Case Study:

Creating millions of impressions in the press for a non-profit,

directly resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue.


”There's no beat generation. It's just a bunch of guys trying to get published.”

- Allen Ginsberg

When I got involved with the non-profit Brooklyn Raga Massive, it was a humble artist’s collective putting on weekly events in local bars and cafes. When I left we were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in foundational support and commanding fees as much as 15K for a performance. Content strategy was at the core of this success.

Here’s how we made it happen:

  1. I felt there was something happening amongst the musicians in Brooklyn Raga Massive but it needed definition. In the same way that the “beat generation,” benefited from that umbrella term for their literature, I coined the phrase “Raga Renaissance,” to describe this musical movement in New York City. I also came with a series of key words and phrases which I felt differentiated what was happening it and defined it as a musical movement. As their musical genre is very niche, I viewed this an advantage, a blue ocean marketplace.

    • “Raga,” is the type of musical style and the concept of the phrase, “Raga Renaissance,” was to give the sense that there was a palpable musical movement going on.

    • Keywords and phrases included: “inclusive,” “community, ” “cross-cultural,” “innovative,” “rooted in tradition” and “new musical forms.”

  2. I included the phrase in press releases and interviews and these were picked up by various small news outlets, internationally in 2015.

  3. In future interviews and press releases we made reference to those news outlets who picked up the story about the “Raga Renaissance.”

  4. I coached the artists to use the term “Raga Renaissance,” along with other keywords and phrases in interviews.

  5. The “Raga Renaissance” was picked up for full page articles in The New York Times (where it was used in the headline) and Wall Street Journal in 2016. The New Yorker declared the group “leaders of the Raga Renaissance.'“ An avalanche of press would follow.

  6. We used this glowing coverage to get higher profile performances (Lincoln Center, MoMA, etc.). and found huge success with foundational support.

 Results

Brooklyn Raga Massive received millions of impacts in the press including articles in the Associated Press, NPR and international outlets.

Legitimized by all the press, we used the same narrative and content strategy to appeal for foundational support and received grants form

  • National Endowment of the Arts 

  • Humanities New York

  • Brooklyn Arts Council

  • Howard Gilman Foundation

  • Communities of Color 

  • NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs 

  • New Music USA 

  • New York Community Trust

  • Cafe Royal Cultural Society

  • Emma A. Schaefer Charitable Trust

  • NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs 

  • New York State Council of the Arts

    amongst others.

Today Brooklyn Raga Massive is an established arts institution with a budget that grew more than 20X over 5 years. We later did user research with our fans to refine our messaging, but this initial content strategy is still paying dividends today.

Addendum: Timeline

Use of ‘Raga Renaissance’ in the press June 2105-March, 2016:

June 18, 2015: "We are experiencing a raga renaissance in New York City," Ellenbogen said. "There are so many amazing musicians collaborating within and beyond the genre..." - Bollywood Life

August 6, 2015: “People in India are paying attention to what’s happening in Brooklyn and the term “raga renaissance” has floated around the press there.” An interview with David Ellenbogen - Rubin Museum of Art

August 24, 2015: “The members of this Kings County collective devoted to Indian classical music, leaders of the Raga renaissance currently underway,”

- The New Yorker

Aug 27, 2015: “While listeners of a certain generation might recognize sitarist Ravi Shankar or recall how bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones used Indian instrumentation on some of their ’60s hits, BRM members seek to redefine classical Indian music in the new century.” – Wall Street Journal

Mar 24, 2016: “A Raga Renaissance Flowers in Brooklyn”. Preserving the past while blurring genres in an inventive spirit” - New York Times