Advice/Opinion on marketing Beautiful Friction

[tenohtwo]

Shaman..DEFINITELY. What a great song.

1002

[hazelnut]

In regards to the Kimmel audience 'not being into it', we're talking late night talk show crowds that show up in the afternoon at a studio on a weekday, many of which are standing in line to get in the door and maybe see their favorite actor/actress, and then there will be some Fixx fans. The way Kimmel's stage is set up with the 'crowd' suggests they pull some audience members forward to the front to create the 'live' vibe - and while I'd like to think plenty of Fixx fans showed up in support - it more or less simulates those embarrassing Super Bowl halftime shows with the 'arranged' crowds bouncing up and down like they're watching the greatest show ever. In the case of the Kimmel performance, there were probably lots of people who either didn't know who The Fixx were, or just weren't into their music. It wasn't a FIXX concert, it was a Jimmy Kimmel talk show, so it's rare that you're gonna get a crazy crowd to watch the band. The last time I saw a talk show where it was clear a band's fans took over the whole studio audience was Depeche Mode on Leno in '98. I'd never heard a late night audience go that nuts before they came on!


1002

And even if half of them remembered Reach the Beach (most people I know remember that), they may appreciate the new songs later, but it's unlikely they know them going in. I had to laugh at this in agreement b/c live taping on Friday was made up of hard core Fixx nuts, but we weren't jumping up and down and probably wouldn't have appeared super into it. The guy introducing them was telling us to show excitement and carry on, but I'm not sure how well we did (a drink or two would have assisted with that). My brain may have silently exploded with excitement, but after strolling in the 90 degree heat on a Friday afternoon and then hanging out at the Mac store for two hours before climbing 4 flights of stairs and being thrust into a room with our vitamin water for a blast of brand new songs played out inches from us in such an intimate venue.... Well, it was cosmic but we probably wouldn't have looked into it either from an observing audience!

The music industry is an odd, greedy beast. Respect and talent means more than airplay, imo. I think things like Kimmel are great though for swooping up as many old, new, and latent fans as possible.

[Diamond05]

Now we should all blast Fallon's show with emails to get them on here via the east coast.... letterman? conan? i kinda doubt Leno.... ya never know!

[Cary C-Troll]

Now we should all blast Fallon's show with emails to get them on here via the east coast.... letterman? conan? i kinda doubt Leno.... ya never know!

it may have been Musegirl who posted in another thread something about this~ there seems to be a one late night show rule where the others won't book a band once it's played another show.

Sure, maybe there's no written rule to that, and letters from fans might work. I haven't looked into it to see if any other band plays more than one late night show in a season or so. I was very happy to see they got a second airing & on a FRIDAY of the Kimmel show. It's so good to see them on TV.

[Robert M]

I agree with Beached Male that "Anyone Else" is neither a great song nor an appropriate track to garner wider appeal.

For me, the obvious single on Beautiful Friction is "Girl With No Ceiling" and this track should be elevated and celebrated in every possible way.

[HENRY IZZO]

Sad but true "Rock n' Roll" is on life support. Steve Jobs killed the music industry. People only buy one song or two on Itunes and never give an album a full listen. There are no more forums for rock Bands. Its all dance **** and rap rubbish. Only music forum is American Idol and that's more rubbish. Whats left are fans who want to go to live shows and hear music they grew up with. So yes, The Fixx must embrace the 80's. I suggest you google 80's music forums & let them now The Fixx are alive and well. Also, join other 80's bands message forums aka Duran Duran and tell them about the fantastic album and tour.

Some one can start with this Website and go from there
http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/

[miked26]

I would have rather paid more for more songs on the cd (including Wasted), than having to go to itUNES to get it. Like I have said
before I personally hate downloads. I like the physical cd.


"your amour is love"
Michael

I agree with you 100% which is why I ordered mine through Amazon. Also, how can the band autograph a "ITune" when you meet them. LOL!!!!

[miked26]

Ugh. "Follow That Cab" and "Take A Risk" don't have any kind of hooks to be singles. I would think that anyone can recognize what song on the album is going to be the most promising single for The Fixx. I've mentioned before that the band/management erred in not promoting "Prove" as a single from the last album, but this time they got it right. "Anyone Else" is not my personal favorite on the album (I do like it a lot), but it clearly has the arrangement, hooks, and energy that work for radio and catching the listeners' attention, not to mention a very well done music video. For me, 'Cab' and 'Risk' are the weak links on the album, the farthest songs from being potential singles.

In regards to the Kimmel audience 'not being into it', we're talking late night talk show crowds that show up in the afternoon at a studio on a weekday, many of which are standing in line to get in the door and maybe see their favorite actor/actress, and then there will be some Fixx fans. The way Kimmel's stage is set up with the 'crowd' suggests they pull some audience members forward to the front to create the 'live' vibe - and while I'd like to think plenty of Fixx fans showed up in support - it more or less simulates those embarrassing Super Bowl halftime shows with the 'arranged' crowds bouncing up and down like they're watching the greatest show ever. In the case of the Kimmel performance, there were probably lots of people who either didn't know who The Fixx were, or just weren't into their music. It wasn't a FIXX concert, it was a Jimmy Kimmel talk show, so it's rare that you're gonna get a crazy crowd to watch the band. The last time I saw a talk show where it was clear a band's fans took over the whole studio audience was Depeche Mode on Leno in '98. I'd never heard a late night audience go that nuts before they came on!

Let's face it, The Fixx have been out of the spotlight for many, many years, and are gonna wear that 80s band scarlet letter til they're done, no matter what they do or how they adapt to the current music scene. "Anyone Else" works because it incorporates modern rhythms and lyrical themes with their classic sound, and the guys are good at writing catchy hooks. It's a very solid single, and should attract new fans.

I wouldn't be too quick to judge what we see on TV on these late night appearances, either. The Fixx clearly played all three songs very well, and more likely than not gained some new fans with this TV appearance. The bottom line is that it's nothing short of a miracle to take a 30-year-old band and have any more success today than what we're already seeing. The TV exposure is awesome, the video/YouTube exposure is awesome, and beyond that, it's really just a bonus for the band and fans. If they get new fans - awesome - that to me is success. They could choose to sell their souls, don Jason Mraz hats, and write soulless Marroon 5/Train hack pop garbage with ukuleles and be Clear Channel's puppets for the sake of getting a few more spins in the rotation. The feeling I get about The Fixx is that they would certainly like to have as much success and exposure as possible, like any artist, but they're not gonna compromise their principles or sound to carve their way onto the Billboard Hot 100. Charts and rankings are meaningless in the grand scheme, anyway. If they are happy with the new album, and have a great time on tour, and make a few new fans along the way, then as artists, they have achieved great success.

1002

Well said! I agree my fellow valley friend.

[jeff]

I agree with you 100% which is why I ordered mine through Amazon. Also, how can the band autograph a "ITune" when you meet them. LOL!!!!

Yeah, I like the physical format as well. But for my favorite artists - the important thing is the music, that they can keep putting it out, and if only releasing on CDBaby, Bandcamp, or iTunes makes that possible, so be it. I know that for my brother's little indy band, we paid to put out two CDs -- cost was something like $1500 up-front each. We never made that money back. But with iTunes, he's been able to release another 8 albums with next to no cost.

BTW, for those who haven't noticed, there's a vinyl version of Beautiful Friction coming -- if you want something cool to have them sign, or just a bigger format to admire the art, I recommend ordering it - even if you don't have a turntable any more.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BRC7FA

And if you are interested in setting up a new vinyl system, feel free to send me a PM, vinyl is hobby of mine and I'd be happy to point people to some reasonably priced high-quality turntables.

[RoboCoaster]

First, Follow that Cab rocks. Period. I love Shaman too, but I feel it would be less likely to bring in converts than Cab, but hey, YMMV.

Take a Risk is also catchy. Hell, the whole damn album is great. Wasted was the correct song to cut, though it is fun. Anyone Else isn't the best song, but it may very well have been the best foot forward, considering the attention the video is getting. When it comes to a one-two punch, we can disagree on what "two" should be.

But in thinking about ways to market the album and songs, how about a Fixxture takeover of Jelli? That has not come up (at least in this thread) and it's a decent idea. If it exposes even a few people (and it would be more than that, if not much more, lol) to the new material, mission accomplished! Jelli is listener controlled radio, for those unfamiliar. Some places have an FM station that Jelli plays on, but it also streams online.

It may seem somewhat daunting, at first. The Fixx's music has got to be nominated first, and get enough votes, to be added to the playlist(s). Once it's available, it would have to be voted on and/or "rocketed" to the top of the list. I'm thinking it would take an organized effort, which may be asking a lot, but it is doable. We would need enough people to vote for the band's music to be added, then if successful, dedicate a time and place to organize a takeover of a certain station or channel (Jelli has a lot of categories of streaming channels, like 70's, 80's, etc).

I mention it because it has been done before by hardcore fans of other bands. Are we Fixxtures not even more hardcore in all things The Fixx? I think we are!

And lastly, Jelli has a "Jelli for Artists" tab on it's website, claiming that if a band sends a CD, they will add it. I don't know if that is strictly for startup bands w/o a label or not, but it couldn't hurt if someone representing the band or Kirtland Records got in touch with Jelli about making the songs available for users to choose from. Just getting the songs available to be played is over half the battle...

Sound reasonable?

[Beached Male]

Reviving this old thread--

First: RoboCoaster, your idea has merit, and I recommend looking at my other thread that is similar, about Windows 8 and the Music App that can provide free streaming songs based on a favorite band you input that then results in a random playlist of similar bands.

To follow up on other comments in this old thread, one of my main/lost points in starting this thread was that you have to carefully pick "the song" that you push forward first, whether that song becomes a single or not is irrelevant. The larger/macro point is that "the song" will be the only one you potentially play when you are invited on Jimmy Kimmel or any other show, and it may be the only song you get the capital to cut a video for. I was not trying to dive into the "do singles mean anything anymore" argument, but rather push the issue that there comes a point where you have to pick "the song" that is promoted - in whatever way or method that promotion is done via TV/internet/radio; and I think The Fixx need more/better Outside/3rd party Opinions (two puns in there...).

When the boys played One Thing Leads to Another on Saturday Night Live way back when in the 80s, there were plenty of people in that audience that did not know the song. However, the reaction was quite different...it "resonated" with the audience, and it was this band's biggest hit for good reason.

I still think the title track of this album, Beautiful Friction, has a longer life ahead of it on Muzak or such, great atmospheric tune. I realize not everyone liked Take a Risk or Follow that Cab as much as some of us did -- but the bigger issue there is that the band always needs at least a few rockers on each of their albums. If it is "danceable" -- even better.
BM