EPIC SET TO HARVEST KORN
Said Epic EVP/GM Steve Barnett, “It’s Korn’s time. This is one of the most anticipated albums of the year. The band has an incredible legacy and continues to raise the bar. This new album should increase their international sales base—and get Kwatinez to stop calling me in the middle of the night.”
Four tracks from the album, produced by Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hole), were originally premiered April 2 by syndicated radio personalities Opie & Anthony during their afternoon radio show on WNEW New York, prompting a cease-and-desist letter from Sony Music Entertainment. The duo claimed to have downloaded tracks like the first single, “Here to Stay” (which is available on MTV.com), from such peer-to-peer file-sharing entities as Morpheus and Kazaa, where the entire album—all 13 tracks—can be found. The duo also played “Falling Through Time,” “Make It Go Away” and “Leave This Place.”
“Here to Stay” is already Top 10 at Active Rock and PoMo radio, with a controversial video directed by the Hughes Brothers (From Hell, Dead Presidents, Menace II Society) bowing on MTV’s TRL last Wednesday (4/24), where it is now #1.
Epic Records Group Sr. VP Promotion Joel “100 Pounds of” Klaiman says the song was one of the most anticipated Rock/PoMo releases of the year for radio: “Our airplay proves that. The track’s a huge phone record; we’re getting tons of requests, and now the video element is in play. There are many exciting things we’re planning around the Korn tour, too. When the band comes through town, it’s an event. We’ll maximize the impact of every show. In fact, I can’t wait to body-surf the crowd myself.”
The clip depicts a boy in front of a TV that is broadcasting a series of inflammatory images, including a mob tipping over a car, fires, automobile crashes, open-heart surgery, animals mating and crocodiles attacking, with the band in black-and-white against a wall of broadcast static. At the end, the boy touches the screen and disappears into the monitor in a scene reminiscent of Poltergeist.
“This is what we subject ourselves to every day, and our children are subjected to it as well,” said lead singer Jonathan Davis. “This is what kids are taught.”
Elements of the label’s marketing/promotion plan include the following:
=> After recent performances in South America and Mexico, the band hits the road for its first U.S. tour in more than two years starting June 20, with opening acts Puddle of Mudd and Deadsy on the first six-week leg. The tour comes to N.Y.’s Madison Square Garden June 24.
=> Korn action figures are being created by entertainment brand management company the Stronghold Group for its music-themed line called "Gruntz."
=> An official Korn online team will promote the album and single with viral Internet marketing and downloadable e-cards.
=> Online contests are being held with Synthsis.net and muchmusic USA, with prizes ranging from the Korn catalog to a dinner with Marc Pollack.
