Day Seventeen: Team BLOODRAW Promo Tour
Greenville, SC
Greenville is a bit of a challenge because we don’t really have a point person to show us around. Raw’s publicist, Kim Ellis, was kind enough to hook us up with a guy named Ty from Grind DVD magazine series.
We found a local retail store by asking in a Kinko’s FedEx where the ‘hood is. One of the guys who works there sent us to EarShot on Laurens. The owner of the store was so cool and so knowledgeable (Randy Bunn), not only of Greenville but of Atlanta, Charleston, and Savannah. He was also well versed in music and turned me onto some new stuff that I might like. He was a gem!
TY joined us at EarShot and took us to a hip hop gear shop called Concrete Jungle. The owner was an OG who embraces the younger generation, which is rare!
We then went on to the ‘hood. We passed out DJ Smallz mixed CDs and flyers at a gas station at Shaw and Buncombe in West Greenville. People were both surprised and elated to see Raw in the heart of the ghetto promoting.
I went back to the hotel to work, as did Nokey. Nokey uploaded much of the footage he’s been filming to Raw’s new YouTube TV station (www.BloodRaw.tv).Nokey is the one who shot the Corporate Thuggin’ video, BloodRaw’s DVD, and the person who created USDA TV. He’s done an outstanding job and has even sacrificed to build what he is creating with his own video company. He’s a rapper from the south side of Chicago, who moved to Atlanta to work with CTE, and found his niche as a videographer to capture Jeezy’s life on film. He has shot over 40 videos for folks within the CTE camp. You can catch them all on You Tube. The rest of the guys went to the strip club and hung out with some of the guys we met in the ‘hood at the gas station. They showed Raw incredible love buying him 3 bottles of Goose, a bunch of Budweiser, and some Patron. They showed the guys CRAZY love!!!
Mike Fresh (Raw’s DJ) came back to the room super excited by the hospitality that Greenville showed at The Gentleman’s Club. For someone to buy out so much liquor for the guys was unbelievable. All they could do was just tip the girls!
I sent out copies of the receipts to Def Jam and CTE so we could get the 25% remaining backend of the budget for this tour. I’ve been coming out of my own pocket for this for the past day or two without telling anyone, so it’s time to recoup the expenditure. I had to fax (and then FedEx) 43 pages of receipts to Corporate Thugz.
Greenville, SC
Greenville is a bit of a challenge because we don’t really have a point person to show us around. Raw’s publicist, Kim Ellis, was kind enough to hook us up with a guy named Ty from Grind DVD magazine series.
We found a local retail store by asking in a Kinko’s FedEx where the ‘hood is. One of the guys who works there sent us to EarShot on Laurens. The owner of the store was so cool and so knowledgeable (Randy Bunn), not only of Greenville but of Atlanta, Charleston, and Savannah. He was also well versed in music and turned me onto some new stuff that I might like. He was a gem!
TY joined us at EarShot and took us to a hip hop gear shop called Concrete Jungle. The owner was an OG who embraces the younger generation, which is rare!
We then went on to the ‘hood. We passed out DJ Smallz mixed CDs and flyers at a gas station at Shaw and Buncombe in West Greenville. People were both surprised and elated to see Raw in the heart of the ghetto promoting.
I went back to the hotel to work, as did Nokey. Nokey uploaded much of the footage he’s been filming to Raw’s new YouTube TV station (www.BloodRaw.tv).Nokey is the one who shot the Corporate Thuggin’ video, BloodRaw’s DVD, and the person who created USDA TV. He’s done an outstanding job and has even sacrificed to build what he is creating with his own video company. He’s a rapper from the south side of Chicago, who moved to Atlanta to work with CTE, and found his niche as a videographer to capture Jeezy’s life on film. He has shot over 40 videos for folks within the CTE camp. You can catch them all on You Tube. The rest of the guys went to the strip club and hung out with some of the guys we met in the ‘hood at the gas station. They showed Raw incredible love buying him 3 bottles of Goose, a bunch of Budweiser, and some Patron. They showed the guys CRAZY love!!!
Mike Fresh (Raw’s DJ) came back to the room super excited by the hospitality that Greenville showed at The Gentleman’s Club. For someone to buy out so much liquor for the guys was unbelievable. All they could do was just tip the girls!
I sent out copies of the receipts to Def Jam and CTE so we could get the 25% remaining backend of the budget for this tour. I’ve been coming out of my own pocket for this for the past day or two without telling anyone, so it’s time to recoup the expenditure. I had to fax (and then FedEx) 43 pages of receipts to Corporate Thugz.
posted by Ricky Ross at 10:22 PM
2 Comments:
Your (street) marketing is completly wrong. Going from 'Hood' to 'Hood' (unannounced) handing out fliers and cds is like trying to sell a 7 course meal to a chef - they already got that. You should have figured out by now 'Hoods' only support they're own local artist, not some other hood's - its a tribal thang! I bet the impact your making is next to zero. I bet there's no recall, no BDS adds, and no sales in those markets after all your effort.
You should be building this artist in his home town and about a 200 mile radius, first. Lock down your on 'Hood' and grow the movement (with the small budget you need to act more like a DIY band and not a bunch of Rap Stars).
What publicity impact are you really getting on this 'promo tour'? Are people getting excited about the artist or 1st single? Are you building demand or buzz?
I'd say doing a media buy on the top Rap music blogs/sites with your budget would have done more than driving around 'Da Hood' looking for a fanbase that doesn't exist (yet), especially with 3.50/gallon gas.
Rappers kill me with their bragging of their grind, but they never do the small things to win...the blocking and tackling.
Since your not being paid, I'd say you've surely earned your money on this project.
JMHO!
Thanks so much for your opinion. I see why you haven't sold many CDs though. Rappers are accepted by the 'hoods everywhere they go. Raw HAS locked down his home town--you must live in NY to not know this. He has not only locked down his home area, but all of FL, southern GA, and mid-NC. People actually recognize him. Hed's sold a shitload of mixed CDs over the past 4 years and appeared on the covers of 8 small magazines in August (without buying the cover).
To buy banner ads, would be marketing to the people who download music for free, not who buy CDs. That pitch is for the majors who don't know any better. Save it for them. The 'hoods authenticate and support artists that they feel and who come fuck with them.
But I wouldn't expect a white guy sitting in an office in NY all day to understand that. Could this be why the indies are selling more records today than the major labels? We do what works for us, but thank you for your opinion.
+BDS has doubled since we started the tour.
+Raw has done interviews with 7 DVDs, and about 20 or so magazines in the past 19 days--I consider that a success for a newer artist on the road.
+BloodRaw.tv has gotten over 126,000 views of our tour footage since we uploaded it. But I guess that's because no one is interested in what we're doing...
You might go get a job in another field since your understanding of rap music and how to sell it is limited. My track record speaks for itself...
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