Creative Music Marketing: Foo Fighters, Bluebrain, Adam Tensta

While some think of marketing as something one does after the fact of musical creation or in anticipation of a performance, marketing actually permeates every aspect of art whether one likes it or not. Each choice made is a choice that affects how one's work will be perceived, discussed, embraced or rejected.

Adam Tensta's new single can only be heard by one person at a time. Foo Fighters' Reading '95 concert stream is skinned to look and operate like a cassette recorder. Bluebrain composed location-specific music for SXSW Interactive available as a free app.

These elements are all part of the art yet also contain powerful marketing components. They're creative, fun and interesting. I wouldn't say they market themselves but I would say the core marketing component is an integral aspect of how the music is presented.

The Foo Fighters Reading '95 concert is now available for free streaming via a player that looks like a cassette deck with audio cues to match (click on above image for larger view). Apparently it was made available right before the Reading 2012 lineup was released.

And, hey, Foo Fighters are playing Reading August 26th.

The Violet Crown (Austin, Texas) from Bluebrain

Bluebrain's The Violet Crown is a free location-aware album in iOS app form. It only works in the boundaries of the festival.

The app was commissioned by SXSW Interactive and:

"uses the phone's built-in GPS to alter the music as the listener traverses the area – each street and intersection is tagged with various pockets of sound, turning the festival grounds into a musical 'choose-your-own-adventure'."

What You'll See If Adam Tensta's Pass It On is Not Available

Adam Tensta's new single, Pass It On, is available via a Facebook app. It's described as a single copy. What that means is that you can listen to it if no one else is listening to it when you add the app. If it's not available, you'll be placed in line and notified with a message when it becomes available. At that point you'll have an hour in which to listen or the opportunity will move on.

Currently, I'm still waiting but I'm passing on the news to you.

More thoughts at The Next Web.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.