Necessity Becomes The
Mother Of Promotion
Labels and managers are turning to Instagram, online concerts — and even drones
BY MELINDA NEWMANPG. 16 PHYSICAL’S FATE PG. 18 HONG KONG AFTER COVID-19 PG. 19 MUSICARES RELIEF FUNDO
N MARCH 16, WHEN
Atlantic Records employ-
ees officially began
working from home
because of concerns about the
coronavirus, the label created a virtual
notebook so staffers at all levels could
suggest ways artists could connect
with fans without touring and most
other forms of promotions.
“Getting our technology straight
so people could work from home was
the first thing,” says Atlantic Records
GM/executive vp Paul Sinclair. Then
came the notebook. “We update it
every day with ideas from around the
company — there are well beyond
150 specific ideas” including content,partners, charity, gaming, wellness
and livestreaming.
Amid a shutdown that makes most
promotion impossible, labels and
managers are adapting swiftly — and
under considerable pressure — to
keep their artists in front of fans. The
situation is especially urgent for acts
that have new albums out, like country
star Kelsea Ballerini, who released her
third album, Kelsea, on March 20.
With traditional promotion, such as
live TV appearances and touring, off
the table, Ballerini’s team had under
a month to develop ideas. “Kelsea’s
main goal was to make sure she didn’t
lose that connection with her fans
and that the release still felt personal,”says Jason Owen, CEO of Sandbox
Entertainment, the firm that manages
Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big
Town and others. The night before
the set’s arrival, Ballerini hosted an
event on Instagram Live that included
remote appearances by album guests
Kenny Chesney and Halsey, and her
team sent flying drones across Ten-
nessee to deliver copies of the album,
sweatpants printed with song lyrics
and handwritten notes.
“We only did 10,” says Owen, “but
it got really loud on social media.”
Ballerini’s team wasn’t the only
one that made necessity the mother
of inventive promotion: Over the past
two weeks, artists have played virtualconcerts, participated in online Q&As
and even hosted group meditations,
such as the one that rapper Lizzo led
“to promote healing.”
At Warner Records, the first order
was “to not blink,” says co-chairman/
COO Tom Corson. With a wide slate of
releases ready, “we didn’t see a reason
to postpone them,” he says. Corson
expects the label to shift some release
dates for artists whose sales “lean
physical, as well as touring acts who
would do a ticket bundle.” Otherwise,
“as people self-isolate, we want to
provide those fans with something
to do,” he says. “People are going to
churn through content at a rate
they never have before. The fact thatMarket
HOUSTON-BORN COUNTRY AND POP LEGEND KENNY ROGERS, KNOWN FOR SUCH HITS AS “LUCILLE,” “THE GAMBLER” AND “ISLANDS IN THE STREAM,” DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES AT AGE 81.ILLUSTRATION BY CATHRYN VIRGINIA MARCH 28, 2020 • WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 157market_opener_physical_lo [P]_27835039.indd 15 3/25/20 8:12 PM