Promo Pros: They Post All the Bills They Can

If you live in L.A., you’ve probably seen the fruits of their labor on billboards, bus benches, light posts, utility boxes, bathroom stalls, pay phones and road signs. Plying their trade in the dark of night, street promoters, as they are called, make a living--and a name for themselves--by putting up posters and passing out stickers to hip-hop heads, club kids and partygoers.

The phenomenon is strongest in hip-hop music, where both independent and major record labels use street promoters to create a buzz for artists who may lack exposure from radio and video outlets.

As these promoters hype other artists, they’re indirectly trumpeting themselves. Some, the best, graduate to jobs with record companies. “Once you’re out there doing street promotions, you become the man,” says Michael Nixon, a 20-year promotions veteran and owner of N5 International Entertainment Marketing, whose clients include Bad Boy, DreamWorks and Warner Bros. “People see you in the clubs with the DJs giving [them] records. You’re a little street celebrity.”

Of course, these street promoters must be hip, which is why most of them are 18 to 25 years old. They also tend to be male, although some females have proven their worth.

“People don’t expect [a woman] to climb a tree and staple something to it,” says Monalisa Murray, who has promoted releases from Island, Loud, T.W.Is.M. and Select Records. “They don’t expect you to climb a ladder and do stuff.”

Ads pop up in unlikely places because of renegade tactics such as these. But sometimes stickers find their way onto traffic signs and private property, prompting stricter enforcement of anti-posting laws. The promoters are hardly deterred, however. “We’re still out there,” Nixon says. “You’ve just got to stick and move and keep moving.”

Despite the potential courtroom hassles, the legal attention pleases some labels. According to Murray, “When the [record companies] get fined, that means somebody’s doing [his] job.”