Are Boutique Wines like Indie Music?

Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog  (NY Times - free subscription required) is an in-depth look at the new world of music promotion via blogs, MySpace, and direct interaction with fans.  It's essentially the direct-to-consumer model that some wineries are using applied to the music business.

Like the wine business, where thousands of new vintages are produced each year, indpendent musicians face the problem of standing out amidst a sea of songs.  In some ways, it's easier for musicians: they can give away free samples, and shipping costs next-to-nothing.

Still, if you are a small winery attempting to get traction in the marketplace, there are lessons to be learned here.  The most important: success depends on interacting with your fans.  You can't just make wine (or music).

Comments

[Richard Shaffer]

Great post!

I really appreciated your line that summed it up so nicely "Success depends on interacting with your fans".

In a wine world with 5,000 domestic wineries and only 400-500 traditional distributors serving 300,000 restaurants and millions of winedrinkers, small wineries are at a special disadvantage.

They really have to learn to market DIRECT to tell their unique story. I have a special interest in Israeli wineries and it's especially true for them, given all the misconceptions surrounding Israeli wine.

You're right - you can't just make wine anymore. People want to know who's behind the bottle and to interact with him/her.

Wineries need to own their story -- you wouldn't want someone else to propose to your girfriend would you? or interview for a job on your behalf??

[Beth Hilton]

Yes! The businesses do take similar approaches...and go hand-in-hand. I'm always trying to pair music promotions with wine companies...and now there are so many really affordable ways to gift free music to your customers to thank them for choosing your wine...from jazz to world to classical!

I'm seeking download partners for Omar right now...listen to him at www.omarmusic.com