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While Scion and now Kia have gotten involved in underground metal in somewhat unconventional ways, Honda is diving into metal the old fashioned way – by using classic metal in their television ads. A few years ago, they used “The Hellion,” the opening instrumental from their 1982 classic Screaming for Vengeance, to sell minivans (even though the band appearing onscreen in the ad wasn’t Priest). Then last year, they had a family perform an a capella version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” for another minivan. And now they’ve unveiled another ad featuring Judas Priest – this time featuring “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.” Given that the movie ending-like trailer mostly features a guy driving, it might have made more sense to feature “Heading out to the Highway,” but what do we know? Fun fact: both “The Hellion” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” come from Screaming for Vengeance, an album that will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a CD/DVD reissue on September 4. Check out the other two ads after the jump. Read more »
For those unaware, New York based eyewear designers Moscot has been running a new ad campaign with some of metal music’s elite. Promoting their five varieties of metal frames, Moscot’s recent ads feature Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Zakk Wylde, Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler, Trivium’s Matt Heafy, Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach and numerous other metal personalities posing in the metal bar Duff’s Brooklyn while wearing their glasses.
Moscot’s metal themed campaign was interesting enough to actually catch the attention of the New York Times, who just recently ran a story on it. Co-president of Moscot Wendy Simmons explained to The NY Times that the idea behind the campaign is to connect the company’s brand with the “trailblazer” attributes heavy metal performers share. In addition to talking with Simmons, The NY Times also interviewed the Trivium frontman himself. Heafy recalled being intrigued by the idea of a campaign for metal frames with metal guys, as well as his excitement to shoot in Brooklyn.
While metal musicians modeling with sunglasses may not be a game-changing factor in the world of music, it’s always cool to see metalheads infiltrating the mainstream. You can read The New York Times’ entire article on Moscot’s metal campaign online.
[pictures via Blabbermouth]
It seems as though everyone wants to create the next viral internet phenomenon. Mashable has an article showcasing several music videos that have gone viral and suggestions on how to do the same; however, none of them really add any clarity to the subject at hand. I understand the use of the word “viral” to describe something that affects or infects someone and THEN spreads rapidly either due to a lack of hand washing or spam filtering. While the two components to creating viral content seem to be equally important, the latter is lost in the noise created by the former.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
They say that Internet killed the video star (or the Limousines did, but still). We would beg to differ. The web has opened up a tour bus-full of opportunities for bands hoping to get their music out there via the cinematic medium. And to back up that assertion, we’ve talked with musicians, including Cee-Lo Green, Auto-Tune the News and OK Go, and gathered together their top tips for making an eminently shareable music video.
In the past, the realm of music videos was a whole lot less democratic — but that’s all changed dramatically in recent years.
“Distribution is going through a massive upheaval,” says Fred Santarpia, general manager of Vevo. “Cable TV is not the primary paradigm for the format. Rather, tens of millions of fans actively seek out and share their favorite music videos online each month, and with the explosion of the video-enabled smartphone market, we at Vevo believe that music videos will go viral even faster than they do today as more fans turn to the screen in their hand to discover new music.” Read More HERE.
The article discusses, in very shallow manner, why video content is important to artists. It also references several videos and why they found viral success (kind of). So how DO you create viral content?
Well….I guess I will just quote Seth Godin, “Be remarkable.” If remarkable doesn’t work, try again.
Remember back in the day, when people bought records? They also used to buy these things called “magazines.” They were like a blog, but written on paper! You could carry them places, like to the bathroom, and read them on the train, like a Kindle you could throw away when you were done reading it! At any rate, Metal Hammer is giving its readers a reason to pick up the latest issue, namely, a 3D cover featuring Iron Maiden. It looks a lot like the new album cover, and also a bit like the end of the video for the title track. If it’s anywhere near as cool as the animated .gif you’re looking at right now, it’s definitely worth picking up. And if you’re a Maiden completist, like most Maiden fans are, then you’ll probably pick it up anyway.
This weekend will be NARM’s (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) annual convention in Chicago. Why should you care? Well, for the first time, they’re having a “Metal Meet-up” on Sunday, May 16. This will be an interesting roundtable discussion, moderated by Metal Blade’s Brian Slagel, about the past, present and future of metal. Another reason you should be excited is that Metal Insider is giving away a pass to the convention!
One lucky winner will win a “Metal Breakout Package” pass, valued at $99. The package will include not just admission to the “Metal Meet-up” on the 16th, but also the “Music Business Crash Course,” two days of panels leading up to the Meet-up. You’ll also get into a cocktail party after the meetup. For a little more info on what to expect, check out our Q&A with NARM’s Bill Wilson.
If you’re in the Chicago region, or will be this weekend, and are interested about the business side of the music industry, you can enter to win by simply leaving a comment in the comments section below stating why you want to attend the Meet-Up. We’ll choose a winner early Thursday. Description and panelists after the jump. Read more »
NARM (or the National Association of Recording Merchandisers) is an association for music industry professionals that’s been around for more than 50 years. Their annual convention is taking place this year in Chicago from May 14-16. What’s that have to do with metal? Well for the first time, they’re having a “Metal Meetup,” which will be a discussion about the state of the metal industry from people involved in it.
The Meetup, on Sunday, May 16, will be moderated by Metal Blade’s Brian Slagel, and will feature other luminaries including Strong Management’s Vaughn Lewis, Relapse Records’ Pat Egan, Roadrunner’s Austin Stephens, EMI’s Sarah Wefald and *cough* me. There’s going to be a lot of ground covered, so if you’re in the Chicago area, in the music industry, or just want to be, you should register now. For only $99, and you’ll get admission to the Metal Meetup, the two day “Music Business Crash Course,” and a cocktail party following the Metal Meetup. If you’re a student, you can get in for only $49.
NARM Director of Digital Strategy and Business Development Bill Wilson coordinated the inaugural metal event for the association. Wilson has run his own label in the past, and also logged time as the GM of Earache in the mid-90s. We spoke to him about NARM as well as touched on some of the things that will be spoken about on the 15th.
Read more »
Remember a few months ago when we mentioned that Taco Bell was looking for some bands to participate in this year’s version of their “Feed the Beat” promotion? Word is starting to trickle out about the bands that made the cut, and there are some solid metal bands in the mix. None of this is official yet, but don’t be surprised if you see some tour buses or vans carrying equipment in a Taco Bell parking lot near you.
Among the bands that are unofficially going on a $500 run to the border are Atreyu, Iwrestledabearonce, Whitechapel, Municipal Waste and Earthless. Hey man, tour support is tour support.
UPDATE: Other metal or metal-leaning bands in the program include American Speedway, The Acacia Strain, Vanna, Haste the Day, Mae, The Chariot, blessthefall, Upon A Burning Body, In This Moment, and Red Fang.
If you rolled out to your local record store today (ha! remember them?) to purchase the debut full length from The Company Band, you’ll be a little disappointed. The album has been pushed back another week to November 17. However, you can buy the album online via Candlelight’s Web store, and via leading e-music sites (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). If you order it via Candlelight and throw down $2.24 for first-class shipping, you’ll be able to own a physical copy before the in-store date.
For those of you out of the loop, The Company Band is a side project featuring Clutch’s Neil Fallon, Fireball Ministry’s James Rota, cKy’s Jess Margera, Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis, and guitarist Dave Bone. The success of the band’s 2008 EP Sign Here, Here and Here led to the recording of the proper full length.
On a semi-related note, how awesome was it to hear Clutch’s “Electric Worry” on Monday Night Football last night via the Left 4 Dead 2 trailer?
Though the megachain is finding it increasingly difficult to continue dedicating shelf space to music, they’ve announced they’ll be making entire KISS-themed sections of Walmart, dubbed the “KISS Korner”.
The new section, which will sell a number of silly trinkets, is a marketing tie-in for the band’s upcoming Walmart-exclusive album, Sonic Boom.
Items set to hit stores on Oct. 6 include:
- KISS “Sonic Boom” CD/DVD package – $12
- KISS T-shirts – $5
- Four select KISS Mr. Potato Head kollectibles (The Demon, The Spaceman, The Catman and The Starchild) – $10
- KISS fleece blanket – $10
- KISS M&M candies (7 oz. bags – Limited Edition) – $6
- KISS catalog CDs such as “Dressed to Kill”, “Destroyer”, “Love Gun” and “Very Best of Kiss” — $5 – $9
- KISS makeup kits, masks and wigs (select Wal-Mart stores*) – $5
“To complement this highly-anticipated music release, we are excited to bring a unique store experience with KISS merchandise at an unbeatable value for fans of all ages,” said Greg Hall, vice president of Media Services, Wal-Mart U.S. “It has been both fun and an honor to work with the band and celebrate with fans the new music release and album tour.”
Um, yeah. Hey, why couldn’t they get a little sassy and make some “Love Gun” themed toys, if you know what I’m sayin’? That guy knows what I’m talkin’ about. Ha cha cha.
The hype continues building around Greymachine, the new project from bona fide geniuses Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu, maybe something with Mike Patton and Alan Moore) and Aaron Turner (ISIS, a lot more bands I’m too lazy to list).
Thankfully our buddies at Metal Sucks clued us in on the pre-order for the album before we missed it. In a unique throwback move, the album comes bundled with a cassingle, a relic from the 1990′s, when you’d have to head down to The Wall to pick up your tape cassette single of “Girl You Know It’s True”. Because all Godflesh fans are old and remember the boombox. Tubular!
Posted by Bram Teitelman on Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Marketing, Television