it, as every other blog on the net is posting the same exact thing. But offer them an entire advanced stream of your upcoming album, and make it an exclusive? This is when the editor’s ears are perking up.
Forming this type of relationship with Pitchfork or NPR is obviously beneficial in the long run, especially as their postings can result in a positive domino effect. Just as the major sites cull selections from the music blogosphere, the music blogosphere can do the same – depending on how elitist a blog’s taste. In this sense, advanced album streams can drum up substantial and diverse publicity for an artist whose singles and/or music videos have been effectively promoted prior. After all, posting an advanced album that has no buzz is not going to do much. But for a release that does have ample buzz, an advance stream can actually prevent leaks – or at least delay them. Fans anticipating a specific date for the stream can result in an experience much like Radiohead’s 2007 album In Rainbows — where few promos were distributed before it was available online in full. In sort of a throwback, fans find a common anticipatory bond in anticipating an album’s release date. And even in recent cases where the album is just streamed, it’s enough justification for fans to get excited, and will likely hold off those whose impatience would result in downloading a leak of the album regardless.
Sites like Pitchfork are integrating innovative quirks into their advanced streaming process, like animated visual art and accompanying lyrics. Many music fans argue that digital releases do not have the same artistic feel of the hard copy, so methods like these are an attempt to satisfy those who prefer holding a physical album into their hands as opposed to opening an MP3 file. Efforts like these show that advanced album streaming is here to stay, and certainly an approach that benefits buzz-seeking musicians as much as the publications that yearn for hits. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved, as musicians get increased notoriety, publications gets more hits, and the fans get their music even earlier than expected. If anything, advanced album streaming is bringing back the concept of communally waiting for an album. This blends the nostalgic with the modern and sleek, one of the marks of a quality music PR campaign.
Advanced Album Streaming: A New Digital Trend in Music
To generate buzz for an upcoming release, accomplished artists have a variety of methods for digital exposure. The most traditional and straightforward is good old-fashioned pitching, which is essentially reaching out to blogs and publications that hone in on the artist’s stylistic niche. This is often the go-to strategy for independent artists, as pitching can be done without PR representation and rarely requires an expense. Another, costlier route is advertising, often done through a broad variety of spectrums – from traditional print publications to new and engaging mobile media advertisements.
A successful music PR campaign mixes and matches traditional exposure sources with brand new outlets and methods brought on by social media and the internet, and combining pitching with advertising can result in this. Another method is very new, and falls somewhere between pitching and advertising. It’s called advanced streaming. Recently, sites like Pitchfork and NPR have streamed albums in their entirety for free, sometimes weeks ahead of their street date. In an era where artists and (often even more so) their management get extremely upset from early leakages, many fans wonder why artists and publications alike are so receptive to streaming albums from artists that already have an embedded fan base. The answer relies on blog buzz, publication relationships, and – surprisingly enough – leakage prevention.
“Blog buzz” is a fairly recent term used to describe a topic’s increasing presence on the blogosphere, essentially referring to all blogs in a specific niche. For instance, the “music blogosphere” refers to sites like Gorilla vs. Bear, Music Ninja, Obscure Sound, and Knox Road; these are sites written in blog format from a fairly intimate staff, which essentially dish out music recommendations of under-exposed acts. Above the music blogosphere in terms of views and notoriety are sites like Pitchfork and NPR, who are often deemed as goliaths in helping get the word out about independent artists. In reality, many quality independent artists are first discovered on the blogosphere, before being picked up by a big label/PR firm and vetted for the goliath sites; these two steps can occur interchangeably.
When an independent artist undergoes these trials, and catapults from smaller entries in the music blogosphere to sites like Pitchfork, they enter a new realm of increased notability. Simply, this is the stage of an artist’s career where their PR team can send out a new track, music video, or random press release to a large site, and they won’t hesitate to post it – or at least give it a listen. Familiarity equates to easy hits, and editors know this. This stage for artists is an extreme luxury compared to many smaller-budgeted acts that can barely get Pitchfork or NPR to give their track a chance. Often times a shortcut to establishing these elevated relationships with publications is to offer some sort of exclusive. Recently, this involves advanced album streams. Pitchfork may realize that posting your music video or single is simply not worth it, as every other blog on the net is posting the same exact thing. But offer them an entire advanced stream of your upcoming album, and make it an exclusive? This is when the editor’s ears are perking up.
Forming this type of relationship with Pitchfork or NPR is obviously beneficial in the long run, especially as their postings can result in a positive domino effect. Just as the major sites cull selections from the music blogosphere, the music blogosphere can do the same – depending on how elitist a blog’s taste. In this sense, advanced album streams can drum up substantial and diverse publicity for an artist whose singles and/or music videos have been effectively promoted prior. After all, posting an advanced album that has no buzz is not going to do much. But for a release that does have ample buzz, an advance stream can actually prevent leaks – or at least delay them. Fans anticipating a specific date for the stream can result in an experience much like Radiohead’s 2007 album In Rainbows — where few promos were distributed before it was available online in full. In sort of a throwback, fans find a common anticipatory bond in anticipating an album’s release date. And even in recent cases where the album is just streamed, it’s enough justification for fans to get excited, and will likely hold off those whose impatience would result in downloading a leak of the album regardless.
Sites like Pitchfork are integrating innovative quirks into their advanced streaming process, like animated visual art and accompanying lyrics. Many music fans argue that digital releases do not have the same artistic feel of the hard copy, so methods like these are an attempt to satisfy those who prefer holding a physical album into their hands as opposed to opening an MP3 file. Efforts like these show that advanced album streaming is here to stay, and certainly an approach that benefits buzz-seeking musicians as much as the publications that yearn for hits. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved, as musicians get increased notoriety, publications gets more hits, and the fans get their music even earlier than expected. If anything, advanced album streaming is bringing back the concept of communally waiting for an album. This blends the nostalgic with the modern and sleek, one of the marks of a quality music PR campaign.
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