April 7, 2010 56 Comments

How Ben Folds Sold an Album via Chatroulette

First off, I should say that I loathe Chatroulette. It’s a service that lets you randomly video chat with people, and then shuffle to move on to another random person. I went on once for 20 minutes, and found mostly depressed looking guys and naked men (about 1 in 5 shuffles was a guy’s bits).

But the other day, Mashable posted a video that Ben Folds had done, where he would sing spontaneous songs to whatever he saw on the screen during Chatroulette. He calls these “ode to Merton,” and the backstory there is that this other person, Merton, would sing songs to people that connected with him on the service. Ben Folds, being something of a celebrity, has since overshadowed Merton in some senses, while still paying homage. But that’s not really the main point.

The following video is what Ben was doing. NOTE: Some NOT SAFE FOR WORK/KIDS language in the video.

The main point is this: after watching Ben Folds in this video a few times, I was reminded that I like his music. More so, I liked that he embraced a new technology like Chatroulette. More so, I appreciate that he could be extemporaneous. And that, friends, sold Ben one more album. Here’s an amazon affiliate link to the album I bought.

Marketing is sometimes about exposure, awareness, and getting us to connect with the product. By watching Ben interact with people on Chatroulette, I connected with the spirit of what he was doing, and he made another sale. That’s the takeaway.

What say you?

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  • http://www.jeffersonstolarship.com/ Jeff Stolarcyk

    Cool album. The cover of Elton John's “Tiny Dancer” is awesome, especially. I love what he's doing with ChatRoulette – taking something valueless and adding something cool and fun to it. Which is the same principle that marketers should be using, too.

  • http://bbryon.posterous.com/ bbryon

    I enjoyed your assessment of Ben Folds. As a matter of fact on that particular album “Ben Folds Live” he really gets the audience to participate with & while he's playing. I got to see him do a similar set on the Lottapianos tour he did w/ Tori Amos. Ben seems to be the type of artist that genuinely enjoys when a crowd participates & sings along. He's just doing what he does in concert on Chatroulette.
    ~bbryon

  • titusferguson

    I don't fully agree with your assessment that Ben Folds has surpassed Merton. Merton has had over 4 million views on his YouTube videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/pianochatimprov

    This shift in communication has obviously redefined celebrity. Ben Folds has even talked about how he's paying homage to someone like Merton http://mashable.com/2010/04/05/interview-ben-fo…

  • http://twitter.com/NealWiser NealWiser

    You make a very good point about how Chatroulette, or platforms like it, can be leveraged for marketing purposes and I think there's a lot of potential for CR, or services like it. Certainly, the “Pervert Quotient” is a problem (I hear it's getting safer), but I'm surprised you seem to miss the point. Remember when chat rooms were first introduced and you could 'meet' new and hopefully interesting people? CR is basically the same thing, but with modern tech. It may not be to your liking, but the ability to connect with people in new and interesting (and safe for work) ways is always a cool thing.

  • TheOnlineMom

    Chris this is a really good point and you make me think about how technology is also constantly changing and sometimes enhancing how we experience the arts. Chatroulette prior to piano man Merton was just another porn site and now Ben Folds provides yet another angle. Very interesting.

  • http://www.rocknrealty.net Nanette Labastida

    that's brilliant – i kept hearing about the Ben Folds chatroulette but never felt like risking random risque viewings to find it so i'm glad you explained it.
    Ben Folds is pretty rad at engaging, i guess he's a natch, saw him play in London about 13 years ago and he did a really great job of singing too the audience and being “there” it felt like i was at a intimate show – i love it when a performer can acheive that. it's the special ones that can

  • http://rayannelangdon.com Rayanne Langdon

    This was so genius and I LOVE Ben Folds! I'm happy that more people are discovering or re-discovering him because of this : ) In fact, when I drove home to visit my folks over Easter, I listened to one of his albums in whole — something I'm sure very few people do with any album anymore. Heh.

    Stumbing upon Ben Folds while on Chatroulette would be a dream come true.

  • http://bradmarley.com/ Brad

    First, that's a great album. His live shows are legendary.

    Second, Ben Folds understands how to connect with his audience in a way Ashton Kutcher and his quest for one million followers on Twitter never will.

    Not only does he actively engage the audience at his shows — it's like social media, personified — but he has always, at least in my opinion, been at the forefront of using the Web to bring new material to his fans in nontraditional ways.

    Third, I was going to write a blog post about this after I watched the video, but clearly that is no longer an option.

  • http://www.rocknrealty.net Nanette Labastida

    it's totally an option! Do it – you write differenty i'm sure, have a different perspective and a different audience!! :)

  • http://bryonsheffield.com/ Ironshef

    Ben Folds definitely entertains. Reading this, I recalled a post over at Copyblogger that I thought was similarly interesting. To set the stage, it talks about how Bobby McFerrin encourages his audience to be part of creating the entertainment experience.

    I think that folks who appreciate this post and the approach that Folds has taken will appreciate the Bobby McFerrin Business Plan post on Copyblogger.

    Oh, and if you haven't seen the Daily Show send up on Chatroulette, it's worth a look-see as well.

  • http://www.jeff-peters.com/ jpeters1221

    I really liked Ben Folds' use of Chatroulette. Merton's use of a great example of something going viral and Fold's use was a great example of building upon that and leveraging your existing audience. I'm not the biggest Ben Fold's fan but after watching the video, I thought to myself “hmm maybe I should check him out more.” It certainly made for a good addition to the show, though I can't imagine that everyone their live saw…

    I did and still do think that Chatroulette offers opportunity and can be interesting depending on how it's used. Of course there are still a number of issues, especially ones making it not so advertiser friendly and NSFW. Still, I'm curious to see what can happen to the service if if adds some features. If nothing else it's an interesting social experiment.

  • http://www.webconsuls.com/ Judy Helfand

    This is a fun way to start the morning. I need to confess that I had not heard of Chatroulette, but I did write about Google's video chat a year or so ago. If you have time you can read my post here: http://blog.webconsuls.com/2008/11/gmail-voice-…
    I love how spontaneous Ben Fold is and he reminds me of a current day Victor Borge. Maybe you know of him, famous piano entertainer, impromtu…you can watch a video of him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTwrqKPogiI&feat…

    Hope you have a good day…

  • http://kindajaky.blogspot.com/ Jaky Astik

    There is not much to marketing on a new platform. In fact, there are less communities to connect upon but more opportunities for sale. It may be a monopolistic, I guess.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    In the larger sense, I'd say Ben is bigger, but you're right that Merton flipped the funnel around. You've got that right, and that's actually a beautiful story. Maybe I'll track that dude down. : )

  • http://www.mostlymatt.com/ Matt Jacobson

    That's my favorite Ben Folds album. You have to appreciate the way he connects with the audience, especially on the tracks “Not the Same” and “Army”.

    Imagine being there when he did the Chatroulette video – how cool would that be? Half the crowd probably didn't even know what Chatroulette was, but they sure did by the time they left the concert. It was a terrific ode to Merton. Ben definitely wasn't trying to overshadow Merton, but instead show how much he admired his idea. Merton has since released a 2nd video and hopefully will keep them coming.

  • http://www.pureluxury.com Gina

    I think that this is perfect for his personality and definitely a way for him to sell albums. I've only tried Chatroulette once just to see Merton because of the man-bits porno.

  • http://www.superdumbsupervillain.com/ superdumb

    I am pretty sure that is what the internet was made for.

  • http://www.mikestenger.com Mike Stenger

    Totally agree Chris. When customers can connect with something on a deeper level, something more meaningful, they're much more prone to purchasing the product or service. With most advertising and marketing, it's very ineffective in the way that it speaks AT someone and in a way that feels like you're being sold.

    What do you think?

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    That's incredible. I've always loved his music (remember watching MTV when they did an unplugged show in 97), but now I have more respect for Ben than ever before.

    That's not only hilarious, but bad ass.

  • http://socialmediabyjoe.com/ Joe

    This is a great illustration of how powerful social media has become in today's world. If a person chooses to embrace social media absolutely anything is possible! Ben Folds has created an experience that I'm sure all in attendance will remember forever. What a great way to brand yourself while providing a memorable lifetime experience. Thank you for the consistent and steady flow of valuable news, tips and insight, not to mention the huge belly laugh that I got from this video.

  • http://www.rondegiusti.com/ Ron De Giusti

    I have never visited Chatroulette, but I've seen all the spoofs and comments people have been writing about this service.

    It has got me thinking though. Shouldn't a company like LavaLife or some other online dating company buy this technology? They could use it privately for their own clients or perhaps use it for something like speed dating online.

    And that gets me thinking more how … all these social media services that are out there today, like Foursquare or even Twitter, would have many uses for companies if companies could buy the services and use the services privately for their own employees internally. For example, Foursquare would be great for tracking employees in the field and Twitter would be fantastic for someone in a very large organization looking for help from someone else in their organization.

  • Pingback: Brad Marley » Blog Archive » Social Media Is Old Hat For Ben Folds

  • http://twitter.com/TAGtribe TAGtribe

    I love the way he's taking advantage of what's already there to benefit his work!

  • http://www.nikkipilkington.com NikkiPilkington

    Just shows that sometimes jumping on the bandwagon is a good thing – I still can't bring myself to spend more than 5 minutes on ChatRoulette though!

  • http://TheTinySoprano.com/ Natalie Christie

    I think I should get on there and start singing opera to all of those dodgy guys, that would probably clear the deck within a couple of minutes. ;)

  • http://twitter.com/tristano Keith Tristano

    Funny Chris, the same thing happened to me, being reminded how much I dig Ben Folds – but I was standing in the crowd at Lollapallooza in the rain…

  • http://twitter.com/alanweinkrantz Alan Weinkrantz

    Ben Folds in his own right is a brand that works well with Chat Roulette. I could not see The Rolling Stones or at another extreme, Marie Osmond doing this. While this is certainly innovative and very cool, what works for one voice may not work for another. The real take away for me in this is that even if you are at the top of a food chain as Ben Folds / Ben Folds Five is, you must continue to innovate and break through.

  • http://socialdeviants.blogspot.com/ janet

    We talked about this very thing at the MEIEA Conference in Miami end of March. I wrote about musicians using social media well (and not so well) on the SD blog. Feel free to take a peek http://ow.ly/1w4he

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I'm not a fan.

  • http://www.melaniekissell.com melaniekissell

    Makes you wonder that maybe the best path to take is “off the beaten path”. :-)

    There always seems to be something a bit edgy, magnetic, and gutsy about people like Ben. Ya gotta love those iconoclasts!

  • wago

    Tell the truth Chris, are you the Jose Cuervo Viking guy? :-)

  • http://twitter.com/Wordful Charles Bohannan

    That's awesome. Ben Folds (Five) reminds me of some of the good old days. I love people using social media in insanely creative ways, and this definitely qualifies.

  • Pingback: Brad Marley » Blog Archive » Weekly Grab Bag – April 9, 2010

  • http://www.riverwoodwriter.com/ Elizabeth H. Cottrell

    Oh my gosh, this made my morning…not often that something so original and entertaining and funky comes along. What a great example of innovative use of technology!

  • http://www.DailyBeerReview.com/ Rob

    Chatroulette was highlighted on the newest episode of South Park a few nights ago. It was hilarious that the boys spent hours just trying to find one friend that wasn't a naked guy!

  • hackmanj

    Great post, thanks for saving me 20 minutes of my life looking at depressed guys bits! Very funny, but as always the professor was in the house. You demonstrated to us why we should keep plugging away and trying new things. It sells albums, widgets, cookies, services, etc.

    You inspired a post on my blog, intended to be both humorous and informative:

    Nurph vs Chatroulette battle for top web handshake (Video) http://bit.ly/c7LfrZ

    Thanks for adding value to my social media experience.

    Joe

  • annejaa

    I think that's nice!Ben Folds always have a great show and its always been hilarious.Also he definitely has better improved chops.
    r4i sdhc

  • Pingback: Taking Aim at Chatroulette « Only in Public

  • http://christophercatania.com Chris Catania

    Even though I don't think ChatRoulette is anything that great by itself, I was excited to see what Ben Folds did with ChatRoulette because it created a sort of meta-concert experience that broke down the barriers and made us think of concerts in a new way. Using technology like Folds did makes the whole concert experience more interactive for bands and fans and pushes boundaries. And I hope we see more bands experiment with live concert and social technologies, because each time I interview a concert fan or write a concert review I realize that we have so much more to discover when it comes to creating a truly transcendent, communal and connected concert experience.

  • http://www.zoombits.co.uk/ memory stick

    I kept chance most the Ben Folds chatroulette but never felt like risking random risque viewings to find it so i am pleased you explained it,Second, Ben Folds understands how to connect with his audience in a way choreographer Kutcher and his hunt for digit million followers on never will twitter.

  • http://desireekane.com/ Desiree Kane

    That's at the Filmore in Charlotte, NC!

  • chatroulettewiki

    what can I say.i just want to say.different people do different thing. No big deal.

    In fact.why is there more and more adnormal people.

  • http://www.yuregininsesi.com yuregininsesi

    This is a great illustration of how powerful social media has become in today's world. If a person chooses to embrace social media absolutely anything is possible! Ben Folds has created an experience that I'm sure all in attendance will remember forever. What a great way to brand yourself while providing a memorable lifetime experience.

  • http://localposition.com/about/ Local SEO

    This is certainly innovative and very cool, what works for one voice may not work for another. The real take away for me in this is that even if you are at the top of a food chain as Ben Folds you must continue to innovate and break through.

  • http://www.lead411.com/Amir_Abedinifar_2918687.html Amir Abedinifar

    What a great way to brand yourself while providing a memorable lifetime experience. Thank you for the consistent and steady flow of valuable news, tips and insight, not to mention the huge belly laugh that I got from this video.

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    If a person chooses to embrace social media absolutely anything is possible! Ben Folds has created an experience that I’m sure all in attendance will remember forever.

  • http://www.lead411.com/Frank_Amabile_1998714.html Frank Amabile

    Using technology like Folds did makes the whole concert experience more interactive for bands and fans and pushes boundaries. And I hope we see more bands experiment with live concert and social technologies, because each time I interview a concert fan or write a concert review I realize that we have so much more to discover when it comes to creating a truly transcendent, communal and connected concert experience.

  • http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/G-K-Scott-LLC-100076952 GK Scott

    If a person chooses to embrace social media absolutely anything is possible! Ben Folds has created an experience that I’m sure all in attendance will remember forever.

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