A couple weeks ago, I came up to the Berkshires for Bang on a Can's summer festival ("Banglewood') at MASS MoCA. Highlights included a trip to a place called "Label $hopper" to buy a sweater and learning that "Wi-Fi" is the new "HBO" is the new "jacuzzi" in New England motel speak. I'm sure you'll all be shocked to learn that I noticed some good marketing along the way. The Clark in Williamstown cleverly offers various ticket packages for other Berkshires attractions:When I first looked at the Williamstown Theater Festival website to buy myself … [Read more...]

From the beautiful and fascinating Ads of the World site comes these vintage social media ads. The ad campaign was created by the Moma advertising agency in Sao Paulo, Brazil for their client Maximidia:And because I'm a nice person... … [Read more...]

You know CDs don't sell anymore. I know CDs don't sell anymore. Should we all just throw in the towel? Or should we knit the towel...According to Pitchfork via TwentyFourBit, folksinger Marissa Nadler is selling her new CD on Etsy, the eBay-esque website for handmade and vintage items (the only requirement for submissions is that the seller is over the age of 20). Should you need, say, a "Steampunk Time Machine" ($100,000)......or a "Knitting in Biology 101" (no price listed, though estonia76 at msn dot com is "knitting furiously")......Etsy is … [Read more...]

I'll be reporting from Tanglewood this week, where I am setting up shop to see Hahn Solo tonight, in addition to my two favorite-st pianists (other than Helene, obviously), Richard Goode (last night) and Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Tuesday night). My friend Alisa Weilerstein is playing Friday (the 13th - awesome), and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, whose Gershwin album I worked on this spring, performs Sunday. How nice of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to schedule everyone I wanted to see this summer in the same week. Except for Jeremy. If you're reading. … [Read more...]

Frank Bruni, whom it has been said is impossible to please, wrote the following about actress Laura Linney in a recent New York Times Magazine cover story: PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED with Linney constantly remark on the earnestness of her enthusiasm, usually just before or after they gush about what a humble, decent person she is. The anecdotal evidence piles up high. There is the story of the time on the set of the TV miniseries "Tales of the City" when she washed and massaged the feet of its director, Alastair Reid, out of concern for his … [Read more...]

The highly-anticipated Life's a Pitch Elīna Garanča Harlequin Novel Title Competition has come to a close. Potential novel titles for her Deutsche Grammophon Habanera promo video included Oh My God My Eyeballs Hurt from the Sheer Awfulness, Spanish Extensions: A Tale Of Love Gone Wrong With Barcelona's Bull Fighting Hair Dresser, Mascara Fandango, and Stabled Stallion, Wanton Rider.The winner though, was Holly, who submitted the following:The winner of the side competition--has there ever been a good classical music video--is Rik, who submitted … [Read more...]

OK, the person who comes up with the best harlequin novel title for this video gets a prize. Bonus points if you submit cover art involving Fabio. Comment below or e mail me. I really will send you a prize. Related: has there ever actually been a good classical music video? If you find one, you also get a prize. … [Read more...]

This post contains no spoilers from last night's Mad Men premiere, namely because I'm waiting to watch it until Thursday. This is what happens when you host Mad Men parties with artists with careers. I may even buy a red wig for the occasion. If I do, I will only post photos if Hilary's upcoming Higdon/Tchaikovsky album sells 5,000 copies the first week. Deal? Deal. It's funny: I've seen every episode of Mad Men at least once (the one where Peggy does The Twist about 17 times), and have never found relevant material for this blog despite the … [Read more...]

Simply teach inmates at a maximum security prison in The Philippines choreography to "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act. And if you want 42 million views, have those same inmates do Thriller: … [Read more...]

Via Advertising is Good for You, via Adam Sherk dot com, we have the most frequently used press release buzzwords. There are some real winners in there. I'm working on an Orpheus press release, and am now feeling the need to find a way to incorporate "bleeding edge" and "low hanging fruit". Also, if this list was classical music-specific, I'm sure "generation" would be on the list somewhere prominent.Buzzword / Marketing Speak / Overused TermMentions in Press … [Read more...]

I'm often asked why artists and presenters should trendy-verb-form of name-your-social-media-outlet. Artists say they don't have time ("when do I practice?"), while presenters say there's no way to track results of blog, Twitter and Facebook efforts in ticket sales. Perhaps going forward, I'll tell people that they should trendy-verb-form of name-your-social-media-outlet because there's a movie with Justin Timberlake about it.I could also tell them that, as of today, Facebook has reached 500 million users. Just as no one who tries really hard … [Read more...]

..from a good colleague, Marc van Bree:We all know that Nashville got hit with a terrible flood a few months ago. This terrible flood didn't spare the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO). The orchestra's damages were approximately $42 million and after insurance and support from FEMA, the remaining financial gap could be as much as $10 million.Let's all contribute our own little bit as a classical music community online. Here's my idea: leverage this online network with #floodofsupportYou can read about the specifics I posted today on my blog at … [Read more...]

Chamber Music America hosted a live chat on social media at lunch today, and here's what went down. Conversation topics included the personal and professional divide when using Facebook and Twitter, how publicists, artists and journalists interact online, Twitter success stories (more on that later tonight), how to plan a social media campaign, Shaquille O'Neal, and Twilight. The latter two points were my contributions to the conversation, which is why I get paid the big bucks. 75 people participated, with the average person staying in the … [Read more...]

Despite the weather looking like The End of Time circa 2pm today, the New York Philharmonic's first Central Park concert of the summer season went off without a hitch. My sister's friend Meg was disappointed that the fireworks portion of the evening was canceled (but what of the MUSICAL fireworks, I asked her??), but I believe she was appeased by a free t-shirt with fireworks on it. Thousands of people turned out despite the earlier downpour, proving yet again that audiences like free, outdoorsy events at which they can eat, drink, and text. … [Read more...]