p2pnet - rss feed: UMG exploits UK schoolgirls
p2p news / p2pnet:- The BBC seems to think it’s cool that UMG, the world’s largest record company, is exploiting English schoolgirls as it tries to get its overprice its junk ahead of other over-priced junk pumped out by EMI, Warner and Sony BMG, the other three members of the Big Four record label cartel.
“Head girls at some of Britain’s top schools are being targeted in the music business’ latest ploy to sell to young people,” says the BBC, asking, “Are they the new trend gurus?”
Trend gurus? Really tacky marketing gimmick is a better way of describing it.
“Universal Records is blitzing head girls at every all-girl school in Britain with Jamie Cullum promotion packs, which include posters, stickers and copies of his new CD,” says the Beeb, going on:
“There’s nothing new about this sort of marketing. Hip brands use so-called cool hunters to track buying trends among young people, handing them freebies as a way of spreading the word.”
And why not?
The cartel is already using its enforcement units such as the BPI to sue people into buying formulaic ‘product,’ not to mention the fact it’s flooding schools with spurious ‘education’ programs.
In the US, teaching institutions at all levels are now accepted entertainment movie and music industry marketing, sales and PR outlets run by unpaid school staffs and funded by school fees.
Why should the UK be any different?
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See:-
BBC - The world according to head girls, September 16, 2005
September 18th, 2005 at 8:01 pm
By chance and through my kids I know three head boys and girls in local schools. Frankly they are very likely to take whatever sweeteners UMG give out, feed them bad information back again and go on listening to left field trip-hop, trance and ambient that is well off the mainstream. They’d consider it a duty to stick one up Jamie Cullum as he’s one of many mainstream artists they actively despise.
There’s something slightly surreal about all this. Jamie Cullum’s natural audience is 40 somethings not early teens. Isn’t it?
September 18th, 2005 at 11:23 pm
What i find absolutley replusive, is the fact that the goverment/schools must be cooperating in some way with them. I wonder what kind of kickbacks the corrupt politicians/councilers are getting.
It seems to be common practise these days for schools to indulge in the act of propagating propaganda.
There should be laws against promotion/propaganda campaigns against schools and children.
September 19th, 2005 at 10:46 am
This forum of “marketing” was used by cigarette makers for years - find the in-crowd, give them free smokes then watch as they walk around promoting your brand.
September 19th, 2005 at 7:34 pm
This si the same thing peer to peer is doing. It is promoting product at almost zero distribution costs.