Once again Kansas City, I am here to greet you with peace and love, and bless everyone reading this article with some more music industry tips. I received a lot of positive feedback from the “How to record a hit record with $1000”, column. If you missed that, you can contact the Hip-Hop Express newspaper and request a back issue. The title of this column is “HOW TO PROMOTE BIG, WITH LITTLE MONEY”. In Kansas City, Rich the Factor has set the standards for the independent local music scene. He sold a lot of records in Kansas City with little or no promotion at all. Trust me, there is only one Rich the Factor, you can’t just put your CD in the stores and expect it to magically sell units. You must promote your product. Let me repeat myself, YOU MUST PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCT.

The situation is like this. You have already recorded your hit record. You have even gotten some love from the club DJs and are getting the record played at some clubs. The fact of the matter is, nobody knows who you are. That is why you must promote and market your music. When people know who you are, they more likely to support your music and purchase your CDs. I entered the local music scene in 1998, because I knew Kansas City had some tight rappers and producers, but they weren’t getting their proper recognition because nobody knew about the talent we had in KC. Tech N9ne had a name in Kansas City, because he has been rapping since the 1980’s. However, when I did my first issue of MoCheez, I remember very clearly how many people asked me “That’s who Tech N9ne is?” People knew his name but didn’t know his face, because he wasn’t promoting himself thoroughly.

The easiest way to promote is with the professional looking postcard flyers. Kansas City is the capital of the black and white Kinko’s flyers. There is nothing wrong with the paper flyers. I have used them many times myself. However, if you are trying to make a strong and powerful statement about your company and music, we have to stick with industry standards. Truthfully, would you go to a concert that was promoting Fat Joe and the flyers were cheap looking. I know you can get 5000 full-color two sided 4x6 flyers for around $350 from most printing companies. I even heard of a website called clubflyers.com, where you can get 5000 flyers for $150. Flyers are the most effective way of putting the name that you are trying to establish, with an image you are trying to represent. Flyers also create the word-of-mouth street buzz for when and where your products can be purchased.

Now that we have recorded a hit record, and started our promotional campaign with 5000 flyers, it’s time to start setting up live performances and building a fan base to support the movement that has begun. Setting up live performances in Kansas City isn’t the simplest task, but it isn’t totally impossible either. Since we are about to basically promote on a local hood to hood fried chicken tour, we need to also begin to market the product through local radio, magazine, and TV media also. So that is where I will begin in the next issue of the Hip-Hop Express, local shows and media marketing. Be safe and may God bless you.

Until next time, Ben E.

Check out Part 1