NETTWERK RECORDS AND THE FUTURE OF MUSIC MARKETING

For a while, blogger Mack Collier of the Viral Garden, BMA, and Marketing Profs has had an ongoing conversation with the powers that be at Nettwerk about the direction they're taking with their artists and marketing. (For those of you not in the know, Nettwerk is the label for Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Dido, and Sixpence None the Richer, among others.)

Nettwerk, by the way, is also the label that has acted AGAINST the RIAA, giving legal assistance to the Greubel family and agreeing to pay ALL the legal expenses should the Greubels lose in court. The Greubels were being sued by the RIAA for downloading songs from the internet, one of which was Nettwerk's own "Sk8r Boi" as recorded by Avril Lavigne.

"Suing music fans is not the solution, it's the problem," CEO Terry McBride said.

Truer words were never spoken. But that's not my point tonight.

Mack, Jordan, and Ryan have been corresponding with Nettwerk marketing staff and attending Nettwerk seminars to try to see what relationship bloggers can develop with record companies to help change the current marketing models of music and CDs.

Mack has developed an idea he calls "100 CDs for 100 bloggers," in which CDs would be distributed to bloggers to listen to, rate, and review prior to the CD's street date. It's not EXACTLY a new idea; rather, it's an old idea being re-worked for a new venue. Label reps have been distributing CDs for years and years to college stations for the same purposes, using CMJ and other meters to track airplay and usage. And labels routinely have their new albums screened by traditional print media and other more static and less community based websites. What Mack is suggesting is a new paradigm shift, wherein bloggers and other online information sources of note would be given the chance to audition the music and then introduce it to their respective communities, giving their review, hosting conversation, and helping to promote the album.

"But JD," you say, "can't I already find reviews on other websites and in magazines?" Yes, in fact, you can. The major difference, though, is that with a blog, there is a conversation between the reader and the writer. When you pick up your copy of, say, Entertainment Weekly, you can't ask the writer questions like "why didn't you like it?" (And believe me, people in that magazine and most others don't ever give a solid reason. How could they, when they have to do it in 100 words or less--whereas bloggers have space only limited by their imagination.) On the other hand, if I blog a review of, say, the next Avril Lavigne CD, you can challenge my review by commenting on it. Or you can ask me a question about it, and I can answer you back. All told, the marketing community with blogs is much more community based, and can be viral as all get-out. And it already works. Just look at the comment box for my review of the band Line of Fire and their CD. Most of the readers here would've never heard about them, but I found them, was amazed by their music, got my hands on their CD myself, and talked them up. Right off the bat there's one purchase! It may not sound like much, but any good marketer knows that it's a good start. The blogosphere is just waiting to be tapped.

Jordan and Ryan took some of these ideas to the Nettwerk seminar in Vancouver, so perhaps as dialogue opens up, record labels will figure out new and inventive ways of putting the music out in front of you, the buying public.

Okay, community comment time for my faithful readers: Do you guys think you'd be more likely to check out a CD if I gave you enough information to make an informed choice about it? Do you think my recommendation would carry any weight with you? Also, this is your chance to let Nettwerk know what you would like to see them do to promote artists in the future! Discuss!