LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clear Channel is giving Madonna all its luvin'.
Indeed, in what has become another notch under Madonna‘s commercial belt, her latest single ‘Give Me All Your Luvin‘ has commanded a 14 million audience on US radio, a day after being released to its stations. To be exact, the single reached a total of 14.262 million listeners yesterday following the release of its video, which features Rap star Nicki Minaj and Brit sensation MIA. This places the cut alongside a select number of songs which have fared this well in this space of time. Two name two, 2006 saw Beyonce‘s ‘Deja Vu‘ make major waves with an audience of 10 million in a single day, followed by Mariah Carey‘s 2008 cut ‘Touch My Body‘ with 7 million.
While this is no doubt a commendable feat for the icon, it is worth noting that her label recently inked a deal with the Clear Channel conglomerate, which guarantees the song will be played non stop on the stations they own.
This, despite the transparency of the deal, has forced some to question how well ‘Luvin’ would have done had it not been put in place. Clear Channel, which owns 850 stations nationwide, estimated the promotional campaign would reach more than 150 million people around the world.
Beginning on Friday morning, "Give Me All Your Luvin'" is scheduled to premiere simultaneously across 95 radio stations and on more than 1,600 digital billboards in the United States, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Belgium, Finland and the United Kingdom, as well as on demand at iHeartRadio.com, Clear Channel's customized online radio service.
"This first-of-its-kind multimedia premiere with Madonna demonstrates the unequalled scope and strength of the entire Clear Channel platform — a range and depth that enables us to work with the most talented and creative artists in the world to develop truly groundbreaking promotional opportunities," said Bob Pittman, CEO of Clear Channel, in a statement.
Mr Pittman has combined US and international outdoor businesses under one executive; hired a former cable executive to expand into television, events and digital entertainment; and taken a stake in a TV production company run by Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol. Clear Channel has pushed its digital billboards as a timely means of promoting live events and TV and radio schedules. On Friday, the group aired her new single repeatedly on its radio stations and music websites from the US to Australia and played her new video on digital billboards from Times Square to Piccadilly Circus.
The Material Girl push is the latest multimedia endeavor from Clear Channel, which organized a two-day concert in Las Vegas last year that featured the likes of Jay-Z and Lady Gaga and announced last month that it was taking a minority stake in the production company of "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who produces E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
Madonna is expected to perform "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and three other tunes at her Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday in Indianapolis. Her new album "MDNA" is set to be released in March.
Madonna’s performance during Sunday’s Super Bowl game will be only part of a multimedia promotional blitz that could prove critical in determining whether her landmark deal with Live Nation pays off.
The performer struck a “revolutionary” 10-year deal with the events group in 2007 worth an estimated $70m-$100m from albums, touring, merchandising, films and other areas, but has not released an album since 2008 and has not toured since 2009.
In addition to the Super Bowl, the most watched US broadcast of the year, Madonna showcased the video on American Idol, and is planning promotions with Apple’s iTunes digital music store Google’s YouTube video site, said Guy Oseary, her manager.
“She wants to reach as many people as possible,” Mr Oseary told the FT. “I don’t remember any time with Madonna when she’s ever talked about sales. I don’t think she has any idea how many records she’s sold.”
Clear Channel’s promotion reflects efforts by Bob Pittman, chief executive, to reposition the indebted group as a broader entertainment company. “There are lots of other artists we could do this with,” said Tom Poleman, president of Clear Channel media and entertainment national programming platforms.
Radio remains an important launch platform for musicians, despite the rise of digital music services such as Spotify, Pandora and Mog, Mr Oseary said: “Radio is still a huge asset and one of the ways people get their information and connect to what is going on today.”
Sources
tl;dr: Don't worry about voting or requesting on radio; Madonna already bought herself her #1 positions on the charts