A "Bastard Fairies" tale.
It's a little early for best of 2007 lists to start to appearing, but as you craft yours in the coming months, I hope you'll consider this story for your top ten.
Some time ago, I stumbled across this video on YouTube:
(warning: bad language near the end)
Note the URL at the end. An ad! How perfect. What a way to promote a band!
At the time, a visit to thebastardfairies.com would display simple html website with this quote:
This album is free for all to download, and we just ask you one simple thing. Please make copies for all your friends and ask them to do the same, and so on and so forth. Your are our publicity, our promotion, our distribution and our friends. Please help us spread the word of the Bastard Fairies by sharing our music for free.
High-resolution album art was also included. Radical. The album was not out for months, but I could get it for free, right then.
I thought, I have to post about this! Later, when looking for the video on YouTube again, the following video was posted alongside it:
(Did you notice the Terminator wearing an iPod?)
Here's the kicker: Papa Bear should have left enough alone, because his stunt pushed the Fairies' rant video even higher on YouTube's charts.
The results speak for themselves:
1.6 million views
dozens of video responses
over 15000 comments
video favorited over 9000 times
coverage on major US network
extended media coverage in almost all channels
1 million tracks downloaded within 5 months of the post
creative budget: $0
production budget: $0
media budget: $0
I don't know how many CDs they've sold, but one thing is certain: the Bastard Fairies "get it". When using social media to market your product, realize that the marketing IS the product. In the music business, gone are the days of multi-million dollar deals. By "putting it out there", you'll get more people interested in you, and more likely, a greater audience base who'll come to your live shows and maybe buy a CD or t-shirt.
Oh yeah - and now that the CD is out, the Fairies are tossing in a t-shirt. That's $17 bucks for a CD and t-shirt, just for supporting them with a purchase.
CD and t-shirt for less than what would normally be charged for the t-shirt alone? I guess it is possible to make a living by cutting out some of the middle men... like the music business.
We have a lot to learn from these Bastards. ;-)
My pick for Social Media Strategy of the Year.
