It has now been four months since the release of the ‘XSCAPE’ album, and one month since the release of “A Place With No Name” – the album’s second single.
Statistically the album – off the back of an overwhelmingly successful lead single in “Love Never Felt So Good” – has been a commercial success and is continuing to sell steadily around the world. To date ‘XSCAPE’ has sold more than 1.4 million copies worldwide and despite being released four months ago remains one of the world’s Top 40 selling albums this week. ‘XSCAPE’-related videos on the official Michael Jackson YouTube/VEVO channel have been streamed an incredible 117 million times over the past four months.
Thanks mainly to the appearance of Justin Timberlake, more than 82 million of those 117 million streams come from various versions of “Love Never Felt So Good” – which was just certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 1 million in the United States. Two versions – one a solo Jackson version and the other the JT duet – of the single were released, with more than 80% of online streams and digital downloads coming from the version featuring Timberlake. The percentage of airplays credited to the Timberlake version are even higher.
And that leads us to the second single – “A Place With No Name” – which was officially ‘released’ by Epic Records one month ago.
To put it bluntly, the “A Place With No Name” single has been a gigantic flop, suffering from a disastrously misguided (and at times confusing) release at the hands of Epic Records. While “Love Never Felt So Good” was Jackson’s best-performing single in more than a decade, “A Place With No Name” was the exact opposite. In fact, “A Place With No Name” is among Jackson’s worst-performing singles of all-time – alongside the posthumous “Hollywood Tonight/Behind The Mask” release in early-2011. Neither of the two singles entered the Billboard Hot 100. Both peaked at the very bottom of the UK Top 200 – “Hollywood Tonight/Behind The Mask” at #152 and “A Place With No Name” at #172.
This, of course, is in no way Jackson’s fault. He’s not here to complete his own music, pick the tracks he wants released, strategise and participate in the promotional campaign or collaborate on or appear in his own short films.
Sony/Epic Records and The Estate of Michael Jackson decided to enter into a social media cross-promotion for the launch of the “A Place With No Name” single by allowing Twitter to host the world-exclusive premiere of the song’s music video. It would also be shown simultaneously on the Sony screen in Times Square, New York City.
The launch was hyped up as being the world’s first ever Twitter video premiere and a PR campaign was written to boot, with the world’s biggest online publications buying into the hype.
In my opinion the decision to launch exclusively via Twitter’s media player, rather than simply upload the video to YouTube/VEVO as per usual, was a big mistake.
For starters, the media player Twitter used had several bugs. I personally couldn’t get the “A Place With No Name” video to play for more than 3-4 seconds at a time without it freezing, lagging or completely crashing to black. While some fans claim to have had no issues, others reported that they could not get the video to play at all – not even for a few seconds.
Not only was Twitter’s media player highly problematic for users, but Twitter itself is an unusual platform to exclusively launch a video on if your aim is for people around the world to view it and buy what you’re selling in it – in this case, the song.
Twitter has approximately 271 million active users per month – just a fraction of the 1.23 BILLION that Facebook boasts. In fact, Facebook has three times more users on a daily basis – approximately 757 million – than Twitter does in an entire month.
Michael Jackson’s social media presence is also far more powerful on Facebook than it is on Twitter. Jackson’s official Facebook page has more than 78.7 million fans (one of the most popular pages in all of Facebook) whereas his Twitter account has a mere 1.75 million followers – just 2.2% of his Facebook figures.
Had the video been uploaded to YouTube/VEVO from day one, and embedded in a post on Jackson’s Facebook page, it would have been exposed to nearly 50 times the audience who had the option to view it on Twitter. Views on the YouTube/VEVO video would have also been considered ‘streams’ and counted towards the songs overall chart position. Because they did not go down this route, they missed the opportunity to capitalise on all the millions of eyes who could have viewed the video right there in their live Facebook news feed.
Click here to read my review of the “A Place With No Name” music video.
One month after the video made its debut, its YouTube/VEVO view count stands at just 3.8 million – 2.6 million of which were racked up within the first week. The “Love Never Felt So Good” video, which was released traditionally, was viewed more than 23 million times in the same timespan.
Further to the video launch issues, “A Place With No Name” was not released as a stand-alone single on iTunes. This was another major downfall in the song’s ability to make any kind of impact on the charts.
Immediately following the premiere of the high-successful “Love Never Felt So Good” single on the iHeart Radio Music Awards, two versions of the track – the solo and the JT duet version – were released on iTunes as ‘singles’. Theses ‘singles’ could be purchased by fans around the world, and quickly began rising up the iTunes ranks, eventually entering the Top 10 in a plethora of regions including the United States.
Soon after, the tracks were made available for pre-order from within the ‘XSCAPE’ album. Once those versions started to catch on, the ‘single’ versions of the track were deleted from the iTunes store and the album versions took over. Ads were placed on the iTunes homepage as well as Justin Timberlake taking to his social media accounts in promotion of both versions of the track. The reaction was huge and the single remained at the top of the charts for weeks.
However, when the “A Place With No Name” video was released there was no companion ‘single’ made available on iTunes for fans to buy in support of the track. Sony and The Estate simply expected the public to actively seek out and purchase the individual track by locating it within the ‘XSCAPE’ album. The problem with this, however, is that any fan who already owned the digital version of the album could NOT buy the track – because, as stated, they already owned it!
As a consequence of this, coupled with the fact that Sony did not advertise the single on the iTunes homepage, the track never moved up the iTunes charts, failing to enter the Top 200 in any major market. In fact, despite being a brand new single “A Place With No Name” reached its peak as only the fourth-most-popular song on the ‘XSCAPE’ album – behind both remix versions of “Love Never Felt So Good” and the remix of “Slave to the Rhythm”. Had they issued a stand-alone ‘single’ version of “A Place With No Name” on iTunes it may have been a different story. Unfortunately, however, we will never know.
In the days and weeks after the so-called ‘release’ of the “A Place With No Name” single, Michael Jackson’s official social media platforms seemingly acted like it did not exist. Rather than encouraging the 78.7 million fans that “like” Jackson’s Facebook page to go check out the video and buy the (non-existent) single, those who run the page posted unrelated items such a link to the history of a track called “Don’t Be Messin’ Round” and excerpts from several Jackson-related books. This, while not a negative thing, did no favours to the performance of the “A Place With No Name” video or ‘single’.
On August 27, two weeks after the video came out, Sony Music announced the release of an “A Place With No Name” CD Maxi Single. The disc is listed as featuring three tracks – 1. A Place With No Name (Radio Edit), 2. A Place With No Name (Album Version) and 3. Slave to the Rhythm (Audien Remix Radio Edit).
This release also came with its own problems. I have not personally been able to access the page on which Sony are said to be selling the disc. Fans from all around the world have also complained that the link does not work, instead taking you to a page that states: “The requested page could not be found.” Despite alerting Sony and The Estate of this weeks ago, the issue has not been rectified. Given this, even if I were a potential customer (which I’m not), I could not have purchased a copy.
I’ve been told right from the outset of this album that the likelihood of a “next single” is highly dependent on the performance of the current one. When “Love Never Felt So Good” was a blockbuster success Sony felt confident that the public would react well to a second single. However with the commercial failure of “A Place With No Name” Sony/Epic Records will without doubt be considering whether a third single and accompanying video is worth their while.
In order for a single to be successful they need the MUSIC to hit the headlines – not the method of release. Creating a media hype around a Twitter premiere was never going to sell a video or a song.
The reason that “Love Never Felt So Good” was successful, as much as some fans don’t want to admit it, was the presence of Justin Timberlake on the duet version because it created headlines. The MUSIC created headlines. As noted earlier in this article, more than 80% of sales, streams and airplay was thanks to the version featuring Timberlake. If Sony/Epic Records are still open to a third single, and they’re looking for another hit, their song choice needs to make headlines.
Perhaps they’ll consider releasing the title track, ‘Xscape’, as the third single, by using the Rodney Jerkins-produced remix featuring a rap verse from the legendary Tupac Shakur. The Jackson/Tupac version of ‘Xscape’ was played at a New York listening session earlier this year and received rave reviews from those who heard it. The King of Pop and the King of Rap resurrected together in a 2014 political and social anthem certainly makes for not only a juicy headline, but a captivating listening experience. You can bet your bottom dollar that music fans all around the world would crawl out of their caves to give the track a listen. And best of all; it’s not featured on the ‘XSCAPE’ album – meaning IF they were to release it, it’d HAVE to be a stand-alone single that NO consumer already owns, eliminating ALL the problems they created for themselves with the “A Place With No Name” release.
Damien Shields is the author of the book Xscape Origins: The Songs & Stories Michael Jackson Left Behind about Michael Jackson’s artistry and creative process. Click here to order your copy today – also available via Amazon, Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play. Follow Damien on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with Michael Jackson-related news.
I totally agree with you! I also tried to browse the Maxi Single page and I got the same message.I thought that it was my nationality the problem but now I understand that I’m not alone! I hope the 3rd single will be Xscape.For me is the best remixed track on album and it’s very catchy.
I personally think ” A Place with No Name” as a single was a big mistake. As well as the song selection that the so called “hologram” performed months ago (which was Slave to the Rhythm) It seems as though they were trying to go a more “pop” direction … which he is the King of so I guess … but speaking as a huge MJ fan and a younger fan who is more in tune with the music & urban culture of today, that just wasnt smart. When the album was released, I like others was very skeptical because of the Michael album from 2009. That album was just not all the good. But Xscape had me pleasantly surprised. I loved it. And i wasnt the only one … people who were fans and even NON-FANS were praising the new album all down my twitter TL upon its release. Particularly the tracks “Chicago” , “Loving You” and “Blue Gangsta”. These tracks felt like Michael returning to his urban/r&b roots and THATS what hit home with alot of us younger people. It sounded current and could have easily been hits with my demographic. If LA Reid and Sony were smart they would capitilzed on those three songs after LNFSG (which also had a very urban/r&b/throwback OTW feel) .. Timbaland said “Chicago” was the first single anyway, why didnt that happen ???? That would have been EPIC. That sounds totally in line with the whole DJ mustard sound thats hot right now. Loving You is classic r&b and coulda been a hit on adult comtemporary stations as well. They tried to go the pop/dance/electro route with the singles and that ruined it. They need to be trying to reconnect him with us. And I know he was MORE than just an r&b artist, he did it all but im just saying what it was that I personally heard and saw that resonated most with people make age. We all know he is the King of Pop but to re-establish him in the urban world would inturn make him successful in this day and time. If thats what their goal is …
I agree with you Damien and Dre Taylor.
“Loving You,” ” xscape”, “Chicago,” and “Do you know where your children are” are my favorite’s
I personally hope the Tupac and MJ “collaboration” never sees the light of day. MJ’s music is just fine without rap added to it, and Tupac IMO was highly overrated.
Tupac is The King Of Rap. You Might As Well Say New York HipHop Is Overrated
how is he the king of rap?
only cause he had a dramatic death & posthumous success?
for me LL Cool J is the king of rap, hes 30years in the business.
I totally agree with you. Moreover i DO like ” A place with no name” , especially the original version. Maybe the new version didn’t perform well because it is very much similar to “Leave me alone” and people had the “I heard it before” feeling.
It was obvious the track was not going to gain any traction the first day.
The twitter idea was silly stupid. Twitter was fine as long as it had been combined with other platforms. My Twitter platform would not play it. Not to mention the video ruined it. No video would have been better than the trackvertisement/commercial. The estate leaders are pinheads-period. I don’t have to rehash, same folks, same dummies, full of themselves. The nucleus of creators/collaborators are not there. Had mans core been there during the This Is It days he would still be alive. All that is left is a bunch of blood sucking clowns.
That Xscape track doesn’t have it. It’s not single worthy. Not to be negative but the album is done.
(BtwTupac is overrated? You may as well say rap is overrated. Which I might be right there with you lol)
Agreed. Xscape should be 3rd single and with tupac it would be really EPIC.
Sony insiders, listen to it up!!!
Xscape with Tupac, Drake, 50 cent whoever you want to throw on will be a radio dud.
Saw Place With No Name today after Denver/Chiefs game on an actual commercial for Jeep Cherokee.
I love Slave to The Rhythm! I liked A place with no name, but I hated the video. Jeep just wanted to make it into a commercial. None of the things in that song about the jeep are in the video, nothing about the woman or even the PLACE! They messed that one up, and it could have been cool. Circiq do Soleil did an awesome video! Way better that the one the Estate presented.
Thank you for addressing this issue. I’ve had a lot of concerns with how shoddily this release was handled in comparison to LNFSG. I still stand by my belief that A Place With No Name is an outstanding track. But unfortunately, for a song to be a hit, people have to HEAR it and to be aware of its existence. I also wondered why the single never charted on Itunes. Now I understand why. It bothers me that, after the huge success of LNFSG, they simply took a “let’s toss it against the wall and see if it sticks” approach with APWNN. It is a great track that deserves more than it got imo.
Greay article. Let’s hope some Estate/Sony people reads this thread! After the major success and promo of Xscape and LNFSG, it’s a wonder why they chose this route. They can’t have been surprised by the result. Maybe the “first ever”-opportunity weighed over anything else? Now it looks like they are attempting a second push with the “DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN ‘A PLACE WITH NO NAME?'”-campaign. Let’s hope it does better.
All the original demos are far superior to their remixed versions. Despite being incomplete, they actually feel like real songs. A Place With No Name loses what makes it special in the remix. The song invokes a sense of wonder and discovery. It tells a story. The remix does neither of those because its produced by people who have no understanding of what makes music special but instead only have an understanding of what might sound good in a club where the bass is too loud and all the weird noises and samples inside the song distract you from even hearing anything of importance.
GREAT.
“Xscape” is my favorite track on the album, both out of the new versions and the originals. The odea of releasing the version with Tupac as a single would be PERFECT! It would also be nice if they could actually create some dorm of a short film that doesn’t rely on recycled/behind the scene footage.
The single also had to compete against other artists, Ariana Grande and well…Nicki Minaj with their over the top promotions. The hype that Minaj created by posting on instagram that she was tied with Michael Jackson with 50 hits in billboard charts shifted everyone’s focus. Then that single’s cover and the music video caused so much controversy, the entire YouTube is now filled with reaction and opinion videos but well, she got what she wanted. Attention. Its only Taylor Swift’s or Minaj’s twerking which is grabbing headlines and its getting sick. How can we expect MJ’s video or single to gain any attention amidst so much crap out there?
I think the shite commercial video for place with no name played a large part in the failure. Launching it on twitter was the dumbest idea ever. I think the estate or sony just do not have the calibre of people that can do mjs legacy any justice. i I wonder what John landis would have come up with as an idea for place with no name. Then releasing the single with just radio edit and album version is taking fans loyalty for granted. They could have done an instrumental, remixes or some incetive to buy the single. I just do not understand why teh estate signed with Sony when mj vowed he would leave Sony after what they did to Invincible.
because they have the right to buy Michaels half of the SONY/ATV catalog at any time they want to. Same reason Michael kept working with Sony on projects like Thriller 25 and others after he said he wouldn’t. After the trial he was pretty much backed into a corner hence the Neverland deal, and the reason he needed to do the TII shows . The Estate is still in a iffy situation where the Beatles/ATV catalog is concerned.
Have a look at this link down memory lane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnuW9HVbDTQ
Forward to 2014 and I find myself asking does anyone outside the fan community even care?
Does any other fan who was around during the bad and thriller era feel the same?
It is also saturation. Too many Michael Jackson products , too much commercializing and short attention span of the public. Michael was a marketing genius and was cautious about overexposure. In 5 years the executors released what took Michael 20 years.
Without the artist, releasing his music is a completely different experience and expectations should not be too high.
There is not too much MJ saturation in my opinion. Quite the contrary. The estate can’t even afford another risk of a release.(regardless of their ineptitude) There is just nothing stellar there. Love Never Felt So Good was easily the best posthumous track, therefore it performed the best. Even with lousy marketing execution, the real issue is the material is not that likeable or catchy to the modern pop world. Sure, it’s rewarding to the biggest loyal fans, but generally people don’t care about older or dead celebrities. What kid cares about Michael Jordan today? Our culture worships youth, and with the fastest data input and more distractions in the history of mankind, nobody gives a rats ass about yesterday. It’s all about the flavor of the week.
Just like the 2001 and 2008 albums, this joke of an album had mediocre songs. Only the Paul anka song was decent but timberlake’s weak rap/background singing and the poor audio quality of the old jackson recording caused the song to sink 80 spots on billboard within 12 weeks. Jackson didn’t put full effort into making love never felt so good because his lyrics didn’t sound clear and paul Anka sued him for keeping their recording without permission.
Let’s keep it real, ok? You can try to spin it however you want, but obviously Love Never Felt So Good was no flop single. It peaked at #9 on the BB Hot 100 and TOPPED the Billboard adult R&B chart for eight solid weeks (and is still at #3 on that chart as we speak). It was recently RIAA certified platinum.
I had great expectations with regards to the release of place with no name. All of my friends where enthusiastic about the track when I played it to them. I am saddened that it was such a flop. How good it felt to see LNFSG perform so well in the charts. In my opinon it;s remarkable that the estate and Sony are not capable of promoting a commercial sounding track like place with no name in a succesfull way. I think the people in charge of this project might be too old (i am 39 myself and a huge jackson fan since 12) and lost touch with the music market anno 2014. In any case I really hope that this failure doesnt mean that there won;t be any more singles released from Xscape. Personally I do see more than enough potential for Chicago. This tune is haunting me for 5 months now, classic MJ track, can’t stop singing it:). Personally I dont consider the title track as a single. It’s always been more of an album track to me, nice but not strong enough as a composition to be a single….
Hello admin, i must say you have hi quality articles here.
Your blog should go viral. You need initial traffic boost
only. How to get it? Search for; Mertiso’s tips go viral