Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys are the latest artists to use livestreaming services to promote their new albums. Cameras will be following Snoop today for the release of his Malice N Wonderland album, and streaming the footage of his events and interviews live on Ustream.
Meanwhile, Alicia Keys is streaming her new album The Element of Freedom on her Facebook fan page in advance of its release on 15 December. She’s not using Ustream, but instead a new Facebook app called Involver, which aims to help brands connect with fans through social media.
As we’ve written before, the key difference with webcasts of the past are the social features that tie into these promotions. Fans can chat about what they’re watching in real-time, often feeding their views back to Twitter and Facebook, for a viral effect.