Bob Baker is the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook," "Unleash the Artist Within" and "Branding Yourself Online." He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and other empowering messages to music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to Bob's e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

Bob Baker's BuzzFactor

By Bob Baker

Using the Power of Creative Music Marketing

Are you stuck on what to do to make your band or record label stand out? Consider what these bands did to promote themselves, then start thinking about what you can do to get similar results.

Canadian entertainment lawyer Ryan T. Richardson works with a band called Leaderdogs for the Blind, who released an album entitled LEMONADE.

Richardson explains: "When the record company went into a state of inaction just after the album release, we decided to push our own singles, one being the title track. Inserted with the flier listing the singles was a small packet of brand-name Lemonade drink mix that cost us the whopping sum of five cents each. Because the packages were so compact, there was no additional cost for mailing them. Across the country, radio program directors and DJs apparently fought over who was going to keep the tasty beverage, and now the singles are charting."

For most bands, this creative marketing ploy would have been enough. But not for the Leaderdogs.

"At one of our festival shows - CornerStone in Bushnell, Illinois - we distributed free homemade Lemonade to the audience in 95 degree weather, as well as chilled cartons of the refreshment that had been donated by a local juice bottler for all of the industry types present," Richardson says. "It's working."

The Costa Mesa, Cal. band Saint Monday set up an in-store appearance at a Virgin Megastore location and gave away 500 free cassette samplers in five hours. Each sampler tape had a coupon for a $2 mail-in rebate that customers could get if they came back and bought the band's full-length CD at the store. Since Saint Monday is promoting pop music with a fun and sexy image, the members are considering another creative tactic: giving away condoms with an inscription that reads "Saint Monday: Music That Turns You On."

Now what are you doing that's fresh and different to promote your band or latest release? Not sure what to do? Try this:

Sit down right now with a pen and a notebook. Start brainstorming on every possible angle for a creative hook. Consider the name of your band, the title of your new CD, maybe even the subject matter of individual songs. Or is there a current topic or good cause you feel strongly about? Ask yourself: "How can I take these details about my music and transform them into a newsworthy and attention-getting story?"

(Bob Baker is the author of the new "Guerrilla Music Marketing Power Course" - packed with hundreds of indie music marketing ideas for your band or record label. For complete details and a special 40% discount offer, send the message "Power Course Info" to Bobmsrg@aol.com)