The Record Label as a Marketing Company

Record labels are often considered to exist in order to spot great music and artists, develop careers and make music available to the public. While there is no doubting that A&R activities are central to a record label’s activities, an often overlooked role is that of the record label as a marketing company.

In truth all a record label really is, is a marketing company. In the vast majority of cases they exist to take a product to market and generate income (and hopefully profit!) from it.

In the current market of new media and digital downloads it has become easier than ever to reach customers, both with music and a marketing message. At the same time, however, everybody is able to do it and so it is more important than ever that record labels make sure their music stands out from the crowd.

So, to the important question…how can a record label do this?

There are two key areas a record label can focus on when promoting and marketing music.

Pre-Release / ‘Tastemaker’ Activities
The first area includes those activities that are carried out in advance of release to build a ‘buzz’ around the music, which at Kahua Music we refer to as ‘tastemaker’ promotions. These activities can include:

• Getting reviews and articles in magazines, papers and on websites
• Achieving plays on specialist radio shows
• For dance music, securing plays from influential club DJs
• Making record shops and download sites aware of your forthcoming release, either directly or via a distributor

Release Date Activities
The second area includes activities carried out at the time of release to inform consumers that you have a product to sell. The tastemaker activities already carried out provide the fuel for the following activities:

• Email-shots to your target market
• New media – Myspace, Facebook, Blogs, Message Board & Forums, YouTube etc
• Advertisments
• If the music has more mainstream appeal, then daytime radio and music channel plays
• Further press coverage

And so, to the same important question…how can a record label do this?

There are essentially two ways a label can carry out the above activities – either themselves or by engaging the services of a music promotions company such as Kahua Music. We will cover the areas outlined above in more detail in future blog postings.

The Record Label as a Marketing Company