The first guide of its kind--originally published in 2007--based on an actual independent hip hop LP release in the (then, and still) brave new world of digital music marketing. Getting your music distributed, marketed, reviewed, and PAID is no easy task. This blue print should help. It's as relevant now in 2016 as it was a decade ago. It's a working blueprint I used to launch this and other records and digital music products, and includes marketing strategy, print and radio publicity and advertising, traditional retail and digital distribution, social media and viral marketing / videos. It's been downloaded, embedded, and used hundreds of thousands of times from different sites all over the internet; I hope it helps you too. Good luck! And never stop chasing the dream -- but don't go broke giving chase: READ THIS FIRST!.

1. NEW MUSIC AND MEDIA MARKETING BLUEPRINT
AN INTEGRATED MARKETING, PUBLICITY, VIRAL, RETAIL & DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PLAN
by Oliver Wright, Esq.
Note: I wrote this for a release about 1.5 years ago.
But it’s just as relevant today, assuming more emphasis on Twitter and FaceBook.
“a brilliant and incredibly moving album”
JIVE Magazine Rating--4 out of 5 stars

2. SALES &
MARKETING
~
overview & key
points

3. ATTACK PLAN
TERRAIN: As the record industry grows more rigid and less relevant everyday, the limber entertainment industry stretches
comfortably into cyberspace. The majority of artists won’t be impacted either way: the Old Guard never did right by them to begin with,
and of those artists poking around the new digital universe, most seem to favor the Field of Dreams career strategy. But they won’t come.
In this way the artist must understand both the old system and the newly emerging one in order to chart a course through the chaos. The
winners will be those who understand the new environment and find a way to connect the audience with the artist. We think we know
how, and it’s not rocket science. What’s good for the consumer, after all, is good for business. Give them something they like, and they’ll pay
you. For talented musicians with forward-thoughts, each day promises more, as the Digital Revolution has facilitated giving like never before.
STRATEGY: Combining elements of the old and the new, ours is an Integrated Marketing Campaign of internet and on-
air promotions, print ads, direct to consumer, and parallel in-house and outsourced New Media viral
marketing campaigns targeting social networking and bookmarking sites, among others. Our marketing strategy is timed
to optimize our resources, deploying them judiciously toward a sustainable increase in awareness and sales, culminating when...
TACTICS: Ariano’s art is his music is his most valuable asset. How that asset is best deployed and monetized in today’s egalitarian,
bottom-up digital world is a very different proposition than it was yesterday. The name of the game isn’t releasing an album a year; it’s
about rolling out media, entertainment, knowledge, anything ENGAGING--music, video (better still, compressed video optimized for
mobile viewing), flash games, ring tones, etc. etc. and often for free--over an extended period of time. Every media asset released
into the stream of commerce carries with it the potential to pop, putting Ariano’s genius on display for a
worldwide audience. Thus: our pre-street giveaways of 1000s of the Kev Brown produced “prequel” CDs; the pressing and street level
distribution of 3000 free copies of the sequel to the prequel, or, put otherwise, a prequel to the forthcoming single; our 25% promotional
set-aside from the pressing of the single itself; the inclusion on that single of a bonus track that is itself a bona fide hit; promotional
giveaways of i-Tunes gift cards customized to the album’s unique cover art; and numerous other promo campaigns in the works.

4. THE BATTLE FOR ATTENTION IS FOUGHT ON MANY FRONTS
•multimedia website
•social media pages and extend out into far reaches of cyberspace. As noted above, our marketing strategy plan integrates
•internet and on-air promotions,
•full page print advertising
•parallel in-house and outsourced New Media marketing campaigns targeting
•social networking and bookmarking sites
•IM song swapping, MP3 blogs, genre relevant music websites, and
•viral video.
But we’d be remiss to eschew the traditional, top-down promotional model, which is why we are:
•servicing commercial and noncommercial radio and hired an
• independent radio promoter to work the album and the singles into heavy rotation and up the charts; we are taking out
•full page print ads in pubs serving the key action-sports-music demographic; and we are
•shooting videos for both singles, which we’ll push to cable (despite its decreasing relevance),
•post to video sharing sites (Google Video, You Tube, MySpace), and use on our own
•video blog (Blip) and website to attract and retain visitors.”

5. KEY SELLING POINTS
• PAST SUCCESS AND DEEP INDUSTRY CONNECTS: LD and Ariano’s last album, A Thin Line, shipped over 10,000 units on the
open, and is already considered a classic, both underground and above. This was without the benefit of a promotion or marketing budget, a
support team, nor even LD & Ariano, who were touring during much of the time after the album dropped. In fact, it is because of, not despite,
their touring that A Thin Line did what it did. It didn’t hurt that their respect and standing within the rap community landed the a host of guest
spots from critically acclaimed artists such as: Chali 2NA and Akil of Jurassic 5, Kev Brown, RBX (Dogg Pound) 2Mex, DJ
Rhetmattic, and Key Kool of the Visionaries. That said, now that Ariano has some money and manpower behind him, the prospects for
the stellar album are sky high. The initial buzz confirms this.
• THRIVES ON STAGE: Though the industry is in a state of flux, one thing that has not changed--indeed, will never change because it cannot
be replicated no matter how small Intel makes its chips--is the significance of live performance, which happens to be Ariano’s forte. Any serious
release, whether by an indie or major artist, is predicated upon live shows and touring. For this, we hired Sleep as a booking agent. Sleep is himself
a hip hop artist on the Up Above label who has earned himself a stellar booking reputation. Sleep has arranged a formidable One Night Stand
Tour that puts Ariano in cities where he’s a rock star, and in states he’s never stepped foot in. He’ll be watering old seeds, planting new ones, and
growing his fan base the old fashioned way.
• CO-MARKETING W/ OTHER ARTISTS: Just ahead of Ariano’s One Night Stand home coming and grand finale with Talib Kweli at
the Queen Mary in Long Beach, our marketing strategy kicks into high gear when we (Technicali Sound) release RBX of the Dogg Pound’s
highly-anticipated album, “Broken Silence.” With tracks produced by Snoop Dogg, and six tracks featuring Ariano prominently (some of which
he opens), the album will springboard Ariano’s profile, particularly within a rap demographic outside his core fan base. Moreover, he and RBX--
close friends and frequent collaborators--will be cross-promoting their albums, with Ariano accompanying RBX on all radio and TV appearances.
• OTHER INDIE LABEL SUPPORT. Besides Technicali, Ariano’s enviable working relationships with the best in the business, including
numerous Stones Throw and Up Above recording artists, grants him unique, direct (and free) access--via mailing lists and other coveted
direct marketing resources--to a large and loyal base of underground hip hop fans who are proven and reliable consumers of Ariano’s brand of
music. Likewise for RBX, LMNO and other top acts we are releasing through Technicali Sound.
• ACTION hip-hop meetsDEMOGRAPHIC: Orange County is the global epicenter Quicksilver, No Doubt, Hurley & Sublime; and the core fan base
underground
SPORTS
alt rock music scenes; the birthplace of bands and brands such as
of both the huge action sports industry and the alternative/
of its newest star--Ariano, Ariano’s team is focusing on part of this fan base, which has huge growth potential. We are running a full page, four color glossy ad
in Skinny Magazine’s “Rock the Bells” issue, whose core readership is the surf, skate and and urban music crowd. Likewise, negotiations are underway with
the hottest up-and-coming clothing lines for co-branding and sponsorship deals. Same for the energy drink and alcoholic beverage markets.

6. KEY RETAIL
• SuperD pre-shipped 3000 units to key retail accounts across the • The album artwork is visually arresting and quite beautiful and
country, including: FYE, Borders (nationally), truly makes the CD stand out from the rest.
Transworld, and select Best Buy locations.
• The album’s decidedly non-gangster theme and the absence of
• SuperD is in the process of placing a second, similarly-sized batch cursing make it ideal for in-store play.
with new accounts, including the grandaddy of them all--WalMart.
• To carry momentum from the 4th quarter ’07 into 2008, and to
• The initial 1000 unit press of the first single, Don’t Let Me Down, capitalize on the huge potential synergy between Valentine’s Day
and its B Side, Always on My Mind, both of which are generating sentiment and Ariano’s relationship-themed album, a remix
overwhelmingly positive responses, will focus consumers’ tentatively-titled music2makeup2, will be released in the 1st
attention on two commercial tracks, which will in turn raise quarter ’08. To that end, Ariano has slipped acapellas to a select
awareness and drive sales of the LP. group of the country’s top DJs and Producers. We will also be
looking to release or co-brand a chiming Valentine’s Day Card.
• music2breakup2 will be featured on i-Tunes, and mp3.com has
agreed to host a listening party • The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a
nationwide coalition of 59 community button pushers. Though
SuperD distributes to several CIMS stores, we are seeking to
• Ariano will be a featured artist on Myspace, the mother of all have music2breakup2 accepted into CIMS’s centralized marketing
music and social networking sites. program--a cohesive national marketing campaign for select
brands. Like the on-line taste makers our internet team is
targeting, a CIMS stores' ability to steer consumer sentiment and
• Awareness of the album is growing everyday as Ariano continues purchasing is a powerful weapon as we push Ariano's awareness
to impress with his radio appearances. But it is poised to truly from the regional to the national level--a critical threshold that
explode with the impending release of the first single, the we must cross.
addition of Spectre as our radio promoter, and our crack team of
professional viral marketers.

7. PRESS CAMPAIGN
http://mainstagemedia.com/page/a.jpg

8. FREE MEDIA(Publicity-P.R.)
TRADITIONAL & ON-LINE PRINT
CONFIRMED
• Urb.com: review to post. Naming Ariano to top 1000 list.
• Skinny Magazine: review set for September issue.
• Jivemagazine.com: review and feature posted.
• Mp3.com: to host on-line listening party.
• Crunk: review for September.
• Vapors: review for September + Saturday night special.
• Musicplustv.com: booking for “organics” tbs.
• Remix: review posted.
• Southcoast247.com: review to post.
• Impose: review for September.

9. PENDING
• Alternative Press • Prefixmag.com
• Anthem • Re:up
• Beautiful Decay • Resonance
• Billboard • Rolling stone
• Blender • Spin
• BPM • Spin.com
• Chord • Stop smiling
• Complex • Stuck
• Entertainment Weekly • The Fader
• Flaunt • Theowlmag.com
• G4 TV • Tokion
• Giant • Tom Green Show
• GQ • Trace
• Hustler • Transworld skate
• Paper • Vibe
• Paste • Vice
• Pitchfork • Wired
• Popmatters.com • Yellow Rat Bastard

10. RADIO
• COMMERCIAL : • SERVICE RADIO SEVERAL TIMES, COORINATING WITH
APPEARANCES/TOUR STOPS
Though our radio strategy is to percolate up to commercial by
getting spins on NPR and college radio--a strategy that’s seen Overall, we will service radio at least 4 times, with the final two
early and far reaching success (see below)--our in-house team passes tailored to maximize publicity as Ariano moves from city
serviced KROQ’s staff with 300 personal copies of the Kev to city during his national tour, with the ultimate goal being a
Brown produced prequel. Reaction was positive, and we’ll be convergence of (i) radio appearances priming the pump with
servicing KROQ and non-commercial radio a second time with music2breakup2 before the show, (ii) advertising in concert with
copies of the first single, on top of the full length CD. local retail (we will also be inviting store owners/buyers to
Ariano's gigs), and (iii) street level promotions by our booker,
• NPR AND COLLEGE ARE KEY: Sleep, who is himself a hip hop artist on the Up Above label, and
has earned a strong booking reputation.
Non-commercial radio promotions thus far include: a first run of
350 full length CDs to California’s top NPR and College stations;
pre-publicity to stations servicing cities on Ariano’s upcoming • RADIO PROMOTERS/SPECTER WORK THE COLLEGE
September-October One Night Stand tour; and several live radio CHARTS
appearances on significant stations such as KPFK, KXLU,
XBIZ.com, and European favorite BASSJUNKEES.COM. Each Ariano’s Team is thrilled to be bringing on Jessica Weber from
is known for its hip hop format and they have many millions of Spectre. She manages Spectre’s hip hop division and is a highly
native and syndicated listeners. Without exception, regarded, very effective college and NPR radio promoter. She will
music2breakup2 has lit up the board’s, whether played off the CD be expanding on much of the radio servicing we’ve been handling
or sung live by Ariano over the air. in-house. She’ll be an invaluable asset, maximizing CMJ200
airplay and moving music2breakup2 up the charts.
• STATIONS SUCH AS KCRW AND PHILADELPHIA’SGIANT
NPR ARE THE NEW A&RS
Our radio strategy has been paying some early, significant
dividends, including spins on XBIZ and XPR, Philadelphia’s giant
NPR station that’s broken numerous indie artists. Ariano will be
appearing on KCRW’s morning show, which has broken so much
talent that it’s become the de facto A&R department for the major
labels.

11. DIRECT MARKETING
• We printed and distributed 7000 posters and fliers for initial pre-street promotional run.
• Pressed and gave away 9000 “prequel” CD promos.
• Our national in-house street team, consisting of 2-4 person groups (loyal fans) in major urban centers
across the country, continually promotes music2breakup2.
• We hired Streetworks Promotions to follow the PAID DUES TOUR across the country this summer
to promote music2breakup2 at all 13 tour stops. Their services included (i) snips (posters on poles around the
venue); (ii) picketing at the beginning of the show; (iii) handing out promo t-shirts to people on the way in and
having them put it on right as they enter; (iv) placing stickers outside of the venue in each town; (v) music
backpacks for concert goers to hear our music; and (vi) hand-to-hand at the exit on the outs.
• For the second promo run ahead of the first single’s release, we have printed and will distribute 5000
posters and fliers, updated to reflect music2breakup2’s glowing reviews.
• We have pressed and will give away 3000 new promo CDs ahead of the single--sequels to the
prequel, if you will. The promo CD, like the single, will feature yet another blazing track from Ariano’s next
album, to be released in mid ’08.
• Streetworks has been kept on to spot promote (i.e., flood with posters, stickers and new promo CDs) in key
California coastal cities with high concentrations of Ariano’s action sports/urban music
demographic.
• Our in-house direct marketing e-mail campaign is discussed below in New Media.

12. a.jpg 360!1080 pixels
NEW MEDIA
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
VIRTUAL STREET TEAM

13. VIRTUAL STREET TEAM
~NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE
~DIRECT TO CONSUMER E-MAIL CAMPAIGN
~ON-LINE PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN TARGETING

14. Viral
• Compose catchy song for pre-release buzz
leading up to street date
• Direct accompanying video with viral
components: (funny, sexy, visually interesting,
all of the above)
• Incorporate social media itself into the track
and the video (e.g., thematically, visual
references/product placement)

15. DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
• Still no substitute for physical retail distribution, but great way to
sell and expose music. Problem is making money. Transaction
costs too high--merch accounts and cc transaction costs kill
margins and drive consumers to peer-to-peer. Once
transaction costs come down, and artists can profitably sell at the .
40-.50 cent per track price point, virus and quality weary
consumers will break the the artists way and forgo
peer-to-peer. But presently, .99/track is too high compete with
free file sharing.
• So GIVE IT AWAY! while at the same time>>>
• >>>music2breakup2 is available for purchase (alongside
enthusiastic reviews) at all the usual digital destinations: iTunes,
Amazon, eMusic, mp3.com, rhapsody, etc., etc.
• INGROOVES is handling our digital distribution (for the time
being) and Oliver is handling INGROOVES legal.

16. NEW MEDIA NAP OF THE EARTH
INFLUENCE THE INFLUENCERS: With the old analog barriers to entry melting away (e.g., easy access to
worldwide digital distribution; inexpensive, pro quality production tools), you canʼt swing a dead cat these days
without hitting some bloke with an MPC and a Mac pitching his wares on Web 2.0. Of the 2% of these indie
artists who have any talent to speak of, most favor the aforementioned Field of Dreams approach to marketing
and promotion. This is not viable in todayʼs chaotic digital marketplace, which is wild and mutable and rife with
fraud; one could spend a fortune in money and manpower with nothing to show for it—or less. The serious
musician must devise and execute a marketing plan that gets his music in front of influencers (a/k/a “taste
makers”, “opinion leaders”, community “button pushers”) and the consumers-fans whose purchasing decisions
they impact. Arianoʼs team is doing just that.
DEAL WITH THE REAL: As our street teams work major urban centers from Oxnard to N.Y., and as Streetworks
Promotions shadows the Paid Dues Tour and papers major coastal cities, our virtual street team is gearing up to
win over New Media fans, one heart and mind at a time. Weʼve charted a course through todayʼs on-line music
gauntlet by studying the new (if ephemeral) musical paradigm from basement to roof; by making informed
predictions as to how things might unfold over the next two years; and by asking tough follow-up questions—after
all, can every digital music platform be “the worldʼs largest?”
DO YOUR HOMEWORK: To that end we drilled down and sampled innumerable sites and virtual communities:
on-line retailers and their fan/artist message boards (e.g., CD Baby, Amazon.com, plus hundreds more); satellite
radio (XM Radio and Sirius); streaming internet radio (e.g., Live365.com; AOL Radio Network); mp3 blogs,
social bookmarking sites (e.g., de.li.cio.us), something new called MOG; and many other music and social
networking sites, each with membership in the hundreds of thousands (triple that when one counts RSS feeds.)
This is not to mention the mobile consumers whose primary audio and video interface is wireless—a group
whose numbers are set to explode once the U.S. and the rest of the world follow Japanʼs lead via wide scale
adoption of third generation (3-G) cell phone technology like that found in the new I-Phone; the peer-to-peer
network junkies; and the diehard broadcast loyalists patiently awaiting terrestrial radioʼs second coming
courtesy of High Definition AM/FM radio, such as that found in ClearChannelʼs top 200 stations in High Def.
markets).
CONVERGED MARKETING WINS: Formulating and executing a strategic marketing, promotion and sales
campaign that takes into account all of these variables is what distinguishes those few musicians such as Ariano
who are poised to exploit Web 2.0ʼs tremendous opportunities from the vast majority who get swallowed up by
them.

17. In-House E-Mail Outreach Program and
Accompanying Newsletter
Diligence pays dividends: work your mailing list and database capture hard.
No, RSS doesn’t get you off the hook.
Our close working relationship with numerous Up Above and
But it sure helps. Got FeedBurner?
Stoneʼs Throw recording artists affords him access to those labelsʼ
and/or artistsʼ fan e-mail lists. (Beware anti-spam laws) These
lists, combined with the clientʼs own mailing lists, amount to a
database of current and likely fans tens of thousands deep—an
invaluable resource. We will send out an informative, bi-weekly
newsletter to keep these proven consumers abreast of information
as well as broader topics impacting the independent music
community, artists and fans alike. The first issue will go out during
the first half of the One Night Stand Tour. While on tour they will be
(or at least I requested) sending back photos and video for posting
to the website, and will be updating blogs remotely via cellphone.

18. SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS: TARGET THE ON-LINE BIN LADENS
(TAKE-AWAYS FROM PROR NEW MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGNS)
Social Media’s High Value Targets:
MEGA BLOGS/MP3 BLOGS: One mention on non-music mega-blogs like
BoingBoing can send sales (or at least name brand recognition) into the
stratosphere; they should be engaged (though they are not our core focus).
Quick Before It Melts is a music blog with big pull that we will be targeting. In
determining which blogs are more likely to talk about our product, we will utilize two
comprehensive on-line lists: The Hype Machine and Monkey Filter.
The Hype Machine: Our search strategy (Though i did much of the searching
personally, I wrote up scripts for staff/interns as well–a poorly executed social media
campaign is worse–far worse–than none at all).
(i) Ascertain affinity artists and particular tracks/releases like those on our LP.
(ii) Type these affinity artists/songs into The Hype Machine, which will spit out a bunch of
blogs that have recently posted about them and, it would stand to reason, might be
receptive to our artist and music.
(iii) Send (as in, place it in an 8x11 envelope affixed with proper postage) them a promo
CD.

19. Online Forums, Music Communities & Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites
1. MySpace: nuf said
2. MOG: Music sharing through blogging.
3. Last.FM: Maybe the best of them all.
A Few More Biggies we will be hitting, per my individual scripts and instructions to you when the
time arises: Odeo: Create and share audio; Streampad: Internet audio player; Amie Street: Price
per popularity music community; Imeem: Music playlist sharing; Reddit: Popular links shared and
commented; Vox: Social networking through blogging; de.li.cio.us; social bookmarking site;
Facebook; iLike; Twitter; SecondLife; Tumbler; Yahoo!Groups; Flickr.
Mainstresam and Indie Music Websites and P2P Networks
iTunes, Amazon’s Digital Music Network, e-music.com, rhapsody, mp3.com. There are tons. Do
a search for other popular sites and if ours is not listed then go ahead and submit it (You need
to have all the necessary data encoded on the master you submit to ensure royalty payments.
A quick on-line search will tell you what is needed. Usually the site will do this for you though.)
Hip Hop Specific Sites
Hiphopsite.com is among the leaders. They come and go. Key is to always check the site
out, not just trust top 10 lists.

20. Internet Radio: Live 365.com
As the largest Internet radio network, www.live365.com,, with thousands of active narrowcasters and
over 2 million unique listeners a month, provides indie artists with unprecedented opportunities for large-
scale radio exposure. The music library at http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/library.cgi is a virtual record
pool—a secure service that lets all Live365 DJs preview and add our tracks directly to their stations' playlists.
Or, we can also allow narrowcasters and listeners to download our entire track(s). Many of these stations
have direct links to major music retailers (e.g., Amazon) so listeners can conveniently buy music they are
listening to by simply clicking an icon. Live365 is licensed and pays royalties to ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.
Each week, Live365 reports its DJ's playlists to Radio and Records, College Music Journal (CMJ), Billboard
Online, New Age Reporter, and other web properties. It can track which Internet stations are playing our
music and how many monthly listening-hours we are getting. Assisted by Radiowave.com, Live365 also
compiles and reports a run-of-site weekly airplay chart. Submit album or track to Live 365’s editorial
department for consideration to be listed free of charge at www.live365.com/labelservices.

21. Message Boards, Forum: In addition to exposing us to a worldwide audience, Live365’s
message boards and community forums offer additional avenues for promotion and feedback.
SomaFM & Groove Salad—one example among thousands of Live365’s narrowcasting stations.
SomaFM has 9 unique channels on the air, with 3 more in the works. It gets over 3
million listener hours a month, which makes it one of the larger internet-only
broadcasters. Groove Salad is one of Soma’s unique channels whose format may fit our
album. Through SomaFM's partnership with NPR, it is making its programming available
over the air (i.e., as an FM broadcast) by providing a special version of Groove Salad
for NPR member stations to use on their HD multicast channels. (HD Multicast is a new
technology that allows FM HD Radio stations to broadcast multiple channels of
programming at the same time.)

22. THE ONE NIGHT STAND
TOUR

23. TENTATIVE TOUR SCHEDULE
• September 1: Alb., NM • September 29: Austin, TX
• September 2: Okl., City, OK
• October 1: Dallas, TX
• September 3: Tulsa, OK
• September 6: Minn., MN • October 2: Tuscon, AZ
• September 7: Milwaukee, WI
• October 3: Flagstaff, AZ
• September 8: Chicago, IL
• September 10: Col., MO • October 4: Mesa, AZ
• September 11: Ind., IN
• September 13: Detroit, MI
• October 5: L.V., NV
• September 14: Flint, MI
• September 15: Balt., MA
• September 17: Prov., RI
• September 18: Brooklyn, NY
• September 20: Ashvelle, NC
• September 22: Miami, FL
• September 23: Jacksonville, FL
• September 26: New Orleans., LO
• September 28: San Antonio, TX