What do you do if you are Taylor Hicks and you are starring in the National Tour of Grease and you have a new CD dropping in the middle of the Tour? You “cross promote”…or blend the Teen Angel role, which was a huge success for you on Broadway, with the real Taylor performing the single from that new CD…all on the Grease stage. The word is that Grease is being rescripted now to include Taylor as himself...stay tuned.
This is the cutting edge, blended marketing strategy of the Alabama singer/ songwriter, who also announced recently that he has signed a deal with Artists To Market (A2M) for the release of his new album hitting the streets February 10, 2009. A2M represents the cutting edge of a growing trend for artists to control their own destiny.
"In today's marketplace, having the control as the artist is key," Hicks says. "I'm in control of where I spend my marketing dollars, who I want to record with, and in control of the companies I hire out. It allows me a really focused release. Basically, I am my own record label."
