Gregory Alan Isakov has been recording music since 2003 including five full-length studio albums. He’s also a farmer who grows heirloom vegetables and tends to beehives on his small farm in Boulder, Colorado. He frequently writes and records in a studio inside a barn on his property. His first four albums were released via his own independent label, Suitcase Town Music.
Songwriter Gregory Allen Isakov has built a loyal fanbase for his distinctive blend of indie and folk music.
Among the many methods available for artist promotion, Isakov and his team have relied on four key strategies to methodically build an audience for his distinctive style of indie rock and folk music:
Targeted Touring
Getting out and performing for people in the right kind of venue is obviously fundamental to success in the music business. Over the years, Isakov has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe both in support of other acts and as a headliner. While he performs regularly, Isakov and his representatives have managed his tour schedule so that opportunity, venue, and audience are all aligned properly.
He garnered early recognition performing at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. He’s generated publicity and additional news coverage by performing with several national symphony orchestras across the country. And he’s played in unique and memorable music venues like Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater and Tennessee’s The Caverns. Isakov’s dedication to regularly playing live plus smart, targeted tour stops have helped present the idiosyncratic beauty of his music and allowed him to develop a devoted community of music fans. Isakov’s concerts also often include a cause marketing component. For example, concert promoters announce that a portion of every ticket purchase will go toward sustainable farming and regenerative organic agriculture.
Online Content & Marketing
Like nearly every artist and musician, Isakov relies heavily on his own website and social media to share information and connect with fans. Isakov’s DIY toolbox of owned media includes:
Twitter: 26,000 followers
Facebook: 153,000 followers
Instagram: 170,000 followers
YouTube: 142,000 subscribers
Website: https://gregoryalanisakov.com
Roughly 49,000 monthly visitors (28% are 25-34 years old; next highest demo is 18-24). Top traffic source is overwhelmingly organic search (78%). Website integrated with concert ticket and apparel e-commerce.
Spotify: 4.472 million monthly listeners (plus Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.)
Music Licensing
Music licensing has been an important marketing tool for Isakov. His songs have been featured in commercials for McDonalds and Subaru. He’s had even more success with song placements in episodes of TV series including The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, NBC’s The Blacklist, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, USA Network’s Suits and more. Isakov’s distinctive voice and lush melodies have lent emotional weight to all kinds of dramatic scenes that affect a viewing audience. Licensing can be an important revenue stream and it generates exposure for an artist like Isakov outside the pop mainstream, introducing listeners who might otherwise never hear his music.
Media Relations
Engaging with both music industry and mainstream media outlets has been an essential marketing tool for Isakov. Critics love telling his humble “farmer turned musician” origin story and generally heap praise on his singing, writing, and performances. Profiles of Isakov have appeared in the New York Times, National Public Radio, Medium, Billboard and many more. The amount of earned media coverage stands out for a performer of his relative popularity.
As an example of how Isakov’s story has resonated far beyond typical genre coverage, check out this article from Inc. magazine on how being a musician and working his own farm has helped Isakov craft a more fulfilling life.
Link: https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/want-to-be-successful-happy-become-more-than-one-thing.html
Isakov’s skills as a musician and a performer certainly evolved as his career progressed and the marketing strategies described above communicated his growing artistic value and increasingly connected the artist with an expanding audience. In 2019, Isakov positioned himself to reach an even larger audience when he partnered with Dualtone, a Nashville-based record label to release his fifth album, “Evening Machines.” The record would go on to be nominated for Best Folk Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
Isakov’s growing popularity has allowed him to tap into deeper pockets and more sophisticated resources. But it’s important to recognize that his work isn’t designed for mainstream success like pop music and that the artist has no intention of changing his approach. He will still tour around his farming season and “strive for a cohesive musical vision that feeds his soul," according to his record label. Suggestions for increasing audience reach reflect that reality and are based primarily in doubling down on the strategies that have worked thus far including:
Continue to embrace targeted touring and look to share tour stops with increasingly higher profile artists on the Dualtone label like The Lumineers or Mt. Joy.
Expand the use of YouTube as an engagement platform by developing a more diverse selection of owned media content besides music videos.
Continue to look for opportunities to license his music for use in commercials and programs.
Develop ways to deepen the personal relationship with fans and audiences through invitation-only events, special access content and promotions, limited edition merchandise, etc.
When Isakov releases his next album - expected sometime later in 2023 - the corresponding promotion and media coverage of the new music will intensify his already considerable buzz in the folk and indie music scene.