Jay-Z Pitches New Album at Free Show

JAY-Z.  His name alone can grab anyone's attention.  Whether you hate him or love him, he has proved he's here to stay.  Am I a Jay-Z fan? I would say yes.  I haven't bought or listened to his new album "The Bluepring 3" yet, but not because I don't want to. I tend to listen to music at my own pace.  But that doesn't mean I can't or don't appreciate the power Jay-Z has. Not only in his music but in his ability to use the power to intensify the marketing and promotions that surround him.  

"For the occasion Jay-Z performed a guerrilla show on Wednesday night at the Gramercy Theater, a 600-capacity club on East 23rd Street in Manhattan, with help from MySpace Music and DJ Hero, a new video game that adapts the Guitar Hero model for hip-hop. It was announced barely 24 hours before, and 250 fans were given free tickets. (The other 350 or so in attendance were assorted V.I.P.’s from the companies involved, and from the news media. They didn’t pay, either.)"

I've gotta say, he knows how to keep the fans on their toes.  Imagine your favorite artist throwing a surprise concert and you have the chance to go watch them for free the next day.... I'm pretty sure it would benefit their reputation, more than the opposite. But okay, so he threw a surprise concert. People do that on occasion.  The best part about this from a marketing standpoint is that he was able to use MySpace and DJ Hero (the new video game) and they were able to use him.  A little give and take... they put the concert together for him... he gives them the time to do a little demonstration of  DJ Hero...everyone wins.  The exposure is the key.  People who come to see Jay-Z were surrounded by the logos of MySpace and DJ Hero.  The link between all three are imprinted in the audiences heads, short term or long term, it works.  

-Lyndsie Klott

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/jay-z-pitches-new-album-at-free-show/?scp=4&sq=music%20marketing&st=cse