Phantogram's bump from Skins

posted Feb 9, 2011

Well, this is just silly: apparently some people were upset that Phantogram's "When I'm Small" showed up during Skins on MTV. That prompted this great response from the band on Facebook:

hey vincent, do you like our music? or are you only into artists that are never credited for their hard work and talent? in our humble opinion, it might be a good idea for you to take a step back, and look towards the future of art and music in an optimistic way. we appreciate people (like you) who listen, and enjoy music for what it is. sincerely, phantogram.

A rep for Barsuk, the band's label, basically told people to get used to hearing Phantogram on the show: apparently Skins' producers are big fans and plan to use the band's music multiple times this season. [Seattle Weekly]

That could turn out pretty well for Phantogram. From a Billboard article this week about the 19-year-old music director of Skins (emphasis added):

But controversy and ratings aside, 1.3 million sets of ears are the most that the small-fry artists that Feldman likes to feature have ever reached. Tracks featured in episode one of the U.S. "Skins" series experienced a boost in sales the week of the telecast: Sales of "When I'm Small" by electro-ambient duo Phantogram (Barsuk Records) rose 344%, while sales for "My Girls," the 2009 single from freak-folk mainstay Animal Collective (Domino), increased by 201%, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Number-wise, the gains are in the high hundreds and low thousands, but it could be an option to explore for artists looking for initial breakout exposure and a small synch fee of typically no more than $600.

It's good to hear they're doing something right on the US version of the show. Now that we think about it, we could see Effy Stoneham listening to Phantogram...

(Thanks, Jeff)

Earlier on AOA: New video for Phantogram's "When I'm Small"

photo: Doron Gild

2 comments

tags: music, people, Phantogram

Comments

For anybody that has ever found themselves complaining about a band "selling out", Alternative Press has a great article talking about how hard it can be for bands to actually get by. Sometimes you have to seek out commercial interests in order to keep making your art.

http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/no_money_mo_problems/

... said Pete on Feb 9, 2011 at 6:05 PM | link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi

'Nuff said.

... said Van on Feb 12, 2011 at 10:24 AM | link

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