.png)
September 4, 2024
Whether it’s bragging about your strength, future fame, or taking on rivals, it can feel repetitive and uninspiring after a while. So, what do you do when you’re tired of writing the same thing...
Read more.png)
September 3, 2024
Starting a band and getting your first gig can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re juggling a full-time job and a passion for music. But don’t worry—many famous musicians have been in...
Read more.png)
September 3, 2024
If you’ve been searching for musicians who share your passion for breakcore, drum and bass, jungle, or other less mainstream genres on platforms like BandLab, it can be frustrating to feel like...
Read more.png)
September 3, 2024
The idea of hiring a traditional manager might seem premature, but finding someone who can handle your online presence and help you network could be exactly what you need to take your career...
Read more.png)
August 26, 2024
If you’re a songwriter who can sing but can’t play an instrument, you may feel like you’ve hit a roadblock in your creative journey. You have the ideas in your head, but you’re unsure how to turn...
Read more.png)
August 26, 2024
For many newer producers, it can be confusing to understand the importance of mastering, especially when your mix feels polished and balanced. However, mastering is an essential step in the...
Read more.png)
August 25, 2024
If you’ve been writing music for a decade but are just starting to dive into vocal melodies, you’re not alone in facing challenges with phrasing and creating vocal dynamics that don’t feel repetitive.
Read more.png)
August 23, 2024
Adding FX and ear candy can feel like a daunting task, especially when you start to overthink the process. However, these little details are often what bring a track to life, adding depth, excitement.
Read more.png)
August 21, 2024
If you’ve just stepped into the world of music production, vocal stutters can be a fun and impactful technique to add excitement and energy to your tracks. You’ve heard that fast vocal stutter at...
Read more.png)
August 21, 2024
If you’ve been experimenting with synthesizers, you know the quest for a perfect synth sound can be a challenging but rewarding process. Whether you’re looking for something clean yet huge, or...
Read more.png)
August 21, 2024
Hey there, fellow music creators! Whether you’re balancing a day job, DJ gigs, and music production, or just feeling creatively stuck, you’re not alone. Many of us hit a wall at some point, where...
Read more.png)
August 21, 2024
In this article, we’ll explore the most efficient ways to master your creative process as a beatmaker, and how you can learn from one of the most respected producers in the game: J Dilla.
Read more
People.com
Sam Smith just released their new album “Gloria” on the 27th of January. As described by Pitchfork, “Gloria flips between hyperpop, country, dancehall, disco, 2-step, and intimate, Kehlani-esque R&B”. Through the different genres, the album features Ed Sheeran, Koffee, Jessie Reyez, and Kim Petras.
“Unholy”, featuring Kim Petras, was the second single from this album to be released. It dropped on September 22, 2022, and ended up being incredibly successful. It reached #1 on the US Hot 100 chart and also spent quite a long time topping the UK charts as well. To this day, it is still in the US top 10.
The song’s success was helped by an intense social media marketing campaign. Unholy’s catchy chorus was perfectly suited for a TikTok audio - and Capitol Records knew that.
The Campaign & Launch
Capitol UK’s general manager (Tom Paul) is credited as the mind behind the marketing campaign for “Unholy”, and he helped Smith orchestrate a release of a sample on TikTok in August.
Paul’s plan worked, and it blew up almost instantly on the app. Fans were shocked to hear this kind of sound coming from Sam Smith, and demands for the song’s release came quickly as it gained traction with various trends.
.png)
People.com
The most popular variation of this audio now has >2.5 million videos using that sound, not to mention countless other variations with hundreds of thousands of video uses.
Smith rode that wave of interest, and continued to do so for a very long time.
A side effect of the song being everywhere was that fans got used to the 20-second earworm. Usually, when a song blows up on the app, users can then search for the full song, and not being able to do so was frustrating to some fans. Hearing the same part over and over again did not help this.
Videos started popping up on TikTok with fans expressing their concerns. The common theme among these videos is how they already felt “over” the song, and that they should have released “Unholy” at its peak while it was trending.
The label did intend to release it sooner, however, the Queen’s death pushed back the song’s release by another week. Even before that setback, it was already a popular audio for well over a month.
Some fans also had an issue with Unholy’s length. At only two minutes and 37 seconds, fans felt that there was not much material beyond the audio they had already been exposed to. Additionally, fans found that the audio on TikTok sounded dramatic and rich, whereas the final release was more muted.
Key Takeaways
The idea to promote the catchiest part as a TikTok audio was an excellent one - it drove an immense amount of anticipation for the release. However, if you tease a song for too long you run the risk of fans moving on to other things.
By teasing music on social media, artists are able to receive feedback about what works and what doesn’t on their songs. Unholy’s punchy, bass-intensive chorus on TikTok never came to fruition, which led to disappointed fans. Artists should be sure to pay attention to the feedback they receive about what works and what doesn’t prior to release.
While “Unholy” was still incredibly popular and a commercial success for Smith and their label, you can’t help but wonder if it would have done even better if they had released it sooner.
