TRAPPSTR

Getting to #1 on itunes is no coincidence

Posted on 31. Aug, 2009 by Brett in Marketing

The top 10 lists on itunes always interest me. Of the thousands of new songs churned out by the recording industry, these are the ones that skyrocket to the top, fueled directly by listeners’ purchases.

I noticed this week that Miley Cyrus’s new song “Party in the USA” has been camping out at #1 for several weeks now. It’s your typical poppy tween song:

“I hopped off the plane at LAX
with a dream and my cardigan
welcome to the land of fame excess,
am I gonna fit in?

Jumped in the cab,
Here I am for the first time
Look to the right and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous

My tummys turnin and I’m feelin kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I’m nervous,
That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio
and a Jay Z song was on

CHORUS:

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away
Noddin’ my head like yea
Movin my hips like yea
I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know im gonna be ok
Yea, It’s a party in the USA

Get to the club in my taxi cab

Everybody’s lookin at me now

Like “Who’s that chick, thats rockin’ kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”

So hard with my girls not around me
Its definitely not a Nashville party
Cause’ all I see are stilletos
I guess I never got the memo

My tummys turnin and I’m feelin kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I’m nervous
That’s when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune
and a Britney song was on

Feel like hoppin’ on a flight (on a flight)
Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight)
Something stops me everytime (everytime)
The DJ plays my song and I feel alright”

Her songwriters must be proud of their # 1 hit. Did they get there by coincidence? Let’s see:

1. Coincidentally drop the names of current pop icons (ie Jay-Z & Britney Spears).

2. Refer to Los Angeles as the land of “fame excess.” Coincidentally record it so that it sounds like “fame and sex.”

3. Coincidentally wrap your whole song in a metaphor that insecure pre-teen girls can REALLY relate to–going to school and feeling awkward and out-of-place. I’m not making this up. Look closely…

• Getting off a plane in an unknown city = Walking into a new school
• Jumped in the cab = Got in mom’s minivan
• “See the Hollywood sign” = Pulling up to school, see school marquee
• “Everybody seems so famous” = Ahhhh!!! Popular kids!
• References to wearing the wrong shoes = I’m not dressed right! I’m a freak!
• Pop music cures your anxiety = Miley Cyrus songs cure my anxiety!

4. Coincidentally  release your song on August 11 (same week kids started school here in America).

5. Coincidentally release your back-to-school song the same week school starts which is the same time as back-to-school-shopping which is the same time Miley Cyrus releases her new line of clothing at Wal-Mart. Hmmmm…..

Gee, you think these songwriters knew what they were doing? Songwriters know that their job isn’t nearly as much about notes and harmonies as it is about reinforcing feelings that already exist in the target demographic. Marketers are the same way. It’s no coincidence.