I say "new" because that's what I've always done.
In court my motives were implied to be different but the truth is... spreading the word by individuals was ALWAYS an incredibly effective way of breaking hits.
I remember Johnny Reggae by the Piglets, written and inspired by the language of teenagers at the time, was started by spreading the word... the ones who got the initial promotion copies played them to friends who told their friends...
VOILA! Avalanche!
The world is so much easier now with the increased communication of the internet.
Blogs and message boards like this one and Myspace and YouTube... it can be done costing virtually nothing IF THE PRODUCT IS GOOD.
The tragedy is, of course, the vast majority is crap.
Which gives the method a bad name.
But word of mouth doesn't work with flops.
Only with hits.

Totally agree with you JK. Thats the way the music industry is going, well for those in the know of course. The hard part is getting the hits in the first place. Now if someone could write a book on that.
Seriously JK word of mouth is the way to go with the right product.

Klub:vhp - Check it out

until the 80s / 90s there were only a very limited number of media channels (radio / tv) for promotion.

And there were only a limited number of gatekeepers (djs / pds etc.).

With the right kind of friends (and friends of friends) it was (relative) easy to get a song into the media - and them a hit was almost certain (ok, I'm simplyfing here).

Today there are lots of opportunities for media plays, but only very few really matter (translate exposure into sales, for example).

from a tiny pebble falling a real hit will gain impetus and momentum and spread- as in my initial post - and there you are. But only with a real hit.

Got to say JK is spot on again. With the internet explosion, sms, mobile communications etc a hit will fly off the shelves in no time and gain momentum but there is only one thing that JK may be missing and that is that few people can recognise real hits. Lets take Orson for example. Brett banged on about them for ages - nada happened. JK banged on about them for a little while, JT got involved the UK industry get behind them - hit record. Nizlopi another example it took the video to break them and then their story. The music industry is losing its bread and butter and that is hits and talented people who can spot them. From the punters point of view JK is right 100% though bands and labels dont know how to effectively reach these punters and market to them in a manner that doesnt make them switch off. But if you visit tipsheet and ROTD regularly you will pick up some tips.
It is exciting times we are in and now more than ever i dont feel a need to employ the powers that be because a hit is a story in itself. I must admit it is a bit overwhelming that this is now a possibility more than ever and it is truly exciting.

Gotta find that hit though.
That is the hard part so any writers out there with hits that need acts email me.Klub:vhp - Check it out

I've been longing to feature a future hit on Listen Here but it's been months since I heard one.
They only come along two or three times a year.

As mentioned on here a few months ago when discussing the My Space culture.

Neds Atomic Dustbin's new single comes out on Monday via the 7 Digital service and is already carrying very large pre-orders.

www.myspace.com/nedsatomicdustbin

where you can see the promo video - the podcast - get the SMS number with which to order the song - and hear clips of all the tracks and even get the t shirts ( which have put Neds at Number 1 in the NME merchandise chart for four weeks already )

Obviously not a new band to the chart but a band that has embraced the new technology and if you have good music then it will keep on selling even if you strip away the major label money and hype. These days My Space can be used effectively.

Go on SMS for this track and see how easy it is to get your music these days ! I really cant understand why anyone would want to visit a record shop and pay parking and petrol and Q and have to hunt for the song you want - when this route is so easy and can be done in passing !

Word of mouth - totally agree.