iTunes Shines A Light on Independent Artist

NEW YORK, NY, October 20, 2010

The Apple iTunes Store is better known for hawking the latest Katy Perry and Lady Gaga singles than for taking chances on new artists. Over the years, the official line has been a repeated assertion that the company is in the market to fill iPods, and that they have no designs on becoming a record label. But with the traditional label-driven music industry now a largely outmoded system, it seems more than coincidental that iTunes has begun to champion unsigned, independent artists.

Regardless of Apple's motivations, one can certainly see where an artist would stand to gain from an iTunes push. New York City band Senator and the New Republic were featured in two iTunes campaigns late this summer. First, the Beatlesque pop band were given free real estate on the store's homepage. Then the iTunes editorial staff chose the Senator track "Intermission" for the much-coveted "Single of the Week" promotion, a prominently featured free download on the site's main page. This is a placement that "major labels pay thousands of dollars" for, according to Senator bandleader Adam Greenberg—so why would iTunes give it away to a practically unknown act?

The tight-lipped public-relations department at Apple may not provide many clues but, says Greenberg, the feature may have actually resulted from some good, old-fashioned love of music.

Greenberg self-released the Senator and the New Republic album in early 2010. In July, he was contacted by an alternative-music representative from iTunes—"I was actually in an Apple store when I got the e-mail," he says. The representative explained that he'd seen a Senator and the New Republic poster in the background on the website for New York nightclub the Bitter End. "The cover art caught his eye," says Greenberg. "Turns out he had liked my song 'Bettie Page.'"

Senator and the New Republic were given a "huge" banner on the site's Singer-Songwriter page. "The banner was up for six weeks," says Greenberg. On request, he then submitted the video for the song "Intermission."

Weeks later, he received a call from an unknown number. "I was afraid to answer because I thought it might be creditors," he jokes. "I changed my voice just in case." It was the iTunes representative, explaining that though "Intermission" had been passed over for a video feature, he liked the song so much he got it approved for Single of the Week.

"It's the single biggest promotion they have," says Greenberg.

Having a champion within the largest music retailer in the United States has its perks: "Intermission" was downloaded 65,000 times in its first day online, registering nearly 300,000 clicks the first week of September, its featured period. "While all of that was happening, I got a call from a booking agent in California. She must have been paying attention [to the iTunes feature]."

What's surprising here is the direct outreach to an artist, from iTunes. The store typically communicates with artists through distributors, and to the public via press releases. This kind of hands-on marketing could be a new model for the store as the music industry continues its long period of adjustment.

Still, Greenberg downplays any immediate impact from the iTunes exposure. "We'll see what it generates in the long run." He hopes it at least translates to ticket sales when it comes to his band's upcoming tour: Senator and the New Republic set out this month for a two-week jaunt through the southeast, their first such outing. (Dates are available at senatorsenator.com.)

Now that more than a quarter-million people have heard the music of Senator and the New Republic, it would seem this band is well on their way to infiltrating the mainstream, proving iTunes' potential as a kingmaker for independent acts.