In New York City, sidewalk listening stations offer album preview

French fashion and record label Kitsuné teamed up with creative media agency CNNCTD+ to create listening posts on New York City sidewalks.

We’ve already seen a number of innovative marketing techniques employed to promote musicians, most recently Belgium band Absynthe Minded‘s campaign that only let fans watch their video when the song was receiving radio airplay. The most recent innovation we’ve spotted comes from French fashion and record label Kitsuné who teamed up with creative media agency CNNCTD+ in the US to promote an album using the latter’s Sound Graffiti method, which enables passersby to listen to music at sidewalk-located stations. Featuring upcoming talent from US bands such as DWNTWN, Giraffage, Emil & Friends and Selebrities, the compilation album Kitsuné America was made available to fans in New York City earlier this year, who could listen for free at one of 15 stations dotted around the metropolis. The devices were fitted to street lights and other vertical structures and featured standard 3.5mm jacks to allow passersby to plug in their own headphones. Visitors to the CNNCTD+ website could view a map of the station locations and once at a dock, they could receive instructions on how to get a free copy of the album at the Kitsuné store, housed at the NoMad Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Given the theme of the compilation is America, the Sound Graffiti method fittingly enabled Kitsuné fans to experience the music while standing in one of the most iconic US cities. With digital music becoming ever more intangible, are there any other ways to add a more physical aspect to listening?