Oh those Cheeky Arctic Monkeys!
As many readers will be aware, this will be my third foray into the world of the Arctic Monkeys and I am happy to admit that they never cease to amaze me with their continual stream of edgy indie/punk tunes and their unrivalled success of late. To date I have not written a single word reference whether or not I actually like the band, instead I have looked at them both as the bright sparks set to ignite the punk scene and also as an enigma that could easily go pop. I can clear this up and say that I love them and purchased their album the moment it was released last week. Beyond their music I am still really impressed with the genius and imagination that went into a three year marketing campaign which finally paid off just last weekend when it was announced that they had taken the title of fastest selling record in British music industry history. In seven sweet days they had sold 360,000 copies and stolen the record from Hear’ say who set the bar 5 years earlier. Industry analysts have drawn comparisons between the success of this Sheffield 4-piece and a certain liverpudlian 4-piece who single handedly swept the 60’s, though I fail to recall their names; the bugs or the spiders or something like that! Furthermore they look set to have the first million selling album of 2006 and are presently outselling the rest of the top 20 put together. Even the former Verve front man, Richard Ashcroft, with a very respectable 75,000 copies was lagging way behind.
The true imagination was the driving force behind the success of their marketing campaign. They didn’t set out to target billboards or HMV stores but instead they pursued those who are the grass roots listeners of British alternative. They handed out innumerable demos and published them on the internet; next step, they rerecorded, renamed and reengineered these same songs in readiness for album release. This meant that fans had no choice but to buy the album because it was something new and if there is one group you can rely on to purchase your album it is the solid fan base you have built up over three years.
Despite this initial success I do still have some misgivings. I can’t shake the fact that maybe the band won’t stay together and that the demands placed on them to deliver will simply be too great. As it stands they have pressed one disk in three years with the independent Domino label who I am sure gave them as much artistic lee way as they wanted; and rightly so I believe, as they have produced a sensational and gutsy album jam packed with rebellious, streetwise lyrics and melodies. But almost invariably there are going to be some bigger industry fish circling and smelling all that money. Imagine the scene when Sony have made an offer that the Domino execs can retire on and suddenly the Monkey’s are over run with sound engineers who insist on ripping the heart out of the music and they are on a “5 year 5 album” contract; then I worry that the band’s rebellious streak which has energised their recordings and live performances may be channelled into self destruction. In general I have little sympathy with anyone who joins the music industry because everyone is just there to make a quick buck and stab someone in the back but I think it would be a genuinely sad loss, if an over fed label got their jagged claws into them and tore them apart.
As many readers will be aware, this will be my third foray into the world of the Arctic Monkeys and I am happy to admit that they never cease to amaze me with their continual stream of edgy indie/punk tunes and their unrivalled success of late. To date I have not written a single word reference whether or not I actually like the band, instead I have looked at them both as the bright sparks set to ignite the punk scene and also as an enigma that could easily go pop. I can clear this up and say that I love them and purchased their album the moment it was released last week. Beyond their music I am still really impressed with the genius and imagination that went into a three year marketing campaign which finally paid off just last weekend when it was announced that they had taken the title of fastest selling record in British music industry history. In seven sweet days they had sold 360,000 copies and stolen the record from Hear’ say who set the bar 5 years earlier. Industry analysts have drawn comparisons between the success of this Sheffield 4-piece and a certain liverpudlian 4-piece who single handedly swept the 60’s, though I fail to recall their names; the bugs or the spiders or something like that! Furthermore they look set to have the first million selling album of 2006 and are presently outselling the rest of the top 20 put together. Even the former Verve front man, Richard Ashcroft, with a very respectable 75,000 copies was lagging way behind.
The true imagination was the driving force behind the success of their marketing campaign. They didn’t set out to target billboards or HMV stores but instead they pursued those who are the grass roots listeners of British alternative. They handed out innumerable demos and published them on the internet; next step, they rerecorded, renamed and reengineered these same songs in readiness for album release. This meant that fans had no choice but to buy the album because it was something new and if there is one group you can rely on to purchase your album it is the solid fan base you have built up over three years.
Despite this initial success I do still have some misgivings. I can’t shake the fact that maybe the band won’t stay together and that the demands placed on them to deliver will simply be too great. As it stands they have pressed one disk in three years with the independent Domino label who I am sure gave them as much artistic lee way as they wanted; and rightly so I believe, as they have produced a sensational and gutsy album jam packed with rebellious, streetwise lyrics and melodies. But almost invariably there are going to be some bigger industry fish circling and smelling all that money. Imagine the scene when Sony have made an offer that the Domino execs can retire on and suddenly the Monkey’s are over run with sound engineers who insist on ripping the heart out of the music and they are on a “5 year 5 album” contract; then I worry that the band’s rebellious streak which has energised their recordings and live performances may be channelled into self destruction. In general I have little sympathy with anyone who joins the music industry because everyone is just there to make a quick buck and stab someone in the back but I think it would be a genuinely sad loss, if an over fed label got their jagged claws into them and tore them apart.
posted by Ryan Fender at 11:51
4 Comments:
I was prepared not to like this band because of all the hype, but they won me over with great songs. I admire the fact that they were able to build such a buzz through d.i.y. marketing. We'll have to see how they handle the fame.
yep: based on in depth analysis that seems to be very similar to what i said...but congratulations on reading the article and managing to summarise it all the same.
I agree that they mite fall aprt when a bigger label gets their hands on them, but lets hope they manage to maintain their identity.
ps. can i copy the album from u please!
Well Ryan I'm pleased to hear that you've been completely won over but the wonderful monkeys.
As we've already said, its a hell of a lot of pressure for a new band, I mean being the "saviours of rock n roll" has hardly done much for The Strokes has it now. Hopefully if they can avoid going completely up their own arses, like perhaps the wonderful Mr.Brandon Flowers of Killers fame, they have a chance at maintaining their fresh sound.
I was delighted to hear that they turned down the chance to headline the current NME awards tour, (instead opting to be second headliner to Maximo park) since hopefully this shows a level of humility but its certainly going to be tough for them. However, the general consensus that i've heard from fellow music lovers is that they do indeed live up to the hype, a rarity these days. Therefore hopefully they've at least got a chance!
Anyway, its going to be at least a couple of years before we really know the answer, so we shall just have to pray.
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