Psst: Music promotion changes its tune

Last update: October 19, 2009 - 4:51 PM

MUSIC PROMOTION CHANGES ITS TUNE

Can you imagine some smart-aleck popster writing a song called "iPods Killed the Radio Star"? Just as MTV and videos revolutionized the music industry in the 1980s, the marketing of music has changed dramatically in the '00s. In a recent cover story, Billboard rated "The 100 Top Ways to Get Your Music in the Public Eye."

Apple rules, according to a panel of two-dozen industry experts. Commercials for Apple products (iPod, iPhone, etc.) are the best exposure for a song. No. 2 is performing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." That means Oprah is bigger than the Olympics or the Super Bowl, which tie as the third best exposure for a song.

Being the free single of the week on iTunes (4) is more potent than headlining an arena tour (9). Having a song on "Grey's Anatomy" (5) sells more downloads than a song on "American Idol" (7). Having a tune featured on CW's "Gossip Girl" (10) (think Kings of Leon) is better than performing on "Saturday Night Live" (15). A Wal-Mart endcap (13) is superior to one at Target (27). A mention on www.perezhilton.com (37) is more impactful than an Entertainment Weekly cover (43) or a review in the New York Times (45) or on pitchfork.com (63). Better yet is placement in the video game "Guitar Hero" (16) and Radio Disney airplay (21).

An artist's twitter (66) rates ahead of an album displayed at Starbucks (68) and a video in rotation on CMT (93) or BET (98). And, proving that new media killed the radio stars, last is a song in medium rotation at a metro R&B station.

JON BREAM