The cash spent on internet advertising in the UK will outstrip that outlayed in national newspapers by the end of this year, a major buyer has predicted.
The related factors of growth in broadband usage and declining newspaper circulation appear to have justified the hype. “Reach is what advertisers want most,” says the report. “National newspapers still have lots of it, but less reach means less ad money.”
And it must be some further sort of coming of age when MySpace has its first UK “pop star” creation story, quickly followed by its first not-really-MySpace scandal.
I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair), [Sandi] Thom’s quirky single, is tipped to become next week’s No 1. Her rise is already the stuff of music industry myth.
Thom, 24, from Macduff, Banffshire, was awarded a million-pound deal with RCA/SonyBMG after broadcasting internet concerts from her flat in London. Audiences rose from 70 to an estimated 70,000 people during the 21 Nights From Tooting tour and included a top executive from RCA/SonyBMG, who signed Thom for a five-album deal.
Since I first heard this on Radio Four last night, and read it in The Times this morning, I suspect this will be a case of any publicity is good publicity. And good on her – I’m no music buff, but she sounds like a pretty pure singer/songwriter with a guitar, decent lyrics and a catchy beat.
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