Power To The People

Who makes hits these days? It’s not the press. It’s not the radio. It’s not the media companies pouring marketing money all over us. As a reminder that these days it’s – literally – a planet full of people telling each other what’s hot or cool, look at the phenomenal rise of Alanis Morisette’s video ‘My Humps’.

Originally a piece of fluff by Black Eyed Peas, Alanis has reworked ‘My Humps’ to emphasise the vacuous lyrics, shot a super cheapie video, and slipped her version onto YouTube.
No label. No MTV. No TV. No interviews or press releases. Not supporting a tour or an album. Not on her web site (which hasn’t been updated this year). Not for sale.

In eight days it’s had 4.2 million views.

Normally, if you make a piece of art, even a parody, you get on TV, you get in the magazines, you remind the world of your presence. Not Alanis. And the less she does, the more it grows. If she’s smart, she’ll never tell us why she did it.

It could be the first move in reminding us she exists and has some new music for us. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has been using the Net and p2p for some months in a similar way, building buzz for his new album with a series of obscure web sites, mp3 players loaded with new music left in club toilets, and seeding p2p sites. Typically, the RIAA has sent cease and desist letters to fan sites seeding the music – when the campaign has been approved by his record label.

But that sums up the future of the music industry. The established order trying to maintain the controlled way of doing things. And the new way of doing things – viral audio and video.