Tuesday
Aug092011
August 9, 2011 Can Indie Bands Use Lady GaGa's Example For Originality & Controversy?
Indie bands and musicians - What can we learn, if anything, from the viral marketing techniques employed by the world’s biggest pop star (except Justin Bieber of course), Lady GaGa? If at this point you’re grumbling “Not my thing” or “I hate pop music” you’ve quite possibly closed some of the potential doors available to you and sorely missed out as a result. Let’s also forget the obvious point that GaGa has millions of followers anticipating her every move. I plan to use this individual simply as a conversation starter on the topics of controversy and originality, which are becoming ever-more important in today’s music industry.
While so many independent musicians are still repelling success by wasting their precious time spamming their friends and would-be fans on social networks such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Reverbnation, Lady GaGa’s marketing team focuses on a much overlooked aspect of music marketing: controversy. Whether you think her single “Judas” is a catchy tune or you think she is the spawn of Satan sent to destroy our children is wholly irrelevant. They would both fall under the opinion category. The point at the end of the day when it comes to promoting music is - does it work? If you can approach this topic with some neutrality and genuine inspiration then you may be in a position to start planning your hype machine.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a pop music fan or not, or whether you agree with what Lady GaGa is doing. It works. These days, if you strike where the iron is hot, it can really pay back in spades. Now that anyone, for better or worse, can upload media on innumerable websites such as YouTube and Vimeo, anyone is a prospect for a strong reaction. Take, for example, the poor, misinformed young girl who generated over 750,000 views with her “Lady GaGa’s Judas is evil” YouTube post (it has since been removed for unknown reasons. Negative feedback could be the cause - similar to the Rebecca Black controversy) Guess who this is helping? Since this girl has no products to sell and no blog to sell them through, this solely feeds the GaGa machine.
Granted, these tactics work much better when you have millions of people anticipating your record. If you go back to the drawing board, though, and come up with a strong idea that resonates with an aspect of humanity, you can start a conversation. Conversations get started when something is OUTSIDE OF THE BOX. I’d advise any independent musician to scour their material and see if there is anything genuinely controversial (not necessarily shocking. Will it start conversations?) or if it could be easily dismissed.
Keep in mind that many topics you may think are shocking typically are simply tired.
Take the metal genre, for example, which has in some cases become a parody of itself, with numerous releases annually exploring the anti-Christian agenda. They are certainly projecting something, but no one pays much attention, and for good reason. The topics and arguments are tired and boring. Now, if you were a Satanic electro-pop duo with an image to match, you may just have a potent idea brewing. If you are simply towing the line for your particular scene, you’re not shocking. Why not introduce ideas where they are not typically welcome?
Towing the line for your scene would mean sitting in full agreement with it’s chosen philosophy. It’s the reason you sometimes feel like you’ve stepped into a cult meeting when you go to a local show. This can work well for the teenage post-hardcore band selling t-shirts in the school gymnasium to young girls, but with such an oversaturated music market, it’s important for genuine artists to put effort into individualizing themselves as much as possible. Sometimes this means saying goodbye to the expectations and comforts associated with bands of your type.
This is not to say that if you are a folk band that plays pleasant music about the good old days, you should automatically start writing a concept album inspired by Zeitgeist 3. Play what fits. But for God’s sakes, guys, open your minds and stop spamming people on social networks. Studies have shown this to be grossly ineffective. You’re going to need real press to gain footing in the industry. If you’re creative, which you should be, there are many ways custom fit to your band to get people talking. The bands who are getting attention on the music blogs these days have a one of a kind image. They are not the hardcore bands talking about perseverance or the punk bands with leftist leanings. For better or worse, there is no one else like them.
Ask yourself - are you truly an original in every way or are you kissing up to your genre elites in hopes of being accepted and getting coverage?
By James Moore, author of “Your Band Is A Virus”
in Branding, Marketing tagged DIY, Independent, Marketing
Branding, Marketing tagged DIY, Independent, Marketing
Reader Comments (10)
Shock tactics are great and all but without the music to back it up you are pissing in the wind. You only have to look at Viva Brother for an example of this. Mouthy little idiots with nothing to back it up.
Rule 1. Write good songs.
This is a subject that is covered quite extensively on my blog. Unfortunately, the response is often much less civilized than “Not my thing” or “I hate pop music.”
From a business standpoint, Lady Gaga can teach you just about everything you need to know about making it in the industry right now. I've been a tried and true heavy metal rocker since the 70s, but I recognize opportunity when it presents itself. It totally baffles me when people can't see a positive lesson in something just because they don't like the person or the genre.
Now starts the backlash! ;)
Thanks very much for the feedback thus far, guys! Ray, I totally agree with your last comment - my main point in the case study was that too many bands these days run with the herd. They try to look and sound like the rest of their chosen genre.
I don't advocate shock tactics for the sake of it, but it can take some contemplation or "getting to the heart of things" as a band or musician to truly connect with your own uniqueness, and then push that, crazy as it may be. The more "one of a kind" you are, the better chance you have of standing out and connecting with others. But follow inspiration first and foremost.
And Wicked D, exactly! There are endless things to complain about in the world and in music - look at this Rebecca Black business. It's best to learn positively and contribute, rather than just complain and stick to what's not working.
A reality check is in order here. Did you know there are well over 100 million videos on youtube? The truth is that majority of youtube videos get only a few hundred views in the entire time they're up. "Viral" videos on youtube are very much a lottery and an accident. It is impossible to predict what videos will go viral.
Also, it's not only "controversial" videos that get tons of views. Justin Bieber's song, "Baby," is just a catchy pop song about teenage love. There's nothing controversial about it. Yet it is the #1 most watched youtube video and has over 600 million views.
A lesson to take away from all of this for independent musicians is that you should create quality videos, do lots of them and share them with your fans and social media. This way you increase your chances that some of your videos will get a lot of views and traction. Being "controversial" can help. But you need to make sure it is a natural extension of who you are as an artist. Don't try to fake it, because people can see through that easily.
As far as Lady Gaga is concerned, check out her performance of "The Edge of Glory" on Howard Stern. And tell me that is not some amazing talent.
impulsive lust with a New Style Reggae / Gothic Reggae!
yes let's be original! Cheers .....
Hey James,
interesting thoughts here. gaga uses controversy as a tool (and targets her audience well). jersey shore and the kardashians do too. controversy isn't some sort of underused weapon. its at the core of the strategy of countless mainstream artists, media, etc. it works with the masses.
but what could shock jaded indie music fans? got any examples other than gaga?
controversy is good when it is substantial, when it addresses smtg true and deeply human.
but i feel what i see nowadays is either controversy or amusing/fun/engaging gimmicks like Ok go!, both approaches sharing a total lack of substance.
Hi all. Thanks very much for your comments so far and your insights. I really appreciate it and I'm glad the article is getting some thoughts and consideration. If you think that I'm advocating something other than being true to yourself as an artist, please read again. I in no way suggest that to anyone. I am, however, suggesting, that conformity may not be such a great thing as we tend to think - most bands these days want to cater to their genre for fear of being shunned (take many subgenres of metal, hardcore, punk, indie rock, etc). But we're not all the same. The more fearless artists we get who can do their own thing and no one else's the better off we'll be, and the more colorful music world we'll get. I'm not suggesting choosing some Halloween costume and displaying a false image to the world, but looking within yourself to see what is original about what you do, and make that a focus. Don't be afraid to break out - it will serve you rather than hurt you if it's promoted in the right circles.
Controvery works but only in the context of the media. If you are just doing Youtube, Facebook and Twitter then your controversy should be embedded in your video. If you are courting the media then shock and awe is essential.
More important for independents is to use the basics of independents rather than tactics more suitable for major label artists. Read this article http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/04/martin_mills_beggars_group/
Indies should adopt this strategy and build their facebook fan base. Facebook is a very important tool for artists and with the integration of their website into Facebook using static HTML you have the basics covered.
Hey James,
I think you're right on target here. I recently wrote a short post for my own blog about this very topic. I'm going to go back and mention your article in it because I liked it so much. (check it out here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/04/martin_mills_beggars_group/).
I recently talked to the founder of Capricorn Studios in San Diego and he was telling me about how so many people want to work their way to the top, when in reality the music business is all smoke and mirrors, so it's important to put off an image that you're selling out shows, getting tons of hits, etc. What do you think about that? Do you think it's possible to just jump ahead of the curve...and is controversy the way to do it? I think so..
-Sofie
http://twitter.com/SofieGladysheva
Maybe this can work, for a change and to have lots of variations in the field of music. But some will not agree on things, because in some ways they believe on it..Like Lady GAGA would say "it's my on interpretation of thing".