[Plus some online marketing points from Clyde]
I had an interesting conversation with Bone Crusher yesterday beginning with his perspective on self marketing in relation to his upcoming appearance on Celebrity Fit Club. I was particularly curious about why an artist who is still building and has achieved a great deal would want to appear in a television genre that was more generally associated with celebrity has-beens, whether or not that perception is fair.
Bone Crusher's responses were pretty interesting, most of which I'll paraphrase since I don't trust the "talking on the phone while typing" approach for accuracy.
His initial response was that he wasn't ultimately interested in fame so much as feeding his family well and, though he has no problems appearing in front of the camera as he did in ATL and will in an upcoming flick, he's ultimately about taking care of his home and that's why he's in the game.
What especially interested me is that Bone Crusher seems quite sincere in using his appearance on Celebrity Fit Club to inspire personal growth and change. At one point, it hit me that I could probably do an awesome interview for Psychology Today, because he really has a lot to say on the self-knowledge tip.
As he pointed out, "I could be rich as hell and then die tomorrow," name checking one of his favorite comedians, Chris Farley.
He also pointed out that most criticisms are ultimately about one's own inadequacies (obviously I would have balked there if we were friends but I also see the wisdom in that perspective, except when I 'm discussing, say, George Bush) and that "people will say anything about you." Can't argue there.
Only after a strong series of such clarifications did we get to what will be more recognizable as a marketing perspective though I found it all quite relevant.
Bone Crusher strongly advocates for the perspective that all publicity is good publicity. He believes that "the more people think about you, the more money you make." In fact, he feels that even a lot of hip hop's criminal headlines are useful publicity for artists, "unless you're doing something stupid, like Pee Wee Herman".
To be honest, I found that a bit unconvincing but I understand the perspective. However, seeing how artists' careers seem to be more disrupted than benefitted by such occurrences, it was a little hard to take at face value.
Since I knew a fair number of folks from up North might be scoffing at some of this, I asked him about North/South beefs, a topic that he at first did not want to acknowledge. When I clarified my perspective, he decided to open up with a view that I've been hearing more of lately.
Bone Crusher's basic take is that Southerners have always been big fans of hip hop from all over the country and that, to him, true fans are the "essence of music". He stated that "we're not trying to be the most lyrical guys in the world" and that he believes that part of the current positive response to Southern styles such as crunk has to with the love and energy that Southerners are putting into the music.
While I know that will be an unacceptable response to many, I found it in keeping with his general take on things during the interview.
Ultimately, he stated more than once that beefing about musical taste is kind of ridiculous, and I have to agree with him there.
I asked him what advice he had for young artists and he emphasized "persistence", saying that "you can't stop" and that it was often more important to "listen to the people that don't know you" because your friends will often praise you but when strangers start cheering, that's when you know you're onto something.
Bone Crusher also spoke of persistence in terms of focus or "tunnel vision" and revealed that he had gotten similar advice from both Russell Simmons and L.A. Reid. I asked him a bit more about how he perceived those guys, since I'm certainly curious, and he said that what he's always appreciated about both Simmons and Reid is that they're actually fans of the music and then pointed out how that differentiates them from music industry execs who are rock fans and are truly only interested in hip hop for the money.
Sounds like the music industry still hasn't changed too much from the last century.
I have to say talking to Bone Crusher showed me some aspects of who he was that surprised me in a really positive way. Since I'd first found out about him through Tamara Palmer's Country Fried Soul and then only followed his ups and downs in a superficial manner, I wasn't really sure what to expect.
A few online marketing notes:
In looking for Bone Crusher's sites on MySpace, I could not find his individual MySpace Page without using Google though I did eventually find the MySpace page for Vainglorious Entertainment without leaving MySpace.
Which isn't a criticism of Bone Crusher & crew so much as a reminder that figuring out how to optimize one's MySpace page for Google is always a good idea since the MySpace search engine leaves so much to be desired.
I was disappointed to discover that the Body Heat Entertainment release of Bone Crusher's lastest album, Release the Beast, still has no cover art up on Amazon.
I generally recommend that artists whose labels aren't on top of dealing with Amazon post their own cover art as a customer image. It's easy to do and though it might not appear in the initial search result, it will show on the Amazon page and you'll look that much better.
Even the graphic above from a UK site looks like the site owners took a picture of the CD, showing that they know what helps move product and that they're not waiting on the label to support them.
The sad reality is that one has to step up when these things occur, though one also has to decide where best to spend one's time, so I recognize that such things are also a factor. I just hate to see folks undermined by weak online strategies from their labels.
Available from Amazon:
Bone Crusher - Release the Beast
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