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#1
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![]() I was watching a TV program, and I heard that apparently in their early years, the Beatles tried to use the words "I" and "you" as often as possible in their songs....
It's well known by copywriters that the word "you" gets attention. People hear "you" and their attention perks up! That's why "you" is often used in ads, especially in direct response ads (where they can actually measure the results).... So - could this copywriting technique be (partly) the source of the Beatles' early success? Makes you think, doesn't it... :) - Dien Rice How to be a Success... |
#2
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![]() Not really, although it's something to think about.
There were several components to the success and word choice was just one of them. What works for lyrics (add rhythmn and music) can sound horribly trite when spoken or read. "Ode to Joy" and other pieces of Beethoven's music are immortal, but there's little "I" or "you" in there. Many counterexamples can be given. ...although it WOULD be interesting to analyze top songs for the past mumble years and compare the "I/you/me" content in them (I'm going for a PhD in Anthropology, so for the next six years or so you can expect to read me mumbling about "...but you know, someone COULD investigate that just to see if there's really anything to that notion..." Occupational hazard of anthropologist-wannabe.) 5 minute mentor |
#3
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![]() ... sorry - I'm not normally insulting, but i just couldn't resist and it'll become clear shortly:
The Beatles were successful due to a "vaccuum". That vaccuum was the baby boom. The boomers have always demanded more when they've hit certain ages... yes, that subject has been talked about on this forum and countless other forums ad infinitum... ...so let me get to the point: When the greatest number of "rock n roll" record buying boomers hit their teen years, somebody - ANYBODY - was going to fill that void... yes, Elvis was big - but he was really the first "litmus test" that the market existed... and once the world understood that the this new "thing" had legs (Elvis, Buddy Holly, etc. - the early REAL Rock N Rollers) ...the search was on to find the biggest "bestest" possible act. So after several years it was bound to happen that the right talent (3 extremely talented singers and song writers/musicians- sorry, but Ringo was a tag along and we all know it) ...was formed at the right time meeting the right manager (Brian Epstein - who was able to get their names and faces everywhere) ...with the right look and the right sound.... again, to the right market wave that demanded it. If they hadn't been there - someone would've filled the vaccuum... and, no, they might not have been as big ...but they definitely would have the mantle the Beatles own in history. All of these elements are the reason why there never ever will be a surge like the one that the Beatles were involved in - at least not in our lifetimes and probably for at least another few hundred years, or till whenever there is another baby boom bigger than the last. Such gigantic mass appeal "hysterical phenonmenon" requires a very broad "mass market". Those kinds of markets don't exist anymore (for music anyway)... ...those boomers are now retiring, dying or collecting things (like Beatles memorabilia) ... they splintered into too many different musical tastes - and the succeeding generations are certainly nowhere near as solid a mass - nor do they have the numbers to create the same kind of surge... ...so whenever I hear this notion that it was the Beatles that "caused" this phenomenon - I feel compelled to point out that it's really quite the opposite... it was the boomers that demanded something - anything - and the Beatles filled that niche... they were in the right place at the right time with the right sound and enough talent to make it last a very long time. They were the ultimate marketers... they knew how to stay ahead of the game way in advance. Example: Remember Sgt. Pepper? Okay - everybody thinks this was the Beatles being so "with it" and "cool" that they led the way with the "Summer of Love" ... hey folks ... that's not how it happened - they saw their popularity with "Beatlemania" ending - they just saw the curve in the road - and where it was going - before anyone else. Want proof? In 1966 Dick Clark was talking with a group of kids on American Bandstand asking them what they listened to - and nobody was saying the Beatles. When Clark asked why - one kid simply said "I don't know anyone who listens to them anymore" ... a year later Sgt. Pepper came out and while it seemed the boys had transitioned into a natural next step - it was really a shrewd understanding of where the road was going. (History doesn't really record those kids comments - but they're there... you just have to get past the hype about the Beatles - whom I adore, btw, and read between the lines). So again, my point is that YOU guys on this forum - as people who are MARKETERS or at the very least have been contributing on a marketing forum - should've seen this WAYYYYY before anybody else. Just my 2 cents Anon P.S. - The above insults are tongue-in-cheek - just pokin' fun (This has been a "Michael Ross" disclaimer) |
#4
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![]() to me anyhow. :)
However, you gotta admit - those early Beatles hits sure did have a lot of "I's" and "you's" - and I was stunned to hear that it was by design.... If you really wanna have a hit - read the book "The Manual" by the KLF. (There are some copies floating around online....) The KLF had a few hits in the late 80s/early 90s, and in their book - written BEFORE their main success - reveals their "formula".... You know how copywriters talk about having a "swipe file"? Well.... Let's just say that the KLF applied this concept to popular music! (And legally - without breaching copyright!) - Dien Rice 4 business ideas every week |
#5
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![]() > to me anyhow. :)
--> Dien, it was interesting to me too - and honestly, knowing how much a true businessman (and not so much an artist) John Lennon was, I tend to think there might be some truth in what you say! > However, you gotta admit - those early > Beatles hits sure did have a lot of > "I's" and "you's" - and > I was stunned to hear that it was by > design.... --> You aint kiddin'. > If you really wanna have a hit - read the > book "The Manual" by the KLF. > (There are some copies floating around > online....) The KLF had a few hits in the > late 80s/early 90s, and in their book - > written BEFORE their main success - reveals > their "formula".... --> I gotta' find this! > You know how copywriters talk about having a > "swipe file"? Well.... Let's just > say that the KLF applied this concept to > popular music! (And legally - without > breaching copyright!) --> Actually, this I very much believe ... there are quite a few songs out there in which you can hear the motif's of other popular songs, but then half-way through the melody, some key notes will be changed... brilliant, brilliant idea... not only are you getting people to "wake up" at hearing a familiar tune, but then you're instantly switching them into your own stuff. (Not that I would ever do such a thing ... it's just sorta' the way you admire some thieves in their cunning and expertise... that's all :) Anon |
#6
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![]() Hey, no need for disclaimers. HA!
A search through the archives will find my opinion on Right Time Right Place related success. Success that is very difficult to duplicate. But there are some other interesting things about the Beatles... Hair Style. At that time, short back and sides (Crew Cuts) was it. The Beatles were like long-haired louts. Rebels of the age. Songs. Each song can pretty well be instantly recognised by the intro. The only trip up I can think of Ticket To Ride and Day Tripper (I think it's those two. Someone with more Beatles knowledge should know the two songs I'm thinking of. - a little like how sometimes Brown Sugar is confused with Jumpin' Jack Flash) Length. The early songs were short. Ideal for radio. Billy Joel hinted at this in his song "The Entertainer"... If you're wanna have a hit you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3 oh 5. Can you imagine Bat Out of Hell or Kashmir being played on normal radio. At 8 minutes those songs are way too long. Can't get in enough ads. Image. Their early garb was like a Uniform. Great for merchandising. Try selling S Club dolls. HA! Catchy. The simplicity of their songs - which appear formula written (verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus) - were catchy. Get people singing along and sales will do better. Worst thing to do is write a song that needs 12 listens to "get." Combine all this with your other comments - talent, timing, etc. - and you have the success that was the Beatles. HOWEVER. Of interest is Paul McCartney's comments once that Wings made more money than the Beatles ever did. Beatles are certainly worthy of study. As too are ABBA. Another Right Time Right Place Coincidence group. Michael Ross One year old next week |
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