#Marketing on a budget

[jononeillbeats]

How to promote and market your music on a budget.

Promoting and marketing your music is essential if you want to gain a following and make a name for yourself in the music industry. However, it can be difficult to do so on a tight budget. The good news is that there are many ways to effectively promote your music without breaking the bank. In this blog post, we'll cover several tips and strategies to help you promote and market your music on a budget.

Read the full blog post here:

[muchcelebrated]

Crying because Disney+/Hulu did The Artful Dodger so dirty by not marketing it properly and it could and should be getting the same amount of praise and love as Bridgerton or My Lady Jane, but instead they were stupid and most people don’t even realize it exists.

[shinobicyrus]

One thing my brain keeps going back to about Pacific Rim (besides the rad giant robots) is the whole existence of kaiju organ harvesters and their implications.

Like, you have Hannibal Chau, a bizarre and interesting character, but we’re presented with a black market operation that seems mostly interested in the “alternative medicine” uses of kaiju parts.

But my brain demands to know: what does the corporate kaiju harvesting industry look like? Sure kaiju blood is toxic, but there are plenty of toxic materials that have useful applications. Are there chemical companies studying kaiju organs? Big-Pharma jumping on the kaiju bone-powder bandwagon? Are bio-tech firms studying kaiju hide to make tougher materials? Agribusinesses clamoring to acquire kaiju crap for fertilizer?

I’m picturing something like the age of whaling, when humans hunted giant animals and carved them up to feed insatiable industries. Whale-oil lighting lanterns for entire cities, whale-bone being used in everything from knick-knacks, tools, umbrellas, and corsets. Ambergris alone was used in perfumes, medicines, cooking. It was even added to wine as an aphrodisiac.

We glimpsed how kaiju affected pop-culture. Now picture a kaiju smashing a city, but the stock market going up for construction companies (rebuilding the cities), vulture real estate (buying the destroyed land cheap), and all the other corporations that profit from the systematic dismantling of a kaiju corpse and making money off of its parts. Sure, a city was roughed up and who knows how many thousands are dead, but it’s a better windfall when a kaiju makes landfall. It’s always less profitable when jaegers kill them too quickly; sea-based extractions are so much more expensive.

Imagine entire industries, entire economies that don’t just make money from the devastation of kaiju attacks, but grow dependent on them. And then the laws, the squabbles over those valuable, resource-rich kaiju corpses. If a kaiju attacks one country but keeps rampaging and is killed in the country next door, who has claim over the body? The party who was damaged more by it or the country where the corpse physically is? Bidding wars over “cleanup” contracts that cut corners and are only interested in collecting those sweet, sweet, kaiju parts as fast as possible, even if their official mandate is supposed to be the safe removal and cleanup of a toxic substance.

Once jaegers started getting efficient at killing kaiju, the people with all the money became less interested in solving the problem of kaiju attacks and switched to merely managing the industries that kaiju-killing feeds.

What? You want to put more resources into R&D to try and close the Breach? Whatever for? The kaiju comes out, jaegers kill it, and the “host country” gets the proceeds from the kaiju’s body. It’s a win-win for everyone. Why waste time, money, and effort solving a problem that isn’t a problem anymore?

Everything is under control.

[bean-writes]

Dear Disney,

Just release these movies newly, without changing anything, and watch them blow up and be hailed as the best Disney movies of all time (because they are).

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

I do not understand this meme format.

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Fidel (2002, dir. David Attwood)

Gifs are all 540px wide so you can click to see larger.

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[gayofthefae]

Just remembered all the money The Duffers threw away for 5 years on marketing Byler knowing damn well hardly anybody cared and not paying a cent for Milkvan content, merch, photoshoots, anything.

How could it be queerbaiting? They didn't even have to advertise them pre-season 4 but they said "no, we're gonna move money from our budget towards a 2017 photoshoot and AWAY from other important things on our budgeting list. Noah, tweet that they definitely aren't gay."

Like really just maximized story telling. We don't want you to know until we want you know but we're gonna subliminally open your mind to it. And somebody saw "they def aren't gay" and went "hm I'd never thought of them as gay before...honestly kinda good idea ngl".

For the Duffers to not make Byler happen would be inherently and exclusively malicious, a malice intended from the beginning. There weren't even enough people in 2017 to actually queerbait. Because there weren't enough to make money off of. The marketing tells us it was planned from long before people were on board. So either they planned to tell Mike and Will's love story or they planned to snub queer viewers for the sake of it, willing to make financial sacrifice to do so, both by investing in something people weren't buying and NOT INVESTING in something people WANTED TO BUY (milkvan content and merch) in order to convert people away from Milkvan and to Byler to also maximize the damage they were spending their money to create.

Lord have mercy if it's the second one because Jesus Fucking Christ usually showrunners hurt gay people to gain money, they don't usually PAY to hurt gay people because they just wanted to that bad.

Example of their weird anti-money marketing decisions

Other examples

[cuubism]

horses are just like corrupt politicians at heart. incredibly susceptible to bribes.

[the-shy-artisan]

Remember that little thing I mentioned a while back that I was waiting for it to come in?

Here it is: the original launch poster for the first God of War. I think it completes my little corner quite nicely!

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

streaming tv is like the fantasy/fiction need for a mid list. big money thrown at projects expecting that big money can make anything too big to fail, when the reality is that there’s only so much profit to make in an oversaturated market and only so many properties that can be the number one most popular thing at a time, but no matter how many projects fail or how variable the quality of the art is, it’s never going to be acceptable again to shore up most of your projects with only SOME money and letting that “mid list” find longlasting audiences that provide your baseline business

i wish both streaming tv and the publishing industry would spend less money on more projects that cultivate good writing. i want good writing and long projects to get invested in so bad that i'm caring less and less for production

my thesis statement is that tv shows are being canceled because they cost too much money. a mid list would have saved most canceled shows. higher production costs don't mean better writing, and lower production costs don't mean worse writing

the publishing industry is asking for shorter fantasy books and is canceling series and leaving authors behind because it is throwing all its money at shiny new things that are not actually new and don't stick

all of this without investment in a "mid list" to keep baseline profits coming or to keep a foundation of writers paid and busy

if companies spent less money on shows, would they last longer? would they hone writers' skills more? does this extend to animation where the budgets are so much smaller? or is there no world where i could get multiple 25-episode seasons of arcane and i'm just deluding myself

fantasy books especially have had an oversaturation problem for years, but the biggest problem is an over-reliance on debuts without investment in originality or in authors’ futures. what this looks like is big money thrown at marketing shiny debuts or at a subset of the old familiar faces in fantasy that established themselves before the shift in industry mindset. everyone else either gets scraps or can’t find their footing after their debut. you either go viral somehow or you go home. to make money, the only acceptable projects are generic or are recognizable rehashes of previously popular but specific ideas. fantasy is considered a popular genre now, but in my opinion, fantasy has never stopped being niche, but the need to find bigger audiences and bigger investment has resulted in pushing fantasy series that don't do anything new or interesting and actively spurn good prose, but can appeal to as many people as possible (instead of weird fantasy freaks, aka me, i'm freaks, now most of the freaky fantasy i can find is in video games and a single tear is rolling down my face)

now tv. buffy the vampire slayer cost about 1-2 million per episode. star trek tng cost 1 million per episode

look where we’re at with streaming services. tv shows that cost millions and tens of millions of dollars per episode. the sopranos redefined what prestige tv meant and it cost 2-6 million per episode. chasing the new prestige mindset, game of thrones started out at 6 million per episode. today, early game of thrones’ budget from about 2011-2013 is joked about like it’s chump change, especially for game of thrones or hbo. but prestige tv reeled in that subscriber money. the streaming model today is the continuation of the prestige tv model, except that every show needs to be prestige, no matter the audience or genre or story structure. because prestige tv made money

now that the baseline model for helping your subscription/channel make money is to throw 6 million+ per episode, it's no longer a mystery why seasons are getting shorter and shorter. and the demand for higher and higher production will only mean that shows take longer and longer to make

netflix shelled out 6 million per episode - what an oddly familiar number, huh? - for stranger things season 1. season 4 cost 30 million per episode

wheel of time season 1: 10 million per episode. rings of power season 1: 58 million per episode. these are adaptations btw, not original IPs, but this is SEASON ONE money you’re looking at. i liked both rings of power and wheel of time decently, but my hot take is that both of these shows are under-written and over-produced. why so much money thrown at projects with writers at the helm who are inexperienced in the fantasy genre? rings of power in particular is bank-breaking and it was originally planned to run for several seasons

the mandalorian season 1: 15 million per episode. andor season 1: 20 million per episode. the acolyte season 1: 22 million per episode

remember that the subscription model requires subscribers to make money and requires NEW subscribers to satisfy the hunger for growth, and star wars is a single IP with established fans. the mandalorian, andor, and the acolyte all took major risks in different ways. the mandalorian actually fell back on star wars fundamentals (rather than being something net new in my opinion) and its risk was in being a show, not a movie, and the first of its kind on streaming for star wars

andor could be the riskiest fantasy/sci-fi show to hit streaming, ever. 12 episodes for season 1 that cost 250 million overall, not 6-8, explores marxist themes, and did not pull in new subscribers. what popularity it does have is purely due to word-of-mouth and plain old good writing, rather than marketing or by simply being part of star wars. it was originally going to be 5 seasons but is now going to be 2 because... 250 million dollars is a lot to spend on one season of television that didn't make you a lot of money. simple as that, even if andor is the best live-action thing disney has produced in decades in my opinion

the acolyte season 1 was 8 episodes and cost 22 million per episode, which armchair critics on social media are stating is the reason why the show has been canceled. haters will just say it was canceled because of bad writing, and fans are saying it was because of review-bombing and the diversity of the cast and crew

i disagree on some level that the acolyte is the first star wars show to be canceled, because again, andor was going to be 5 seasons and is now going to be 2, losing over 50% of the original story. even fans of the acolyte will agree that its writing wasn't the best. most fans who have seen andor will agree that it is the best-written star wars media ever on par with the best episodes of clone wars. both shows brought me over to disney plus when no other show or movie did

but in effect, both shows have been canceled

my take is that if a mid list existed, both shows should have been on it. they are part of an established IP with established fans who were going to watch the shows no matter what. most people with star wars fatigue would not have heard about the uniqueness of these shows until later and would have probably picked them up by their finales or by their season 2s

if they were not star wars properties and were original stories instead, both of these shows were still fairly unique doing things that appeal to "weird" subsets of sci-fi/fantasy fans. the mid list would have been perfect either way

i firmly believe that a mid list would have saved both of these shows. 6 million per episode MAXIMUM. ideally less. not because i dislike either show, but because i care about writing above all else. pay 1 writers room a fair wage and let them go fucking nuts for a few seasons. as long as everyone else in the production is being paid a fair and living wage, i don't care how little is spent on the show

stranger things should have been a mid-list anthology series that ran forever, wheel of time should have been a mid-list tv fantasy with at least 12 episodes per season to do any justice to those massive books but also to pay homage to the book series' roots as high fantasy that goes on and on without much of a plan and with often mid and sometimes junky writing but with appeal in that it was long-running, made readers familiar with the same characters every book for many hundreds of pages each, and is something of a comfort read now for many fans

i think that reality is catching up to streaming services and things are going to get worse before they get better

but i also think that the next "evolution" of tv should be the return of the mid list

[ackee]

there needs to be a new word for "small indie studios" that are comprised of like, extremely popular literal industry veterans LOL

[commiegoth]

The problem with horror comedies is that the comedy has to be funny for it to be good

[jesncin]

Have you read/heard of the two DC Graphic novels, Galaxy: The Prettiest Star and Bad Dream: a Dreamer Story? (PS: If DC ever let you 2 do a graphic novel I would probably buy a million copies and never shut up about it adhksks)

I have heard of both Galaxy: The Prettiest Star (because Lunar Boy's been compared to it!) and Bad Dream: a Dreamer's Story (because Lunar Boy was on a Queer Books To Read in 2024 list with it!) and I'd love to read both!

Oh man!! Their MG/YA graphic novel imprint is so interesting to me, and probably the best fit for my writing and art style. I'm still probably not an exact match for DC overall but if I were to pitch something to that line (if you'll entertain me being a pitch salesman for a moment!):

I know people probably want me to do a Superman & Lois graphic novel, but with Smashes the Klan and Girl Taking Over, I'm sure Lois Liando would be a hard sell as it is! Not a bad thing, since both graphic novels are already excellent with great creatives attached!

Supersons MG graphic novel that focuses on both boys struggling with school life as a background supervillain plot looms. There's already a Supersons (behated) graphic novel so I'm sure I wouldn't be given this but I'd love a Supersons story that focuses on slice of life more, especially exploring both Damian and Jon's backgrounds as kids of the diaspora.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER MG/YA graphic novel give me either MG or YA I'm flexible!! If I'm not trusted with big-name characters, give me the obscure blorbo. Smashes the Klan committed to the portrayal of Superman as an immigrant, I want a graphic novel that portrays J'onn and Ma'al as first gen immigrants too! But unlike Superman, they don't pass as human and have far more othering alien customs. I can either give the twins space adventures or culture shock adventures on Earth. All while they're hunted by some martian bounty hunter! Would love to team up with a Black deaf creative for this. Martian deserves a good book,,,

Conner Superboy YA graphic novel ! Re-contextualize the 90s run's themes of superhero child celebrity shenanigans into a contemporary context that teens can relate to. Influencer culture, the way identities are sectioned off and commodified in the capitalism machine, Livewire as the reactionary villain with her own youtube channel/podcast, Conner going to school and NOT getting yanked out of it constantly! So much potential to refresh his cast for the modern age. Would also love to team up with a Black creative for this!!

Stay with me. John Constantine MG graphic novel. I know there's already a YA graphic novel (that isn't particularly beloved) but listen. Send young 12 year old Constantine to a haunted boarding school with an occult conspiracy mystery at the center of it. Imagine the vibes of Gotham Academy with the energy of Goosebumps meets the tone of Series of Unfortunate Events. Who is the golden child who haunts Constantine?? What is this mysterious backstory he has?? How will he upset his newfound school friends this time?? It's tragic you should look away,,,look away,,,

SO IF ANY OF THOSE SOUND INTERESTING, DC, HIT ME UP lmao. I'm often told "DC should pick you guys up" and that's always flattering! I have complicated feelings about what it would mean as a fanartist to get picked up, and the possible red tape that means for me interacting with fandom (that I've grown to love), but hey. We can have fun and imagine an Elseworld where I got picked up!

[awoogaslashers]

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

WAIT SORRY, I just sent a ask a second ago BUT IM PRETTY SURE ITS MERCH, the fact that howdy was on there is probably meaning its to be sold in a store of some kind, like his shop. definitely a stretch tho

no no i'm with you on that. my first thought had been "physical howdy puppet?" but then i thought about it for more than one second and came to the Merch Conclusion as well for the same reasons. it might be a Wally plush! that's my guess!

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

I love how the rocket money app ads where the people are somehow always perplexed to be spending money on three Netflix subscriptions always have the monthly expenses be like 7-8k, like, geez. Idk maybe people who make that much money really are like that I truly Would Not Know.