nell james and last.fm marketing
Not sure if this is a new trend, but I've gotten a few in-system messages on last.fm from artists whose music I've listened to and gotten included in my charts / history. The latest of these was from Nell James, whose original music and Yes covers I've thoroughly enjoyed. So, contrary to the bulk of marketing thrown at me, I actually welcomed the news that she's got an album out and thanked her for the heads up. When it works like this, a personal message gladly received, "marketing" seems like a dirty word to apply.
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When we were organizing BarCampMilwaukee, I made a point of emailing specific people that I wanted there, and most of them really appreciated a personal invite from a real live human.
I have just had the same thing happen with Nigel Clark (http://www.last.fm/music/Nigel+Clark).