Here Today... Gone To Hell!

promotion for the new NIN album "Year Zero" started last week.  it began with a simple site (http://yearzero.nin.com/) that didn't contain anything except for links to some studio pics.  There was even a GNR reference on this site, which was discovered by reading the source code and adding up the numbers of the jpg files to find pages containing images called "albumcover.jpg" and "chinesedemocracy.jpg"  I just tried to find these pages and they seem to have been removed.

Late last week, a few of the songs from the track listing began to appear.  By the end of the weekend, the entire track listing had been posted.

Then, today I was reading in another thread on HTGTH that a new NIN track had "leaked" and that there were a series of wesites and virtual reality (?) games that were related to the album and which required solving riddles/puzzles, etc.  On the Year Zero site, the track that leaked has been obscured by some art, so it is apparent that the track was "leaked" by management.

Then I went onto a NIN forum that I frequent, and there was a thread with 60 pages devoted to the track and the strange internet sites associated with it.  I didn't have time to read them (just wanted to download the track), however the trackapparently was found in a bathroom or something (?) and in the ID3 tag (i think( was a URL for http://anotherversionofthetruth.com/, and awesome and intriguing site (check it out and play around with clicking and stuff, and don't give up too early or you might miss it).  apparently this is just the beginning of this.

Anyhow, what does this have to do with GNR?  Well, I think that GNR should use some sort of similar promotion when the promo starts for CD.  It is esentially free advertising and it's tons of fun for the fans.  it would keep people on the internet, thinking about GNR, and constantly thinking about the cryptic things they are trying to solve.  Remember that site that darknemus has supposedly set up, with cryptic messages hidden in the source code and background, etc?  remember how much buzz that got?  most importantly, perhaps, the riddles end up being discussed at length on the forums.  Most of the articles we articles we see regarding CD seems to get their info from the forums.  THis would be a most excellent and cheap way to promote the album, and to get attention in media such as rolling stone, etc.

what do you guys think.

and please Jarmo, don't merge this with the other promo threads

This is an excellent idea. Now only if we could reach him personally and tell him what a good idea it would be. I don't see any reason why anybody involved with the record company could see this as a bad idea.

yea, the thing is GNR management hasn't put much effort into the internet.  The internet is changing the music industry, and i don't think people have figured out yet what is possible in terms of promoting and distributing music.  the internet is going to be a key element, and they need to hire some young, radical marketing people as well as some great graphic design and web design.  This will also target markets about my age (28) and below, who are the biggest album buying and concert going demographic.  many of the younger kids  might see gnr as ld and outdated and a nostalga act.

If GNR wants to be seen as fresh, new, and cutting edge, they have to do something like this that is different and has never been done.  this could totally reinvent their image.  They better work hard and do well, because the bar is being set very, very high.  NIN crew is proving that it is major competition and they are playing the game much better than GNR is.  Also radiohead is recording a new album now set for release in summer.  I know a lot of you on here think radiohead sucks, and I agree they get virtually no radio or video play, and are NEVER in the media.  However, currently they are probablly the band with the biggest influence on current and future music, and I say this because they are respected almost as gods by basically any musician i've ever heard or seen or talked too, including indie rappers from Def Jux in NYC, to Axl rose himself. They have had a much bigger influence than nirvana, e.g. whose impoact is now gone.  Anyhow, Radiohead is currently unsigned (perhaps the largest unsigned act in the world) and they have talked about releasing the album in a totally new format over the web. given their history of experimenting with boundaries and in the process gaining the respect of their colleagues in the industry, i could see this as a major breakthrough which may set a new paradigm for music distribution (and circumventing major labels in the process).

If GNR wants to stay relevant and keep PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES like they were known for, they need to do something different like this.  They did a great job by "leaking" better, TWAT, and IRS, but they need to do more now.

I personally enjoyed the "one Tuesday this year" approach that was being offered up by Mgmt last year.


/bringbackadler

One big diffrence is Trent understands the internet very well.  If you belong to the fan membership website The Spirel.  You can read his blog which is updated every few days.  And he does read the forms and shoots down stupid rumors that start.  On top of that he leaked the entire Closure DVD on bit torrent after the record label pulled the strings on releasing it. 

that sounds stupid. ?sounds like something a bunch of freak goth heads would enjoy. ?"riddles/virtual games?"

i know there were a bunch of riddles a few yrs ago for gnr (even it wasn't actually coming from gnr) and some of you ppl ate it up. ?but the HUGE MAJORITY of ppl will think it's insane. ?Promote it like ?a normal album!

Agreed. I don't want some stupid riddle GNR shit. Most people wouldn't.

This is Guns N' Fucking Roses.. just promote it insanely and in a typical fashion.

lol - because only goths like puzzles or anything intellectually stimulating...  :)

that sounds stupid.  sounds like something a bunch of freak goth heads would enjoy.  "riddles/virtual games?"



hahaha.....way to sound like an ignorant redneck there buddy.

 :) I just want to distance myself from the "stupid goth" comment rather quickly. And let Nonlinear know I didn't mean to come off as I did.

If GN'R chose to do that, I would support it wholeheartedly. MY personal opinion however is that they should just do normal promo.. but a lot of it.

Just letting you guys know my opinion.

    -jack

terrible idea. gnr want to fight the 'weird' label.

I dont think such an outlandish kind of promotion could fit to Guns N' Roses.

Anyway, Im kinda desperated... I would be very happy with any kind of promotion. All I want is... promotion  :confused:

just like gnfr.com  :rofl: :rofl: :peace:

The NIN "promotion" is one of the most brilliantly realized multimedia concepts I've ever seen. And it'll only get better. Trent Reznor is a genius. That said, it's not for really anyone but him. Certainly not something GN'R should copycat.

it's cool but it's not amazing, there are several campaigns like this a year.

but i have to disagree with the first post. GNR MUST NOT GET INTO viral marketing. it does not it the band. at all.

i would advise Axl to do something very sober. very sober.
mysterious if they want.
use that "most expensive album ever made" but nohting else.

It's brilliance is in its relationship to the material, and how it doesn't just tie to the concept, it is the concept. It's something he flirted with on With Teeth and promised in the future. It's his attempt to grow his art fully into the digital age, something few if any other artists have embraced as much as an important reality. The deeper you go into his little rabbit hole, the more impressive this whole thing becomes. I've been enveloped in it every time I've sat at a computer today.

Actually that is where the record labels have it all wrong.  Why in the world spend multi millions of dollars on a ad promo when there are so many free ways to advertise on the web that will reach a far greater audience. 

Sites like Youtube and Revver are becoming the revolution similar to myspace (although I can't stand myspace just due to the fact it is way to slow) Revver is an excellent model they pay you for your video based on ads clicked and views.  It basically works out to around 50 cents per 100 views.  Which is $500 per 100 thousand.  So if say 1 million people downloaded a new GnR video (as an example) they would make about $5000.  Now that may not seem like much , but wait they just got free advertising to 1 million people for free and made 5k in the process.  Not bad if you ask me. 

there is more than just "reachin people"
you have to be coherent with the brand image, take risks or not, coherent with your activity, want control or not, ROI ....

I agree with the ''sober'' promotion.

GNR needs just a little promotion, but it must be misterious and shocking at the same time.

The promotion MUST be extremely clear stating that this band is ENTIRELY new, and must never use things from the past.

Big albums like this one is going to be DONT NEED an outlandish kind of promotion.

I wish. But Axl isn't as fun as Trent.

bring back the "one Tuesday this year" promotion.


that was great.



/bringbackadler

The GnR marketing approach is very simple. It basically goes like this:

"WE MADE A SONG CALLED WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE 900 YEARS AGO, SO WAIT FOR OUR NEW ALBUM MADE WITH NONE OF THE SAME BAND MEMBERS, OK?"

It's totally stupid, but this site is great proof that it works like a charm. There's been no new music from GnR in well over a decade, and theres been NO music released EVER by this specific collection of musicians. Yet people are clamoring for it, hoping to relive the past.

Exactly! I actually belive that NIN got inspired by all the mysterious things that happend around CD so thats why they "leaks" tracks now and doing mysterious things on their site. GNR already did this but not by purpose but in some way it actually promoted CD:

I cant see how this is "great proof that it works like a charm". This is the first that ive heard of it and ive not got my head in the sand. If advertised on tv & radio I would have heard of it before now. A combination of traditional promo and the internet stuff would work best. If they are going to promote this album properly like Axl said then id think we can expect something a little like the NIN approach but with other forms of promo too.

Axl should not copy NIN, cause it would just be a lame ripoff of what Trents doing and people would call him on it and make fun of the Axl for it.  This album just needs to come out, and be promoted normally.  Trents games dont get non-addicts to buy his album, rather they make fans of his more excited, and more addicted to NIN.  The people who still pay attention to Axl right now are already addicts to GNR andalready will buy the album.  Theyve had 15 years to hype it up for them.  Trents doing something new, releasing an album 18 months after his last one.  So hes getting his fans excited about something new, which was pretty unexpected.  GnR is going to need to reach non-fans and former fans who would never take the time to try to figure out clues about released tracks.  The thirteen tuesdays, the gimics etc... arent what should be done.  The key is to get the name out to the masses, go on tv shows, get into a feud, do something that is very public.  Trents promotion is cool, but hes in such a different spot than Axl, he released a good cd a year and a half ago, he sells out arenas all over the US, and although he is not that much younger than Axl he is still seen as very modern.  The only reason I could ever see for making a giant riddle is if there was some huge secret that was being hidden, something that would interest even non GNR fans, and the only thing I can think that would ever do that is a reunion with Slash.  I dont want that, I dont think itll happen this decade, Axl jsut has to release this album before he gets any older.

Alternative reality game -campaigns like one NiN is pulling out atm are still fresh enough to spark hype and genuine interest among people who don't even know the band in question.
I'm not sure how much this will help album sales but at the very least it certainly does what a succesfull add campaign is supposed to do; this thread being a great example of it.

i''m not saying that the promotion needs to have a bunch of riddles like NIN is doing (or like pink floyd did for division bell - so it's not just a "goth" thing), just that the band should try and use the internet in new/different ways, to their advantage.  the more I think about this the more i realize that it is highly unlikely.  unfortunately, gnr is a bit too old school for this, and really can't compete with the likes of NIN or Radiohead.

As I've said many times before, I don't really care how many fans CD attracts and how popular GNR becomes again.  But it would be nice to see the band do something different with this album.  we expect GNR to be doing things better than everyone else.  i guess we will see, but they need to hire management that has a clue.  merck was a disaster.

Any promotion would be great really. I don't think it really matters what its like, as long as there is some.

I think they should pursue various different avenues of promotion, and while i support traditional means, i see no reason why they wouldn't use the internet to their advantage - because it's cheap and if it works it'll be effective.

That said, GNR's biggest asset is name-recognition and the publicity it will get. No matter what, Axl Rose is still a big name rock star, and the media hasn't forgotten that. Make this album and everything involved in it seem like NEWS. Publicity beats advertisement every time, and that's how GNR will get out there. What used to be the biggest band in the world is releasing it's long awaited and mysterious album - so it should be reviewed everywhere and mentioned all over tv. Axl was so quiet for so long, that if he does anything that sparks conversation, it'll be news, because he's Axl Rose. (That name recognition he has is a very select thing. Trent doesn't have that. People like Madonna or Elton John have that. People who make the news regardless of their music, but just because they are such big stars).

viral marketing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing

The NIN viral marketing campaign was done by 42 Entertainment: http://www.42entertainment.com/

im sure management is going to get right on this. thank god you instructed them to read it in the title.

using the internet is definately becoming a more realized tool for marketing, as long as its done right.  With many bands offering recordings of their concerts online or even live feads from the concerts, it is definately revolutionizing the music industry.  Haters bash me all you want, but metallica is one of my top 5 favorite bands.  When their last album came out (yea i know it sucked), they used a marketing strategy similar to this.  On their website they posted clues, kind of like a treasure hunt.  The clues directed you to different websites which had postings of a video of the band performing the songs in the studio.  I think it would be pretty cool if GNR did something kind of similar to this in the week leading up to the release.

i think they should finish the record first...then worry about promoting it