The secrets of recent surprise hits Rich Men North of Richmond and Try This in a Small Town have been shared by music industry experts.
Oliver Anthony, of Farmville, Virginia, hit the right chords with his heartfelt anthem Rich Men, which denounces those he considers elites for being out of touch with ordinary Americans.
And now those in the know say the Billboard Hot 100 hit benefited from clever tricks that boosted its success.
First, they say, is the continued influence of music downloads on the charts.
Thanks to streaming, the popularity of downloads is declining and rapidly evolving into the same obscurity as CDs and cassette tapes.
But they still make up a significant portion of a song’s Billboard Hot 100 ranking. That means interested fans can coordinate and spend as little as 99 cents to get a song they love high on the charts with relatively few downloads.
That increases publicity for the song and can also help boost streams, further boosting the song’s chart position.
Oliver Anthony struck a chord with fans after sharing his national anthem
Rich Men North of Richmond was released independently on August 11 and became a sensation, with 17.5 million US streams and 147,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending August.
It was a similar story with Jason Alden’s Try This in a Small Town, another song that appealed to Americans dissatisfied with mainstream entertainment.
Many of those who downloaded both songs undoubtedly enjoyed them on their own.
But music industry experts told The New York Times there was also probably a large group of people who downloaded or streamed them to “own the libraries.”
By doing so, they have managed to put a song with controversial content at the top of the charts and spark a discussion among circles that they believe have ignored it.
Conservative podcaster Clay Travis told The Times, “People are just mad about the way I would say the awakened universe has taken on so much content.
“And I think what you’re seeing is reaction and rebellion.”
Anthony releases his music without a record label
Jason Aldean scored a number one earlier this summer with his incendiary Try That in a Small Town
But the controversial video in front of Tennessee’s Maury County courthouse led to a ban by the CMT
Cultural commentator Jaime Brooks added, “Now you have these people with an obvious interest in using the charts to give the impression that their particular beliefs or views are popular.”
Country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” enjoyed similar appeal, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 following controversy over its music video.
At its peak, the map – which condemns bad behavior and warns offenders to try their antics in the town of the same name – was downloaded 100,000 times a day.
The song was labeled racist due to a video showing Black Lives Matter protesters, as well as a scene shot on the steps of a Tennessee courthouse that once witnessed a racist lynching.
Aldean insists he’s not a racist, but the controversy has sparked the interest of conservative podcasters who have also helped shape the national discussion, even though they have small audiences.
Joe Rogan praised the song on his amazing podcast, while far-right activist Jack Posobiec effusively commented, “(I) I can’t even remember the last time a new song touched me like that.”
Those podcasts further increase the interest in the songs and generate interest among podcast fans who are happy to spend 99 cents to popularize a song, sharing opinions that they believe are similar to theirs.
They’re also happy to support anything they deem anti-mainstream — including artists like Anthony and Aldean coming out of nowhere — even if the podcasters pushing them have audiences far larger than traditional networks.
Oliver could be a rich man south of Richmond if merchandising sales take off
The populist anthem has already attracted a legion of devoted followers
The country song has anticipated Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift’s offer
Oliver Anthony has maintained that he is keeping his feet on the ground, claiming he turned down an eight million dollar record deal while reportedly making $40,000 a day.
In a social media post, he wrote: “I don’t want six tour buses, fifteen tractors and a jet plane. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight.
“I wrote the music I wrote because I suffered from mental health and depression.”
Angel Studios co-founder Neal Harmon said social media and podcast platforms enabled content to be marketed directly to ideal audiences.
His company distributed “Sound of Freedom,” a film about child trafficking that reaped the same benefits of widespread online support. It cost $180 million, despite minimal promotion in mainstream entertainment venues.
“I wrote a great song and the audience loved it,” said Harmon.
“The key moment is that people can stand up and do it themselves, instead of being held accountable to those who traditionally are the ones who say what should work or what should fail.”
Just weeks ago, the musician – real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford – was a relative unknown with only a few hundred social media followers
Aldean’s music video features footage of Black Lives Matter police protests
‘Try That in a Small Town’ reached 11.7 million on-demand audio and video streams between July 14 and 20
As he became a household name, Oliver shared a bit more about his background.
My official name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. My grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and “Oliver Anthony Music” is a dedication not only to him, but also to 1930s Appalachia where he was born and raised. Dirty floors, seven kids, hard times,” he wrote.
He said everyone now knows him as Oliver, but friends and family still call him Chris, adding that “both are fine.”
Oliver claims he dropped out of high school in 2010 and received his GED at age 17. He claims his politics is central and has so far declined to comment directly on the Republican or Democratic parties.
He describes in detail the conditions under which he worked and which ultimately inspired his songs when he left school.
“I’ve had several factory jobs in Western NC, my last being at the paper mill in McDowell County. I worked third shift 6 days a week for $14.50 an hour in hell. In 2013 I fell badly at work and broke my skull.’
The Farmville, Virginia native has been performing as a relative unknown for years and characterizes himself as “an idiot with a guitar.”
Oliver moved back to Virginia, he says, and wasn’t able to work again until six months after the injury.
In 2014, he began working in “outside sales” in industrial manufacturing, which he says has taken him “all the way across Virginia and into the Carolinas.”
“I’ve heard the same story all day, every day for the past ten years. People are so damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.”
Of his living conditions, he says he lives on a $97,500 piece of farmland (which he says he still owes $60,000 on) in a 27-foot motor home with a tarp on the roof that he bought on Craigslist for $750.
He reiterates that his success has “nothing special” to do with him, to the point of self-mockery.
“I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person. I’ve struggled with my mental health for the past five years and used alcohol to drown it out. I am sad to see the world in the state it is in, where everyone is fighting each other. I have felt hopeless many nights, that the greatest country on earth is rapidly disappearing.’
He then calls for unity and a departure from the same internet culture that made him famous.
“I HATE the way the internet has divided us all. The internet is a parasite that infects people’s minds and runs its course. Hours wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses together, all day distracted by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweatshops in a foreign land.”