From Vine To IRL: Jack & Jack Hit The Charts Off iTunes Sales
Jack & Jack look likely to be the next major Vine music stars. They're two young white guys doing comedy Vines, now with millions of followers, who recognized they could leverage that fame and start making music. Their validator beyond Vine and other social media followers, including 474k+ on YouTube, is their rise on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart to #25 on the strength of iTunes sales of the single "Wild Life." How much Jack & Jack's live appearances made the difference with this latest push is hard to say but it does show they're serious about making the transition from Vine to real life stars.
Jack & Jack are the Vine music stars of the moment. They recently had a single at no. 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and they're currently finishing up a headlining DigiTour.
Jack & Jack will also be in the upcoming Intour LA that will be produced by Kevin Lyman.
There are some interesting similarities to Alex Day who built a following on YouTube that allowed him to chart off iTunes sales.
Like Alex Day the two wish to remain independent from major labels who have been expressing interest:
“Why get our money stolen, or make less money, when we can get our songs on the exact same spot on the charts ourselves?…We’re going to stay independent as long as we can, until we see the benefit from the record label.”
But unlike Alex Day the two are taking their act live. Day has made public appearances but he hasn't embraced the touring grind which is a necessary piece of the puzzle of building a truly popular music machine.
At this point the two might take inspiration from Lindsey Stirling, who's building a nice career off YouTube fame, or Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who are using major label services to support chart-topping careers.
Like Shawn Mendes' management, the two seem to be distancing themselves a bit from Vine. In the process they also revealed some interesting developments:
"We’re actually trying to kind of stray away from the whole Vine thing because we want to make the transition from being social media stars to actual, like, real celebrities. Which is really hard to do because not that many people take it that seriously just because it’s on social media."
"We’re making music with some of the top-of-the-line producers in L.A."
I haven't found more about that last little nugget but I'm guessing we're set for either a big splash or a major wipeout for Jack & Jack in coming days.
More:
- Can Music Careers Be Jumpstarted On Vine?
- Shawn Mendes (and Team): From 6 Second Vine Clips To An iTunes No. 1
- Alex Day And The Dilemma Of The DIY Pop Star
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) recently launched DanceLand. Send news about music tech startups and services, DIY music biz and music marketing to: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
