WEB 2.0 Social first, UGC, me too memes, cashtags key to promo

Short and snappy overview here from Wired of how 'social first', trying to seed interest and stimulate sharing and UGC before paid-for campaigns kick in, has become the industry norm.

Some contrasting examples of 'organic' underground successes and notable failures by the likes of Katy Bloody Perry - hit or flip the common key is some degree of replicability, whether dance or ... spraying water on your face (KBP).

https://www.wired.com/story/memes-music-promotion/

VFX Shins layering that'll stick(er) in the mind

LAMAR + NIK is a joint name you may have seen from your research into video examples, and nofilmschool here compare them to Michel Gondry, high praise indeed.

The specific stop-motion technique they use here isn't necessarily what you might take away as an inspiration - look at the seemingly mundane mise-en-scene they add these stickers (you should be thinking greenscreen to achieve a comparable effect) to: stacks of coins, 'checkers' chips, cheese slices, all quirky and interesting when shot in tight close-ups.

No need for a narrative in a video as entertaining and visually busy as this, though the likes of Sledgehammer manage to incorporate this.

http://nofilmschool.com/2017/08/the-shins-stop-motion-music-video

STREAMING Warner soars past $1bn digital revenues

The conglomerate giant doing fine, artists less so...

Ed Sheeran’s Divide puts Warner Music’s streaming income on track to cross £1bn https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/08/ed-sheerans-divide-lifts-warner-musics-streaming-income-to-1bn?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

STREAMING 2.4m YouTube views to earn months minimum wage

http://www.metalsucks.net/2017/08/07/which-streaming-music-service-currently-has-the-best-payout-rate-for-artists/

CONVERGENCE Metal Gear...Video game group's hit single

Pentakill: how a metal band that doesn’t exist made it to No 1

How has a band that doesn’t physically exist, with zero promotion from the music industry, breach the Billboard Top 40 and reach No 1 in the iTunes metal chart?Conceived by California-based gaming gurus Riot Games in 2014, Pentakill exist purely in the imaginations of their creators – and the 100 million global fans of League of Legends, the multiplayer online battle arena game that spawned the band’s members, Karthus the Deathsinger, Yorick, Sona, Olaf and lead guitarist Mordekaiser the Master of Metal.Entirely under the mainstream radar, the band’s new CGI video, Mortal Reminder, notched up more than 3m views in less than 48 hours after its release – and the new album, Grasp of the Undying, seems destined to be a huge success. 

COPYRIGHT FAIR USAGE Star Wars Silence Sued

https://www.wired.com/story/the-star-wars-video-that-baffled-youtubes-copyright-cops?mbid=social_fb

Viral car lip sync hits 120m views

This would be a good idea for an additional video alongside your main effort (live, lyric, unwrapping vids are also useful additions).

The infamous Wayne's World Bohemian Rhapsody inspired James Corden's Carpool Karaoke which in turn has inspired this couple of performers (he's a comedian, she appeared on America's Got Talent) to create a series of car-set lip sync vids.

With 120m views already, they're making money from that, but they are also add for their services as hireable entertainers.

https://youtu.be/WJpA_sQEwkM

http://kristinanddanny.net/about