30 Apr 10

Music News or News Music?

By Andrew Niven, MediaCom Beyond Advertising

Last Friday The New York Times website began streaming indie rock band National’s new album High Violet. This 11-track collection isn’t available in shops or on-line until 11th May, but NYT readers could listen to it and find out more about the band in an article, The National Agenda, in last week’s NYT magazine (http://www.nytimes.com/)
The newspaper has offered tracks, as well as film and TV clips, online before, but National is the first band to be honoured with a full-album stream.

It’s a win/win/win situation with the NYT seeing the music as a value-add for the article, National gets great promotion and fans get to sample the music free. Of course, the article is also featured on National’s own website (http://www.americanmary.com/news.php ) And what does the NYT reviewer actually make of the band?
“With the National, it’s never only rock ’n’ roll,” the article says. “Watching them record a song is like looking on as a group of skilled chefs make a sandwich together; even in a B.L.T., they can foresee endless possibilities.”

Sourced from brand e-biz, New York Times