I have to say at first glance the initiative called “Bumrush the charts” looked like a good idea. Get one artist and their song, pump the hell out of it on podcasts, blogs, digg, etc., and then watch the song skyrocket to the top of the charts on iTunes so we can all feel good about how the big bad mainstream media machine couldn’t keep little guys like podcasters down.
Yeah, it all sounded good.
But as it progressed you realize that this idea is so uninspired that there’s no reason to even care about it.
Yesterday the buzz was that iTunes hadn’t updated it’s US store charts in days. Ironically enough when it did, the big deal bumrush song came out at #99. In the time the song wasn’t on, there was a lot of gum-flapping about conspiracy theories and how Apple was scared of an “independent” artist making the list. It was downright silly.
Apple’s charts then started updating and the self-congratulatory circle-jerk began. All the fanboys who can’t tolerate the mean evil corporate machine were jumping up and down with glee. Here are the charts as they appear on the Bumrush blog:
Canada Rock – #10 (Yes, we outsold the new Rush single in Canada!)
Canada Overall – #53
US Rock – #11
US Overall – #99
Netherlands Rock – #2
Netherlands Overall – #15
Sweden Rock – #7
Germany Rock – #12
Norway Overall – #55
Portugal Rock – #31
Could it be possible that no one in the United States really cared about this band? If you think about it, look where it did best. Europe and Canada, both of which have a hard-on for anything that resembles “sticking it to the man.” Not that impressive when you consider the audience.
But there’s another interesting thought to be had here and it starts with a stupid post on Digg…
Bum Rush proves not that you can buy your way to number one, but that Podcasting, and Podcasters, are a real force to be reckoned with. Articles in the SJ Mercury, Washington Post, Billboard, TV coverage…THAT is the real result of Bum Rush The Charts. And, Black Lab as of this writing is #11 on the US rock chart, where a day ago it didn’t crack the top 100. That’s HUGE, it’s a success, and all the whining about it being a marketing ploy and that we’re all corporate pawns misses the point ENTIRELY. If the song never cracked the chart, we still win. Because we’re on the radar, mainstream consumers know we exist, know they have an alternative to being spoon-fed corporate crap, that there’s actually a place to hear new, fresh, GREAT music without some multi-million dollar corporate greed campaign behind it.
Does anyone notice the contradiction in the first and second line? On one hand this genius informs us that podcasting and podcasters are a force to be reckoned with, and then in the very next sentence tells us that the real result is Billboard, Television, WaPo and the San Jose Mercury News covering the story.
To translate: If the much-maligned mainstream media hadn’t reported the story, this “success” never would’ve happened.
I have lots of experience with blogging and the mainstream media. Last summer, I was the talk of the country. Oh sure, Consumerist and Digg got my story out there first, but when did the real interest from the rest of the country start? Right after the story showed up in the NY Times on the following Sunday, and when I was on the Today Show the week after. Is that a knock on blogging and Media 2.0 types? No, but realistically, that story didn’t demonstrate the power of bloggers as much as it demonstrated that with the help of the mainstream media picking up on a story, you have a real outlet and power to create awareness or change.
I’m a blogger and podcaster. I’ve been blogging since 2002 and podcasting since last year. I believe very strongly in both mediums, but I’m not so naive to believe that either are a replacement for a traditional media outlets. Until blogs and podcasts reach the portion of the country that still thinks the blue E on their desktop is “the internet,” blogs and podcasts are very little without the news collection and oroginal journalism (however weak it may be) of news outlets like the AP, Reuters, and even network news.
Bumrush was somewhat successful not because it was a story on podcasts, but because mainstream media outlets picked it up.
As of now, that’s where the story ends.