After the Bum Rush

Well, the big event is over, and the dust settles over the Bum Rush the Charts initiative. So how did it fair? Better than some thought.

Let's look at the three things I mentioned yesterday I wanted to focus on:

1) Coverage of any kind -- even a mention -- in the mainstream media
- This actually happened, albeit in a limited form. The Washington Post ran the story on Wednesday, as did the Mercury News Wire Service.
2) Coverage of any kind in the online editions of any mainstream media outlet
- The Washington Post article was online, and the Mercury piece showed up on several newspaper websites. I could find no mention of the story on CNN.com, MSNBC.com, or the BBC's website.
3) Coverage of any kind in blogs and other online media sites not directly involved with music - There were some, but not many. And of the blogs and comments posted, there was a variety of opinion, even some suspicion that it was all a clever marketing ploy.

And some people had problems with the artwork, which featured a drawing of a nekked lady, and declined to participate (an expurgiated version of the cover appears above).

Nevertheless, the song did get up to #67 on the iTunes rock charts, even if it didn't crack the overall top 100.

But this story isn't quite over, yet. In Europe, "Mine Again" ranked even higher (due, in part, to the smaller market). This give it a real chance of showing up on things like the BBC Radio One official chart, which includes download sales in its tabulation.

Potentially, the Bum Rush may have given Black Lab enough of a boost to attract the attention of a more mainstream audience, and thereby showing the indirect -- yet substantial -- power of a concerted Internet initiative.

- Ralph