Has anyone actually heard this band?
Apparently, they are single-handedly going to save the world.
Have the Arctic Monkeys changed the music business? Laura Barton
Tuesday October 25, 2005
The Guardian
The Arctic Monkeys swung toward the no 1 slot this Sunday with an unstoppable momentum. That their single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, is a knuckly belter of a song, has been eclipsed by the fact that theirs is a success born of a "DIY marketing campaign", an "internet phenomenon" that has allowed the Sheffield four-piece to flourish "despite not receiving much airplay".
<img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/arts/2005/10/25/arctic3.jpg" alt=" - " />
The internet unarguably played a hefty role in the band's success: from the start, their website not only allowed fans to download songs which subsequently spread like a rampant outbreak of nits, but also enabled the band to maintain a direct, Doherty-esque contact with fans. "The internet is the root of it all," says their publicist. "They're part of that generation."
However their ascent has not been without mainstream support. A demo track was played on Radio 1 as early as March, NME cuttings came in May with the self-release of their first single and in June, the band signed to Domino, home of Franz Ferdinand. Ever since, the buzz has been insufferable. But it is not, their publicist claims, down to them: "All we've done, press-wise, is 15 interviews, and three are yet to run."
With constant airplay - the alternative radio station XFM, for example, has played IBYLGOTD 250 times since September, and currently plays it every three hours - so furious is the public level of desire that the band recently sold out the Astoria, a top London venue, with tickets touted for £100.
So while claims that this is the beginning of a music industry putsch are a little hysterical, the Arctic Monkeys' success does certainly reflect a failure of major labels to engage with or prescribe to music-lovers. The simple fact that the internet allows a fledgling band's music to be heard without label assistance has heralded a joyous new musical socialism. As the Monkeys write on their website: "It dawned on me that there are no leaders in all this or no plan or scheme, other than what's unfolding. People understanding it, relating to it, not relating to it but dancing to it, whatever."
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1599973,00.html?gusrc=r
