Music Promoters Get Smarter as Album Sales Wither

While many bemoan what’ s happened to the music business, other promoters and artists just figure out clever new ways to make more money despite sagging CD sales.  Justin Beiber, the guy so many people love to hate,  set up a partnership with the ride-sharing app, Lyft, to lift his album sales.  In a WSJ story, Hannah Karp describes how it works. “Starting the day before the album’s release date, users could opt to receive the album with any ride costing $5 or more. SoundScan counted the downloads as sales.

Maryland rapper Logic brought himself closer to his fans when he drove across the country on a tour bus to listen to his new album with his fans in their living rooms. He encouraged fans to buy multiple copies of the CD and post their receipts online, in exchange for the chance to be personally thanked with an in-person visit from the rapper.

Taylor Swift had a deal with Papa John’s Pizza, offering customers the option to add her a CD of her 2012 album “Red” to pizza pie deliveries. That boosted the album’s overall sales significantly. Another way to help sales is to do as some of the recording business’ biggest stars do:  Beyonce and Adele both withheld their new albums from all or some streaming services for the first few weeks.