Anatomy of a Song Promotion

The Fray Strike Far-Reaching Deal With ABC

Posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Ad Age Songs For Soap on 11.21.08 @ 11:34 AM

Within a week of The Fray's song "How to Save a Life" appearing in "Grey's Anatomy," sales of the single shot up 283%, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Subsequent sales eventually hit over 2.5 million downloads as ABC and channels in other countries used the soundtrack in trailers for the show.

This appearance, along with other notable acts and songs such as Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," marked the coming of age of shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "The OC," "Gossip Girl" and others as one of the highest-profile methods for bands to gain exposure. Now The Fray are back with ABC in a partnership that pushes the boundaries of these tie-ins to new levels. From a report in Billboard:

In a commercial break from the tense elevator confrontations of the Nov. 20 episode of "Grey's Anatomy," a one-minute promo with scenes from the upcoming season of ABC's "Lost" will premiere the Fray's new single, "You Found Me," as well as parts of the music video. Viewers will be directed to abc.com, where they can find a three-minute version of the clip as well as a link to iTunes; there they can buy the single, which will be released to radio the next day.

The partnership between ABC and the Fray -- leader Isaac Slade, guitarists Joe King and David Welsh and drummer Ben Wysocki -- also includes an agreement for the band to appear on the American Music Awards, "Good Morning America" and the outdoor concert series on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" ABC will use "You Found Me" as the promo song for this season of "Lost," and discussions are under way to use the band's music on sister channel ESPN during the height of football season.

As we've commented in recent weeks, nothing's going to be impossible in the growing tie-ins between artist and brands, in this case a media brand.

[Video via Idolator]

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Mike Tunnicliffe is a partner in LA based Filament Entertainment Group