Alex Day (23), the first major singer to emerge from the new technology of the Internet, is breaking all the rules by releasing three singles on the same day; May 27th.

"This simultaneous release of three new singles flies directly in the face of major label conventional wisdom", he says. "It kills the chance of charting by not concentrating all the effort in one week. It's exactly the opposite to the major label method with acts like Justin Bieber and One Direction".

Why is he doing it?

"I was offered millions to sign to a label after Forever Yours was a Top Five hit last Christmas and Lady Godiva made Top 15 in April", he said, "but I reckoned they were trying to sign me in order to squash me; they hate the fact that I proved you can get big hits without any corporate involvement".

As a result of going it alone, he banked royalty cheques from iTunes and others of around £100,000 for Forever Yours and £50,000 for Lady Godiva. Other big corporate signings see that sum decimated as labels, managers, agents, publishers and others take their percentages from it before passing on the meagre crumbs left.

"The charts don't matter anymore. Nobody knows or cares what the No1 is. Radio stations programme from major label priorities - check out their playlists; virtually every track is released by, or affiliated to, a giant corporation".

So his THREE SUMMER SMASHES include his own song GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE; the Alex Sings Twilight tongue-in-cheek tribute to the supernatural SHE WALKS RIGHT THROUGH ME (about falling in love with a ghost); and his pop duet take (with Carrie Fletcher) THIS KISS.

"I reckon we'll sell around 150,000 downloads over the months of June, July and August - maybe more if radio decides to programme one or more of them. I think the time has come for traditional media to adapt. After all, the video for Forever Yours has been viewed more than 4 million times on You Tube. If radio bosses are wondering why ratings are slipping, perhaps the answer lies online", he says.

Best of luck with it to all involved.

Is releasing 3 simultaneously simply a move to be different creating a back story for the media or is there some other reason I can't possibly think of right now?

This press release appears to be an act of desperation and whoever wrote it has a very low opinion of the intelligence of the people who will read it. With so many exaggerations and half truths it will alienate rather than impress.

Wow - PRS have really sped up!

Blue Boy wrote:
This press release appears to be an act of desperation and whoever wrote it has a very low opinion of the intelligence of the people who will read it. With so many exaggerations and half truths it will alienate rather than impress.


I suspect most press releases are littered with exaggerations and half truths. Some would just call it good promotion.

Pumpkinhead, I agree that press releases are always designed to highlight the positives. Good promotion is when the press release works and the media uses the contents in their publications. Bad promotion is when the exaggerations are so obviously wrong they are ignored and worse they taint the reputation of the artist. This press release is an example of bad promotion.

I genuinely wish Alex lots of success and do think there is a good story to tell but future press releases should have a little more subtlety.

Some people simply don't like to face reality so they call it fake. Perhaps a better press release would say Alex didn't chart (he did; despite Blue Boy's predictions); didn't get huge royalty cheques (he did, despite the sour rumour that online sellers don't pay - they do - promptly and from all around the world; none of that "waiting six months for Australian royalties" the majors claim; downloading means instant payment and immediate accounting).

The only delay Alex saw was from the banks - in "clearing" his Tunecore cheques.

But we don't blame posters like Blue Boy - they must be so busy processing their enormous profits from their vast sales that they simply don't have time to check the facts.

'Twas ever so... those with too much time on their hands knock those busy achieving success.

Related to online sellers, it seems that there are a few times when the 'little man' lips through the cracks and misses payment. One friend put a song online via tunecore and knows he sold one, to test the system. He didn't expect to sell many more, but he is surprised that after 5 months that sale has still not been logged. He puts it down to a glitch in the system, and accepts that that one might have been all there ever was going to be, but it does show that no system is perfect. I guess that would be different where greater numbers are involved.

He might try again at some point.

Well done Alex and also JK for the role your playing with thiS,but dear Alex
don't slam radio in one hand then with the next cry for it's support makes a
sham of your whole ethos.
We know the death knell to majors will only come from radio and they are not changing
that cosy relationship for awhile.
Why questions are not asked in parliament about radio/label conflicts of interest is
beyond me, Global and Universal,Pete Tong and Warner,Zane Lowe and JHO management that
said James Grant and saturday night viewing is no better.