Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A Timber Timbre Halloween

I am on the Arts & Crafts email list and about a week ago I received an email that I think is a great example of marketing and using the free model to release an album. The email was to inform me that the band Timber Timbre was releasing a self-titled album that day and for one week only the album would be available for free on Timber Timbre’s website. The email gave a very brief yet informative profile of the band and what their sound was like. Also, the email mentioned some of the band's credentials such as being nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize and included their upcoming tour dates. The most interesting part of this email was how they presented this album: “Timber Timbre takes on the topic of love but presents it in a cloak of macabre beauty that is perfect for the Halloween season. Songs full of eerie sounds, dark imagery and ghoulish lyrics will make for a spellbinding session on Morning Becomes Eclectic." It’s great how they used the Halloween season to help describe the album as well as promote it. Because people are in the Halloween spirit this time of year, they will be more willing to get an album that is described as dark and spooky, rather than an album described as bright and cheery. It is a smart tactic to compare your product to something that everyone can recognize and relate to. Also, since this album was free for the week leading up to Halloween, recipients of this email will visit the bands website, download this album (because who can resist free?), see that they are playing a show in a near-by city, go see the show, buy some merch, buy their previous albums, and the list of possibilities goes on. This is an excellent way to reach out and develop new fans, heck, it won me over.

Erin Schwaba

1 comment:

  1. I got this email a little while ago as well I think. I briefly read over it, but halloween and love? That seems to be an odd pairing to me. When I think halloween I think of cheap merchandise and people who want free candy. But oh well... Either way, marketing themselves through Columbia cannot hurt. I tend to click the myspace links of bands that are advertised in those emails, so I am sure that hundreds of other people do the same.

    - Derek Jenkins

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