Youtube in christ alone
Reinterpret it a little, but don’t reinvent it Gary Barlow Christmas is one of those things you should be careful not to mess with. In the album chart, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s Together at Christmas went to No 1 last December, later followed by the king of contemporary Christmas, Michael Bublé: his 2011 festive album has sold 12m copies, and should return to the Top 5 this week. Only No 19 and 20 had nothing whatsoever to do with sleigh bells, snow or Santa. By the time the presents are unwrapped, it will be even more tinselly: last Christmas Day, 14 of the Top 20 singles were old Christmas songs two were new Christmas singles and two were novelties released for the Christmas market.
Christmas music is no longer defined by retailers and labels.”Īt the time of writing, one-third of the UK Top 30 is old Christmas songs. “Because people put on a playlist and listen to everything, tracks from lots of playlists make their way back into the chart. Withey says Christmas tracks start to build momentum from early November. What streaming – and social media – have shown is that for all the complaints about Christmas starting earlier every year, it’s not entirely down to rapacious capitalism: it’s our fault, too. “You’d get a lot of radio play for the old songs, but none were released as singles. “Before streaming, Christmas music was about gifting: an album by a known artist, or you’d repackage Christmas tracks as a Now! Album,” he says. My listenership on streaming goes very high around this time of year, since having my first Christmas song out four years ago.”Ĭonrad Withey runs Instrumental, a company that analyses data from streaming services and social media to spot musical trends. But the idea of having a mood-based playlist that is part of your life is a very powerful thing for an independent artist. “It’s unlikely you’d put on a mood-based playlist if you’re a record nerd, and that’s fine. “Through streaming, the casual listener has moved on to mood-based listening,” he explains. “Lots of independent artists who have ended up on one of these Christmas playlists can have a semi-viable career as a musician,” says Jamie Cullum, who has just released The Pianoman at Christmas – The Complete Edition, an expanded version of his album from last year. These revolutionary effects of streaming on Christmas music can’t be overstated. Lots of artists who have ended up on one of these Christmas playlists can have a semi-viable career as a musician Jamie Cullum
#Youtube in christ alone tv#
Certainly, she now puts on Christmas shows every year, modelled after old TV variety shows, complete with present-clutching kids scampering across the stage. Quite how much money the song has generated for Carey is uncertain, but last year George Howard, associate professor of music business and management at Berklee College of Music, estimated that she was likely earning $10m a year from it.
(In second place was Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree with a comparatively paltry 193m plays.) In 2019 alone – when it reached No 1 in the Billboard chart 25 years after its release – it had 309m streams across all platforms in the US. It has risen up the UK and US singles charts faster than ever during the past two years as listeners reach for festivity amid the bleakness, resulting in startling figures: the first holiday song to be certified diamond (that’s above platinum) more than a billion streams on Spotify. It’s a song so big that it’s pretty much an industry all of its own. The first track on the first playlist is Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. Spotify alone has 44 different options on its Seasonal Playlists page – leaving aside the vast number compiled by users – offering you hits, carols, punk, jazz, Disney and metal among many other genres. Christmas music has always done well – in Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, one of the characters lives off the royalties from a festive hit – but in the internet age it has assumed a new importance thanks to playlists on streaming platforms. This tactic has become bigger business than ever. Fahey ended up making five Christmas albums, and they served as a financial bulwark in a career that had its share of vicissitudes.
Purists might sneer – Mojo magazine once dismissed the album as “Cliff-territory bland” – but The New Possibility has never been out of print, selling more than 100,000 copies. The New Possibility: John Fahey’s Guitar Soli Christmas Album has not achieved the ubiquity of Merry Xmas Everybody or Last Christmas, but it served its role. So I got the idea to do a Christmas album.” “I saw all these cartons of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas,” he later recalled. I n July 1968, the visionary US guitarist John Fahey – whose albums, with names such as Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes, hadn’t exactly been money-spinners – was out the back of a record store.