Marketing Tip: Cross-Promote Your Music and Videos with Non-Profit Organizations

The impact of Kickstarter went way further than just providing another way for bands to get funding for their projects, it redefined what music means as a currency. Investing money in bands’ projects allowed music to be more than just a product, but a communal experience, or a living, breathing thing. It also meant music could exist as something more than a way than to just make money, but to build something. Knowing this, Music Think Tank passed along a really good idea: power your music tracks and music videos by promising to invest a percentage of sales or collected views on a non-profit. 

Here’s an example:

1. In every video blog, we are going to select a project to support. During our tour, we are going to pledge 5 cents for every view. For every thumbs up, we’ll pledge ten cents. We’ll encourage fans as well as the recipients of the donation to share the video with as many people as they’d like.
2. With each video, we’ll also take a quick moment to talk about what we’re supporting and why we believe in it.
3. Each episode, we’ll invite viewers to submit their own favorite non-profits, Kickstarter projects, etc. in the comments section. The causes in comments that get voted up will be more likely to get selected.
4. At the end of the tour, we’ll film the checks being made and mailed (or online donations being made).

It’s a proven commodity that non-profit projects in music always look good on paper, and often they perform really well. It’s not a way to make a lot of money, obviously, but it’s a savvy way to build exposure and show your fans that you’re not too big to let your music do some good for other people.