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Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
Sadly DJ, not quite the last.
Many radio programmers and music writers pay attention to the chart because they have no other clue about what to feature.
Which is why hype continues.
However the question remains - do the tiny profits warrant the spend? Or is the short term boost ("we got a No1") to flagging executive careers the only goal ("please Lucian take me seriously")?
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
How much TV advertising would you have to spend to get to number 1 from nowhere? A lot more than 6 figures I suspect.
Although I agree it is mystifying as the song has been around for ever (I'm sure I heard it on the radio about 6 months ago) and as far as I'm aware it did nothing much on downloads until last week.
Whoever is behind this seems to have managed turned the clock back to the mid-1990s - straight in at number one without climbing slowly up the charts on downloads first.
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
I'm not her A&R and I've no idea about the rest of her material. But she is one of the most promising things I've heard chart-wise in the pop vein. If I was in a label, I'd invest in her. but the question is: how much? Dunno, but I'd definitely aim for at least the mid-term.
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
I think the single sales will only be about 25% down wk on wk by Sunday - which is quite respectable. I also believe the song is a real hit and will hang around all summer. (Only time will tell).
Only then will we be able to see if this is a good investment by Universal - but I'll guess "YES".
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
What was interesting about this, and which hasn't been explained yet, is not the fact that they spent a lot of money on her and got it to no 1, but the fact that they did so all in one week, out of nowhere - which of course was absolutely commonplace between the mid 1990s and early 2000s but has now been replaced, by virtue of the download chart rules, by gradual chart climbs particularly for new artists. I'm interested to know what they did differently with this artist.
Is it all down to one week of intensive TV advertising? I thought that was not really a proven route for single sales?
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
olive oil wrote: I think the single sales will only be about 25% down wk on wk by Sunday - which is quite respectable. I also believe the song is a real hit and will hang around all summer. (Only time will tell).
Only then will we be able to see if this is a good investment by Universal - but I'll guess "YES".
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
By the way, I'll now try to answer my own questions as no-one else has done.
Firstly the chart position is nothing to do with (or at least only insignificantly influenced by) the TV advertising. The fact it went straight in at number one is, I suggest, for the following reasons:
a) The record company applied the old-fashioned strategy of holding back the download release for ages
b) It has been played to death for months - I'm sure I can remember hearing it on Capital at least 3 months ago if not more.
c) It's quite a good tune.
I don't doubt they spent 6 figures, or probably more, on advertising and on paper it certainly looks like a waste of money on an flash-in-the-pan manufactured pop artist.
JK hits the nail on the head when he says this is all down to executive vanity.
Re:Pixie Lott; was she all she seemed? 16 Years ago
think you've nailed it. Not sure TV advertising has had any impact.
It's a catchy song, received huge airplay and just naturally went to #1 when it was eventually released. It shot up iTunes so there was no real lag effect over the week due to advertising kicking in.
She's got a great voice, can perform well live and did the circuit of TV and radio shows and comes across well in interviews, and has connected well with the young downloading buying public.
Next single is also meant to be a possible challenger for the top spot.