Idol Headlines for 10/03/08

I just posted two more archie links in the other headlines thread lol less than a minute ago. You must of been posting this thread when I posted. lol

I posted this in the old headlines thread, but I guess is better here.

People is asking for people to send questions to ask David Archuleta, probably for next issue of the magazine:

Ask David Archuleta

Archie also has his little spot in Vibe Raters:
http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/vibe/vibe.cgi?rank7

ETA:
Buzzwhorty of MTv about Crush, this is in the Headlines of yesterday, but I guess nobody goes there after 12AM:
http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2008/10/02/new-video-david-archuleta-crush/

They call him their guilty pleasure… lol

Jennifer Hudson Talks About David à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Punkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Otunga: Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Nice And Thick à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  I Love It!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

This headline made me :blink_tb: … or maybe I need to get my mind out of the gutter.

People interviewing Archie is great! He’s getting quite a bit of attention.

The Vibe Raters article is great for both Davids. I hope all of this comes to pass.

Really People? Those are the best example questions you can come up with? Please don’t ask him things he’s answered a zillion times. In fact, I’ll answer them right now so you don’t have to bother:

“Um, no I don’t have a crush right now. I’m so focused on recording. I’m sure someday I will though. ”

“Utah is great! Everyone there is so nice. I loved growing up there!”

“There really has never been any rivalry between me and Cook. We both just want to do our best and please our fans”

Add a ton of ums, hahas and you knows, and there you have it.

Next questions please!

lol, IGetCranked.

Oh, noes, Helio!

This. . .

Kristy Lee Cook will present an acoustic show at Cuppyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Coffee, Smoothies & Catering

. . .is just embarrassing.

^^Why, it is a bad place??????

Kristy Lee Cook will present an acoustic show at Cuppyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Coffee, Smoothies & Catering

How did I miss this? It’s not as embarassing as her sales figures though. I was never a fan but I do kinda feel sorry for her.

Heh. I bet Helio’s ex-fiancee is feeling pretty good right about now.

Kristy Lee posts a My Space blog in between coffee bar gigs:

UPDATE!!!!

HEY GUYS JUST WANTED TO STOP BY AND SAY HI! IM CURRENTLY ON THE RADIO TOUR AND THINGS ARE GOING GREAT! I’M SO HAPPY THE SINGLE IS CLIMBING THE CHARTS I HOPE IT CONTINUES..JUST CALL AND REQUEST IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!! :O) I AM IN PENNSYLVANIA RIGHT NOW AND HEADING TO SAN FRAN TOMORROW! BUSY BUSY BUT WELL WORTH IT. I HOPE YOU HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO GET THE ALBUM ITS SO AWESOME I LOVE IT AND AM VERY PROUD OF IT AS MY FIRST ALBUM. I JUST GOT DONE SHOOTING THE MUSIC VIDEO AND I THINK YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO LOVEEEEEEE IT!!!!!
I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT TO COME OUT LOOK FOR IT TOWARDS THE END OF OCTOBER! GOD BLESS YA’ALL AND SEE YOU SOON!

^^awwwww KLC, I hope her album sells more…I wish her the best

Oh dear. All caps, and she apparently hates commas. Kinda scary- I have an image of her screaming in my face without taking a breath: YOU ARE GOING TO LOVEEEEEE IT OR I WILL CUT A BITCH!!! Okie got that out of my system so I can be off to do a nice soothing acoustic gig.

Kristy Lee posts a My Space blog in between coffee bar gigs:

Ouch! Actually with the sales, less sales and the coffee bar and the blog we are up to quadruple ouches now aren’t we?

Oh stop you guys. This looks like a highly respected place
http://cuppyscoffee.com/about.php
If I lived in the area I would go since its free and enjoy a smoothie :lol_tb:

PEOPLE is sitting down with the 16-year-old before he releases his self-titled debut album next month

I can’t believe PEOPLE is still calling Archie a 16-year old. You would think someone would have corrected them by now after yesterday’s article. :rolleyes_wp:

Kristy Lee posts a My Space blog in between coffee bar gigs:

Awww, come on…I’d Love, love, love to see David Cook in such a small venue, or a bar/pub/tavern!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll settle for the arena though. *sighs*

lol, always mades me laught how they found a way to mention AI in comedy, but this is just lol:

Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” encouraged audience participation.

“It’s not too late, by the way, to text your votes. I voted four times for Sarah Palin and six times for David Archuleta,” Kimmel said.

washingtonpost.com

Way to go Jimmy Kimmel!!

Crush has moved up to #2 on AOL’s Top 11 Music Videos. Congratulations, David!! Two more thumbs up, Archie style… :thumbup_tb:

Archie is getting alot of buzz. The MTV article was incredibly cool.

Poor KLC, nuff said!

I like Jen and all that, but I don’t think I would ever kiss a guy after he had kissed that NY person. Who kissed that clock wearing guy. Just all kindsa yuk, imho.

I just got an email from Amazon about all the Idols who have new music out now (Cook, Archie, Kellie, Jordin, and Daughtry)..very interesting.

eta and Kristy…oops forgot about her

Archie has actually been on Hits Daily Double’s Vibe Raters for a month now–with a modified blurb each time. He went from 9 to 8 to 7 and stayed at 7 this week (most artists stayed where they were this week because of an entrant in the top 5).

LOL I haven ´t notice but, Blake is mention in an article of MTvBuzzwhoty, about how similar, in appareance, he is to the vocalist of Secondhand Serenade:

Link
ETA:
IÂ ´m buying KLCÂ ´s album… I guess $10.00 wont hurt me…

ETA2:
More in Archie ´s acting debut…lol at the photo of writer…
http://www.examiner.com/x-746-New-York-Music-Examiner~y2008m10d3-Idol-Actor

I was just going to mention the email that gingerly mentioned above. Are a lot of people who never even bought his stuff before getting this? The subject line says: New David Cook Song $.99

Dear Amazon.com Customer,
As someone who has purchased music by artists like David Archuleta, Kristy Lee Cook, or Daughtry, you might be interested in downloading “Light On,” by David Cook and more new music by artists seen on “American Idol.”

Guess I can’t say he’s not getting good internet promo..

The funny thing is I’ve only downloaded David Cook from Amazon…and I already bought it there.

This page includes a link to a moving video tribute to the troops, set to Light On.

I’ve purchased several Idol products from Amazon, but I didn’t get that email.

The funny thing is Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve only downloaded David Cook from Amazonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦and I already bought it there.

Maybe they want you to buy it twice. Either that or David Cook’s official site has instructions on how to “gift” the song to others. Maybe you are supposed to “gift” it.

It’s probably good capitalism, but I personally think these gifting instructions on DCO’s front page are a little icky. It’s one thing for fan groups to encourage each other to “gift” to people who would like to receive the song. I think it’s kind of greedy/desperate for an Artist to do the same. We all know that some “gifting” is going to happen, but trust the fans to be smart enough to post those “instructions”/”encouragments” themselves. I still think bulk buying is limited, so I think it looks more noble for arists to stay above this fray. Well, Cookie isn’t the first artist to do this and he won’t be the last. (goes off in the corner to do spare you all my normal grumble about bulk buying and bulk buying myths).

Hm…if they are tapping into “everyone who’s bought Daughtry”…thassalotta people.

the gifting thing is desperate. so are the emails sent out to every single person who has bought a cook song from itunes or amazon. rca is starting to come off as real desperate here.

Kirsten, I saw that too and I admit I’m a little annoyed. Granted, the note is from the Webnerds, and labels itself as a response to inquiries, but still, it sends a strange message. Couldn’t they have responded to those inquiries somewhere less prominent? Mostly, it bugs cuz it doesn’t sound like something DC would do. Of course he wants us to support him, and is always gracious towards fans when they show him their fanatic behavior, but that note doesn’t sound like something that would come from the guy who answered interviewer questions post-Idol by saying that he only voted twice during the competition, and both times were for Archie… or the guy who told Archie, according to a recent Archie radio interview, that he wasn’t going to worry about stuff like sales, but more about putting out great music. I hope they put up more updates/vlogs/blogs soon so that icky note gets pushed down from the front page. YMMV, but it’s icky to me.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably good capitalism, but I personally think these gifting instructions on DCOà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s front page are a little icky. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s one thing for fan groups to encourage each other to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giftà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to people who would like to receive the song. I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s kind of greedy/desperate for an Artist to do the same

Many people were requesting that his site post such instructions, so the people who run it obliged (the “artist” does not run his official site and so does not deserve to be labeled as “greedy/ desperate”).

I, too, found strange the gifting instructions on the DCO Home page. Especially since there already is an entire thread in the Forums page devoted to gifting international (and other) fans with the single. FWIW, I think the decision to post those instructions on the Home page came from the label. But it really was unnecessary, and somewhat tacky. Yikes!

the gifting thing is desperate. so are the emails sent out to every single person who has bought a cook song from itunes or amazon. rca is starting to come off as real desperate here.

I too though the gifting thing was yucky, but the emails just seemed like normal marketing stuff to me.

I’m not trying to be combatitive here, this is a honest question I’m about to ask. Why would RCA be desperate about anything? It looks like LO’s doing pretty well to me. I could see if he was in the 30s or something but he’s solidly in the top 10 on pretty competitive week. I dunno. I can’t see why they would be panicking.

Well, Cookie isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the first artist to do this and he wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be the last. (goes off in the corner to do spare you all my normal grumble about bulk buying and bulk buying myths).

This is the first time I’ve seen an official instruction from an official site. I doubt I will see it again soon enough for another artist. This is pretty desperate, coupled with those spam emails from itunes and Amazon.

so are the emails sent out to every single person who has bought a cook song from itunes or amazon. rca is starting to come off as real desperate here.

Why? I’ll leave aside the gifting topic, but why is this desperate? It’s a legitimate means of marketing.

Political candidates use the exact same tactic to stay in touch with voters. If you donate to Obama this time around, I guarantee about two or three years from now, you’ll be hearing from his campaign again.

^^I don ´t think is desperate, I am guessing that by now David has sold around 200k, considering how dificult the competition is this week, wich is not a bad number…but it ´s make the artist look bad, yeah, I have never seen and artist asking to gift his single or his album…well I guess RCA has a master plan in all this so… Trust RCA…

ETA:

so are the emails sent out to every single person who has bought a cook song from itunes or amazon. rca is starting to come off as real desperate here.

I live outside US so I used amazong a lot, to buy books and collection stuff (yes I ´m a nerd)… so Amazon system send a recomendation of thinghs to buy based in your previous purchase… by example I ´m Charles Schulz Peanuts fan, and have bought 2 books and a DVD through Amazon, they send me every month a list of books similar to the topic… I have pre orderer a copy of Archie ´s album so they recomended TOL to me and Clay Aikan and Jordin… is just the way Amazon works…

The reading on my own mileage indicator shows nothing about desperation and everything about smart marketing and also about being responsive to fans. I’m in the publishing biz. When a new book comes out, authors use accumulated email lists to let readers know. Amazon sends out emails to people to let them know a previously-purchased author’s new book is on sale. This is all ordinary marketing stuff, and a publisher–or recording company–would be fools not to squeeze every ounce out of such opportunities that they can. You gotta get the word out. These are some proven ways to do it. It’s standard operating procedure, though only for artists/writers whose publishing houses/recording companies actually do stand behind them and want to promote them. When it doesn’t happen? Somebody hasn’t cared enough to make it happen. Alerting potential buyers is a good thing, not a bad thing in any conceivable way.

As for the gifting–fans asked. The site answered. Good for them. On that site, things tend to get answered with what I view as unusual openness. Again, good for them. And if it helps sell more records, which of course it will, then all the better.

As always, that’s my mileage indicator, and yours may vary.

I do think that the instructions on the blog were in response to requests for information. The webnerds have shown themselves to be pretty responsive to requests from users (despite our tendency to crash Sony’s servers). I wasn’t happy to see them there. I felt better about the gifting concept when it was organic—international fans saying that they wanted to be able to get a legal copy of LO. But all in all, I don’t think that the volumes are very large.

As to the itunes and amazon emails: Itunes routinely sends out such emails. RCA likely pushed to have DC included on this week’s, but that’seems normal to me. RCA may have had nothing to do with the Amazon email. I routinely get recommendation emails from Amazon based on past purchases.

My son always signs up on Amazon and iTunes to be able to receive emails recommending purchases for him and he gets them all the time on various artists.

I didn’t sign up for iTunes updates, but I do get the Amazon ones, and sometimes I get some really weird promotional email based on things I bought several years ago, and not just with music, books as well.

So with the emails I see nothing unusual or desperate. I’m sure it’ll be just the same when Archie’s album comes out and things will be sent out to all who bought Crush.

I do not see a problem at all with the email promotion. True fans would not only appreciate the reminder, they’d be excited/thrilled to receive such emails, as it signals the label taking care of their favorite artists. And who wouldn’t want that?

RCA is coming across as desperate. Not sure why at this point, but these gifting emails are a bit much. :shock_tb: :shock_tb:

Top 5 on iTunes right now in a field of big hitting competition and pretty much guaranteed >100k sales this week without any significant airplay. OH YES I smell the desperation…

Well, I guess we know what the argument will be no matter what Cook’s sales are. I hate the Idol record release season. LOL. And no, I didn’t mean that as a slam on anyone here. These things take on a life of their own.

I too get emails from Amazon all the time. I buy lots of CD’s and books from them. And, as I said in my original post, the email mentioned all Idols who have new music out…I don’t think Amazon.com needs to be desperate about anything (if my buying habits from them are any indication).

I got a really cool email from them last week and got to d/l a track off Bob Dylan’s new album for free. It’s much better, I think, than some of his recent stuff. Hope it’s an indication of what will be on his new album.

I really don’t see what the fuss is here. Almost any site you subscribe to or purchase products from electronically has the option of some form of email alerts. And the DCO post appears to be in response to repeated requests from bloggers. I have to commend the folks at DCO for their relatively quick and consistant responses to the bloggers requests. This is what is not the norm for most fansites. I am not a member at the site but would certainly consider it.

so are the emails sent out to every single person who has bought a cook song from itunes or amazon. rca is starting to come off as real desperate here.

Really? I’m not down with the gifting note, but those emails are pretty standard marketing to me. I get Amazon recommendations all the time, and to be honest, I always (probably naively) assumed it was from Amazon’s automatic similar-likes generator thingie and not a result of ad dollars. Also, regarding the iTunes email to those who have bought Cook songs– I don’t get how that’s desperate? When you buy a song from any artist on iTunes, you can check that box if you want to hear about them in the future, and those who bought Cook songs and didn’t check that box would not get an email. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t check a box like that unless I wanted to be updated, so I don’t think there are a bunch disgruntled iTunes customers out there who bought TOML, told iTunes that yes, I’d like to hear from you when there’s new David Cook music, and suddenly, are feeling spammed when an email arrives with exactly that– news of new music.

Oh, I’m sure the RCA “desperation”will be a VFTW story by tomorrow. That’s how these things work, you know.

the reason the amazon email is so desperate is because it wasnt just sent out to people who bought cook music but it was sent out to every person who has purchased any kind of IDOL music period. if that isnt desperate, i dont know what is. lol

and i get those itunes emails weekly. but ive never gotten one sent out about one artist only. they usually include all different types of new music, not just advertising one particular song.

I buy tons of stuff online all year long, and I get constant emails. It’s internet marketing. If I had a dime for every new release/recommendation/suggestion email I received, I’d be a rich woman.

David’s got the big bucks. My guess is they’re going with whatever works. They are trying to make more money after all. No secret about that.

The Amazon email is a positive for all Idols mentioned. It seems to already be doing something as both Cook’s and Archie album preorder rankings edged up a bit. Now if only Kristy Lee could get a bump from it.

But didn’t the Amazon email address ALL the Idol people with product out?

And wasn’t the ITunes email only sent to people who purchased a Cook song in the past?

I don’t get it. I’m trying to, but I don’t understand what the big deal is.

Not sure why at this point, but these gifting emails are a bit much.

There are no “gifting e-mails” being sent out. There is a single blog post on how to gift the single at Cook’s official webpage, which was written because the admins apparently received a large number of requests that they post such instructions.

The e-mails from Itunes and Amazon, first of all, have nothing to do with “gifting”. Second, in all probability, have NO connection to RCA since both sites routinely send out such e-mails to fans of all artists (they have an interest in making money too, you know).

Over five years ago I bought a book from amazon. I STILL receive notifications from them about other works by that author and similar books. And I don’t think the author has anything to do with these emails or is using them to promote himself. Because he’s dead.

Amazon has sent me recommendations for artists, etc., that I’ve never bought but who seem to be in line with what I have bought or even looked at before. For days, the Amazon ad on this very page is recommending boots to me because I bought boots there. It’s what Amazon does.

Amazon has a fraction of the digital sales of itunes, and would love to increase its share. How to do that? Lure Idol fans to make Amazon their one-stop-Idol-music shop.

I don’t know who it was sent to. I personally have only bought Cook from Amazon. But the way it was worded was saying that if I had bought other idol’s music (and it didn’t mention Cook). I seriously doubt RCA had anything to do with this. And I also doubt their marketing knows that quickly what sales happened yesterday.

I don’t think there is a big deal here, except for people trying to stir the pot. No emails = oh my, David Cook is being Taylor’ed! Yes emails = oh my, RCA is desperate!

LOL, if this “conversation” devolves much more, it will soon be considered “desperate” for RCA to have even released a single prior to the album release or to have purchased an iTunes banner. Crazy ass corporation marketing its potentially very profitable product!

Direct internet marketing is definitely de riguer these days. Gosh, I must hear from Sen. Obama 2 or 3 times a day, along with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ikea, and other retailers. And even suggesting “gifting” doesn’t seem so bad to me. I work as an advertising copywriter, among other writerly endeavors, and it’s common enough to promote a product as a seasonal or holiday gift, let’s say, so it seems perfectly legitimate to me! I admit that I might be particularly inured to certain strategies of selling because I’m so used to using them.

Okay, I just saw my Amazon e-mail. It’s titled new David Cook single but if you click you see all the current idol music for sale. I can’t say if this is unusual or not but I don’t remember receiving one for Jordin. Is this a new marketing strategy for Idol winners? I don’t see desperation but just aggressive marketing on the part of RCA. Ditto, the “gifting” instructions on the Cook official site.

Maybe they are more aggressive. I wouldn’t know because in past seasons, I turned off my TV after the last episode and never gave idol another thought until January…never bought any of their music. Maybe they are more aggressive because they know the huge potential these two Davids have and want to capitalize on it…ummm I believe that’s why they are in business.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) – Cite This Source – Share This
ad ·ver ·tis ·ing /ˈà ¦dvÉâ„ ¢rËŒtaÉ ªzÉ ªÃƒâ€¦’ ¹/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[ad-ver-tahy-zing] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’noun 1. the act or practice of calling public attention to one’s product, service, need, etc., esp. by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc.: to get more customers by advertising.

(dictionary.com)

the reason the amazon email is so desperate is because it wasnt just sent out to people who bought cook music but it was sent out to every person who has purchased any kind of IDOL music period. if that isnt desperate, i dont know what is. lol

Wrong. I buy a crapload of Idol stuff from Amazon. I’m also an Amazon Associate who helps them SELL Idol stuff. I did not receive the email, because I did not check off the “would you like to be notified….” box.

This is called Amazon marketing, and it’s standard across the board. It’s not particular to RCA or David Cook.

I also did not receive an email from iTunes for the exact same reason.

Hahaha, cheese FTW! How did we go from discussing the DCO gifting note and the iTunes/Amazon emails to imaginary gifting emails? This is how rumors get spread. Next thing we know, DC is sending out personal emails everyone who’s ever bought ANY music– to start a bulk buying campaign, LOL.

I bet Taylor, Bo and Blake would’ve loved for their labels to push so hard for them. I’m pretty sure all this promo cost money, so if RCA is willing to invest maybe it’s cause they see good returns in the future.

I guess it’s comparable to Jive’s Z100 premieres…one strategy pushes airplay (and thus sales), the other pushes sales (and thus airplay…? I’ve always liked Jive’s approach better tbh). Both work toward the goal of creating buzz.

Okay, I don’t buy from Amazon or iTunes in the US. I guess if they sent out these EXACT same e-mails pumping Kristy Lee Cook’s CD and single when it came out, then it isn’t an issue. Nobody here posted that this happened to them, so I assumed that it had not.

Can we get a clarification if these same messages were sent out for “Crush” and “15 Minutes of Shame” and “Spotlight”? (ie. recent releases) Because I’m confused.

Many people were requesting that his site post such instructions, so the people who run it obliged (the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“artistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  does not run his official site and so does not deserve to be labeled as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“greedy/ desperateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ).

I think that it behooves artists to montior what is on their official site because a lot of people are going to think that what appears there reflects the Artist. If the Webnerds go crazy and start posting racist stuff, don’t tell me that isn’t going to reflect badly on Cook and he’ll just wash his hands of it (not to say that schilling for “gifting” is the same as racism. Just posting the end-game of that argument).

If RCA wants to stay in business they’ll need to utilize all the marketing techniques they can. Aggressive in business is not a bad thing. However, it is a change (I think) from past practices. But then the music biz can not play by the old rule book any more if they want to make money.

Can we get a clarification if these same messages were sent out for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“15 Minutes of Shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Spotlightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? (ie. recent releases) Because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m confused.

But, why would that make a difference?

Well if this is RCA being desperate then I can’t wait to see how hardcore they get for the actual album release LOL If RCA was so concerned about how he’ll chart then why would they even release the single during a week where he has very, very limited airplay and so many new releases?

I bet Taylor, Bo and Blake wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve loved for their labels to push so hard for them. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty sure all this promo cost money, so if RCA is willing to invest maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cause they see good returns in the future.

I would add Clay to the mix. RCA hasn’t done a whole lot for him for the last couple of CD’s. I always thought his huge early sales were the result of a huge fanbase, not RCA actually doing a whole lot for him JMO.

If RCA wants to stay in business theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll need to utilize all the marketing techniques they can. Aggressive in business is not a bad thing. However, it is a change (I think) from past practices. But then the music biz can not play by the old rule book any more if they want to make money.

Other than whatever gift instructions they post in their own website, all the targeting marketing costs promotion money. The more agressive measures will cost more. It doesn’t make much sense to be so aggressive and desperate in the first week. The longterm success of the songs is more important. Some of the biggest hit opened low.

Can we get a clarification if these same messages were sent out for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“15 Minutes of Shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Spotlightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? (ie. recent releases) Because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m confused.

Am I the only one who deletes all of my emails from iTunes and Amazon without even reading the whole subject line, much less the contents of the e-mail? I have no idea what any message I’ve ever gotten from iTunes or Amazon said. I’m just too lazy to take myself off the email list.

As far as iTunes goes, Cook sold a TON of downloads during the AI season so it makes sense to market him a little more aggressively (remember when KLC’s 8 Days a Week topped the iTunes chart for 5 days? No?)

Obviously I don’t automatically delete them. I read the subject line and I’d say 24 out of 25 I delete before opening…

If this is desperate, I hope RCA gets as desperate as they possibly can for David and Kings of Leon. You’ve got to see how Fall Out Boy sent out MySpace bulletins…

Eh, I don’t see the big issue here at all. If RCA spent money to have Amazon and iTunes send out marketing emails, then that shows they are serious about promoting Cook. It’s a good thing. I just don’t see a negative side here.

By the way, I’ve never seen a member of a fan group receive promotional materials about their Idol of choice and then begin calling it “too aggressive” or “desperate”. The reaction is usually “OMG look what I got in my email!!!” and then tons of chatter about the label’s great marketing plan.

I’m just sayin.

Aww come on now. You people are starting to ruin the one blog it’s safe to go to during Idol record release season. Where’s the love people! LOL. I keed, I keed.

Seriously though, does it even matter? He’s gonna sell what he’s gonna sell. The long run will tell whether LO is a hit or not, and no amount of antics (justified, normal or not) committed in the first week will make a bit of difference.

The vast amount of people buying these records don’t go these blogs or fansites, don’t check the “send me emails” boxed on ITunes or Amazon, and if they do, delete the stupid spam emails. So, as much fun as it is, our opinions don’t matter one whit in the grand scheme of things.

I think that it behooves artists to montior what is on their official site because a lot of people are going to think that what appears there reflects the Artist.

Sure, but are you assuming he didn’t approve it? I suspect it’s more likely that he did, but none of us knows either way, do we? Since I see nothing wrong with the gifting message, I see no bad reflection on him in any case, but rather a good reflection of him attempting to answer fan requests. This is where mileage certainly does vary and now I’m going to let it just be that way.

Cook topped Amazon download charts numerous times and for a long time not only with TOML (never out of top 25) and LO (currently #1), but with Analog Heart as well. They are also well aware of the pre order numbers where the album only briefly fell out of the top 100 on any given day and is usually in the top 50.

I would think it would be smart for Amazon to send out an email marketing him since even with their small share of download sales, he does bring in the money. I have high doubts that RCA had anything to do with that promotion.

Okay, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy from Amazon or iTunes in the US. I guess if they sent out these EXACT same e-mails pumping Kristy Lee Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CD and single when it came out, then it isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t an issue. Nobody here posted that this happened to them, so I assumed that it had not.

Can we get a clarification if these same messages were sent out for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“15 Minutes of Shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Spotlightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? (ie. recent releases) Because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m confused.

So what if they weren’t? Why is it an issue regardless? Maybe RCA is paying for the e-mail blasts. In that case, see my copy-and-paste above– re: “advertising”….

The only conceivable scandal I could see here is if Amazon WASN’T being paid for this service and was only doing it to benefit Cook.

*Scene 1* Amazon CEO sits alone in office reading entertainment news on his computer. David Cook’s “Analog Heart” CD plays in the background.

CEO: (to himself) ” ‘Archuleta Crushes Cook’?! Crushes Cook? I’ll show them a “crush”! Mary (pressing a button on his phone)! Get me marketing now! And then call Steve Jobs too or whoever the hell he has over there running things at Itunes….”

I have to wonder why so many threads here about David Cook turn into fan wars. I don’t see it with most other idols (maybe Taylor/Chris being the exception). I would really hate to think that this shit will still be going on two years from now…just sayin

noctem, this:

Over five years ago I bought a book from amazon. I STILL receive notifications from them about other works by that author and similar books. And I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think the author has anything to do with these emails or is using them to promote himself. Because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dead.

Made me laugh so hard. Thanks for that.

I don’t think adverting a gifting campaign is any worse than all the other ways artists and their handlers sell the product. No one is forcing anyone else to gift, just suggesting that it could be done. It is a marketing tool, pure and simple.
Look at it this way, avid fans seem to be into gifting now. (The first I heard of it was with Archie’s “Crush” to be perfectly honest). At least with a gifting plan in place it will be “win-win” situation for everyone!
And if the Amazon email is indeed the first of its kind, well then kudos to RCA, Cookie and Amazon. Someone had to be first. And I, for one, hope it brings in a lot of buyers for DC!

I just don’t equate aggressive marketing with desperation. You don’t throw good money after bad. If they have *honestly* made the calculation (after 3 entire days, and before sales figures have come out) that DC is going to tank, they would just cut their losses now.

And anyway you can’t just call up iTunes/Amazon and say “Oh hey, we’ve been refreshing all day and our song’s sales ranking on your site isn’t moving up as quickly as we thought. Could you toss out an email to a million people this afternoon?” This stuff has been planned out ahead of time.

It’s so bizarre, this new concept that getting LABEL SUPPORT is a bad thing.

I receive Amazon emails all the time. This is definitely the first for a single. Just wish RCA would have gone the usual route for promotion. Premiering on z100 or a TV Appearance. But that’s RCA for you.
I have no problem with RCA responding to the gifting of itunes. But it should have been done in the thread where it was requested. Having it on the front page of the site is just poor taste. Takes away from a classy guy like David.

If you’ve ever visited the forums at DCO, you’d understand why they put it on the front page. The forums are a freakin’ mess. No one would have found it there.

But didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the Amazon email address ALL the Idol people with product out?

And wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the ITunes email only sent to people who purchased a Cook song in the past?

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get it. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m trying to, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand what the big deal is.

No, it’s no big deal, but it’s just being used by some people to continue the fanwar in some other forums. The logic being this – David Cook didn’t get to number 1, therefore he is doing poorly compared to Archie, so RCA is getting desperate and tries to push Cookie sales number up by mass emailing and the gifting idea. Nevermind that the logic is faulty at every step, and RCA may have nothing to do with this, but that’s how some people like to interpret it just to convince themselves of a little victory in this battle of their continuing fanwar.

http://www.xl1067.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=229761&article=4345497

New Archie interview. He comes across really well in this one I thought. PMPL at him talking about not dancing like Nsync. I think this also confirms him remaking Ruined Me by JC.

I don’t remember even seeing it asked in a thread. I am of the mind that they got pm’s asking how to gift. A couple of the web nerds have posted in threads and I’m sure many were like me and put them on their friend’s list…just in case.

There is nothing unusual about a record label promoting an artist, has anybody seen the push that Britney is getting. jeez. I don’t think RCA is pushing enough.
I would be pissed off if they were not promoting Cook, that is their job.

But, why would that make a difference?

I’m just confused and seeking answers. I’m hearing two totally different things.

I see people writing that Amazon and iTunes send out these e-mails all the time so the Cook messages are not a new development. This is their standard operating procedures for ALL artists everytime a new single/album is released. But, I don’t recall having seen anybody post about this in the past. So, I assumed the fact that people were posting that they got e-mails regarding Cook (and I don’t think the first posters were complaining, just commenting) this meant that they had not previously received these messages.

So, I simply asked if this is what was done for those other recent releases. If it was not, it is either an indication that this is something new that iTunes and Amazon started this week or an actual promotion effort by RCA (e.g. if Amazon didn’t send out the same e-mails for Nickelback to everybody who bought music from a similar band).

Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with RCA promoting a single. Nothing at all. In fact, that is what I would hope they would do. I’m just trying to understand whether this is coming from RCA or iTunes/Amazon or a combo of the three. That is all. I’m just trying to understand what is going on here.

A totally separate issue in my mind is DCO “encouraging” “gifting”. I think my opinion on bulk buying has been clear over the past two years. I don’t think there is anything wrong with anybody doing it (hey, it’s your money), but I don’t like people “encouraging” others to do it. But this is separate from the announcement e-mail.

So, to be clear, IMO, e-mail announcements are fine (but perhaps do indicate that RCA is doing its job which is a good thing), DCO pushing “gifting” is icky (my opinion). It’s “good” marketing and “good” capitalism, but I think it’s icky.

I have bought a ton of stuff at Amazon (and signed up early on for Cook’s album) and I bought each and every Cook single at iTunes. I haven’t received any messages from either of them exhorting me to buy the single.

But if I go to Amazon, they always blast stuff at me (based on what I looked at or bought the last time I was there) about what they think I might like. It’s what they do, and why they continue to exist when others marketing the same stuff are long dead. (Waldenbooks and BDalton were both still around when Amazon started, and lots of mall-type record stores, as well.) Amazon started the associate program, which is advertising for them, and added all the used book sales, again, creating a whole lot more buzz and an advertising network for themselves (while the authors and artists behind the used sales get zippo). It’s what Amazon does (make money anyway they can). They are very aggressive.

If they sent you an email telling you to buy Cook’s single, it’s because you were there and checked the box that it was okay to email you with promotions and Amazon thinks that they can sell more music and get a bigger market share if they get to you before iTunes. I can pretty much promise you that RCA had nothing to do with it, because I know that publishing companies have nothing to do with whether Amazon decides to send emails on behalf of their author clients, because they actually prefer to sell through brick-and-mortar merchants because Amazon takes a bigger chunk of the profits than they do.

I uncheck all those boxes and have a spam catcher for anything that gets through, anyway, so I am not inundated with ABC spam (because I vote for DWTS online) or any of the other online merchants I buy from. I bought a pair of shoes from Cabelas about five years ago, and I apparently didn’t uncheck the damn box, and I still get at least one email a day from them advertising something! That’s not from Born, whose shoes I bought, and not from any of the other end-merchants who are selling stuff at Cabelas. That’s Cabelas.

Which we’ve all said in a million different ways. But, anyway, if you don’t want the emails, go to their website and fill out the DON’T SEND ME ANYMORE OF THIS FREAKIN’ STUFF form, or reply to the email with the I DON’T WANT TO BE ON YOUR MAILING LIST option. (Note to self to do that re: Cabelas.)

The reality here is that it doesn’t seem to be the people who got the emails who are complaining, but people who heard something somewhere second or third-hand that somebody got and/or read something that they (the second or third-hand person) found inappropriate.

As for the gifting issue, I think that’s sort of the purpose of a website, to put people together on issues having to do with the artist. Sort of like if you had tickets to sell to a concert or want to sell rubber bracelets or are raising money for the artist’s charity or whatever. Where do they draw the line? You have to be mum about gifting even if people are asking about it because it involves money? Well, selling bracelets and concert tickets is also about money. Gathering donations for a charity is also about money. To my mind, if enough people ask about it, then the web nerds (and the people who run Archie’s website and KLK’s website and everybody down to Josh Gracin’s website) are perfectly within their rights to help them answer their questions.

Okay, the opening line of the “gifting” post: “You have been asking about it so here it is.”

I don’t see that as encouragement. I see that as an answer to constant inquiry.

I bought one Taylor Hicks CD on Amazon last year, and got the David Cook email today, which is the only time I’ve ever received anything from them. It was deleted without even opening it, since I don’t open this type of email.

Can we get a clarification if these same messages were sent out for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“15 Minutes of Shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Spotlightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? (ie. recent releases) Because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m confused.

nope, they didnt. i guess that debunks the the theory that amazon itself sends these out. rca pays high dollar to have these emails sent out. especially the itunes ones.

The only conceivable scandal I could see here is if Amazon WASNà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T being paid for this service and was only doing it to benefit Cook.

*Scene 1* Amazon CEO sits alone in office reading entertainment news on his computer. David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Analog Heartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  CD plays in the background.

CEO: (to himself) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Archuleta Crushes Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢?! Crushes Cook? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll show them a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ! Mary (pressing a button on his phone)! Get me marketing now! And then call Steve Jobs too or whoever the hell he has over there running things at Itunesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

How could that possibly be a scandal? How? If some Amazone CEO wants to spend money advertising whatever, it’s his right. He may get canned if the shareholders think he spends all his time and resources on personal vendettas, but I think the fact that Clive is still employed and the heads of various collapsed financial institutions still get to keep their performance bonuses mean that isn’t likely to happen.

Sure, but are you assuming he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t approve it? I suspect ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s more likely that he did, but none of us knows either way, do we?

I’m not assuming anything. Some others assumed that the Webnerds are acting without consulting Cook. I simply said that if an artist has an official site, they should monitor the site because anything it posts will be considered by me (and a few other people) to be a refelection on them. And, I think encouraging others to bulk buy your own song is icky. I have long posted my opinions on the matter. A few of Cook’s own fans (but not all) think this is “cheating”/”crazy” based on what was posted on previous threads on this very site. I don’t think it’s “cheating”, but I do think it’s a little “crazy” to bulk buy. Again, this is just my opinion.

I have to wonder why so many threads here about David Cook turn into fan wars. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see it with most other idols (maybe Taylor/Chris being the exception). I would really hate to think that this shit will still be going on two years from nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦just sayin

The Taylor/Chris fan wars are still raging two years later, so I don’t hold out much hope that the Cook/Archie fan wars will be going away anytime soon. It’s already starting up again. I’m dreading next week when the sales numbers come out, because I know there are going to be some fans on either side who are going to want to rub the results (whatever they turn out to be) in the other fanbase’s noses. I’d like to be wrong about that, but I don’t think I will be.

I don’t understand for the life of me how a targeted email marketing campaign=”desperation”.

So as I checked the main page and noticed the high number of comments I thought “oooh….must be some good (possibly heated) discussion happening” but….nope. Amazon, itunes, and MANY other online retailers send out these notifications….I get them daily from any site I’ve bought from (guess cuz I’m not smart enough to unclick the “notify me with updates” box They do it for any artist they feel will create a buzz and generate sales….PERIOD. Shouldn’t that information solve the case??

If DC’s site put out that update about gifting it was probably because the mod was being bombarded with PMs asking about it. I’m not 100% sure but I’m pretty sure his site shares the same mod (well the main one) with DaughtryOfficial and that guy has been really cool with addressing fan issues (that is if it’s the same one) in any case, people asked…..they responded, doesn’t that solve that case too?

One big issue that I haven’t see brought up is David actually WON so why shouldn’t he get an extra push? Kristy and Archie got to release singles before him, Kristy got to have her album out first and Archie is releasing his album first. I have no problem with the WINNER getting extra promotion all things considered.

New Archie interview. He comes across really well in this one I thought. PMPL at him talking about not dancing like Nsync. I think this also confirms him remaking Ruined Me by JC.

I love this interview is really a funny one… love the part of Nsync and dancing around… lol Archie is funny…Thanks for the link…

I have to wonder why so many threads here about David Cook turn into fan wars. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see it with most other idols (maybe Taylor/Chris being the exception). I would really hate to think that this shit will still be going on two years from nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦just sayin

I have read all of the post, and I haven ´t see anything that indicad fanwars… or my idol is better than yours… so far I think that this thread is going as a great discussion…

The webnerds have published nothing about a gifting campaign on DCO.
They just explain David fans, how to gift using iTunes. It has nothing to do with gifting for a bulk sale, it is more like spreading your David Cook love to your personal friends and I personally would prefer to gift a friend with a 99 cent song to let him see, what my favourite artist is up to than the advertising emails you can also sent on itunes.

As for the forums there are a lot of people, who ask their questions and tell stories directly as a response in the official blogs or sent an email. These persons never even think about visit the forums. And even if the visit the forums on DCO imo the gifting information there are very restricted on the international gifting campaign, I even saw in another forum a poor student asked for gift, who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to feel include in the DCO campaigne.

What’s really being forgotten here is that Amazon’s sales are a true drop in the bucket of what iTunes sells. This entire conversation really means nothing.

because I know there are going to be some fans on either side who are going to want to rub the results (whatever they turn out to be) in the other fanbaseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s noses. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like to be wrong about that, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think I will be.

*sends MJ some roses and chocolates or better yet.. a big club*

We will behave cuz we’re kool!

I have no problem with the WINNER getting extra promotion all things considered.

I have no problem with extra promotion. I have no problem with different promotion. I just want to understand if this is promotion. Or if I’m missing out on the underworld of Amazon e-mails. If so, I would appreciate people posting the ones for “Crush”, “Spotlight”, “15 minutes of Shame” etc because I find those kind of things interesting. Please people who are connected, post them in the future (since this seems like a new thing for Amazon to do this for singles). I find the industry interesting. And I like to know that they are promoing people. That’s a good thing (TM Martha Stewart).

The only conceivable scandal I could see here is if Amazon WASNà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T being paid for this service and was only doing it to benefit Cook.

*Scene 1* Amazon CEO sits alone in office reading entertainment news on his computer. David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Analog Heartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  CD plays in the background.

CEO: (to himself) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Archuleta Crushes Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢?! Crushes Cook? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll show them a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ! Mary (pressing a button on his phone)! Get me marketing now! And then call Steve Jobs too or whoever the hell he has over there running things at Itunesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

How could that possibly be a scandal? How? If some Amazone CEO wants to spend money advertising whatever, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s his right. He may get canned if the shareholders think he spends all his time and resources on personal vendettas, but I think the fact that Clive is still employed and the heads of various collapsed financial institutions still get to keep their performance bonuses mean that isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t likely to happen.

Kirsten, I believe you are the one who posted hilarious “transcriptions” of “meetings” between Clive and his lackeys, so I’m surprised you didn’t recognize my attempt at farce for what it was.

I’ve bought one item from my Amazon in my life – an Elliott Yamin CD and this is the first Amazon email I’ve ever gotten. And if RCA is behind it, I think that’s interesting because maybe they’re looking for an OMG first week. As in the biggest sales ever for a non-coronation single. I just wonder if that’s worth it in a week where T.I. will dominate. And this topic is about how Idols are promoted as far as I’m concerned. And if everyone who bought anything Idol related from Amazon got an e-mail I consider that interesting new information and not a bad thing.

Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with RCA promoting a single. Nothing at all. In fact, that is what I would hope they would do. I’m just trying to understand whether this is coming from RCA or iTunes/Amazon or a combo of the three.

Thanks for clarifying. . I was a little confused there for a minute.

The fan wars are why I hate the fall. I’m going to do my best to keep the blog fanwar free. So, please excuse me if I become even bitchier than usual. lol.

I get lots of stuff from Amazon, some I open some I don’t. I will say it again it is RCA’s job to promote their artists. There are many ways to do it. It is called business.

I saw the gifting directions on David’s site and they did not encourage anything just gave directions on how to do it because they were asked.

I am confused on why RCA promotion of David Cook is a bad thing? Someone is going to have to explain that to me. I remember hearing that people were worried that they would not promote him enough, and now they are promoting him too much. I think sending out emails is a legitimate way to advertise, I did not get one from itunes because when I signed up I opted out. Anyone can do this if you are offended by an email go to the site and opt out of advertising emails, it is very simple.

Bitch away MJ…oh and kick some ass and take numbers while you’re at it. I’m sure we’ll need it.

Kirsten – I didn’t receive the DC related e-mail from Amazon but I did get one with this title today “Save 47% at Amazon.com on “Kellie Pickler” by Kellie Pickler.” I bought Carrie’s CDs earlier this year after I started watching AI and getting to know more of the former contestants so I’m guessing I got the Kellie Pickler promotion on the back of that. No idea what makes Amazon send that promotion and not others though – I buy tons of stuff through them.

It would seem to me that if the label was at all anxious about sales that they would send out a blog or bulletin from DCs myspace page. That would go to 120,000 fans and would be free of cost.

What I see is a deliberate campaign to keep the focus on DC for a long period of time: lyrics released, song previewed, song released for sale, messages sent out to previous customers of DCs music (or other idols).

Still to come: myspace bulletin or blog, radio impact date, interviews on radio, video, magazine articles, tv appearances to prepare for album release, album release. Each thing will build and add new customers and should keep Light On out there for a long time.

I think that shows a lot of confidence in DC on RCAs part. They are in no hurry. They know he is here to stay.

OK, I just took a look at the gifting instructions on DC’s official site.

The webnerds posted instructions on how to gift “Light On”, and it’s clearly labeled that it’s per the fan’s request, so I don’t really have an issue with it, although I’m on the same page with Kirsten when it comes to bulk buying. Not to say that I see anything wrong with gifting the single to peeps who can’t otherwise buy it.

I would have had issues if the Webnerds had posted something like “Your friends, your family your neighbors….give them the gift of “Light On”, and here’s how to do it…gift early and often!” Selling the idea of gifting on the front page of the website would definitely be tacky.

Okay, please excuse me if this has been covered before but I overlooked this item in headline threads if it has been posted before ( I just scanned them again, but could have missed it again) Anyway, did you guys see this in Variety?

The biggest horse race of the quarter occurs Nov. 18 when Nickelbackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s “Darkhorse,” Beyonceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s third solo disc and Il Divoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s “The Promise” hit stores along with the self-titled debut from “AI” champ David Cook. It would be surprising at that point if anything not released in the fourth quarter even makes it into the top 15

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993203.html?categoryid=18&cs=1

1) I think it is interesting in light of the Nickelback/Cook discussion and
2) Does the mag know something we don’t about the CD title ( I hope not)?

Kirsten, I believe you are the one who posted hilarious à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“transcriptionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“meetingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  between Clive and his lackeys, so Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m surprised you didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t recognize my attempt at farce for what it was.

I did recognize it as farce, but what I was trying to point out is that even if it was real, I don’t think it would be a scandal.

There is a lot to going into promo decisions. It’s an art, not a science. I don’t expect the same types of promo for all songs. And if somebody wants to spend money on something, well, go for it (provided it isn’t illegal). Although, I do think sometimes promo is crappy or smart and I may comment on it (I reserve the right to pass judgement).

I think it’s unrealistic for people to expect every Idol to be promoted the same way. They are often selling into different markets in the first place. Different markets call for different strategies.

There seems to be an attempt by the DCO Webnerds to establish some kind of camaraderie with the site members. As a matter of fact, they seem to be fairly active in the forums. The “surprise announcement”, which turn out to be a release of “Light On” lyrics was initially made in a “Getting to Know the Webnerds” thread.

They seem to read actual content and respond accordingly and in the best way possible. In that the site is not quite user-friendly, I’m absolutely not surprised that they responded in this way.

Kirsten – I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t receive the DC related e-mail from Amazon but I did get one with this title today à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Save 47% at Amazon.com on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kellie Picklerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by Kellie Pickler.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I bought Carrieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CDs earlier this year after I started watching AI and getting to know more of the former contestants so Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m guessing I got the Kellie Pickler promotion on the back of that. No idea what makes Amazon send that promotion and not others though – I buy tons of stuff through them.

psnax, I had a similar experience. This is the first year I’ve watched Idol since Kelly Clarkson won and received an email a couple of months ago from Amazon advertising a bunch of other Idols’ releases (I don’t remember the exact reason I was sent the email). However, the only music I have ever purchased from Amazon that is Idol-related was David Cook’s yet-to-be-released album. When I saw the email I first went, WTF? I’m not an Idol fan, why are they sending me this sh*it?, immediately followed by, whoops, I guess I am . . . delete.

Sorry Kristen. I’ll try to pay more attention the next time. Incidentally, I have yet to receive this mass marketing email from Amazon. Maybe because I downloaded TOML from iTunes and unchecked the iTunes box for spam?

Does the mag know something we donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t about the CD title?

I don’t know anymore. I’ve heard everything from “Optimistic to a Fault” to “Out of My Head” to “2008: Yo’ Face”. I think it’s a real wait-and-see.

I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s unrealistic for people to expect every Idol to be promoted the same way. They are often selling into different markets in the first place. Different markets call for different strategies.

Thank you! Some people are saying the Amazon/iTunes emails are from RCA dollars, others are saying they are typical emails from iTunes or Amazon and are not from RCA. Either way, what’s the big deal? Who cares if Archie / Kristy / Pickler / JHud’s labels did or didn’t spend ad dollars on the same promotional tactics? I’ve seen Pickler and JHud everywhere on TV, Archie is hitting up radio stations, Kristy is doing coffee shop gigs (LOL), and DC’s team is sending out emails, oh my goodness. Desperation city for DC for sure. Labels will spend their marketing money wherever they choose, (or not, in the case of poor KLC), but when did emails get so controversial? And when did marketing and supporting an artist become a bad thing?

If Amazon and iTunes start attaching codes for free downloads, then I’ll consider calling the label desperate. No matter how many emails they get, people aren’t going to download the single unless they want to spend $.99 on it.

ITA sma11ie. It’s always fascinating to see what bit of minutae gets picked up by the idol internet community and dissected, isn’t it? Now marketing strategies indicate hidden label anxieties… or not. Weird.

I saw the gifting directions on Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s site and they did not encourage anything just gave directions on how to do it because they were asked.

Here are my thoughts on the issue:

1. One is not obliged to give into all requests. I’m sure that there are some fan requests the Web nerds have either said “No” to or ignored. I think this is what they should have done with this fan request.

2. All Idols are subject to accusations of inflated numbers due to bulk buying. Believe me, it happens all the time. Therefore, I think it would be in an Idol’s best interest to stay well away from the subject lest their credibility be further eroded.

3. “Gifting” campaigns (e.g. Operation Such-And-Such which have been going on for various Idols since the days of Kelly) are often used a smoke-screen for bulk-buying (or to make people feel more sane for doing it). At least with iTunes gifting campaigns, the troops won’t be ending up with a new set of silver frisbees. Unfortunately with iTunes gifting campaigns, you can’t return the gift (some Idol fan groups used to encourage writing on CD covers so that the friend/family recipient could not return the CD if they didn’t want it. No joke).

4. I’ve never seen an Official site that provided detailed gifting instructions.

5. I think instructions are an implicit nod of approval for “gifting”.

Now, I’m on record that “gifting” is perfectly fine for people to give songs to other fans who cannot afford the song or do not have access to iTunes (e.g. in foreign country). I think that helps to build a healthy community. I think that this is best driven by the community and not from anybody “Official”

I think sending it to friends/family members because you want them to like it is icky. It makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s fine when people tell me about their favourite song/CD/movie/book/restaurant/etc. I love that. I love knowing about what my friends/family are interested in. But, when they give me the book and tell me to read it, I get an icky feeling of obligation. Then, I feel compelled to read the damn book when maybe I have 5 other books I wanted to read first. And maybe I don’t want to read a book on that subject. Maybe I don’t like read Jackie Collins books for a reason! And then they are going to ask how I liked it. How do I tell a friend that I HATED the book they gave me as a gift? LOL. One is obliged to just say thank you for a present, but now they are asking you to sing it’s praises. This is all like those religious people who come to your door and want to talk to you about your faith. GO AWAY. I especially hate it when I’m given a book because somebody wants to prove that I’m wrong about disliking such-and-such. I’m fine if they give me a book that they have a reason to think I might like (because they know me well), but don’t try to train me to like what you like. Perhaps I’m just really grumpy because I had to watch a DVD the other day that I knew I wouldn’t like, but a friend insisted that I must give it a try. Grrr…

So, bottom line:
A) I think “Official” sites getting within 100 miles of a “gifting” campaign is icky.
B) Don’t gift anything to me. I’m an ingrate. LOL.

I’ve gifted his single 3 times to one person in Europe and two in Asia. Oh and I also gifted to somebody on the AI board who wanted the song but had no way to pay for it. Is that bulk buying? Is that icky? They couldn’t get it otherwise. All three of them happened to ask for it. I’d never try to shove anybody’s music down anybody’s throat and if I did it would actually happen to be somebody else’s music than David Cooks.

You mean all the cd’s I sent to my family last year were not welcome, I guess I am going to have rethink what I give for Chirstmas, funny I never thought of music as an obligation, just thought they might enjoy what I did. My coworker just gave me a cd to listen to I guess I should have taken it as an insult. How dare she Make me listen to this. LOL I guess to each his own.

I am going to have to take issue with you calling it a gifting campaign because I am on Davids site a lot and I will say again it is not a campaign. Enough said.

Kirsten, I mostly agree with you on points 1-5, but not the big paragraph underneath it, haha. I love sharing (which sometimes includes gifting) my favorite books, DVDs, music to good friends. I love it when they do the same. If I enjoy something, and am excited about it, I like to share the joy. If they don’t like what I shared, that’s cool too, but at least we had a good convo debating the relative merits of this book/show/movie/CD. That’s fun for me since a lot of my friendships are built on sharing common interests. That said, I think it’s overkill and tacky (and a bit crazy, but YMMV) if you are say a rabid DC fan, your family/friends/coworker/hair dresser clearly don’t like, or would not like DC music, and yet you go and gift everyone in your address book a copy. I think there’s a difference between that and sending a friend a song they might like– it’s like burning them a CD (or mixed tape depending on generation) but legal.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve gifted his single 3 times to one person in Europe and two in Asia. Oh and I also gifted to somebody on the AI board who wanted the song but had no way to pay for it. Is that bulk buying? Is that icky?

I think that is perfectly fine and commendable. Fans helping fans. I think that is marvelous. What a way to build a community. I’ve been saying the same thing for years. If people are asking for the song because they want it, but for some reason cannot get it, I think it is great that others will help them out.

I also think it is fine to send it to people you are pretty sure will like it. For instance, your friend who told you she was a big fan of David Cook on the show. Or perhaps somebody who likes a type of music that “Light On” (or whatever) is similar to.

What I think is icky is sending the song out to a bunch of people because you want to “spread the word” or “convince others to like it” when they have already said that they do not. Or even sending it to the troops (send an iTunes gift card and let them pick their own songs). Believe it or not, but some people do become Idol apostles. One lady posted how she gave a copy of her Idol’s CD to everybody on the street. Go away creepy Amway salesperson.

I also think it is icky when people go into debt to gift. People will often post that they are maxed out on their credit cards, but will go buy a gift card so they can still donate gift songs. Woah! I think if your cards are maxed out, you should take care of that first. No sane fan on the other side of the world wants you to go into debt to get them a copy of a song. I’m not a big fan of debt and I think gift songs to strangers can wait until debt issues are resolved. My opinion only.

I have two parents. One gives me gifts they think I will like. The other gives me gifts I should like or should learn to like. Guess who I like getting presents from best? I personally think that one should give presents that one thinks the recipient will like. Not to try train the recipient. JMHO and I know that everybody will not agree with me. Heck, my entire family doesn’t even agree with me.

I would agree that some people go overboard. I’ve seen no evidence of that here. There was a recent single I saw shopped for gifting on 3 totally different sites. To me that’s going overboard…especially when it’s shopped on a competitor’s page…that to me smells of desperation. I politely pointed out to the offending (and yeah, I think it’s an offense) party that their favorite would do well regardless, but that they weren’t doing them any favors.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard everything from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Optimistic to a Faultà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Out of My Headà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“2008: Yoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Oh I like 2008: Yo’ Face! Yeah that should be the title of David’s upcoming album. LOL! :lol_tb:

So let’s see here…I did NOT get an iTunes eml earlier this week so I went back to my account and clicked the “send me stuff about THIS ARTIST” button on my purchase history or something like that. I DID get eml from Amazon re: David Cook’s new single. I bought David Cook music previously from them and have the new album pre-ordered. So I didn’t find anything weird at all about receiving that eml. I don’t know if I have any “send me email” boxes checked on my account there. But if I didn’t want eml from them, I’d check to see if I could set up my account that way. WHATever! I don’t care if RCA paid for other companies to send eml or not or if RCA sends me eml because I’m a member of DCO – oh WAIT, actually I DO get eml from Sony/BMG. That’s not RCA though, right? Sigh. I have a headache.

OH and I gifted the song to my sister, who gifted me a song some time ago and hadn’t bought Light On yet, so she could listen to it NOW; and, to a friend who had to destroy her check card cause of fraudulent activity, hadn’t gotten a new one, and didn’t want to put $1.07 on her credit card BUT really wanted to listen to Light On as soon as she could. She also went with me to Tulsa at the last minute! That $1.07 I spent made her very happy! The thing on DCO is just instructions on how to gift to someone you KNOW, really, and totally appears to be a response to multiple inquiries. WHATever, once again.

YAY David! YAY Light On!

That said, I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overkill and tacky (and a bit crazy, but YMMV) if you are say a rabid DC fan, your family/friends/coworker/hair dresser clearly donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like, or would not like DC music, and yet you go and gift everyone in your address book a copy. I think thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a difference between that and sending a friend a song they might likeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s like burning them a CD (or mixed tape depending on generation) but legal.

That’s what I’m trying to say, but worded much better. Thanks.

So DC’s web nerds posted instructions on how to gift a song to someone because they have been receiving requests for instruction….and this is an issue?? Hell I would be grateful if I was one of the ones looking for the instructions.

The issue I am looking at is that with the gifting instructions at least people are buying the song and not stealing it on-line. Pay for what you use peeps. The singers and songwriters created something, they deserve to get paid.

And that damn Marley and Me book….I get emails from Amazon almost daily about any freakin dog book ever printed. ” How to dress your dog for Halloween” to ” 50 ways to keep your dog from peeing on the rug” and I don’t own a freakin dog!!!

At least with iTunes gifting campaigns, the troops wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be ending up with a new set of silver frisbees.

:lol_tb:

Wow, this thread exploded while I was at work. I was excited until I got in here. E-mails are desperate?? I think David is doing just fine without RCA panicking just yet. Someone else way upthread also said promotion isn’t done on a whim. Everything is well thought out. I work in marketing, and we always have a promotional plan well drafted before anything is put in motion.

FWIW, when I read about everyone getting e-mails from Amazon I went to check my mail and sure enough, I had one. It wasn’t about “Light On”, though. I downloaded one (yes! just one) mp3 of David’s single on Tuesday and the email was thanking me for my recent purchase and recommending two other CD’s I might like. Those two? Kellie Pickler and David Archuleta. Are their labels desperate, too? I think Amazon just had a huge e-mail blast today based on people’s latest or most consistent purchases… maybe?

I’m glad I have decided (after this being my first year) to not watch at all next year. Well, maybe if DC is a guest performer

What I think is icky is sending the song out to a bunch of people because you want to “spread the word” or “convince others to like it”

Claymates call that “Clayverting” or “Claying it forward”.

Yes, it’s icky. lol.

Okay in order to avoid ickyness I must:

1. Never share music with a bunch of people
2. Burn my address book
3. Keep away from strangers on the street.
4. Close my eyes when I see any post as regards to gifting
5. and above all never ever write on a CD cover.

Thanks guys I think I got it.

I would agree that some people go overboard. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve seen no evidence of that here. There was a recent single I saw shopped for gifting on 3 totally different sites. To me thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going overboardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦especially when ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s shopped on a competitorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦that to me smells of desperation. I politely pointed out to the offending (and yeah, I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an offense) party that their favorite would do well regardless, but that they werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t doing them any favors.

I guess I don’t see any difference here. Gifting is gifting. Yes, it does serve a dual purpose of getting the music into the hands of those who would not be able to purchase it while helping to boost their favorite Idol’s sales numbers. Damn near all the Idol fanbases do it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with gifting, whether it’s solicited on three different sites or on the official web site of a particular Idol. I don’t see how it’s OK in one instance yet evidence of “cheating” or crazy, over-the-top fan behaviour in another.

mj Oct 3rd, 2008 at 4:39 pm

What I think is icky is sending the song out to a bunch of people because you want to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“spread the wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“convince others to like ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Claymates call that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Clayvertingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Claying it forwardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Yes, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s icky. lol.

What did the Kelly Clarkson fans call it when they sent hundreds of copies of Breakaway to Children’s hospitals attached to tacky teddy bears at Christmas? Was it not tacky to send little sick kids a CD full of breakup songs?

I thought you didn’t want to single out any fan base because they all did it, whether it was troop drives or passing out CDs in the malls. I hate it when Claymates are singled out as if they are some kind of freaks. Try to remember that it was 5 years ago and they have since gotten wiser.

The difference as I see it is that somebody comes to me and says I want it. I don’t go to random places and say I’ll give it to you, please please take it. I will even go to competitors and say don’t listen to this, please take what I have….true desperation to me…YMMV.

Oh another one ad this to my above post:
6. Don”t attach tacky teddy bears to cd’s and give them to children, perish the thought.

I thought you didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to single out any fan base because they all did it, whether it was troop drives or passing out CDs in the malls. I hate it when Claymates are singled out as if they are some kind of freaks. Try to remember that it was 5 years ago and they have since gotten wiser.

Well, the claymates actually have a term for it. That’s why I used them as an example.

The organized mass forced gifting turns me off, no matter which fangroup does it.

What did the Kelly Clarkson fans call it when they sent hundreds of copies of Breakaway to Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hospitals attached to tacky teddy bears at Christmas? Was it not tacky to send little sick kids a CD full of breakup songs?

I thought you didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to single out any fan base because they all did it, whether it was troop drives or passing out CDs in the malls. I hate it when Claymates are singled out as if they are some kind of freaks. Try to remember that it was 5 years ago and they have since gotten wiser.

Oh for the love. Does it ever end? Idol comparisons drive me crazy. LOL.

Well, the way I see it, you’d better buy it if you want it. If you can’t buy it, you’d better say something. Otherwise, you ain’t gettin’ it from me.

I commend every single gifter out there, though. It’s a brilliant idea.

Not a superfan of either Clay or Kellie but Teddy Bears and cd’s – kids would LOVE to get either of those things. What’s so bad about that?

Kristen – are also a writer of books? Love what you have to say and boy can you say it.

sumidol Oct 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Not a superfan of either Clay or Kelly but Teddy Bears and cdà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s – kids would LOVE to get either of those things. Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so bad about that?

Well for starters, the last thing that deathly ill 3-5 year olds need are songs about jealousy and revenge, plus the teddy bears were really really awful.

http://i33.tinypic.com/24l4qid.gif

I am usually a lurker here, but I had to weigh in. For those who were asking about Amazon, I get at least one promo email a week from them. I have NOT received one for “Light On”, even though I have pre-ordered the CD and had, some time ago, put my name on a list to be notified if “Analog Heart” became available. If anything, I find it odd that they did NOT target me! As for iTunes, I requested notification if anything from David was about to be released and did NOT receive notification of LO. Again, it was odd that I received nothing. Neither one targeted me with their emails, though I get tons of emails about things in which I have no interest. I would be very surprised if RCA had a hand in this, particularly the Amazon email. It seems like those who ordered from a male Idol got one for David; those who ordered from a female for Kellie, at least from the anecdotes mentioned on this site.

If anything, I think RCA has been a bit short on promotion, but I think that is strategic. They do not have a banner on page one of iTunes, as others have had. Even those who wanted LO had to have help to find it on their site for nearly a full day. If iTunes had not chosen it under What We Are Listening To, you would not have known it existed. The next indication it was there was when it charted. It was out nearly 24 hours before people who signed up for his newsletter received notice the song was out. He has not done any press, nor has he debuted it on a large radio station. To me, their strategy is not one of desperation, but simply a DIFFERENT strategy. I don’t see RCA’s hand in ANY of these efforts.

As far as the gifting thing on the site, it was not a promotion, just a sharing of information after it was requested repeatedly. It grew organically after days of requests from international members and poor college students. Something was being organized in a thread to match people, but that is all. The thread kept getting buried due to the strange way the site is organized. I gifted someone who posts on this site from another country, who requested it. Someone who is simply another member kindly matched me with them. That was the only one I have gifted. I could not imagine sending one to someone who had shown no interest at all, much less someone who had clearly shown a dislike. There is no evidence that anyone is doing that, from reading on multiple sites.

I think the whole idea of any of this reflecting desperation is a red herring. Why be desperate about a song that is #4 right now, with sales that may well exceed 200,000 in the first week? And why release it against such tough competition if you were desperate to log a #1. I would be more suspicious if it had been released against weaker competition. What I read in the efforts I’ve seen is confidence, if anything. They let the hardcore fans who are on DCO (the only ones who would know it was out) carry the day for several days, as reflected in the fact there was little or no promotion in this period. They have made small efforts since then. Just my opinion.

Um, yeah, what IndyMuse said. Excellent post.

Interesting read about album sales vs. single sales.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/15445/chart-watch-extra-is-the-album-becoming-a-relic-of-the-past

The Amazon email is still helping both Cook and Archie as Cook jumped from #33 to #16 in pre-orders since this morning and Archie jumped from #49 to #33. Most of all it’s helping Amazon get more sales.

Listen all I have to say is I am new to Idol, this is the first year that I followed it closely. I did not know that being a fan came with so many pitfalls. It is icky to gift the song huh and I thought it was cool, the record label better not promote the artist too much or it will look bad. Somehow the idol contest continues on way after the finale, with posters bating others with innuendo, It kinda sucks really, I really liked all the idols this year and I love David Cook. Oh no there goes all my credibility. In full disclosure I gifted my daughter, my sister and one person who asked for it on DCO. I have never given anyone a teddy bear except my own kids and I don’t know any strangers and I don’t send music to just anyone.

Ugghh not the Kelly/Clay fanwar stuff *covers eyes*
At one point I belonged to BOTH fandoms and really, both were guilty of things that embarrassed me. I stayed out of it though.

Ugghh not the Kelly/Clay fanwar stuff *covers eyes*
At one point I belonged to BOTH fandoms and really, both were guilty of things that embarrassed me. I stayed out of it though.

Seriously. We are NOT getting into that here today.

Another reminder to please not question your fellow posters motives or put words in their mouths. If you are a newbie, I suggest reading the Guidelines I’ll be editing and deleting posts that don’t follow them.

new Archie video blog. Talks about iCarly and his sis’ b-day and stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZXB_jelhfM

Just to add a little to my earlier, already long post, I really don’t think RCA is aiming for a number 1 in the first week. If they were, why would radio adds begin a full 2 weeks after the song debuted in iTunes? How would any but the most devoted fans know the song was there unless it was on the radio, or unless they haunt iTunes or Popeater on their own? I know my local station wants to play it, but is waiting for the add date. Many stations follow this policy, so there has been next to no radio play. If they cared about competing with the other Idols, why release a month or more after two of them, which is unheard of? And why have no video for another month? They seem in no hurry and to not be competing, which I appreciate. They are trying for quality, or at least I like to think so.

I can only guess what they are aiming at. Hopefully, they will focus on selling the album (which is the norm for rockers, I understand) and creating a long-term career. He is in the rock market, which is quite a bit different from the other markets and must be handled differently. Rob Cavallo has been behind top acts and doesn’t seem the type to panic and go for the expedient way. He understands what rock takes. In the meantime, I think #4 today (and #3 last night) is incredible for sales that have been almost entirely fan-driven.

For the record, I think both Davids will have very long and successful careers. They have immense talent. I don’t think their competition is each other at all, and never has been. They are in a much bigger pool now. Neither seems all that into the sales side, either, as long as they can produce music for a long time that they are proud of. I also think there are others among this year’s top ten who will have some real success in the years to come. It’s kind of fun to follow.

edit: please restrict your comments to your opinions, don’t tell posters how or what to post….

Interesting read about album sales vs. single sales.

ITA, and I’ve thought for a while that the industry needs to find a better benchmark of success than album sales.

The single/album model worked fine when a single was 5 dollars…meaning if you liked 3 songs off an album you probably just bought the album since it made sense, dollarwise. Now there’s no incentive to buy an album, knowing you probably won’t like every track, when you can pick and choose the tracks you want for the same cost or less.

The problem I think is that the whole label promotional structure is still built around the album as a unit. Record deals, promo, studio time, production are still measured by the album, not by singles. I think this will start to change though, as the most lucrative genres (pop, hip hop) are the most likely to sell well in term of singles but not so much in albums. Come to think of it, that’s probably why they seem to release a new Rihanna song every month…

Man frogcooke you are quick! i was just going to post Archie’s new video blog too, but you beat me to it!

evidently he blogs at http://www.alloy.com/index.html also. lol

Meanwhile, no one has noticed that Anwar is going to play Jesus in “Godspell.” Good for him! He seemed like a nice guy, it’s a very good role (not just because it’s Jesus, but because it really is the lead in an otherwise ensemble show) and I think it’s nice when former Idol castoffs prove there IS life after Idol.

Anwar is awesome. He was doing broadway before idol, no? I always just really liked him…

Sorry, but have to ask (newbie here) which season is Anwar from? I only started watching after the Top 12 this year.

evidently he blogs at http://www.alloy.com/index.html also. lol

LOL, I think I used to get the Alloy catalog in the mail, a looong time ago.

new Archie video blog. Talks about iCarly and his sisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ b-day and stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZXB_jelhfM

This is much more fun than the above discussion, which just encourages fanwars.

Here we get to find out that David is blogging at alloy.com (haven’t found it yet), and that if you’ve been talking to someone online that says they’re David, he’s “pretty sure” it’s not him. Heh.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to his sister Claudia.

Anwar is from season 4.

I love when Archie rambles. ” You may want to remove them from your list… unless you’ve become friends with them or something.” LOLOL

Bed head FTW!! I bet that was Brooke’s house that he filmed in! *is a nosy snoop*

http://www.alloy.com/5/108/8090/1/ref/archive/5/56/

alloy blog

Here’s something to think about. The sales of Light On are keeping right up there with Nickleback. (I looked it up and supposedly Nickleback’s contract with LiveNation is in the $50-$70 million dollar range.) So there is Light On, which isn’t receiving much airplay because the impact date is not until October 13, keeping right up with the big boys (even if I’m not particularly fond of these big boys). Sounds good to me.

Stop gifiting music, people can get it for free and ilegal. Why bother wasting money? Gifiting is such an awful thing. Those web nerds should give you instructions to download Kazaa, Emule, Limewire, torrent sites… those are cool. But gifiting and buying music? That’s so 20th century. Tsk!
And reply to fans requests? Since when? Why do you care about fans?

So, I’ve always heard complains from many fans and idols saying they didn’t have support from the labels, and now RCA puts a litlte banner on Itunes (as opposed to the large banner Archie got and no one called desperate) and OMG! look at that promotion! Desperate!

Oh, and I’ve got amazon mails for Coldplay. Should I believe Coldplay are desperate too? I mean, they’re Coldplay, and everyone knows how they can Not sell albuns.
Both Itunes and Amazon usually send mails… but seems that people only discovered that this week.

IMO, RCA is more interested in having the single up there around November than now and they’re saving promotion for that. The difference between RCA and Jive is that RCA wants their artists to sell CD’s, Jive wants their artists to be the thing of the moment and buy singles. Hence Jive pushing more for the singles.
Light On went for sales with only a week of airplay, if they really wanted it to arrive with a bang wouldn’t they let it grow on radio before beeing on sale? Crush had more time to build radio audience.

Sorry, mj, I am new at posting here and am still trying to understand the rules. I thought my last sentence was innocuous, but apparently it was not. I can be taught!

Jealousy can make some heads go puff. I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what it is.

I don’t have a dog in this fight. Although, now that you mention Coldplay, I’m ridiculously in love with that new single of theirs. Must be the bells. I’m a sucker for church bells (hangs head in shame). That is one lame-ass video, though. I’ve never followed Coldplay before. Is the lead singer an ex-mime or something? That’s the only way that video makes sense.

The difference between RCA and Jive is that RCA wants their artists to sell CDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, Jive wants their artists to be the thing of the moment and buy singles.

I do not believe that is Jive’s strategy. I don’t think Barry from Jive would have replaced Clive from RCA if the shareholders believed it to be true either.

2m has an interesting article over on Pulse I’m itching to post, but I can’t find the source (2m is very reliable, though). It’s a 3/4 report on the industry touching on some topics that have been briefly mentioned here today. Here are some excerpted factoids until I can get a real link:

Total Albums/TEA (track-equivalent albums – 10 digital tracks equal an album) during first 9 months 2008: 377.4 million
Total Albums/TEA 2007 first three quarters: 398.6 million
Total Albums/TEA 2006 first three quarters: 435 million
Drops 2007-2008: 5.3% (2006-2007 Drop was 9.1%)

Digital albums/TEA: 128.6 million
Which is up 24.3% from last year and accounts for 33.6% of all albums.

2008:
Digital Track Sales (Jan-Mar): 281.4 million
Digital Track Sales (Apr-Jun): 261.3 million
Digital Track Sales (Jul-Sep): 253.1 million
(3rd quarter always has the lowest sales of the year)
Digital track sales are up 30%
Digital albums (excluding TEAs) up 32% (47.3 million total)

11 albums have sold 1 million units so far this year
Viva la Vida sold 548,000 digital albums (only 4 albums sold more than 200K digitaly so far this year. Only 2 did that last year during the same period). Rock on you crazy ex-mime!

34 digital tracks have sold 1 million units in nine months
6 sold 2 million units in nine months (I believe No Air is one of them)
1 sold 3 million units (Leona’s “Bleeding Love”).

Sales of rock albums showed the least decrease from last year (down 4% to 99.6 million from 103.7 million)
Country is down 16.6% (30.9 million units)
R&B down 18.3% (55 million units)
(lots of other genres not mentioned).

Universal Music Group: 31.9% of market share (was 32.2%)
Sony (BMG is now gone): 24.3% (was 24.9%)
Warner: 21% (was 20.2%)
Independents: 13.6% (was 13%)
EMI: 9.2% (was 9.7%)

I love when Archie rambles. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  You may want to remove them from your listà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ unless youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve become friends with them or something.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  LOLOL

BAHAHAHAHA, that was my favorite part from the vlog too! Nothing like a little Archie ramble to lighten the mood. Aww, the Alloy blog has a picture of Cook putting his trilby on Archie’s hat. Thanks for the links, guys! LOVE Archie. Love DC. Peace, love happiness, puppies, all around, and may we all only gift singles if we want, and only to those who want it. :grin1_ee:

OK, Listen up people:

Sorry, mj, I am new at posting here and am still trying to understand the rules. I thought my last sentence was innocuous, but apparently it was not. I can be taught!

Thanks. I just want the conversation to stay on topic, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want people to begin discussing what and what is not appropriate to discuss here.

This is for everybody: Please keep your remarks focused on the topic, don’t comment about the topic. Also don’t lecture your fellow posters–don’t tell them what to say or how to say it. That’s my job. ha ha.

Also, this is for Leome: I deleted your post at first, but Kirsten responded to you so I took it out of moderation. Please cut the sarcasm and rude behavior when you address your fellow posters. Again, don’t question the motives of your fellow posters. If the tone of your next post doesn’t change, I’ll definitely be deleting it.

Speaking of promotion… Cook has been replaced on Mediabase’s homepage with…

http://www.mediabase.com/WebLogon/WebLogon.asp

Crush made the call-out scores ranking for the first time today at #8, meaning it was the 8th highest rated song by listeners on the top 40. It hasn’t made the list prior because only songs that are 60% familiar or greater can make it. It’s at 62%. Being on the call-out list is a very good thing. It’s radio station’s primary means of deciding what songs are worth playing. And, since the massive Archie picture also says over 600K sold, it means he sold at least 34K so far this week. That’s a big old “duh” though.

Still not fond of the picture.

Wow I guess Archie is being promoted that is good.

I wonder if Jive is desperate because Crush stalled a bit on radio and had to take out a huge mediabase ad? Sorry, for the sarcasm because after all of the discussion here today it’s just funny to see the large Crush ad replace the large Cook ad. Promotion is promotion. Record labels are in it to make money. Glad that both record labels seem to be supporting the Davids whichever way they see fit.

The lead singer for Coldplay is Chris Martin, Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow (and her babydaddy). I think he’s considered pretty much of a legit artiste/rock star type. (He’s a Brit, so that helps with the persona.) I think Viva La Vida has done so well because it was featured on the iPod commercial. And it sounds a lot more pop/commercial than their previous stuff, if you ask me. I’m a sucker for strings. I chose it for my ringtone (she says, hanging head with shame at having a ringtone) but it’s just the ooooo-ooooo part. And it cracks me up every time my phone rings.

I kinda liked the video and never once considered whether he had mime training. LOL! I thought he was trying to be all David Byrne.

Go Archie!!!!! Go Crush!!!!!!

BTW, as a lurker I have failed to give my thanks to one and all, including mj, for all the lovely videos and reviews from the tour. I had a wonderful summer from these, with great pictures, lots of entertaining observations, and much laughter. Thank you!

They took out the ad because this was the first week Crush made the callout score chart.

^^Welcome IndyMuse

They took out the ad because this was the first week Crush made the callout score chart.

^^English please!!!!

^^English please!!!!

LOL. Callout scores. It’s basically like RateTheMusic.com, where listeners rate songs and say whether they like them or dislike them, and whether they are sick of the song (called “heavy burn”). Only songs that are familiar to 60% of respondents qualify to make the list. The difference between RateTheMusic.com and callout scores is that the people surveyed are picked at random from various demographics. You can’t just decide to be surveyed and go take a survey.

So radio stations see the callout scores and which songs listeners are liking the most, which songs listeners hate, and which songs people are sick of. That helps them decide whether they should be playing the song more (or playing it at all).

Billboard news from LadyMadonna over at DCO:

“LO just debuted at #1 on the Top 10 Audio Streams chart logging 848,398 streams in only 2 days (the chart week ended on 9/25). ”

And look who is #3. Go Both Davids!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/hotweb/aol_music.jsp

edited to indicate the quote.

@Soundscene
Thank you…So in my bad english , remember and excuses I ´m from Latin America…so english isn ´t my first language, Crush is doing well and people like it…Thats awesome…

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“LO just debuted at #1 on the Top 10 Audio Streams chart logging 848,398 streams in only 2 days (the chart week ended on 9/25). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

And look who is #3. Go Both Davids!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/hotweb/aol_music.jsp

edited to indicate the quote.

Go Davids!!!!!!!! Go Crush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This is doble awesome!!!

The lead singer for Coldplay is Chris Martin, Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow (and her babydaddy). I think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s considered pretty much of a legit artiste/rock star type. (Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a Brit, so that helps with the persona.) I think Viva La Vida has done so well because it was featured on the iPod commercial.

This place is amazing. I did not know all that. So, that is Apple’s dad? Maybe he had to name his daughter that to get the iPod commercial. I kid.

iPod commercials are like magic. They are better than Oprah and Leno. Put together. (2.35M for the song and 1.77M for the album up to this week). So, I checked out the commercial and it’s better than the video, but Chris is still a little….how shall we put it….dramatic. Fantastic song though.

So, I check it out on youtube and I did not know that Mr. Bean had an iTune ad. Who knew? LOL. And so I creep on through YouTube learning many new things.

Um…so I better have something that resembles real news for this thread. Has anybody checked out Josiah Leming’s Myspace lately? He updated it earlier this week and there are a bunch of demo songs. I like Angels Undercover. And, I see that he is friends with Coldplay so I’ve wrapped it all up in a neat bow.

I agree with those of you who said Anwar Robinson is awesome. I got the chance to see him in Rent here in Chicago and he is really good. I liked him on AI too and was sorry when he was voted off back a few years ago. He has a beautiful voice.

This is always a fun part of MJs to read. It is great to see how so many of the contestants from Idol are having successful careers in the entertainment business in one way or another. Thanks for keeping track of all of our idols.

Interscope Records sent out a Chris Cornell press release talking about Light On

Chris Cornell Pens New Single for American Idol Winner David Cook, Entitled ‘Light On’

SOUNDGARDEN AND AUDIOSLAVE FRONTMAN READYING FOR TOUR AND UPCOMING THIRD SOLO ALBUM SCREAM, PRODUCED BY TIMBALAND

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Chris Cornell, best known as the acclaimed lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave, has co-written the new single from American Idol winner David Cook, entitled “Light On.” The track, which is being released to radio this week,is the lead-off single from Cook’s upcoming solo debut. Cook scored big on American Idol the week he performed Cornell’s bluesy reinvention of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which appears on Cornell’s 2007 solo album Carry On.

“Chris Cornell is a great musical mind,” commented Cook. “It is an honor to work with him in any capacity on what hopefully will be a huge hit for the both of us.”

Wow. Y’all have been busy. Ahem.

Interscope Records sent out a Chris Cornell press release talking about Light On

Chris Cornell Pens New Single for American Idol Winner David Cook, Entitled à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Light Onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

Hmmm, very interesting! Could it be that CC is using DC’s name for some promotion?

I’m not trying to start something here, I just find this very interesting! Regardless, I think it’s all good for David Cook!

Wow. Yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢all have been busy. Ahem.

But with the discussion (which I have found interesting) that’s been here, I guess I’m on the tail end of things. :innocent1_tb:

Cookcricket, I am NOT going to read through all this. Just saying. The last page alone tells me that it’s just too much for me right now.

This page includes a link to a moving video tribute to the troops, set to Light On.

Thanks Folkfan…that was a very nice interpretation of “Light On”! :thumbup_tb: