Many of Canada’s talented and up-and-coming young music artists are now appearing at a beer or liquor store near you.
The music of 15 independent artists are included on the Untapped, Vol. 2 CD in 40,000 specially marked cases of Traditional, Grasshopper and XO beer from Big Rock Breweries on sale in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The artists were selected by a panel of music industry judges from more than 500 artists who submitted their music.
The Untapped CD is part of Big Rock’s ongoing commitment to the arts, said Jim Button, the Calgary-based brewery’s vice-president of marketing.
“We’re a small craft brewer going up against big machines, so we empathize with young artists who want to get their voices heard by a broader audience.”
In addition to the 40,000 CDs in cases, an additional 10,000 CDs will be distributed to the media and the artists themselves.
Big Rock, which is also the official beer sponsor of the 2009 Juno Awards, introduced Untapped last year, and the campaign was highly successful for both artists and the brewery. One of the artists, Suzie McNeil, was nominated as 2008 Best New Artist at the Juno Awards.
“It has also done a great job for us from a marketing perspective,” said Button. “We are working hard to position ourselves as a small craft brewer that is Canadian owned and this relationship has helped us do that.”
Customers can also log on to BigRockUntapped.com and enter the pin number on the Untapped CD for the chance to win a trip for two to the upcoming 2009 Juno Awards in Vancouver.
