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Where To Make Money In Music: Hotel Lobbies, Grocery Stores

greglaswell.jpgOnce, indie labels spent a lot of time and energy courting DJs, independent promoters, and record store managers to get exposure for a new release. Now, they're courting grocery stores, hotel chains, and movie theaters.

Vanguard Records, the indie label behind Greg Laswell's "Three Flights from Alto Nido," struck deals with Marriott, PepsiCo, Amazon (AMZN), Landmark Theaters and Whole Foods Markets (WFMI) in hopes of getting some people to listen to Laswell's songs, the WSJ reports. And like plenty of other artists, Laswell worked as a pitchman for Apple (AAPL), promoting its GarageBand software.

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As the Journal points out, once, the corporate deal was anathema to the indie artist. Now, it's pretty much standard practice for those that have any hope of eeking out a living from making music. Muzak, which handles music for Courtyard lobbies, used to be the place good music went to die; now, it's an important venue for exposing consumers to new music.

One question: Will any of these corporate deals result in the meaningful sale of physical music? Or, on the flip side, if enough corporations are involved, does it even matter anymore?

See Also:
Coldplay Reminds Us How To Sell Music: Get Your Own iTunes Ad
Another iTunes Ad = Another iTunes Hit Song

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