Indie artists drum up ties to corporations for success
When Greg Laswell recorded a demo in 2002, he ordered 1,000 copies of the CDs, sold a few if he got the chance and saved the boxes in which they were delivered to use as a coffee table. Self-promotion made the singer-songwriter uncomfortable.
But as Mr. Laswell prepares for the July 8 release of "Three Flights from Alto Nido," his second album on Vanguard Records, promotion has become more of a survival skill for independent artists like him in today's music industry. So Vanguard and Mr. Laswell are rolling out a cross-marketing campaign with corporate tie-ins they hope will make him a staple in hotel lobbies and grocery stores.
Vanguard has secured deals with Marriott International Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., hoping to gain exposure for the new release. Two of Mr. Laswell's songs will be played overhead in Courtyard by Marriott lobbies and on the hotels' Web site.
The singer-songwriter has been a spokesman for Apple Inc.'s GarageBand software, showing off how to use the technology to record songs on a laptop. His songs are being played before the previews at large movie theater chains like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and at Landmark Theaters' art houses. This summer, an online Pepsi and Amazon ad will feature an MP3 player with images of Mr. Laswell.
"It's about repetition of hearing that song in the grocery store or the movie theater and going to where the people are, because they're not going to the record store shopping for new music like we all used to," says Mr. Laswell, 34 years old.
Corporate deals used to be anathema to indie artists who feared such tie-ins would diminish their street credibility. But these days, launching an independent artist requires more marketing effort.
"At an independent label, you have to figure out inventive ways to promote without spending the money. People are doing what they can these days and looking for creative ways to sell music," says Kerri Borsuk, director of marketing for the Nettwerk Music Group, which manages many independent artists.
While record labels have been trying for some time to attract mainstream audiences by placing songs in TV shows and ads and sometimes retail stores, the search for new places to get music heard is expanding rapidly. Indeed, Mr. Laswell's songs have been featured in two movies and 11 TV shows, including "Grey's Anatomy" - but Vanguard says it is actively pursuing additional nontraditional routes.
"We pitch it as, 'Hey, here's an artist who's not a household name. He's not on pop radio yet. He's not on MTV yet. But he's been connected to these discerning and well-respected brands, so there's gotta be something to this,"' says Stephen Brower, Vanguard's marketing director.
Mr. Laswell's EP, released in March to promote the July record, became part of the Artist Discovery Series of Whole Foods Markets Inc., where customers in grocery checkout lines saw him compared with EMI Group's Coldplay. Mr. Laswell was the first artist in Whole Foods' series, which gives a stamp of approval to new musicians whose CDs are promoted via national in-store displays near the registers. Since the program's spring inception, Mr. Laswell's music has performed better than many household names also sold at Whole Foods. Both Mr. Laswell's EP and Mariah Carey's latest record were released in-store in March. To date, Mr. Laswell's EP has sold 52 percent more copies than Ms. Carey's release.
"It's a combination of the CD being at an attractive price point, being on the countertop and being an artist who's endorsed by a trusted brand," says James Dunne, chief of Inspire Entertainment, the company in charge of music and media for Whole Foods.
Mr. Brower says Vanguard has noticed an influx of traffic to Mr. Laswell's MySpace.com page since the start of the various campaigns - much of which has come from a wide demographic of fans.
"Customers of Courtyard probably wouldn't have come across Greg if not through this partnership," says Jason McCormick, director of music industry relations for Muzak, which helped negotiate the deal because it programs music for Courtyard lobbies.
"Some really big companies are behind this album. This is the most attention I've ever had on me. I mean, it's bizarre to be checking out at Whole Foods and see my face. So I'm up for getting my music out there in any way I can," said Mr. Laswell.