Lied Center promotes upcoming performers by offering free iTunes / LJWorld.com

Archive for Wednesday, June 25, 2008

June 25, 2008

Special to the Journal-World

Area residents don't need to wait for prominent artists such as Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass to show up in Lawrence to hear their distinctive styles.

Just grab a free iTunes card, download the songs and start the music - an innovative introduction to the Lied Center's upcoming season, courtesy of the center, Apple and the artists themselves.

"We just thought this was perfect for what we wanted to do - to try and communicate and introduce the upcoming season to people," said Tim Van Leer, the center's executive director. "They have the opportunity to listen to some of the music from the artists that are performing, and then they can decide."

Within the next week or so, the center will begin distributing thousands of free iTunes cards at area businesses that are members of the Friends of the Lied organization. The cards will give users free access, through iTunes, to downloads of 20 songs from eight artists set to perform this season at the center.

It's a fresh approach. Stanford University was the first to partner with Apple for such a promotion, and then came Krannert Center at the University of Illinois.

Now add Kansas University to the list that Van Leer expects to grow as people embrace the program's potential.

"Performing arts organizations are in a situation where they have a traditional audience that they've been communicating with in traditional ways, but those traditions are different now - not only for the older audience, but also the younger audience and the new audience," Van Leer said. "Using the Internet, using e-mail, using iTunes - it's a perfect way for us to communicate through the technology about what we're doing."

Since launching the iTunes promotion earlier this month, the Lied Center already has distributed about 25,000 cards. Those have gone to donors, subscribers, ticket buyers, students attending music camps, incoming KU students going through orientation and others.

Now the cards will be made available through area businesses, and some will be available to distribute on campus.

After making arrangements with Apple and then securing permission from the artists to distribute their work through the free iTunes card, Lied Center officials had to spend about $5,000 to actually produce the cards themselves, Van Leer said.

He expects the program to help draw more people into buying tickets for the upcoming season, and the artists should find more people exposed to their work.

"And it's a mass-appeal campaign - it's not just intended for students - so that appealed to Apple," Van Leer said. "And I've heard from some people, 'I think this is a really good idea. I don't have an iPod, but I'm thinking about getting one.'

"From that standpoint, it's worked."

Alexander String Quartet - Peterson: The String Quartets - Retrospections - String Quartet No. 3 "Pop Sweet": I. Samba Theses Days, Allegro Non Troppo:
Alexander String Quartet - Peterson: The String Quartets - Retrospections - String Quartet No. 3 "Pop Sweet": III. Can This Grass Be Blue?, Presto:
Alexander String Quartet - Peterson: The String Quartets - Retrospections - String Quartet No. 2: II. Jazz Play, Lightly, With a Jazz Feel:
Boston Brass - Within Earshot - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2:
Boston Brass - Within Earshot - Danny Boy (Folk Song):
Ensemble Galilei - From the Edge of the World - The Fair Child:
Ensemble Galilei - From the Edge of the World - Liane's Ocean:
Ensemble Galilei - From the Edge of the World - Crossing Baffin Bay:
Interpreti Veneziani - The Four Seasons - Die Vier Jahreszeiten - Quattro Stagioni - The Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 - "Spring": I. Allegro:
Interpreti Veneziani - The Four Seasons - Die Vier Jahreszeiten - Quattro Stagioni - The Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 - "Spring": II. Largo:
Interpreti Veneziani - The Four Seasons - Die Vier Jahreszeiten - Quattro Stagioni - The Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 - "Spring": III. Allegro:
Laurie Anderson - Big Science - Let X=X:
Philip Glass - Glass: Etudes for Piano, Vol. 1, Nos. 1-10 - Etude No. 1:
Philip Glass - Glass: Etudes for Piano, Vol. 1, Nos. 1-10 - Etude No. 2:
Soweto Gospel Choir - African Spirit - Seteng Sediba:
Soweto Gospel Choir - African Spirit - Avulekile Amasango / One Love:
Soweto Gospel Choir - African Spirit - I'll Remember You:
Turtle Island String Quartett & Ying Quartet - 4 + Four - Mara's Garden of False Delights: Sri-Jo:
Turtle Island String Quartett & Ying Quartet - 4 + Four - Mara's Garden of False Delights: Doughboy:
Turtle Island String Quartett & Ying Quartet - 4 + Four - Mara's Garden of False Delights: Snakes and Ladders:
* Note: These are not the free links to iTunes - for those the card is needed.

Discussion

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26 June 2008
at 8:48 a.m.

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Gootsie (Anonymous) says…

Great idea - but the cards are misleading. If you haven't read this article, you'd think they are for 20 free (anything) tunes from iTunes. I hope they raise lots of money from these!
26 June 2008
at 9:08 a.m.

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music_luvr (Anonymous) says…

The cards are only misleading if you don't read. I picked one up yesterday, and there was a little display that said it was 20 songs from the 08 season. I got it.I hadn't heard a couple of the groups before, so it was nice to get that stuff for FREE.Don't look a gift card in the mouth.
26 June 2008
at 9:10 a.m.

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beobachter (Anonymous) says…

What about those of us who don't use or want anything to do with itunes? Can we get some free mp3 songs for the season?
26 June 2008
at 9:40 a.m.

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inatux (Anonymous) says…

@beobachterGeez. It's free. If you don't like the store it's being offered through, then tough. The nerve of some people.
26 June 2008
at 9:43 a.m.

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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

I would expect that you can go the the websites of most of these acts and hear multiple mp3's for each, if you want, beobachter.
26 June 2008
at 2:13 p.m.

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Gootsie (Anonymous) says…

music_luvr, I bow to you. Ours didn't have a display - just said free iTunes. Enjoy your card and hopefully you will go to a concert to help pay for that FREE card…that is the idea, you know.
26 June 2008
at 3:40 p.m.

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music_luvr (Anonymous) says…

Gootsie: Thanks. I will. And I have my tix, already.Wait, they meant to sell tickets? By giving people a listen for FREE? That's insane, man! Well, gotta get back to watching movie trailers, TV commercials and viral videos.Of course it's trying to sell tickets! But good for them for trying something new. Nice to see something original come around.