BuzzOven: Teen-collective Music Marketing Machine

Discussed in this post: Buzz-building with music, brands using WOM channels.

I stumbled across a group called BuzzOven today. I love stuff like this. Their mission is to get the word out about local band scenes (currently operating in Dallas, coming soon to Austin). The way they work is to hit the area, find a bunch of bands, pick three and burn a CD. The CD is then handed out to a group of Buzzers: people who have signed up to cruise the streets, schools, malls, skate parks and whatever, handing out discs for free.

Right now, it looks like Chipotle and Coca-Cola are the only big brands sponsoring this effort (although I have a feeling this probably is at the local distributor/franchise level). This is great effort and a great example of how buzz can be channeled and amplified using the Internet and technology. The important connections happen offline (ie: CDs handed out). But people sign up online, they sample online and they commune online.

I don't know if this is best read as a shake-up of the music industry. Instead, I think this is a great example of how the word-of-mouth channel can be solidified and leveraged by brands. Coke's got a great new distribution channel for their messages in the form of BuzzOven.