Street Teams - CHEAP LABOUR OR HARMLESS FUN?

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Haha, Universal has been busted over using little kiddies to promote Busted.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15002495&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=cheap-labour-or-harmless-fun--name_page.html
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1378041,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1377312,00.html

"Visitors to the band's official website who wanted to sign up to the "Busted Street Team" yesterday were unable to access the website. Fans were told it was offline because it was "too busy". The group's official message board was also down"

Looks like The Guardian 'discovered' street-teamery at the weekend and now the tabloids are beginning to catch on.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 04:24 (twenty years ago)

Meanwhile, America has its own problems.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 04:26 (twenty years ago)

Like this: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/watw/02-09/avril.shtml

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 04:44 (twenty years ago)

I'd like to take this opportunity to say that Warp Records has a bunch of cunts in it's promotions department. Stop sending me fruitionless mails. BAD practice.

― hi warp, Wednesday, 22 December 2004 05:34 (twenty years ago)

Did you know Insound.com (YES THE STORE) is starting a street team? WHO THE HELL WANTS TO BE ON THAT

― Mickey, Wednesday, 22 December 2004 06:29 (twenty years ago)

Now The Times is on the case. This story could run and run.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Tuesday, 28 December 2004 14:03 (twenty years ago)

The New York Times magazine had an article about this in November. They rediscovered the fact that the U. S. of Annoyica is chockful of mindless cheerleaders who can be enlisted to talk up anything in chat rooms, e-mails, on websites and in casual conversation for almost nothing.

It wasn't confined to the entertainment industry. It's a corporate trend to enlist people who are nuts and weak-willed and who can be bought with trinkets to do guerilla promotions of products. The article made it look like it was confined to white middle and upper middle class types, a few who who babbled inanely, like cult members, about the thrill and privilege of secretly pushing goods no one really needs.

― George Smith, Tuesday, 28 December 2004 17:52 (twenty years ago)

Gang Of Four should write a song about it.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 December 2004 17:56 (twenty years ago)

You never know...an idea like this could have come from someone like Dave Allen or Hugo Burnham, since both worked in A&R at one point.

― earlnash, Tuesday, 28 December 2004 21:46 (twenty years ago)

Oh, you can go way, way back through American consumer shilling for this. Howza about record companies trying to put ringers on Dick Clark's American Bandstand rate-a-record segment? Or indie promotional firms using phone banks to ring up the MTV requested video hits line in the 80's? Or...there's probably hundreds of examples.

― George Smith, Tuesday, 28 December 2004 21:51 (twenty years ago)

this has been goin' on for years

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 28 December 2004 23:08 (twenty years ago)

these things aren't even mutually exclusive! it's both! but that pfork piece was momentarily hilarious.

― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 01:42 (twenty years ago)

Hey man, I just saw this great band, do you want me to tell you all about them? they're called (cont ad nauseam)

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 18:35 (twenty years ago)

Are the parantheses part of the name?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 18:43 (twenty years ago)

What kind of idiot would shill a product for free?

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 18:51 (twenty years ago)

(cont ad nauseam) is a rad band, their guitarist is such a *swoon* dreamboat!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 30 December 2004 17:48 (twenty years ago)

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