You only have to look at the work Quite Great has done on promoting music videos over the years to understand the impact this can have. On a grand scale, the work Quite Great did on the track Rockstar for Nickelback shows the importance of creative video content helping to increase interest in a video and therefore help the UK radio promotions team and the TV plugging team at the same time. There were many wonderful PR creative nuggets that ended up in the national newspaper gossip columns and this must have helped the hardworking national TV and radio promotions team to get impactful play all round.
But when you are a small band and you are trying to create a video free of charge, with the help of a friend with a video camera or for a budget price from one of the video companies who offer videos for under £1000 or £500, make sure you get what you paid for and that is most of all creative thinking. Initially, don’t worry about whether your music promo video is going to be on Scuzz or any of the other array of terrestrial channels. Your aim is to get viral activity and get your video and hence your music seen and heard. Therefore you will rely on one of three things to promote your music video online and none of them are digital PR companies who promise to drive hundreds of thousands of views on youtube as we all know what that means.
Number one, a balls out great performance highlighting your great song, that will then end up being passed from friend to friend and gaining massive views from REAL people – as these are the only ones you want. Number two, ideally combined with number one but not necessarily, a creative idea that fits the song; check out the likes of the video promotion work we did for the brilliant Mooli and their awesome track, Automatic. Great performance, great track, compelling storyline resulting in shedloads of views resulting from appropriate sites targeted to spread the word. Then finally, number three, controversy! If you want a quick hit, go for controversy. But make sure you don’t think you can control the viral fallout if it all goes mad. Bad PR can result and don’t think there is no such thing as bad PR; anyone who professes bad PR can be good PR doesn’t understand when bad PR was always meant to be bad PR, so it gets good PR … read it slowly as this makes perfect sense.
There are many stories of musicians, artists and talented people who, at the start of their career, were told to forget about their dreams and, so to speak, get a day job at the local factory. It’s said that Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
The guys who became the Fab Four were told by a recording company: “we don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out”. You can guess how the company execs felt when the millions started to roll in for The Beatles.
At the beginning of his career, rap star Jay-Z couldn’t get signed to any record labels, which led him to create his own music powerhouse – the highly successful Roc-A-Fella Records.
So, if you’re an up-and-coming musician or band seeking your big break into the limelight, what do you need to do to keep yourself in the game and keep pursuing your big dream?
Trust in yourself
If you’ve been gifted with a talent for music, you’ll probably know it by now. In fact, you’ll probably know it so deeply that you won’t need somebody else to validate your talent. Why? Because you’ve been singing for years – ever since you could use mum’s hairbrush for a mic! You’ll have taken part in school plays and musicals or joined a local band, probably jumping at any performance opportunities where you could showcase your gifts. In many ways, you’ve been at this game for a while and you know inside you that you’re meant to do this. Now, it’s time to trust that inner calling.
Be prepared to work for the big break
Rome wasn’t built in a day. We know that’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s true. The music business is competitive and you’ve got to put in the time, effort and dedication in order to succeed and break through onto the bigger stage. If you really love what you do, then you’ll be ready to put in the countless hours of hard work – because you’re doing what you love, aren’t you?
Get help and promotional support
As good fortune would have it, there are lots of people out there who can support you – with coaching, mentoring and, most vitally, promotion. We all need a bit of help and support from people who have been at the game a little longer than us, whether they are voice coaches, producers, promoters or marketing experts. When we see behind the scenes clips on talent shows like The X Factor, we often get a demonstration of how a little professional coaching can go a long way in transforming a talented but frumpy-looking singer into a superstar almost overnight. Before a big show or talent contest, the help of make-up artists and dressing experts can give you that bit of extra confidence that can help you to improve your performance.
When it comes to performing live and putting your music in front of talent scouts, promotional support is vitally important – especially by people who know what they are doing – which is our job at Quite Great. So there you have it: just three points to consider for now. More on this topic in future blog posts.
skype – quitegr8