Record label experiment - How can get into the UK top 10 charts, using only the web?

Hello,

I am setting up a record label, and we are working on a cool song.

We want to see if a small, web based, collaboration of people can create a song that can get to the top 10 in the UK (and maybe even other) charts, with a song primarily marketed and sold online.

To get into the UK charts we need a minimum approximate of around 18,000 sales in any one week, through chart listed online music distributors. The US charts would probably need around 10 times that.

As fellow marketeers, how do you think this could be achieved? What mediums could we use to generate that sort of publicity and conversion online within a week period? Do you think that the "underdog", can stick it to the man?

Your opinions will be appreciated!

Best Regards,

Anhalo .

 

It definitely won't be easy but if you set your mind to it I'm sure you can get it done .

Your going to have to launch this thing like crazy on various social networking sites like Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, and Youtube. Focus on gaining as many friends, followers, and subscribers as you can. The only way you are going to do this is if you leave the power to the people, IE create a viral campaign. You have to create something, either a video for your song or something simply outrageous/amazing that millions of people would want to share. Then just send this to your accumulated friends and followers in the hope that they will pass it along to their friends and followers .

 

Write a hit song, that is the only way you can get that many sales. All your efforts are pointless unless it's a hit. If you have a hit song, everything else will take care of itself.

 

Most successful artists build up an audience over a long period of time. So rather than trying to generate one hit write an album of songs.

Cheers Don

 

tjsocr22 is right, go viral. Create a cool videoclip and it will be passed along.

 

That wont work fast enough. As Donza said, you have to build up before the release.

 

Yeah, virals the plan

I'm hoping to build up a fanbase with this release, and hoping that that can then be built upon with more songs, becoming... business! :O

Just making sure I do things right to go viral will be the hard part, and will need quite a bit of planning and preparation. I think the songwriters I have on board are great, and couldn't fault them, so I don't think there'll be much trouble writing a hit , the problem will be making sure people hear it.

I think I'll try and make sure the video is ace for starters, and cover all the bases like video sharing websites, social networking and social bookmarking. Then I plan to try and get the technorati top 100 ranked music blogs interested in writing articles on the song, get people with large followings on places like youtube to refer people to the song (How that might go, lol... "here mate, I'll give ya a fiver to tell people bout this song... Yeah man, sure thing " ), and ensure that the songs are also present on as many online music shops, reputable streaming services and radios as possible. Talking about the song on popular music forums might help also...

I'll keep you's posted when our first songs out =D

Anything you's think I've missed there?

Maybe I should do an outrageous publicity stunt??? LOL... Or not... Or maybe... Or not... ... How about a bungie jumping monkey, jumping of the Eiffel tower with a ukulele, and a jetpack, dressed in a red jump suit, and a pair of converse?

(I'm in a funny mood today... )

Best Regards,

Adam.

 

Write a good song and have people promote the hell out of it. Make sure every forum, every website, every facebook page, and every email address knows about the song as soon as you make it.

 

Becoming one of the top 10 in UK would be quite a hard thing to accomplish though anything is possible, could be a good idea!

 

If you think about it, every hit song that has become #1 was viral... but on radio. You're not going to be able to do any rankings without radio.

Who are your writers (I'd like to look them up too)? Have they written hits before? If they haven't, chances are they wont be able to now. You also have to think about time. Hit songs normally take a year or more to be written, arranged, recorded, and mixed properly. Good writers also cost big bucks as they want to be paid before they get started.

Publicity stunts are also pointless. No hit song has become a hit because of a publicity stunt. They become hits because they were great songs.

Another thing you have to consider... the musicians. You'll have to hire the best, there is a big difference between stage musicians and studio musicians. You'll have endless failures with musicians cause they wont have any vested interest in the writing and payoff. Just imagine the time that will be required to find talented musicians. And if you think the song writers can do it for you, think again. Most song writers are not great musicians.

Who is going to sing the song? Great singers are very hard to find, and they wont work for free.

Who is going to produce the song? If song writers are the key masters, producers are the gate keepers.

IMO, this project will take you about two-three years, and that is if you work 6 days a week on this.

 

Hi,

Just found a pretty useful looking website about music marketing, and thought I'd share for all interested in this thread. Find it here

And @joesmillion, both my songwriters are proficient and experienced with computer based production, and I have a list of talented singers I know, as I have a sister who used to be in the local music scene, who also has a friend with a recording studio if we need use of one

And the label is based off "collaboration" so rather than anyone getting an up front payment, they get their money through a % share of the net profits, meaning everyone is just as motivated to make it a success, and so do the best job they can on it.

I also have a friend who has worked with HBO who is able to help me with the music video

I appreciate everyones feedback on this!

Best Regards,

Adam.

 

Eh, you're kidding, right?

e.g. The Birdie Song

 

What part don't you understand?

 

The part where songs like 'The Birdie Song' are great songs. :/

 

Do your song writers have any songs in the top 100? I might think you'll have some success if they have at least one song in the top 100, if only in the UK. Just because they're proficient and experienced doesn't mean they can write hits.

Does your sister have any songs online so I can hear her voice? Has she ever done vocal tracks in a studio? You'll have a harder time with a female vocalist and getting her accepted among fans / listeners. Male singers have more success.

Doing rev-share wont get the best talented individuals to help you, and you'll need the best to get to #1.

Who is the mixer, who is the producer, who will engineer the studio? Have you even auditioned musicians?

What genre will your song?

What equipment does your friend's studio use? Is it cheap stuff or high end? What recording software do they use?

 

What is the birdie song? Give me a link so I can listen to it. What's the highest ranking it achieved?

"Great" is also a point of view, an opinion. I take it you don't think this song is a good song? What is your opinion about it? You're not giving me anything that tells me your point.

 

You haven't heard of the Birdie Song?! I'm afraid I take a certain perverse delight then in introducing you to it.

The Birdie Song - The Tweets - Here you go (cannot be unheard)

It got to No.2 and tops the list of the crappiest songs of all time, followed closely by:

Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh - The Teletubbies
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Agadoo - Black Lace

All chart successes.

Anyway, the point being it doesn't have to be a good song to get to No1 in the UK.

 

That's the chicken dance song here in the US, and it's pretty damn old. If that song became #2 in the UK, y'all have some real problems and I'm sure whatever Anhalo does will be #1 LOL.

 

As long as your not spending too much money there's no harm in trying to create a top ten hit. But you've got to be realistic there are thousands of other people trying to do exactly the same thing. Many of them will be as talented, or more talented than any artists you use. Many of them will have spent years building up an established fanbase meaning they have a springboard for creating a viral hit. Many of them will have tried a lot of different means of marketing their music online and will know what works and what doesn't.

Cheers Don

 

lol, it seems this thread has become a bit of a debate somehow...

My songwriters haven't been in the charts before, but that doesn't mean they can't. The songwriters in the charts weren't always in the charts, and they had a first at some point in their career... They have to start somewhere.

Also the recording studio in question has high end equipment, as it's my sister's friends business, so it would need to, lol. Also most large record companies don't even use studios to record the instruments anymore, they use DAW's loaded with VST software. And most modern composers are able to use these, along with composing songs in midi, which can then have the vst's applied, and can be tweaked until they sound the way the composer (or producer) wants them to. Although a studio could be useful for recording the vocal's (which most big record companies autotune nowadays too, within their DAW's).

There are unbelievable amounts of great songs in the world that aren't successful in the market, because being a good songwriter or musician doesn't make you a good businessperson. Even if you have the best product in the world, it's no good if no-one knows about it. Things don't market themselves, and to get people to market them to their friends in a viral ripple effect, they need to find them in the first place, and each of those people only has a certain span of influence. Also you need to make sure that the product is of a quality where they want to tell people about it, and I turned down a lot of songwriters for this collaboration for not having the right level of skills.

Most of the singers I know are female, although I know a few male singers. Also, I have very talented male rapper on board to join the song, and balance it out if I use a female singer, which I think I might as of now.

The song we're working on at the minute while at first draft stage, is heading towards the techno/punk/pop genre's.

I appreciate everyone's views on this =), not only am I looking for points, but all the questions help me to ensure I know where I'm at XD, sometimes the simplist things can be the most important.

Also, I strongly believe in the entrepreneurial mantra "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.", meaning that success only comes to those who stop waiting for it to happen, and go out to make it happen.

Best Regards,

Adam.

EDIT: Also just thought I'd mention that at the minute, the best way to get into the radio is to get into the charts, and what we want to do is to find out if we can get a song there using the internet.