Madonna Viral Marketing

[The Newswire]

So, I think Madonna is pretty awesome in general, but I'm vaguely baffled by her message to YouTube video. In it, she is supposedly vacuuming the set for her 4 Minutes video because apparently other people didn't take care of it. Then she tells the world of YouTube good job on making tons of videos for her 4 Minutes single. To date, her thanks for making essentially fanfic versions of 4 Minutes video has received 3,175,135 views on YouTube.



The actual...

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[Morning Glory]

I don't really understand it myself. the reason that people used to do "viral" marketing was because they lacked the resources to promote through traditional media advertising. It used to be about "mainstream" and "selling out" but the new trend seems to be the opposite. Platinum selling artists are throwing out their record labels and playing their videos on youtube instead of MTV. It's a bit-baffling, I really don't know what that spells out for up-and-comers or aspiring artists.

[Amelia G]

I don't really understand it myself. the reason that people used to do "viral" marketing was because they lacked the resources to promote through traditional media advertising. It used to be about "mainstream" and "selling out" but the new trend seems to be the opposite. Platinum selling artists are throwing out their record labels and playing their videos on youtube instead of MTV. It's a bit-baffling, I really don't know what that spells out for up-and-comers or aspiring artists.

I think some of it is the whole Sun Tzu Art of War trip where, if you are large, you should pretend to be small and, if you are small, you should pretend to be large. Never made much sense to me, but I could never slog through that book either. I have this theory that it may be the root of almost everything I disagree with in my world.

But I digress.

I sort of thought Madonna was booking and merch monster Live Nation's first signing and was leaving Warner Bros, but they appear to be the video copyright-holder, so it is hard to tell the exact deal there.

Somehow it just feels weird to me that it is easier to get people to watch something sort of weird and dumb and designed to be viral than it is to get them to watch something with some attempt at entertainment and production values.

[Mr Karl]

entertainment and production values don't really appeal to the majority of people

[One Eyed Cat]

Seriously? I think Madonna just enjoys toying with people. She did something similar when some of her tunes bled on to free ptp servers. I don't think at this point she is too concerned with marketing. Looking forward to the movie with Gogol Bordello though. Boots? Um?

OEC

PS: Live Nation should be fucked by rabid porcupines.

[Amelia G]

PS: Live Nation should be fucked by rabid porcupines.

Any special reason why? Not agreeing or disagreeing, but I know a lot of people go on about how bands should make their money from merch and touring. Of course, some folks do seem to believe this will free bands from labels, when changing one's master from Warner Bros to Live Nation doesn't really seem like that much of a switch. Not necessarily bad, just not as different as music pirates would like to make out.

[One Eyed Cat]

Any special reason why? Not agreeing or disagreeing, but I know a lot of people go on about how bands should make their money from merch and touring. Of course, some folks do seem to believe this will free bands from labels, when changing one's master from Warner Bros to Live Nation doesn't really seem like that much of a switch. Not necessarily bad, just not as different as music pirates would like to make out.

Same as Warner. I think the artists are being fucked by middlemen. I don't blame artists for signing at this point, I just don't like these jackals skimming the gate. I don't believe musicians should make money only from touring and merch. I've seen how that gig works. It doesn't.

OEC

[VoldtaEngler]

Define: Viral

On a serious note, i like to follow some of the more fun viral marketing ones..such as NIN's Year Zero, Snakes on a Plane (i hate the movie but funny marketing!), and the ultimate mess up of viral marketing, the alliwantforxmassapsp.com (All I Want For Xmas A PSP) which was a blog that had two "friends" who wrote about wanting..well a PSP for xmas..was later linked backed to Sony directly..in which they denied it until about after xmas time.

[OrganizedKhaos]

I watched Project 86 go from a indie label, to Atlantic, then dying to get out of their contract, back to their own label, then returning to their original label.

They shared their probs and issues that made label life unbearable.... how the record companies had more to do with a band's success more than their actual artistic merit.
It was VERY eye opening, to a world, I constantly fed off...yet had no idea how it worked.

Most ppl who start a band, aches for the day they're discovered and get signed to a label under the assumption that THAT marks the point that they've MADE IT!!!

Its SO not like that.

I like to see people challenge the collective beliefs the industry feeds us.
Thank you for your statements, but most of all the questions that make us evaluate why we believe WHAT we believe.

I'd rather be united under truth than lies.