Source: WikipediaNo, it’s not a band… well… maybe it is. Who knows.

I speak, of course, to the supposed busiest shopping day of the year, and the official start of the “Holiday Season” –which, for retailers, ends at some point in the late afternoon/early evening on Christmas Eve; But how does this possibly have anything to do with music promotion? I’m glad you asked.

It’s an issue of supply and demand. The supply of money for the end consumer is limited; people only make X and have a savings (0r debt) of Y. This time of year EVERYBODY is competing everyone else’s time and money. The real question is whether it’s time for you to attack or is it better to retreat?

Despite the short notice, if it’s possible to get booked, re-vamp your merch, and release a CD (or at least a single) before the end of the year, that would be highly advisable. This is the time of year when there is a lot of traveling and visiting, and in addition to the massive dollars spent at retailers, a lot of people go out to shows. As a highly tuned-in marketer, you understand that you can actually ride the coat tails of the spending momentum. If you have a show the week before Christmas, you can actually present your merchandise and/or CD as a gift to purchase. Well, DUHH!

Okay, maybe that was obvious. The reason that it is especially effective is that you aren’t in a busy mall or packed shopping district with Christmas music, Santa, elves, traffic, long lines, shopping lists, and all the other frustrations that come with the shopping season. Instead, you’re at a party, throwing a party, in a concert hall, or a bar. These are places that people go to relax and get away from all that stuff. It’s where they meet with friends and family they haven’t seen for months. This is where they have let their guard down. I’m not suggesting that you “attack” people for their money when their guard is down, but rather I am suggesting that this is a great time to talk about what you have to offer. All I am saying is that you will be able to enter into the marketing conversation, one-on-one, without all the other visual and auditory clutter that comes with shopping malls. You might just catch a decent handful of people who still have shopping to do and want to purchase a unique or less commercial gift for a friend, or you may even find that people have been so busy buying for other people that they may want to get a little something for themselves too.

I also urge you not to forget the Post-Holiday season. There’s usually a little pop of spending when people get money or gift certificates, but some time in late January/early February through tax season, there is often a little lull in entertainment spending. Some bands use this as a time to go back into the studio, take some time off to work their real jobs, write some music, or just play to smaller crowds. And you’re fully welcome to do that.

On the other hand, MARKETING IS ABOUT MOMENTUM. If you’ve been building sufficient momentum through the up through the end of the year, there’s no reason to stop. The key is to get creative with ways to keep your marketing conversation open and alive. This could mean that you blog more and have more free/interactive content on your website (I strongly recommend adding free desktop wallpapers, blogging, and holding contests or surveys for prizes on your website). It could mean that you go right on playing out to less than full audiences or even playing a free show. It could mean releasing a CD and having a corresponding party (or parties). The key is that you should be sensitive to the possibility that fewer people will want to spend on the non-essentials, while also remembering to keep the momentum going.

In other words, use the Holidays to boost your awareness and even to sell CDs and merch; but do not forget to keep your post-holiday marketing momentum going by thinking of creative ways to be sensitive to post-spending blues.