In just over a week, our post, “On Chart Integrity,” has attracted a ton of attention from bloggers, artists, and magazines. I am excited that we could start such a conversation about music, marketing, and integrity on the web.
To move it in a new direction we’ve removed the list of artists in the earlier post. Even though we’ve made it clear that it was impossible for us to identify the people creating the accounts & favoriting the content (nor was it possible to determine the relationship that those people have with the artists), it was still tempting for some readers to jump to conclusions.
Discussing such conclusions distracted us from the real question. Neil Cartwright, who works with Master Shortie, refocused the conversation by asking: “What is the difference between hype & promotion, when is it marketing or manipulation and where is the balance?“
Judging by the responses we’ve received to our earlier post, there are many answers to this question, some of which we seriously disagree with. We think the answer is simple: make great music and do the right thing. Work with people who will do the same.
Quality is hyperefficient, so much of the marketing will happen on its own. The rest will be about getting your amazing music out there in a way that’s consistent with you and how you work.
Where is that line for you? What is promotion and what’s manipulation?
We’ve recently made some changes to the popular page so that it reflects the number of people who’ve favorited the track in the past three days.
Shortly after we made the change, we were alerted by the Sweet Touch blog about an artist (or their team) potentially altering the charts. We then started reviewing account activity across the entire site and were able to confirm this and find other bands and blogs engaging in similar activity.
We found several artists (or their representatives) and blogs creating numerous accounts on the site and favoriting their tracks to get higher visibility in the charts. Because we’ve only recently switched to a chart based on the number of favorites, their efforts were not fruitful, however. We’ve locked the accounts we found doing this and suspended tracking blogs we’ve detected contributing.
We’ve also taken some extra measures to prevent this in the future. If you have feedback on measures you think will be effective, feel free to write using our contact form. The integrity of what ends up on the Hype Machine is paramount, so we welcome more ideas and constructive criticism.
Finally, here is a list of artists (or their managers, promoters, interns, determined fans, there is no way to ultimately know) who we believe have attempted to alter the charts on the Hype Machine. We thought we’d publish this list to let everyone make their own judgments about quality, integrity and marketing strategies:
Having reviewed feedback and site activity in the past couple of months, we’ve just published a change to our Popular page.
Here is what’s on the page now: Popular (default view) – the most favorited tracks from the past 3 days. Once a track is older than 3 days, it will not appear on this list. Popular Last Week – the most favorited tracks of the previous week.
What changed?
The previous version of the Popular page offered two views: a view based on the number plays & blog post clicks and a view based on the number of favorites. We found that determining popularity by the number of favorites made the process more transparent and easier for everyone to understand — what do you think?
It’s that time already! Our Annual User Survey is our time to gather basic details of who you are, how you use the Hype Machine, and what you think we can improve! It’s only 2 pages and will help us make the site even better.
Take our Annual User Survey (UPDATE: Now Closed)
And for your time, we’ll be giving away some ridiculously cool merch from companies we’ve hand-selected to participate:
(3) A pair of Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Earphones!
These babies provide an incredible, noise-isolating listening experience and retail for $170. Listening to the Hype Machine will never be the same.
(2) A custom portrait by Mel Stringer
Mel will hand draw you a digital portrait of you or a loved one! Check out her awesome portfolio or get your own for $70 by emailing her.
(2) Hype Machine MIXA Cassette (USB Drive)
These limited edition Hype Machine style USB drives look just like a cassette (and even come in a cassette case) but are actually a full sized USB drive. Perfect for gift giving your latest mix!
(2) Hype Machine Green T-Shirts
Been drooling over it in our shop but haven’t bought one yet? Now’s your chance to snag one for free!
(2) Hype Machine Vinyl Necklaces
Yep, they are made with authentic recycled vinyl and yep, they really are that sexy.
Hype Machine indexes hundreds of music sites and collects their latest posts for easy streaming and discovery. We're here to help you find the best new music first.
