A young lad from The Netherlands wrote a 20-page paper exploring 5 recent case studies dealing with the online promotion of new music content (download PDF here). The gentlemen’s name is Bas Grasmayer. Remember it, I think this fellow will be making plenty of noise in the near future. For more information about his thesis, check out his Future of Music Distribution Tumblr.

As I get ready to attend my first new music conference, I decided to re-read Bas’ paper to get my mind in the zone to talk about the new music industry. I have been talking a lot on this blog about what artists need to do to brave this paradigm shift and stay relevant in a sea of noise. Bas’ paper did not necessarily showcase anything I did not know, outside of the silly Groove Armada/Bacardi business, but it did fortify my thoughts on what works. In fact, I want to help you out by listing the 5 things Mr. Grasmayer suggest works in the new music frontier.

• Giving fans a reason to buy.
• Freemium.
• Understanding that the package IS the product.
• Buzz.
• Co-branding.

The first three are my favorites. In fact, I think one should fuse them together when putting together a proper marketing strategy for any project. With the right approach in what I am going to call “the trifecta,” buzz will be imminent and co-branding will be a serious option with a relevant partner.

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If you get a chance to peruse Bas’ paper, I definitely would like to make the comment section here a place to hold a virtual forum.  PLEASE.  Share your thoughts!