By now you’ve probably at least heard about the latest video to capture our collective online hearts – the first official video of Bob Dylan’s most famous song “Like A Rolling Stone.” The video (which can be found at bobdylan.com) has caused a sensation not only because it’s interactive, but mostly because it’s based around the concept of doing something we all do probably too much of; watching television. On this video, the viewer can change between different “channels” that represent a cross-section of the television choices we have available today (16 in all), meaning news, reality, sports, game shows, a children’s cartoon and finally a vintage live video from 1966 of Dylan and the The Hawks (who were later to become The Band) performing the song.
What’s disconcerting is that each of the television scenarios has the actors lip synching the song, but acting as they normally would on their respective shows, so there’s a big disconnect between the song lyrics and how the actors are portraying it, which is what makes it so riveting. The interactive part where the user can change the channel is a tribute to technology as each channel stays in perfect sync regardless of where during the song the channel change is made.
Forget the phenomena of the video for a moment and think about the marketing that the video represents. As brilliant of an artist as Dylan is, he peaked a long time ago and has been mostly irrelevant for at least a few decades. That’s no knock on him, as the same thing happens to all but a few artists. Sometimes it’s the market that dictates it, while other times it’s the artist him or herself that makes the choice to pull away from center stage as the ability to enjoy the fruits of one’s success grows. Either way, the man doesn’t have to push himself anymore as he’s earned his freedom to do whatever he desires.
That’s exactly why I don’t believe that he’s the driving factor behind this video, but that fact is almost irrelevant. We’re witnessing some brilliant marketing.
First of all, the video revives a hit from 1965. Think about that for a moment. This isn’t a remake or a duet with a new hot artist; it’s the original recording, which as great as it is, is still 48 years old! We all love those vintage hits, but they rarely come back to make a splash the way this one has.
Secondly, it raises Dylan’s visibility probably about a thousand fold. He’s out on a European tour now, so a hot video helps to sell tickets (although I don’t think that the tour needs any help). But what it provides most is a booster shot for his newly released boxed set called The Complete Album Collection, a massive compilation of his 35 albums, as well as breathe some new life into his recently released Another Self-Portrait, a collection of the great poet’s outtakes and forgotten songs (why these were released on top of one another is an interesting question).
And that’s not all. The exposure will help the rest of his catalogue sales, downloads and streams. The video isn’t being monetized at the moment, a sure sign that its always been planned as a promotional tool instead of an income stream.
So great job Team TISI -0.3% Dylan and Sony Music. You’ve managed to get your artist back in the news as well as into the hearts and minds of new and old fans. Isn’t it interesting what a single video can do these days?
