BitTorrent as Marketing Tool, Nominated for an Interactive Award
Silence is Sexy, a Dutch band that previously released its album through Mininova’s content distribution platform, has been picked as one of the nominees for the Interactive Award 2009. The award is given to the best concept which utilizes the Internet to promote music and engage fans.
Silence is Sexy is not the first band to have used BitTorrent to share music for free, thousands did so before them. However, they were smart enough to submit the concept to the Interactive Award jury and now find themselves nominated as one of the potential winners.
Entitled “Using Torrents As A Successful Marketing Tool” their concept describes how BitTorrent can help bands to get noticed and build a fanbase. “The music industry keeps fighting new ways to distribute music. Silence is Sexy decided to do things differently and bring their music to the place where people like to get their music these days: torrent sites,” it reads.
So last fall they did, publishing their latest album “This Ain’t Hollywood” on Mininova. And they are not alone. Many artists are embracing BitTorrent, and releasing music for free has become commonplace these days. In fact, Georgia Wonder, one of the other contenders for the award, also used Mininova to distribute its music and of course, no-one needs reminding of the success enjoyed by NiN.
The free music experiment was a great success for Silence is Sexy. With over 15,000 downloads on Mininova and several positive responses from the press and (new) fans, BitTorrent has proven to be a great marketing tool. Thanks to their upload, one of their songs was included in the popular Indie/Rock Playlist of November, which gave them some additional exposure.
True to the name of the award, the public now has the chance to decide which of the 5 nominees wins the award. The winner will receive 5000 euros and 2 days of recording time in a Dutch studio. You can give 5 stars to Silence is Sexy on the award site if you think that BitTorrent can actually help artists and bands. The winner will be announced January 15th.
