Steal This Idea
Consider this: one month after only part of a song called “New Soul” by Yael Naim backed the first commercial for Apple’s Macbook Air, the song debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Disregarding its precipitous tumble down the charts after that, it is easy to see that featuring music on TV can have a profound effect on sales. This brings me to my idea: illustrated radio.
I’m not talking music videos — not only has the culture around those been absolutely beat into the corporate cemetery by MTV/VH1, but the idea is tired. We need something simple and fresh. Here’s what you do (the details are very important):
- Once a week, secure a half hour pre-primetime network television spot — get a time when people might have the TV on in the background but are doing something else, such as preparing dinner.
- Then, get one true disk jockey with impeccable taste to pull great music that many people haven’t heard. This part is crucial: you need singularity of vision in the beginning, so you need just one dude/dudette with grrrreat taste. One. No committee, no focus group — just make one DJ’s dream come true by giving them a huge audience. Hint: look at a place like The Current.
- Don’t advertise it; let the facts of how stunningly different, unique, and daring this is speak for themselves.
- Read commercials by one voiceover person, with one graphic per product. This is illustrated radio, remember?
- In the beginning, don’t feature any “new media” tie-ins. (Secure a good URL, certainly, but sit on it at first.) See, you need to get everyone watching first.
- After a month or so of building interest, put together a brain-dead simple web page. I don’t want flash videos, I don’t want atrociously bold branding — give me a list of the artists and their songs played, followed by exactly three things: the artist’s website, an iTunes link, and an Amazon link. Sort reverse chronological by date. Don’t trash things up with 100s of links to the network’s other shows.
Finally, call the show “Music.” Do not call it anything else. You are promoting music, you are sharing good music. But don’t call the show “Good Music,” because that’s an opinion. The goal here is to take all the strengths and innovations of podcasting and combine them with the strengths of network TV.
KEEP IT SIMPLE. If you do that, this show will. Be. Awesome.
Comments
Mykala
So what would actually be shown on the screen while the music is playing? I am confused…
Alexander Micek
Oh shoot, I forgot to mention that. There’d be album art, a track listing; I think allowing the artist to choose what they wanted shown could be useful, too. So… no music videos, but actually showing the music being made in the studio (possibly on stage) could be cool. Rather like the “Scotch Mist” production by Radiohead on New Year’s Eve.
Nils
I think your idea is great, Alex. It also sounds somewhat similar to The Current’s style of web promotion. They do in-studio performances for artists who are touring through the Cities and I think they have their own You Tube channel. I love their videos. They include a short interview and then a live performance of a song or two (or three). I think maybe this style of video would work for your imaginary/ideal TV show.