I think the Alex Day record has finally vindicated those of us who have been championing the new model.
I for one have been saying for many months that Youtube, Facebook and Twitter are the trinity of the new
model and for me Rebecca Black's song was the song that really screamed "new model". Of course many even JK
disagreed but I am glad to see that Alex used the same formula (with improvements) to mobilise his Nerimon army.
His only mistake was choosing this week to launch it. To get Xmas number one was going to be tough.
JK you should have advised him to release it one week early so he would have got a number one single (a better PR
angle than top 5 in Xmas week). Still it is a fantastic achievement and can we now concede that the new model is
live and running.

For those of us who are early in the game this to me is how the new model works.

1. Set up your Youtube channel and create your own webisodes. Kind of reality TV meets the music business.
Alex's mate Charlie is very watchable, my son loves him and believe it or not learns so great scientific stuff from
him. Also whoever does his voiceover at the end is a legend. Typical British posh git but loveable.
Your web show could be about anything but should show off your personality. Get monetised by Youtube as soon as possible
and with all the fantastic Youtube improvements, focus on your subscribers. There are tools you can use to build your
Youtube channel. Just as video killed the radio star, Youtube killed the radio hit. Anything controversial helps too.
Your target is at least 3 million regular views. That would earn you up to $9000 per show (you may earn more).


2. Covers. Once you have your show in place, start doing strategic covers, mashups, murder songs, make the brilliant but
whatever you do, take risks. At this stage you DON'T have to be liked. You just can't be ignored.

3. Build your fans and nurture them and release your own music tracks. It's about streaming at this stage. Do a demo version
short version etc.

4. Find a holiday, season, special day, or any media event to release your single. Alex did with Xmas, you can do it with anything
even your birthday.

5. SINGLES.......We are now back to the good old days with singles ruling the roost and that's what you should focus on. If you
want to do an album that's fine but singles are what it is about.


6. Physical. Finally find something physical which you can sell from your site. Could also try auctioning a gig/date with the band etc. This is a premium product.

7. When it all hits the fan and you have a massive hit then you need a good PR person to navigate the meejah.

Well done Alex. Don't give in to the majors, stay independent and true to this vision. Just hire good people. Let's see who would be the first "new model" million seller.

Ah but KZ - you make some serious omissions.

1) The vital first; make GREAT music. It's taken Alex several years of me saying "not good enough" until I said - "this is the one".
2) Each campaign needs its own ingredients and we deliberately chose "the Xmas No1" when we realised (thanks to Dixie on here months ago) that Xmas Day falls on a Sunday so dear thicko Simon Cowell won't have realised his "winner" would have peaked too early.
3) Then we pleaded with Charlie to make a great video - it took a while before he was convinced but when he was we knew we had that essential asset.
4) Then Alex marshalled his Nermie Army to concentrate on one day (the 18th) to push the track into the Top Ten.
5) Then we started spreading the word this was a possible surprise contender and the odds shortened.
6) With those stories we pushed and hoped and plugged and kept our fingers crossed.

But without that first ingredient (great music) it would have been pointless.

Some good points of course JK,but where does this become GREAT music?
The music industry has been in a rut for years.We need a new musical direction for popular music,as we had in 1955.The only difference will be as you spotted the net will be its medium of promotion,not record labels.

"Great music" (a subjective term) is important but it is NOT the first ingredient.
For a chart campaign such as this then absolutely a great song is essential to
"recruit" new fans.

But early doors great content is far more important. The blog approach which is what
Alex uses suits Youtube and is great for engaging fans and developing a loyal
fanbase. This is no mean feat as Youtubers can be quite fickle. But Alex built all
his subscribers outside of music and these fans rallied behind the "music" campaign.
In fact Alex's likeability and quintessential Englishness works a treat. His videos
are well produced and enjoyable. This builds up the views and rakes in the money.

Actually getting on Youtube partner programme is crucial as it brings money which will
come in handy when releasing that single tied into a specific day.

Overall the campaign was well done and the big thing now is where to from here?
If Alex builds upon this formula and stays independent ooh he will grow and grow
possibly slower than if he does a deal with Universal but potentially with a well
oiled team (taking inspiration from days when labels ran with smaller staff) he
can grow to Lady Gaga territory.

If he signs with a major they could build him up (he should never hand over his Youtube channel)
or screw it up big time. Interesting days ahead.

Well done to Alex and the gang and for all those who wanted to know how this was done
between mine and JK's posts you pretty much have the formula which you can tweak to suit YOU!