The Musical Examples

Musical applications of viral marketing aren't new. The classic example is the "Arctic Monkeys", whose success in the web preceded the contract signing. The demo CDs they distributed in the concerts, and the downloadable musics available at their website granted them public recognition and they finally signed a contract with Domino:



Portuguese artist Ana Free live performances were available online in her website and in Myspace. Singer and Writer, Ana had her first single released only in May 23, 2008:



Radiohead had a somewhat different approach, and in 2007 anounced that their latest album would be released and available for download at their site. The download was free and the fans would pay whatever they wanted. The average contribution from the fans was around 8£ that bypassed the normal industry distribution channels, and unofficial numbers are around 1.2 million downloads. Although already an established band, this new approach didn´t compromise the physical release on January 2008; quite the contrary, the acclaimed album reached charts nº1 in the US and the UK:



Prince latest album is being released through a original site. The free music download is available only after solving a sort of enigma, acting at the same time as a teaser to the release.

The most impressive example is Susan Boyle's performance in "Britains Got Talent". The live performance surpassed Obama's Presidential Campaign page views and reached the amazing number of 100 million in a couple of weaks:


Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 - The best bloopers are a click away