How to spend $100,000 to break an artist
…and how to do it for a fraction of the cost.
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I write about music marketing via my weekly newsletter, Deep Cuts [Subscribe]. Get daily tips on Instagram @deepcuts.co.
Two conversations I keep having as a music marketing consultant:
- “We’ve got the money, we just don’t know where to spend it. What actually matters?”
- “We have high hopes for this release but the budget’s tight because we’re already so far in the red”
When thinking about marketing a record, the first place I start is with the overall budget. It’s your greatest predictor of marketing activities and provides the following:
1) Viability of your marketing ideas
Many a time I’ve lead brainstorms that result in some sort of “pop up” concept around release week. Things like: storefront takeovers, artists giving tatts in real time, a stage where the artist can perform the new record with bespoke, themed cocktails for the event. There is absolutely no way you can execute this at the highest level on a $10,000 marketing budget, heck, probs not even with a $100,000 marketing budget. Therefore, your team should spend its time/resources investigating other ideas.
2) Feasibility test to see what shape ideas take
The budget determines how you pull off your marketing ideas. For example, if a music video needs to be made for $2,000 — the treatment and team will look a lot different to a $75,000 video. At $2,000, your cast are friends. The crew is stripped back and clothing will be borrowed and returned to…
