KEY FINDINGS

Our Top Picks This Week

• Radio, someone still loves you. (Link)

• The Culture is Changing at Warp Speed. (Link)

• ‘The TikTok era is over. Artists aren’t being signed based on one thing going viral anymore’. (Link)

• ByteDance would shut down TikTok in US rather than sell it, sources say. (Link)

• Instagram algorithm tweaks boost original content and smaller creators. (Link)

• Everyone was wrong declaring Pitchfork dead. (Link)

• ABC appoints new head of music. (Link)

• Anyone who thinks that they can go and conquer the world alone is being penny-wise and pound-foolish. (Link)

• Read Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge’s letter to staff on TikTok settlement. (Link)

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FEATURE

How Cindy Lee’s 'Diamond Jubilee' Has Skyrocketed, Without Spotify or Social Media.

Securing a release’s presence on DSPs like Apple Music and Spotify is typically considered one of the most important stages of a pre-release campaign. For many artists it’s a given.

But that’s not the case for Cindy Lee - the alternate persona of Calgary artist Patrick Flegel.

Cindy Lee’s new album “Diamond Jubilee” can only be purchased in .WAV format from the Geocities website or streamed as one continuous video on YouTube - where it’s been streamed 420,000+ times. 

The mysterious release has been exploding across the internet since its release on 29 March.

This week, we’re unpacking why that’s the case.

Garnering Attention for Peculiarity

Cindy Lee can’t be found on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or X (Twitter) and “Diamond Jubilee” was released without the assistance of a traditional promotional campaign.

The release hasn’t been bolstered by any push or campaign on social media.  A representative from Toronto’s Transmit Presents - who have worked on one of Cindy Lee’s upcoming shows - told Billboard that there wasn’t even a press release sent for the album drop.  

Word of mouth has been a major generator of traction for the new release. A key discussion point for media and listeners alike is simply the mystery surrounding “Diamond Jubilee”.

A significant milestone for the release came when Pitchfork scored the album a 9.1/10, reportedly the highest score awarded to an album since 2020 when Fiona Apple’s “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” received a 10/10.

Pitchfork isn’t the only tastemaker publication that’s picked up the release. The album’s been covered by the likes of Billboard, The Needle Drop, GQ, Stereogum and Brooklyn Vegan, with many discussing the enigmatic release approach.

Creating a Sense of Scarcity and Community

From limited edition vinyl releases to intimate shows, we know that many music lovers are drawn in by a sense of exclusivity.

“Diamond Jubilee” can be downloaded by anyone (and it only comes with a suggested donation amount) on Geocities. It’s also free to access and public on YouTube.

But it goes without saying that the album’s reach is significantly limited by a lack of presence on major DSPs. This has created a sense of exclusivity surrounding the record. It belongs to Cindy Lee’s more invested fans; those who are willing to step outside of their usual streaming habits to consume it.

There’s a real sense of community and nostalgia that’s arrived alongside “Diamond Jubilee”. One of our favourite drivers of that has been the Geocities website. The site’s design is reminiscent of MySpace or Tumblr eras of internet design. It’s far from clean cut, instead it has a DIY feel.

That sense of community is transferring through to Cindy Lee’s live shows. Concerts for the “Diamond Jubilee” release have sold out and upgraded to larger venues in both Montreal and Toronto, shortly following the release.

The Takeaway

The case of Cindy Lee’s “Diamond Jubilee” is an anomaly and a fantastic example of a strong new release standing on its own two feet.

While it lacked a typical promotional campaign, it’s exemplified how the combination of outside of the box thinking, media support and a sense of community can elevate a release - something that should be kept in mind for promotional campaigns at any scale.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}