Monster Mania

What’s the first thing you think when you think of Lady Gaga? If your name is Louis Marino, you think direct-to-consumer marketing.

In the inaugural post for his new column for Fast Company, MKTG’s own Creative Studio head explains what we as experiential marketers can learn from Mother Monster, leaving us with just one question — does this new column make Louis a member of the papa … paparazzi?

Image credit: violet.blue

From Bad Boy to mad man

Ad-industry rag The NY Egotist got a real earful this week when they came by the MKTG Creative Studio for a chat with our own Louis Marino. After 20 years in the music and fashion industries, including 2 as creative director at Bad Boy Entertainment, our man Marino knows a thing or two about keeping beat with the big boys. In the Egotist profile posted here, he talks about how music informs his craft, how celebrities can best avoid Twitter troubles but still engage their audience, and what MKTG’s own future business objectives are (clue: rhymes with Pick Grass).

Image credit: The NY Egotist

What time is it? It's Record Time!

If you haven’t visited a record store in about a hundred years, then all this is your fault. To support the struggling vinyl industry as well as small hometown businesses everywhere, a group of independently owned record stores across the country have declared tomorrow, April 16, national Record Store Day. As part of the effort, more than 200 artists, ranging from Springsteen to Yeasayer to Adele to the White Stripes, have released limited-edition titles, some available for one day only and all available only at participating record stores. A honkin’ list of in-store events and performances are also scheduled for the day. So swing by your favorite neighborhood record nook tomorrow and show your support!

Image credit: kid marmite via Buzzfeed’s sad slideshow of closed record stores

Our Social Media Guru of the Galaxy, Francesca, just got back from the SXSW music festival in Austin, so what better way to celebrate her return than with this? A list of social media pet peeves from the bands themselves. Maybe Fran’s team can help them out?

What would you do if someone stole all your band’s instruments, leaving you with nothing but your phone? Duh. Start an iPhone band.

Using nothing but 4 iPhone apps, Brooklyn-based Atomic Tom took their show on the…uh…track. They found a free venue with a captive audience: the New York City subway.

Here’s to turning the B train into the Beat train. There’s hope yet for my commute home.

Geoff Cottrill, Converse’s chief marketing officer, at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn space that will soon be a community recording studio.

At the launch of Windows 95, The Rolling Stones licensing Start Me Up for use as a commercial jingle was news, but of course the use of music to make brands was nothing new.    In a continuing conversation with its customers Converse does the obverse: the use of a brand to make music.

The New York Times reported on that Converse is building a recording studio in Brooklyn.  At Rubber Tracks studio, “new and emerging bands” will have the opportunity to record for free.  And free means a lot more than just that you don’t pay.  Converse will not suggest, edit or otherwise “direct” the creative process and the artists retain all rights.

Will the sneaker maker’s patronage transform music into a rival to sports for the propagation of a brand image?

Via the New York Times

A couple cool things related to Jay-Z’s new book release.

1. The Ad Campaign

2. The Game

La Blogotheque publishes a series of videos that they refer to as concerts a emporter or take away concerts. Take away concerts are quick, thrown-together performances by fairly well known bands that offer a raw unpolished side of these artists that generally isn’t made public. What makes these videos so interesting is the level of talent that is at the core of these artists and the way this talent becomes even more evident when all the sheen of production is stripped away. Throw in some fantastic cinematography and the backdrop of Paris and you’ve got a result that is always engaging – and sometimes breathtaking.

Some highlights on the site include Sigur Ros in a café, Grizzly Bear singing acapella, Menomena making a local Parisian child boogie, Beirut playing with a full street band (including trash can drums) and Architecture in Helsinki utilizing a choir of onlookers to sing the bass sections of “Heart it Races”.

You can see the entire library of take away shows here.

Hello, good people of the interweb!

I was recently asked what I’ve been listening to lately. Well…

Jamie Lidell: I’m late on this record, but Jamie Lidell’s “Jim” has been keeping me happy the last few weeks.  New style soul with a ton of groove. Highly recommended.

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One of the coolest cats(Be-Bop slang meaning people) of all time. If your eyes can get past how cool this collection looks your ears will for sure thank you. The Complete Columbia Album Collection by Miles Davis includes 52 albums spread across 70 CDs, a previously unreleased DVD of Live in Europe ‘67, featuring performances by Miles, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, a 250-page color book with a biography, annotated discography, and song index, tons of unreleased and rare audio recordings, and more($330).