Lucky me. I get to live in the most vibrant music city in America – Detroit, of course. Now I know that if you’re reading this from Nashville or Austin, you’ve got a bone to pick with me.
And New Yorkers and Los Angelinos will probably push back a bit, too. Same thing if you’re in Seattle.
Now if you’re in Cleveland, don’t even start with me. I’ll just say you’re already fortunate (OK, lucky) to have the Rock Hall of Fame. So, don’t push it.
The Motor City (and the entire state of Michigan) has a deep music history with major artists representing all music genres. And the big names – from Motown to Bob Seger to Eminem.
The list goes on – Alice, Grand Funk, Bill Haley & the Comets, Steve Wonder, Suzi Quatro, the Romantics, CeCe Winans, Earl Klugh, Sponge, Lizzo (born in Detroit before moving to Houston at age 10), Greta Van Fleet, Marshall Crenshaw, and too many others to mention here.
Many were on display performing live last month at the grand (re)opening of the Michigan Central Train Station in downtown Detroit. The culmination of a long journey from urban blight and depravity to restored and majestic beauty, thanks in no small part to Ford who had the vision and the wherewithal to see the project through.
On the occasion of its rededication last month, the centerpiece of the celebration was a free concert in the station featuring some of the top talent Detroit has to offer. This included Diana Ross, Big Sean, Jack White, Eminem, and others.
Eminem played with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra tonight to close out the hometown stars concert to reopen Michigan Central Station after 36 years of abandonment. It was a grand finale with his new single “Houdini.” pic.twitter.com/ytyOLy7psZ
— Jim Schaefer (@DetroitReporter) June 7, 2024
Fast-forward six weeks, and one of those stars was making news again, this time over the release of a new rock album.
If that sounds a bit counter-intuitive – after all, when was the last time there was the least bit of excitement over a new album, much less in the rock genre?
But that was the challenge of Jack White (you know him from the White Stripes) – putting out his first new record in two years. And if you think I’m dating myself by referring to new music as “records,” think again.
White’s new project is a white vinyl record with the purposely below-the-
radar title “No Name,” in a plain-wrapped package – its only format released as of this writing. Not on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and the other streamers.
Followers of JacoBLOG might recall Jack White has his own record label – Third Man Records – headquartered inside two fascinating stores co-located in Nashville and Detroit.
With my entire family in tow, I made the trek the day Third Man opened in Detroit on a cold, rainy Black Friday in 2015. I’ve been back many times since. The Third Man store is a fascinating place with all sorts of cool merch, great music, and other doodads not on sale in your average Target.
And each Third Man location also houses a vinyl pressing plant, making it convenient to produce this next project. White was a believer in vinyl before it was cool – the second time around. His pressing plant in Detroit is always busy, working on myriad projects.
And last Friday, in signature Jack White fashion, he put on a master class about how to release new music.
Let’s start out with the fact the album was not for sale. Third Man was quietly giving them away.
If you were a shopper at either Third Man location last Friday, the cashier slipped a copy of the mystery record in your bag. That’s it. Nothing said. No charge. Here it is. Enjoy it.
One of the coolest moments of the week was going on my annual Third Man Records pilgrimage, getting a jumper only to receive this surprise in my bag for free.
Jack White’s secret new album.
I have never been so excited to hunker down with a record. pic.twitter.com/0xFxYGkqKf
— Podge Lane (@PodgeLaneMusic) July 22, 2024
Suffice it to say, the whole promotion went viral, and local public radio station, WDET-FM, played the whole thing that afternoon. There’s no track list, no notes, no anything. Just the music in a very low-key, austere package.
If anyone else in Detroit radio sent someone down to Third Man last Friday to grab a copy (along with the purchase) of something else, please tell me. But to my knowledge, there was no “win it before you can buy it” contest for “No Name.” It just wouldn’t have made sense.
And the music? It is stellar. Raw. Rock n’ roll. Pure Jack White doing what he does best. Detroit Free Press writer Brian McCollum got his copy the same way everyone else did – by visiting the Third Man store. There were no promo people wearing satin jackets, armed with bagels and copies of the record. You either figured out the puzzle and hustled down to the Cass Corridor last Friday or the moment passed you by.
The entire project is minimalist, mysterious, and powerful – very much on-brand for a Detroiter who may not have always felt quite comfortable or welcome here, but certainly does now.
And the message at the bottom of this Instagram post sums up precisely the marketing game plan and why it worked so perfectly.
View this post on Instagram
You can’t buy mystique. You can package in intrigue. You cannot plan on creating a sensation, much less a movement. Still, this project had the desired effect – creating something of a frenzy around a piece of music.
I found several on sale on eBay for as much as $1,000. They’ll probably get it, too. (More info about “No Name” on eBay is in this Detroit News story.)
The event took me back to the last time I programmed a radio station in Detroit. It was the legendary WRIF in 1983 – more than four decades ago. And I know that a brilliant, cleverly conceived stunt like this would have spoken to me.
Yes, I would have sent an intern in the RIFF van down to the Third Man store on Canfield to buy a vintage White Stripes hoodie – and snag a copy of “No Name” (hopefully before the “other guys” figured it out).
And then I would have walked the record into the studio, confabbed with Arthur Penhallow – our afternoon drive icon – and he would have tracked the whole thing on one of the two turntables in the studio – all 14 tracks for 42 wonderful minutes. And as the phones were exploding, we’d have Steve Kostan, Karen Savelly, and Carl Coffey play it cover-to-cover to start their shows.
I know…radio is a different world today. But marketing mastery like the type Jack While just pulled off is timeless. It’s a throwback to a different time, a different music business, a different radio industry.
And as Jack White has proved, it can still be done.
Thanks to Bob Kernen for the heads-up on this. There’s also a good review of “No Name” in Variety by Jem Aswad.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
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Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Brilliant! Reminds me of another “White Album” (no relation) released many years ago! Seems there was much mystery and intrigue surrounding that album as well. I can only wish Jack as much success with his White Album!
Thought about that White Album when I wrote the post, David. Knowing Jack, he did, too.