Like any good manager, Dave Frey confronted Jerry Moss, shouldn’t the label work one more single off the Blues Traveler album?<\/p>\n
Jerry said no.\u00c2\u00a0 He said it was time to go back into the studio and make another record.\u00c2\u00a0 And that hits were lucky accidents.<\/p>\n
So the band did as Jerry said.\u00c2\u00a0 They recorded a new LP.\u00c2\u00a0 And nothing caught fire from this record either.\u00c2\u00a0 And after the same conversation with Jerry, with Dave protesting that they should continue to work the record and Mr. Moss saying it was done and they should cut another, a deejay in Pennsylvania flipped over a stiff single and started playing "Run-Around".<\/p>\n
And the rest is history.<\/p>\n
The single spread across the country.\u00c2\u00a0 To the south and then west.\u00c2\u00a0 A video became ubiquitous on MTV.\u00c2\u00a0 And now, in a brand new century, Blues Traveler can still tour off this one track.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, it’s not only one track.\u00c2\u00a0 The band made music before and after, they’ve got a whole catalog, that’s paying dividends long after their time in the media spotlight is done.<\/p>\n
I’m getting e-mail protesting that Muse made it because they’re Stephenie Meyer’s favorite band, they were on the "Twilight" soundtrack. I could tell you this was already deep into the act’s career, and that Muse was doing terrific live business before this soundtrack inclusion, but the point is, the inclusion in the soundtrack was a lucky accident.<\/p>\n
Sure, the band and its handlers hoped the inclusion would pay dividends.\u00c2\u00a0 But they didn’t KNOW!<\/p>\n
What’s that famous William Goldman quote about Hollywood, "Nobody knows anything?"\u00c2\u00a0 Whether you agree with this or not, the point is nothing is guaranteed, that in between marketers and the public a lot can go haywire, there are frequently short circuits.\u00c2\u00a0 So the key is to be in the game long enough that a lucky accident can HAPPEN!<\/p>\n
Believe me, if Muse was a brand new band, their odds of being in the "Twilight" soundtrack would be greatly reduced.\u00c2\u00a0 Stephenie Meyer wouldn’t know them yet and the releasing label would probably prefer a different neophyte band to promote.\u00c2\u00a0 Furthermore, it’s not like the "Twilight" soundtrack was "The Bodyguard".\u00c2\u00a0 It sold a fraction of what previous soundtracks moved.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s just say the soundtrack inclusion was icing on the cake.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s just say if you’re in the game, opportunities arise.<\/p>\n
While you’re concentrating on making THE single, while you’re looking for THE product endorsement, real bands are just slugging it out, and fielding opportunities more than manipulating.\u00c2\u00a0 Because usually, the manipulation doesn’t work!\u00c2\u00a0 No one comes to see you at the bottom of the bill, opening for that big hit act playing a different kind of music.\u00c2\u00a0 Or you get in an iPod commercial, they bang your song and you’re forgotten thereafter.\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t that the point?\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re brand new, broken by Apple, you’re seen as flavor of the moment, you evaporate with the campaign.\u00c2\u00a0 Where do we start?\u00c2\u00a0 Jet.\u00c2\u00a0 The Ting Tings.\u00c2\u00a0 Feist?\u00c2\u00a0 The road is littered with acts who got Apple play who’ve bitten the dust or become footnotes. <\/p>\n
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