Facebook takes Rage Against the Machine to Christmas No.1
Rage Against the Machine on Facebook
Rage Against the Machine (RATM) have just had their first UK Number 1. They got it thanks to an extraordinary underground Facebook campaign, beating X-Factor winner Joe McElderry.
The successful single, Killing in the Name, was released over 15 years ago. RATM spent nothing on marketing and yet they made it to Christmas No.1. Whatever your opinions of Rage Against the Machine, Simon Cowell, Facebook or Joe Mcelderry, this has been a great show of social media might.
A week ago X-Factor Winner Joe McElderry appeared to be a shoo-in for Christmas No.1. Every year, for four years, the Winner of X-Factor has been number one at Christmas. But this year Jon Morter (@Jon_Magic), a HiFi Technician from Essex, decided to set up a protest campaign on Facebook and promote Rage Against the Machine as a possible contender.
Why does this classify as an impressive victory for social media? Here’s a brief summary of what each single had going for it:
Joe Mcelderry and the X-Factor machine
- 13 weeks of prime time TV appearances
- 4 years of X-Factor Christmas No.1’s (i.e. a great process for getting the result)
- Professional promotion – Simon Cowell’s company has been pulling out every stop.
- A pleasant song for Christmas – ideal stocking filler for mum’s across the UK
- 3 months of press articles, morning TV chat show appearances & radio interviews
- Online and offline advertising spend
- Store sales – Joe’s got a physical single that’s on sale in all good record stores – 500,000 in HMV alone (their largest ever singles order). The RATM single has not been re-released so it is not in store.
- Playlists – Joe gets lots of radio airplay thanks to being on key playlists
- Massive discounting – Tesco are selling Joe McElderry’s single The Climb for 29p. That’s less than half the 67p you’d pay for Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine.
- Point of purchase marketing – both in store, and also on the homepages of iTunes, Amazon, Play.com and Tesco.com (the four major MP3 retailers in the UK).
Rage Against the Machine had:
- £0 marketing budget
- an offensive song that caused 138 complaints last time it was played on Radio1 (Killing in the name)
- an unofficial facebook group set up by a fan
- a “charity angle” – I don’t think the donations to Shelter have been a large driver of success, but they helped prevent the campaign being seen as bullying of Joe and raised over £65k.
This seems like an appropriate way to end 2009 – a big year for Social Media.
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djking:
I am disgusted at this song. I understand protesting x factor but to use a racist, offensive song to do it is misguided and offensive. Nearly any other song would have been more appropriate. I am ashamed to live in a country with such a soong as number 1 at xmas a time of peace and love, not hatred. DJKING
20 December 2009, 7:02 pmflatdog:
Good on you RATM, and good to see the UK public are fed up with this type of warbling drivel forced upon us every year by the large corporate machine driven by Cowell. This kid will have disappeared into obscurity with Rik Waller, Michelle McManus, Darius, etc etc but Rage will still keep on going. Well done Joe Public, tough luck Joe!
20 December 2009, 7:16 pmrenaissance chambara | Ged Carroll - Killing the charts: Rage against X-Factor Update:
[...] multimedia leviathan that is X Factor has been trumped in the charts by Killing in the name by Rage Against The [...]
20 December 2009, 7:34 pmmike:
To DJKing above: It’s an anti-Ku Klux Klan song you utter * moron
20 December 2009, 8:52 pmliz:
@DJKing above: get your act together and do some research. The song is a protest AGAINST RACISM. What a farce! RATM all the way. I’m so glad they got to no.1 and that we’ve raised so much for charity.
20 December 2009, 9:09 pm“Rage Against The Machine beats Joe McElderry to Christmas Number One” and related posts « Twitter:
[...] Facebook takes Rage Against the Machine to Christmas No.1 - FreshNetworks Blog [...]
20 December 2009, 10:19 pmStairsy:
We Could not have a better No 1 for xmas and this goes to prove
that Goliath with millions of pounds budget and priceless prime time tv slots can be eaten… Yes eaten alive by YOU and RATM!!!
I am already gonna set the ball rolling for next years xmas no 1
by suggesting a real great british band who all the grandma’s will love… Let’s go with ‘The Smiths’ and the wonderful christmassy ‘Bigmouth strikes again’… why not eh?
Peace at xmas to you all!!
21 December 2009, 11:00 amRichard Ogden:
We had a lot of very experienced working this as well as a huge number of talented, enthusiastic proactive people.
Our “Experts” were a lot better and far more tuned into what was happening here than their “experts”
21 December 2009, 11:41 amChris:
Amazing! Hope Rage make a comeback. Interesting article about the story here http://bit.ly/8UPCgV
21 December 2009, 1:13 pm“Rage Against The Machine Seal Christmas Number 1!” and related posts « Twitter:
[...] Facebook takes Rage Against the Machine to Christmas No.1 - FreshNetworks Blog [...]
21 December 2009, 5:42 pm“Rage Against The Machine Seal Christmas Number 1!” and related posts | Movie Listings Central:
[...] Facebook takes Rage Against the Machine to Christmas No.1 - FreshNetworks Blog [...]
21 December 2009, 6:35 pmMax:
I think this is politically important. It shows people have power if they get off their arses and join together. (or move their mouse at least) It has also ushered in a new chart selection process..
Here is another campaign celebrating a great British band,
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=231490408007&ref=nf
It proposes to take The Smiths to No 1 on 11th Feb for the 25th Anniversary of Meat Is Murder
Interesting Times.
6 January 2010, 2:45 am