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February 09, 2005
Pavlo, Wal-Mart and the New World Order
World Music Guitarist Pavlo Teams With Wal-Mart For Promo Tour
World music guitarist Pavlo is selling records the old fashioned way: he's earning each and every sale. His instrumental music isn't played on the radio. He doesn't have a music video airing on television. He's not dating a Hollywood starlet. Instead Pavlo and his band have teamed with retail giant Wal-Mart for sixteen in-store performances in Central and Southern California, which kicked off in Bakersfield on January 22nd. Playing anywhere from two to four sets per night and signing CDs for fans in between sets, Pavlo has managed to sell enough copies of his U.S. debut album, FantasiaFantasia, to enter Billboard's New Age chart this week at #11. It's expensive to keep a band on the road and to fund the tour, Pavlo is using funds that he won in a 2003 legal settlement against R. Kelly, who used a guitar riff without permission from Pavlo's song, "Fantasia," as the basis of the hit pop single, "Fiesta." Pavlo now owns 25% of the song.
In Canada, Pavlo is already a two-time gold-selling artist who has been nominated for a Juno Award (Canada's Grammy equivalent) and was named World Music Artist of the Year last year by the Canadian Independent Music Awards. Now his sights are set on breaking through in the U.S. Stylistically, Pavlo describes his sound as "Mediterranean music," a passionate, often energetic blend of jazz, classical, Latin, flamenco and Greek bouzouki music for dance, romance, adventure, celebration and relaxation infused with a sensual hint of gypsy mystery.
Originally Pavlo was expected to perform two sets a night, but he plays as long as the audience demands and he leaves no new fan without a signed CD. The barnstorming retail marketing effort is advanced in stores with posters, flyers and a video clip. Driving with his band up to six hours each way from store to store, Pavlo has noticed some of the same faces in the audience city after city.
"People are actually having so much fun at our performances that they are coming back the next night in another city, but bringing their family and friends," said Pavlo. "Instead of focusing on how to get people into record stores to buy our CDs, we decided to focus on selling records to the people already in the stores. And it's working." In fact, Wal-Mart store managers and Anderson Merchandisers, the record distributor that sells CDs to approximately 2,000 Wal-Mart stores, are so pleased with the results of the initial campaign that plans are underway for Pavlo to do a more extensive slate of promotional shows in Wal-Marts across the U.S. this spring after he completes an upcoming U.K. concert tour.
Jean-Pierre Leduc of Justin Time Records, the Montreal-based label that released Pavlo's Fantasia album in the U.S. last September, stated, "It's refreshing to work with an artist who truly understands the current marketplace and who is willing to do whatever it takes to sell records. Pavlo has got it all. He's a dynamic and captivating performer who knows how to engage audiences. His sound is unique yet accessible. In addition to his vast musical talents, Pavlo's warmth and charisma literally charms people into buying his records. All he needs is the platform and his magic will do the rest."
Pavlo and Wal-Mart understand the New World Order.
Posted by BIGBAER at February 9, 2005 02:37 PM
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