The Wrong Way To Promote Your New Album

Hello and welcome to the final Advice column of the week. We had been planning to run an in-depth look at overcoming technical difficulties in a live setting, but after learning of a ridiculous promotional blunder taking place online yesterday afternoon we switched gears in an attempt to be ever-so-slightly topical. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

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There is an old saying in the world of promotion that you have no doubt heard a hundred times or more: Sex sells. We could debate the benefits and drawbacks to leveraging sex to sell a product, as well as the rampant sexism that such efforts breed, but I don’t think anyone will argue with the idea that sex and sexually explicit imagery sells entertainment and products far better than average looking people dressed in average looking clothes. Demi Lovato may have a a better voice than Miley, but because Miley is willing to essentially bare all as long as you give her new single a few minutes of your time she is the one newspapers love.

You know what else sells? Violence. You may find trouble getting attention for a video or song featuring nonstop brutality/gore, but if you pepper in just enough nastiness amidst a wall of sound and couple it with lyrics about whatever messed up relationship you’re trying to forget there is a good chance people will tune in. Heartache is a bitch, and well all know misery loves company. Bands like Emmure and Capture The Crown have built careers on this type of approach, and it has bred a new generation of heavy bands that feel ‘keeping it brutal’ is the only way to sell their music. (It’s not, by the way).

In a world where everyone accepts that violence and sex sells, one might think bands looking to market their material would have more than enough conventional avenues of promotion to pursue when seeking to bring attention to a new release. Yesterday, however, that notion proven wrong when the Sumerian Records signed group known as Upon A Burning Body taught us all a lesson we should immediately commit to memory: Kidnapping does not sell.

It all started with a Facebook post. An update added to the official Facebook page for Upon A Burning Body yesterday afternoon sent ripples of fear and shock throughout the metal community. “Breaking News: Danny Leal (singer of Upon A Burning Body) has been reported missing,” the message read. “He was last seen in his home town of San Antonio TX on Monday, June 30th.”

Sites around the globe picked up the story in the hours that followed, including Alternative Press and Under The Gun Review, as well as countless fan communities and message boards. People, press and fans alike, began searching for more information and attempting to aide the band, but as the day wore on it became clear not everything was as it seemed. AP discovered no one with the last name of Leal is listed in the Texas Department Of Public Safety’s missing persons database. Additionally, there were 22 people listed as missing who were last seen in San Antonio, none of whom shared the same first or last name as the UABB singer. Even the band’s publicist was lost, telling press "I have no news as to Danny’s whereabouts and am completely in the dark here myself.”

Over two hours after the initial news broke, things took another strange turn when Ash Avildsen, CEO of Sumerian Records, wrote on his label’s official Facebook page to deny any involvement in or knowledge of Upon A Burning Body’s messaging about Danny. He wrote, "I woke up to a ton of missed calls and just saw all this stuff about Danny Leal of UABB posing as that he’s been abducted or kidnapped. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. As a child, we all learn the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and it sticks within our consciousness for a reason. I do not condone this type of publicity stunt. This was done behind my back and I am not OK with it. In my eyes, there’s never a time to use the possibility of real-life abduction, injury or murder of someone you care about to promote anything, especially an album. If you need to resort to that, then you have lost the plot. We as a society should have evolved past that way of thinking by now and especially within the rock/metal community, given all the tragedy that has happened in our world over the past few years. There are some people who owe us an apology. -Ash Avildsen, Creator & CEO of Sumerian Records.“

Three hours after the above post went live, a new song from Upon A Burning Body titled “Red Razor Wrists” debuted online. The band made no comments on the track, nor did they offer any explanation for why they thought it would be a good idea to scare the metal community into believing something terrible may have happened to their front man. They simply posted the song, shared a link, and went back to being silent. As of noon today, they have yet to comment on yesterday’s fiasco, but they did premiere a second song and announce plans to release a new album in about six weeks.

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize this unorthodox method of promotional was a total and complete failure. I am sure there are those in the world who were thrilled to hear new music from Upon A Burning Body, but those I spoke with who like the band were more pissed than excited because they had just spent half a day worried about the frontman of their favorite band. The song was a welcomed resolution, but it did not justify the marketing efforts made earlier in the day.

Originality will get you far in the world of music, but there are times when thinking outside the box will backfire. For Upon A Burning Body, this is one of those times. Thankfully, the rest of us now know what not to do when we’re promoting an upcoming release. Remember: Kidnapping does not sell.

James Shotwell