With so many music conferences being held, Music Pin has thrown its hat into the arena with their service. Music Pin is a digital marketing company, based out of West London, that provides promotional tools to labels and artists to maximize their exposure through download cards and their online media platform.
The simple fact is they provide a way for you to give out promotional cards with pin codes to redeem your music online. They manufacture it and its the job of the artist or label to sell it. They deliver you the pincodes and host the content on their site.
Here is the video from Derek Sivers that has a great interview with Nayo Abidoye who discusses the service in more detail.
The content essentially links to your websites and social network links. For example, the fan goes to the Music Pin website and redeems their music. The fan receives an html email with the download link and the email also contains a list to your social network profiles, blogs and websites.
I would love to promote my music through this technique. Fans can download my music and at the same time find links to my indie music marketing blog, Twitter account, Myspace page and mailing lists. Put this in comparison with someone purchasing through iTunes only. They click, buy and the transaction is over.
As an artist or label, they give you a campaign report to see who your fans are. Great marketing idea. You can load up from 1 to 20 songs: sure beats carrying Cd’s. The main advantage is you are making a fan go to their computer and potentially bookmark your webpages or follow you on your favorite social networks. Bridge the gap between the distance with fans and artists. Let the fans get to know you.
The price currently is stated at 500 cards for 300 pounds, which is roughly $426, with price breaks for higher quantity orders.
I like the fact you can use it for promos or demos, or sell them to fans, depending on your purpose. I like the versatility also: sell them after your shows or use them when you go out and network with others during your daily encounters. This packaging might get you some extra attention and spark the curiousity to want to hear your music.
Music packaging is what is intriguing to me. By changing the way music is delivered to the fan, we can introduce them to more than just a song, but our brand and mission.
