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“There aren't any artists, at least that I know of, that have come off of YouTube without a major label or radio support and sell in excess of 700,000 albums, and also become a legitimate touring act. She's proof of the shift that's happening
in music.”
—--manager Troy Carter

GIRL WITH BOW PREPARES TO BOW

Pop/EDM Violinist Lindsey Stirling's Online Explosion Ahead of New Album Shatter Me

Lindsey Stirling is the quintessence of a viral phenomenon.

The pixie-ish violinist, who blends classical virtuosity with EDM, hip-hop and other forms, has built an enormous online following independently. Her new album, Shatter Me (on her own Lindseystomp Records), streeting at presstime, hit the Top 20 at iTunes and looks certain to enjoy a debut near the top of next week’s HITS Album Sales Chart, moving somewhere in the neighborhood of 50k. It's #1 on the iTunes album chart as this story posts.

Stirling’s videos, primarily on her branded YouTube channels, have garnered 609 million+ views; her subscribers number at 4.6m. The clip for "Crystallize" became the #8 most watched YouTube video in 2012, while her collaboration with Pentatonix on a cover of Imagine Dragons’ "Radioactive" earned the "Best Response" YouTube Award last year.

Her self-titled 2012 debut album has sold more than 313k RTD, and the singles from that set moved more than 1 million. She’s also become a formidable live act, selling out more than 80 shows on her recent headlining tour of the U.S. and Europe and selling nearly 80k tickets. Her TV appearances include spots on The Today Show, Conan, Katie, CNN’s Showbiz Tonight and elsewhere.

"Lindsey has quietly taken the world by storm, both as an artist and an entrepreneur," says manager Troy Carter. "There aren't any artists, at least that I know of, that have come off of YouTube without a major label or radio support and sell in excess of 700,000 albums, and also become a legitimate touring act. She's proof of the shift that's happening in music."

One way in which Stirling manifests a decided shift: Rather than releasing singles, she releases videos. These lavishly produced clips, which Stirling conceives, directs and choreographs, often find the diminutive fiddler, who’s also a fleet dancer, capering through forests in frilly dresses or partaking of fantasy narratives that recall Alice in Wonderland and Tolkien.

Shatter Me includes collaborations with singers Lzzy Hale (of the band Halestorm) and The Voice runner-up Dia Frampton of Meg & Dia; the first video, "Beyond the Veil," received over 1.5 million views in its first week and is now over 3.5m. The clip for the title track, featuring Hale, clocked more than 2.7m views in less than a week.

Both videos have also generated ample comments—10k+ in the case of "Veil" and more than 6k since the arrival of "Shatter Me"—with Stirling jumping into the thread, soliciting fan feedback and stoking anticipation for the rest of the album.

In other words, she plays YouTube like a violin.

Of course, that’s just part of her online social engagement. She’s also racked up 2.4m+ Facebook likes and 273k Twitter followers.

The California-born Stirling got her first break as a quarter-finalist on Season Five of America’s Got Talent, where she became known as "the Hip-Hop Violinist." She made her first video shortly thereafter, and was off and running.

With Shatter Me streeting and more big looks ahead, Stirling is likely to have the world on a string.

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