96. Superheavy

Sales this week: 7,399
Cume: 29,710
Weeks on chart: 3
Percentage drop: -40.1


1. Mick Jagger doesn't know who his audience is.

I'm not saying he doesn't have an idea who might buy this album, it's just that he doesn't have a personal relationship with them, he has no line of communication, HE DOESN'T HAVE THEIR E-MAIL ADDRESSES!

That's your number one promotion job, finding out exactly who your audience is. So you can make them aware of your new work and infect them and get them to spread the word. This is the most efficient marketing system. It's direct to fan. And it's incumbent upon all acts to do this.


2. If you want sales make Top Forty music.

You can get around this if you're the Dave Matthews Band, if you know who your audience is as per #1 above. If not, you're gonna sell bupkes.


3. If you're gonna make Top Forty music, work with Dr. Luke or Max Martin, the producer/writer du jour.

You might think the Top Forty game is simple, but it's not. The winners in the field have not only worked in it for years, they've studied it, they know what works, they've put in the time. Respect them for it.


4. If you don't make Top Forty music, you must go on the road.

That's where you build careers today, that's where you maintain them. But if you're doing something new, you've got to break all the rules. People don't expect the solo band member to replicate the group hits, they expect to be disappointed. So they don't want to go, they certainly don't want to overpay. So you've got to underplay and undercharge as an investment in your career. And you've got to over-deliver, so when you come back again, soon, patrons will bring their friends, so you can build. It's a lot of hard work, something that's anathema to the superstars going solo.


5. TV can sell music.

If you're on the show and the track is perceived to be good. Ergo the success of "Moves Like Jagger" and the failure of the Steven Tyler track.

A guest shot is almost meaningless. What you're selling here is your connection with the viewer, who sees you every week. They feel like they know you. They'll buy the track in solidarity if they believe it's great. Tyler's track was a joke, a boring, perfunctory exercise. Today you've got to be better than great to succeed. J. Lo delivered a track better than what she'd done in years, so her fans bought it, but no one else did, because J. Lo's a great dancer, can be a good actress, but she's a no-talent musical artist.


6. You have to ask yourself if you're a musician or a star.

Mick Jagger is certainly a star. But no one thinks he's a musician. Most people believe he hasn't done anything great since the sixties. You can no longer coast, unless you're going on the road and playing those ancient hits. You've got to prove it every day.


7. Mainstream publicity reaches the mainstream.

And the mainstream is last, they're the followers, not the chance-takers. The movers and shakers, the early adopters who'll spread the word, ignore the mainstream press. Better to reach a few fanatical bloggers than the "New York Times".


8. Everything above is known to everybody under thirty. But it's all a secret to everybody over thirty, especially those who've had success in the past.


Artists don't realize that today your past history gives you a foot in the door and nothing more. Youngsters know it's all about the grass roots, building community online, or playing the overly-promoted Top Forty game.

It's fine if you want to give up. But if you want to make new music and have it get traction today you must obey the above rules. And the music must be great. But that's no guarantee everybody's going to pay attention. This is where your history hurts you, people expect your new material to be crap. If it's great, you have to wait for the hype to die down and for the music to percolate in society. Traction will be slow and small. This album may not ever blow up. It may be the one after or the one after that.

You're starting all over.

Believe it.

From: Andrew Oldham
Subject: Re: Superheavy

bob;

after your slurge on mick it's impossible to resist....
i know you have a number of managers who follow the thing you do, no doubt including the tom hanks character in "that thing you you do".
when act and manager part it does not stop those of us who enjoyed a life-changing exchange with their artist from, upon occasion, still managing the acts in our minds.
first, mick jagger is the greatest surviving interpreter from the 60's. he was, he is and he always can be.
i do not care if he needs to strap on a guitar to move himself, that is not the point, the point is that as recent as last years grammys honoring our mentor solomon burke, he just thrashed those half and twice as young with his astute ability of bringing what he does to a defining moment - every time he bothers to do so.
his work with the stones has recently been a little less assured for all the reasons we have alas been all too privy to.
i got bored the last time the stones toured - they have not ignited my life on stage since STEEL WHEELS nor in their recorded work since 95's STRIPPED.
i wish they would tour in trains and boats and no planes so that bill wyman would reunite with charlie watts and turn the stones away from brand and back into band.
i wish they'd tour the albums that defined them, EXILE ON MAIN STREET; STICKY FINGERS; LET IT BLEED (they can do my and mister jimmy's singles as an encore) in small venues.
ten days in atlanta; ten in chicago... you get the drift.
not too many cities; make america come to them.
get rid of that worn out horn section the keyboard player.
they have nothing to contribute except on a vaudeville level.
get mick taylor in mindspace so he can become a long distance runner once more.
keith; ronnie and taylor.
if you need a keyboard player get ian mclagan or chris stainton.
bring out chris jagger in the middle. have him do "HEY MR DJ" with brother mick. it's killer.
hologram in brian jones and ian stewart and you have the band.
plz allow that i don't do economics - i do dreams.
and that's my don & phil to you.

best, andrew loog oldham