Mastodawn

#music #LiveMusic #Aotearoa #NZ #ALowHum #CampALowHum #StreetPostering

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2026 Poster Rethink - A Low Hum

"The street poster campaigns achieved nothing. The ROI was laughably appalling. I looked at how much money I threw away on street postering, only to have posters up for a week or two, then gone forever. It just didn’t make sense. It seemed a total waste of energy and art."

#Blink, 2026

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2026 Poster Rethink - A Low Hum

Blink (Ian Jorgensen) is a legend of kiwi music promotion. He's spend decades running live tours, supporting record releases, running his own label, complete with All Tomorrow's Parties style indie music festival (Camp a Low Hum).

I've never me the guy. But just from what I know second hand, I can tell you he's done as much for music communities in Aotearoa, and around the world, as anyone I can think of. His insights in this article are often saddening, but undoubtedly reliable.

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"Unless you’re hiding under a rock, you’re well aware of the current crisis in the events industry. Festivals and major events are losing truckloads of money. The economy is struggling and events are tanking. Just like I put the responsibility of Camp going ahead into the hands of those wanting it to happen, I’m tired of promoting events and tours passively."

#Blink, 2026

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2026 Poster Rethink - A Low Hum

But the good news?

"When I announced Camp A Low Hum 2027 back in 2025, I gave people five days to purchase enough tickets for me to do the event and not lose money. People understood the task and that it was up to them, and they came through."

#Blink, 2026

So today's music fans care about scenes surviving, so they keep getting music. They're willing to be part of active community efforts to support them. That's heartening.

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2026 Poster Rethink - A Low Hum

Strypey

"If you were planning on making tees anyway, why not sell them ahead of the tour and have them advertise the tour before it happens?

Can’t this become standard practice? If you’re doing a one-off show at a normal venue, having the poster on a Tshirt, with ticketing details, and having people wear it months before the show is fucking funny ... it seems so obvious, so obvious I can’t believe it took me twenty years of shows to do it."

#Blink, 2026

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#TShirts

2026 Poster Rethink - A Low Hum

"Posters survive a week on the streets and get viewed passively. How much more effective would it be to make posters that people want to put up in their workplaces or in places where people come together, cafes, activity spaces, schools, co-working spaces, etc. Posters that can sit there for weeks, spurring conversation, inviting inquisition."

#Blink, 2026

https://www.
alowhum.com/2026-poster-rethink

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