21 August 2009 — Promos
The café that I work out often gets sent promotional CDs, mainly of the kind of stuff you would call "café music": soft beats and melismatic female vocals predominate. The other day we got sent a sampler of Paul Dempsey's new album though, which I'm assuming doesn't quite fit that description.
For us to play one of these CDs would mean me taking them home and putting them on my computer, then loading them on to the iPod I leave at work. Other people bring theirs in too, but I'm the only one happy to leave mine there all week – my iPhone is all I use these days. Then it would mean someone deciding to play it during work hours. So there are already two "gatekeepers" before the customers hear an album.
And then what? I've only very rarely been asked what was playing in the café, but it does happen, so that's a potential album sale right there. But I'm talking maybe 5 to 10 times in the past year. That's not really what it's about, though. Having the album played in cafés across town is advertising. It's creating awareness of the album in people's minds. It is targeted at people who already know what the music is, but may be reminded to buy a copy by hearing it around the place.
As an individual marketing tactic I remain fairly skeptical, but as part of a more overarching strategy, getting free copies of albums out to cool venues in the city is probably sensible.
Having said that, Dempsey's album is the first one that I've had any inclination to even listen to, let alone put on my iPod.