Kyle Smith is known for doing things a little differently. He’s unsigned, unmanaged, uncensored on social media, and unapologetically himself through and through. It’s the reason he’s been able to cultivate his hyper-devoted fanbase over the past five years, and the reason he continues to be a true bad boy of the scene.
In one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns to date, the independent reggae-rock phenom sold over 1,200 tee shirts in a little over and hour for $0.00 yesterday afternoon. Why? He wants his fans to wear his shirts.
“[to] any show, any festival, any meet-and-greet with other bands, any backstage situation, anytime they’re walking into a f*cking VIP with Pepper or Slightly Stoopid or Dirty Heads or any of those guys. That’s why it’s in huge [writing] and right on the front”
Marketing 101
“I will show up to the venue at 3:30 and after soundcheck I’d go to every single table in the room and cover them with cd’s and stickers. I’d have banners everywhere that said ‘Follow @kylesmithjams on Instagram’ and I’d hang those up on the rafters and balconies of every venue we played even if we were opening for another band. I’d get in trouble for doing that shit. I’ve gotten in so much f*cking trouble at festivals with my banners, all my papers, stickers, CD’s, all that shit.
“If you’re doing that shit continuously in front of thirty thousand people a year, at some point the name is going to stick.”
And stick it has. Smith has over 20k monthly Spotify listeners, 33k Instagram followers, and is regularly selling out the small venues he used to only sell 30-50 tickets at not even two years ago. And while, unfortunately, you can’t cop one of these tees anymore, his online merch store is full of other items, including gifting the band a hotel room for the night if you’re feeling generous.