Somewhere, over the rainbow...
John Butler of award-winning, multi-platinum selling, Aussie musical outfit the John Butler Trio was interviewed in the Sunday Star Times, talking about, music, politics, and his appearance at the upcoming Rainbow Warrior Tribute gig, alongside the D4, Che Fu, Rhombus, Don McGlashan and others (on Sunday July 10, St James, Auckland).
Proving he's not just some dreadlocked eco-hippie, the interviewer noted that Butler is "also comfortable dropping financial lingo into the conversation... speculating on what might have caused independent Kiwi band Fat Freddy's Drop to beat the pacifier out of Shihad on the local music charts. "There must have been some serious strategy behind it, these things don't just happen and even if their reggaeish-dubby sounds are as good as I remember them to be, there had to be more than just word of mouth advertising" [says Butler].
Well, lets break this down. Did Fat Freddy's do any print ads? No. TV ads? No. Live gigs to push the album on its release? No. Videos? No (tho there is one on the way for Wandering Eye). If you run through those categories for Shihad, the answer to all those (bar the album tour, which is coming next month) is yes.
So, Shihad's record company has spent some serious bucks promoting the album, whereas FFD's independent distributor has been low key, as you might expect for an album as highly anticipated as theirs. They spent much of the last 2-3 years playing some blindingly good live shows, and I think it's fair to say that their success with their album (top ten in the album charts since release in early May) is almost purely word of mouth. They've generated a fair bit of press coverage, via interviews and reviews which has also helped them in getting their name in front of a lot of folks who may be unfamiliar with their work
It's pretty amusing that Butler can't fathom FFD's success without being tied to a serious promotional budget from a major record company. I'm assuming that's how he built his own success. (Hang on - just read this interview quote from, Butler: "For the last five years we've just been on the road touring and playing live" explains Butler on why he decided to release the live disc. "And that's how we've built our reputation." So he can't translate his own experience to FFD?)
If there was any clear strategy for FFD with their album, it was restricting their previous releases to compilations and 12" vinyl, making it difficult for the average punter to get a decent fix of them apart from the live setting (and of course their earlier 4 song live CD).
8 comments:
hmmmm what about the $18,000 CNZ grant FFD got to "develop' their audience/market?
they spent it getting to Europe last year, I think
from NZ Musician mag on FFD... "the seven-piece Wellington band will tour the South Island from Takaka to Invercargill in early 2005 with the support of a $19,000 grant."
Still don't think playing the South Island constitutes a serious strategy to sell an album. And its probably a fifth of what Shihad's record company spent. Cheers
the grant was under CNZs 'presentation, promotion and audience development' section
I reckon John Butler knows extremely well how he became Australias number one live draw card . Years of hard core touring , concistant delivery and great shows ( he was one of the best live acts by far at this years BDo) and out of the blue a big hit single ... not to mention a 3 piece band - cheap . Warners are desperate to do the right thing by Shihad , as much for the band but also to prove something to overseas affiliates . The biggest problem with Shihad is that they still lack the big single and until then their cds may have hit critical mass . How did FFD do it ? By not giving a fuck if it did it or not . The release of their next album may be different . If I was Shihad Id be saying use the CD to promote the tour . Thats where the money is .Its not about trying to sell cds anymore ....
what i believe is truly amazing is how
they did it with 'that' album
i was truly waiting for the killer album
and that expectation was based on
their vinyl releases, their gigs &
that live CD....
sorry but imho that debut album has
only 2 tracks that even vaguely live
up to their potential...
so the results from it are an awesome
achievement which begs the question
as to what would have happened
if it HAD been the album they are capable of...
Hardly anyone knows (or remembers) Shihad's first EP 'Devolve." which was straight-up, metal-laced brilliance. Not to mention a farken brilliant production. The great thing about Shihad is that even though their music has got worse over the years, their unapologetic quest for fame should be recognized by other NZ bands as dedication to their own ambitions, not "selling out." At the very least, not having to rely on ArtCorp is credible.
not relying on ArtCorp - what dat mean? you referring to Creative NZ? Shihad have got the most money of any nz band from NZ On Air...
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