Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: Promote Your Show Like a Movie. [This article was originally published in 2009.]I absolutely love one of the posts by a blogger known as the Performance Monkey. Here’s a key snippet:“Tell me you wouldn’t love this. You’re settling into your seat at the theatre. The curtain is about to rise on The Jersey Boys, say, or Act Without Words II. But before the show begins, the stars of three or four other...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: Quality? Marketability? Yes, Please. [This article was originally published in 2009.]I want to call your attention to a very interesting exchange between two smart Bobs. One is Bob Lefsetz, who you can follow at his blog, and another is Bob Ezrin, who is a longtime, successful record producer.In this post, Lefsetz says basically that for musicians today, it’s no longer about quality. It’s simply about whether or not somebody chooses to put...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: Funny How Supply and Demand Have Nothing to Do With It. [This article was originally published in 2009.]I recently read an article that, though I hesitate to be unkind, is incredibly shallow. Here’s a key tidbit:“Who is responsible for the high prices consumers have to pay to see their favorite artists? Three culprits jump to mind.”The author then goes on to list them. You might want to sit down for this so...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: The Future Is a Niche Market. [This article was originally published in 2009.]We talk all the time about the future being a niche market, and in a past Selling Out post I wrote that Stewart Copeland of The Police said this:“There is no otherwise. Unless you are selected by the titans of industry to be the next iPod icon like U2 or something, you’ve got to find a niche.Niches are all...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: You Are Your Marketing (Because Nothing Else Works). [This article was originally published in 2009.] You may remember: You Are Your Marketing Part I and Part II.One of Google’s worst ideas was trying to sell traditional media. Specifically, it went into the business a while back of selling radio ad time and print ad space. I told you when they killed the print ad program, and now they’ve killed the radio program....

Read More

Happy #FBF! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: TV Is an Excellent Way to Market Your Live Show. [Editor’s Note: This post is from 2009.]No, I’m not talking about TV advertising.I’m talking about something like what This American Life does. It started as a radio show, of course, and became a TV show, a podcast and a bunch of other things.But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s most successful form is as a live show. Other NPR favorites like Wait...

Read More

Happy #FBF! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: The Best Terrible Idea I’ve Ever Heard. [Editor's Note: This post is from 2009.]Jose Freese, drummer for Nine Inch Nails, has come up with an extremely creative way to promote his new album (via Lefsetz) by bundling interesting premiums with purchase.Heard that a million times, you say? As stale as the cupcake craze, you say?Well, how’s this for a premium?For just $75,000, not only will you get a signed copy of the...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: Bowling Alone -- Why Live Entertainment Is More Valuable Than Ever.For those of you who’ve heard my "Two Bruces" talk, you’re familiar with the example of a record and a concert ticket in 1985 being worth about the same amount, whereas now [circa 2009], the ticket’s worth about six times more than the record.Notice, though, that this is a bi-directional phenomenon: Not only has recorded and broadcast stuff dropped in value; live...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: Preparing for a Zombie Invasion Makes Good Marketing.I got a good comment from a person who said he’d like to hear more ways that someone can actually take word of what they’re doing out to the marketplace. The reason this is such a big question now [circa 2009] is that a) traditional marketing is expensive, and b) traditional marketing is ineffective. The worst of both worlds.Here’s an idea that I just had...

Read More

Happy #TBT! Here’s an oldie-but-goodie post from Jim: You Are Your Marketing, Part II. [This post was originally published in April 2009. Read Part I here.]Unfortunately, being your own marketing goes a lot deeper than just designing a cool product, service, show or whatever.It’s about building your whole operation to support that which is cool and interesting about what you do.It’s about commitment to something special.And it’s the enemy of mediocrity.Yesterday, I was reminded of this as I stood in...

Read More