Getting your music played in stores

I was asked by @volarymusic what I thought of this new service, TuneTailers, yesterday.

"A new way to promote, or just another way to be parted with money?"

I like to think highly of people unless given evidence to the contrary - that despite working in the music business for 20 years!

I think this company have a good idea and we ought to give them a chance to see if it works.

The idea is that you pay (starting price seems to be $50 for 1 month's rotation per store) to have your songs included on a playlist that gets played in selected retail stores.

Maybe that's too steep for a very hard to track return.

BUT, I have defintiely found and locked on to new music when hearing it in a store, hairdressers, bars, dentists, hotels or other retail space.

You know - you hear it, you ask them what it is and often you look it up later and might even become a fan. Have a look at this site that is from the British PRS and PPL (they collect fees from public venues that play music), which talks about the benefit of letting people hear your music in public places.

When we ran a suite of indie labels we always targeted these kind of places with all our new releases and built up a very useful list. Back then we'd mail them CD's and hope that they got played - but it was worth it, even if very unscientific. I'd recommend this still as a way to promote your music - at least on a local level.

Check out TuneTailers here. The verdict's out on whether it's financially viable for a DIY musician, but the idea should be used and added to your promotional efforts.