FEATURE:
Monoliths and Billboards to Silent Videos
IN THIS PHOTO: AC/DC finding a new way to promote their latest album, Power Up
Big, Small and Somewhere In Between: The Album Promotional Campaign
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IN an age where there are more ways…
The #AF6 release campaign is next level. https://t.co/ryfveVUTx8
— Arcade Fire Tube (@ArcadeFireTube) December 1, 2020
to get your music out to people, artists have found different avenues to put their stuff out there. Before the Internet and social media, there were some interesting campaigns and artists taking advantage of the media - but I am thinking about a wider sphere than that. I think, even without the Internet, artists have found innovative ways to promote their album. I bring up this subject because, around the world, mysterious metal monoliths have appeared around the world. Many are linking it to a possible approaching sixth album from Canadian band, Arcade Fire. Win Butler from the band says there has been creativity in the camp, so I would not be shocked if the group put out some new work early next year. As of the time of this article (8th December) there has been no official announcement, but it does seem like a stunt that has been taken on by copycats - it may be Arcade Fire who started it but it is unlikely. Even if this worldwide ‘craze’ is nor down to them, Arcade Fire are no strangers when it comes to a great marketing campaign. Many remember the precision and work they put into the drive for Reflektor - and that yielded chart success for them. This article from The Hollywood Reporter explains more about how the relatively small band made a big impression with their promotional ideas for Reflektor:
“The fact that Arcade Fire's fourth album, Reflektor, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart was no fluke. A captivating lead-up has been afoot for months, building buzz for the release via secret shows, cryptic emblem street art and a cross-platform launch of the title track and lead single.
Scott Rodger, the band's manager, is quick to note that this is not merely a marketing campaign. "It's about how do you present a project to people to take notice," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "There's an ocean of information out there. … It's the world we're living in where we have to tune into it to find a better way to connect with people and make sure they're aware that something's coming. And if the music is good enough, then you'll win through."
When first conceiving the rollout with the band and labels, what was the initial scope of the creative?
Scott Rodger: We don't spend any more or less than the average record company would on a mid- to lower-sized act. All we [asked] is: How do you engage not only your fans, but just try and get noticed? We're in an information overload, but just to be recognized you have to be more creative and do things in a way that people will talk about socially -- online but also in the physical world. How do you become one of those things that people talk about?
If you look at an Arcade Fire -- they're a small band that's punching above their weight. You've got a Pearl Jam release, a Katy Perry release, an Eminem release and a Lady Gaga release, and we're sandwiched right in the middle. We're nowhere near anywhere as big as those acts, so how do you play in that world? How do you get a smaller act some kind of global visibility? That was the thought process behind the campaign”.
PHOTO CREDIT: @stereophototyp/Unsplash
I do think that the huge social media numbers of the biggest acts helps when it comes to getting their music out there. If you are a lot smaller, then that means it is harder to rely on social media alone. We have print musical media, but I think the Internet is a more potent and influential marketing force. I admire Arcade Fire and how they are operating. The band followed Reflektor’s campaign with an even bigger and more inventive one for Everything Now . That album came out in 2017, and the sheer amount of work put into promoting it in a very different way was amazing! Many artists feel like they need to go to these lengths and stand out because competition is a lot fiercer, and it is tougher to get an album out there and selling big if you do not put in this work. One huge artist who is going big this year is Paul McCartney. His album, McCartney III, is out on 18th December. There was this run-up to the announcement with mysterious dice posts on social media. People were speculating what it could mean and whether it was a re-release coming but, then, we learned that it was tied to McCartney III – the album cover features a dice. Over the past week or two, there have been these #12DaysOfPaul videos with billboards being put up featuring songs/music notation from the album.
🎲 4️⃣ 🎲#12DaysOfPaul @AmazonMusic pic.twitter.com/LpO5i6OG0Z
— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) December 7, 2020
The work required to put this all together is amazing but, with very little in the way of musical promotion and singles, there has been this interesting campaign. Even someone as established as McCartney is not resting on his laurels and doing things in an ordinary way! He put out a trailer for the album, which is something a lot of artists do. Even though big marketing campaigns can be very expensive, I really like them. Here is a list of some other big campaigns and, from Michael Jackson floating a statue of himself down the Thames in 1995, to Katy Perry promoting the lead single from her 2017 album, Witness, by hanging disco balls from global landmarks, we have seen these huge and original ways of publishing music in a fresh way. Not every artist can afford to do this but, for some, releasing no music at all and dropping an album with no notice has proved very effective. This is true of Beyoncé when she released her eponymous album in 2013 with no real fanfare. Many might think that the development of the Internet and social media has made it easier to craft intricate and mysterious campaigns but, as this article explores, Radiohead utilised the Internet brilliantly in its infancy:
“2000’s Kid A was already highly anticipated, but Radiohead’s decision to market the album entirely online, making it the first album to be done in such a way, made the anticipation that much greater. A small addition to fan sites called an ‘iBlip’ was created, making it possible for fans to briefly preview clips and pre-order the album.
Not satisfied with changing the way albums were marketed, Radiohead changed the way albums were bought just seven years later. When they announced the release of In Rainbows, they decided to take a completely new approach. In addition to letting fans purchase the album ‘the old fashioned way’, the band also made available an option to buy the album for the low, low price of absolutely nothing.
Sparking the popularity of the ‘pay as you want’ movement, the group’s adventure proved quite fruitful, with Thom Yorke saying two months after the album’s release that he made more money from the digital sales of In Rainbows than the digital sales of all other Radiohead albums combined”.
Whilst some artists have used the outdoors to get their message across and some have not done a marketing campaign to create an element of surprise, U2 are a band that have had mixed success with their campaigns. This interesting article discusses how the band’s partnership with Apple has led to some differing opinions:
“U2 actually have two album releases worth discussing in this piece, but for two opposing reasons… let’s tackle How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb first.
Released in 2004, the Irish band teamed up with Apple for the release of their highly anticipated 11th studio album.
The partnership was pretty simple but highly effective with Apple making limited edition black and red iPods (the ones with the turning wheel, for the uninitiated), prepopulated with U2’s entire discography (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb inclusive), in addition to unreleased songs from the band.
In 2004, Apple wasn’t the global giant that it is today, but they still saw an opportunity to partner with U2 in a way we seldom saw 14 years ago, and seldom see today.
And finally, as it pertains to U2’s Songs of Innocence, this may be more of a case of overindulging in old practices than genuine innovation.
I remember waking up one morning and suddenly not being able to download any new music onto my space-deprived iPhone 5C. Why, you might ask? Because Bono and Apple were back at it again – prepopulating iPods and iPhones with the former’s 13th studio album, Songs of Innocence.
For U2 fans, it must have been like Christmas come early when the band and, now, tech giant CEO Tim Cook announced the move, at the company’s iPhone 6 event. However, if you’re not a hardcore U2 fan (like myself), you were most likely left with a bad taste in your mouth – especially if didn’t know how to get rid of it straightaway.
The publicity stunt was done by both parties in the aim of making Songs of Innocence “the largest album release of all time,” but at what cost?”.
Away from the rather extravagant and hugely complicated, there are simpler ways of whipping up intrigue. On social media, one sees a lot of artists posting silent videos or little segments of songs. This is becoming more common.
We may get a quick visual with no audio, or there is a ten-second clip of a song – maybe a montage instead. Some might say that this is not revealing a lot and it is too much of a tease, but we are in an age where artists are putting out five or six tracks before an album comes out. Some say less is more regarding campaigns – McCartney III and a lack of singles is an example -, whilst others feel that a lot of tweets and Instagram posts is the way to reach as many people as possible. I could have done this as a larger feature and compare social media campaigns and see how effective various strategies are but, as I follow a lot of artists, there are different approaches. I do like tease campaigns where we get little snippets, photos and countdowns, but I am not overly-keen on lots of singles coming before an album, as it sort of takes away some momentum and element of surprise. I suppose, with streaming sites paying so little, trying to push as much music as possible prior to an album release is a way for artists to try and recoup some of the money spent making an album in the first place. There were some excellent campaigns last year that showed real initiative but, in a year when there has been a shift and things are very odd, the marketing cycles for many artists has been unusual in 2020.
PHOTO CREDIT: @coolmilo/Unsplash
Lockdown and general division has meant that there has been less chance for artists to play on T.V. shows and do interviews further afield. Many would have liked to do big billboard campaigns or been a bit more outward-facing but, as we have been confined, they have adapted and utilised the Internet and video-streaming in a way that they might not have otherwise considered. Many artists have performed from their home with small little sets – Laura Marling did a few -, whilst other artists have streamed from empty venues; some have performed virtual gigs with quite elaborate and funky sets. As much as anything, artists have bonded closer with their fans and there has been this real sort of intimacy – even if we are far apart from one another. Other musicians have delayed their albums because of lockdown and race riots. This article explains how two huge Pop artists, Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, have adapted in 2020. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia was delayed and, for such a big and energetic album, she would have wanted to play around the world. As we discover, she found ways around being disconnected physically from fans:
“Phil Christie is president of Warner Records UK, which recently released Dua Lipa’s second studio album, Future Nostalgia. That album was originally scheduled for release on 3rd April 2020 but was brought forward by two weeks after leaking online, coming just at the start of the global lockdown.
Christie explains that the label had serious doubts over what to do. “We’d always planned to put the album out in early April, but when we saw how serious things were getting with COVID-19, there were some conversations around whether this was still the right timing for an album like this,” he says.
The main concern, Christie explains, was how an album of joyful pop music was going to land tonally. “It’s such an uplifting album, and there was so much tragedy around us and we didn’t want to be insensitive to that,” he says. “But after conversations with Dua and her management, we all agreed to keep going – and we actually ended up bringing it forward a week after a leak.”
This, clearly, had a huge effect on the album’s promotional roll-out, with Dua Lipa unable to travel for promotional appearances, to tour or even to visit a photographer. Obviously, this was far from ideal. And yet Christie says that the situation made the label “look at creative ways of doing things and to be more dynamic and opportunistic in our thinking”.
“In many ways, we have also followed Dua’s lead,” he says. “We’ve helped her amplify non-traditional tactics like performing from her flat, live streaming, podcasts and joining other artist livestreams.”
He adds, “Traditional promo spots like The Late Late Show with James Corden have become opportunities for innovation. Because she couldn’t travel, Dua did her first at-home performance with her band via split-screen and that really resonated with people and took on a life outside of the show itself. It’s definitely helped that Dua is such a natural communicator as she always finds ways to speak to her fans in an authentic and personable way.”
Rita Ora’s ‘How To Be Lonely’ interactive experience is a fascinating example of how marketing plans can adapt to – and even thrive in – the lockdown, with a planned physical exhibition based around the video for her track of the same name being forced to move exclusively online.
Sean Ward, audience manager at Atlantic Records UK, explains how the switch happened.
“When I first saw the deck that Wonderland [the agency who partnered on the exhibition] had sent over detailing the build, I mentioned to management it would be fantastic to digitise, as only a small amount of people in the London area would have been able to see it in person,” he says. “When we realised it would not be possible for anyone to attend, I started to pursue the digital alternative. Myself and a videographer went down to the site and shot and filmed each room in detail so we had a super-accurate representation of the interior. I then sent all footage to the developers at Pretty Good Digital and worked in collaboration with Warner Music’s Firepit Tech to complete the brief.” The reaction, he explains, has been “incredibly positive”.
From Taylor Swift utilising different methods to promote her 2020 album, folklore – releasing it on a cassette version and using technology to personally thank her fans – to smaller artists who are finding unique and new ways to highlight their work, I am really fascinated by the album promotional campaign and how various artists tackle it. Whether they put out teaser videos or erect metal monoliths (yet to be confirmed) around the globe, even a year as bad and restricting as 2020 has shown that this has not…
HINDEDRED artists’ imagination and scope!