When an U.S. tour was announced in 2012 tickets to almost all concerts sold out in a day. How could this happen?

1. How an unknown
Icelandic band became a
huge success in the US
without even visiting
Twitter: @bolafsson
Version #3.1 04/3/2012

2. Of Monsters and Men is an
Icelandic band that became
popular in Iceland in 2010
...and published
its debut album only in Iceland

3. …once
…when U.S. tour was announced in 2012
…tickets to almost all
concerts sold out in a day
…without visiting the U.S.

5. Tickets for the Chicago
show are selling online for
the face value
Source: http://www.stubhub.com/search/doSearch?searchStr=of+monsters+and+men+chicago&pageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=50&searchMode=event&start=0&rows=50&geo_exp=1

6. How did this
happen?

7. First US attention
in Seattle in 2010
…after Iceland Airwaves 2010
Uploaded to YouTube in
October 2010
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dw8qdmT_aY

8. …and “Little Talks” became
popular on KEXP in Seattle
Ever since we started playing this song,
listeners have been writing and calling in
to ask where to find it. As of yet, the
Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men do
not have album to sell, but you should
count yourself lucky to catch them right
on the verge of blowing up.
Source: http://blog.kexp.org/2010/12/16/song-of-the-day-of-monsters-and-men-little-talks/
…and the listeners loved it
“ ”

9. …but
Nothing
happened

10. First* local craze
Was in Philly in
the fall of ‘11
*supported by Google search activity

11. Airplay in Philly started late in August and
made Of Monsters and Men a local favorite
Google searches in Philly
In August of 2011, my friend Bobby Malone visited Iceland and saw
OMAM at Culture Day & heard them on Icelandic radio, and was very
impressed; so, he sent me a link for the song which impressed me
too. So, on August 25th, 2011, I downloaded a demo version of “Little
Talks” from iTunes and played it for our audience who absolutely freaked
out over the song
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22%20%2C%22little%20talks%22%2C&geo=US-PA-504&date=7%2F2011%2010m&cmpt=q
John Allers, WRFF/Radio 104.5-Philadelphia: Program Director/Morning Host
“ ”

12. ”Little Talks” become popular on
Radio 104.5 in Philly
Source: http://www.radio1045.com/pages/johnny.html?article=9489997
I thought the song was pretty amazing,
so shared it with you, the listeners
of Radio 104.5, the next day and the
response was absolutely overwhelming,
so we continued to play it more…and
more…and more!
“ ”

13. …and Of Monsters and Men
topped stations Year-End lists
Source: http://www.radio1045.com/pages/year-end-survey/2011-staffpicks.html#ixzz1qSZYO1o3
2011 Listener Survey Results
• Runner up: Best New Artist for 2011
• Honorable Mention: Most Anticipated Album for 2012
2011 Staff Picks
• Johnny: Top Song #1: Little Talks
• Johnny: Best NEW Artist of 2011
• A.J.: Best NEW Artist of 2011
• Ray: Top Song #4: Little Talks
• Amanda: Top Song #4: Little Talks

14. …but nothing really
happened

15. The band got some
other (minor) US
attention last fall
Source: http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-10/articles

16. …one example was this coverage in
Paste Magazine in Sept ‘11
Source: http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-10/articles#article=/issues/week-10/articles/of-monsters-and-men-icelands-folk-pop-stars

17. …still nothing really
happened

18. but
soon
everything
would change

19. The first success breakthrough was
at Iceland Airwaves in Oct ’11
Source: http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/page/10
…and they landed an international
record deal with Universal few days later

20. …after the festival David Fricke of
Rolling Stone Magazine labeled them
“the New Arcade Fire”
Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/sinead-oconnor-yoko-ono-and-new-arcade-fire-of-monsters-and-men-rock-reykjavik-20111019

21. Expect them to be all over
America's indie radar shortly.“ ”
Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/sinead-oconnor-yoko-ono-and-new-arcade-fire-of-monsters-and-men-rock-reykjavik-20111019

22. …but nothing really happened

23. …at year end
“Little Talks” and
Of Monsters and
Men had become
talk of the town(s)
Source: http://www.google.com/trends/?q=%22little+talks%22&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=ytd&sort=0/

24. So why
then?

25. A Buzz
built up…
Source: http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/page/12

26. …and people started to look more for
the song and the band on Google
Source: http://www.google.com/trends/?q=%22little+talks%22,+%22of+monsters+and+men%22&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=ytd&sort=0

27. “Little Talks” gets many million
views on YouTube
Source: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=little+talks&oq=little+talks&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=1002l2094l0l2202l12l9l0l1l1l0l157l591l2.3l5l0

28. …and number of fans increases
by ~1000 a day
Source: http://nextbigsound.com/323522/stats-Of-Monsters-And-Men#323522----fans

29. At year-end ‘11 over 40 music
blogs had praised them
With the eminent release of their [Of
Monsters and Men’s] debut sometime
at the end of the summer, I'd urge you
to listen to two tracks and sit back as
the group blows up in the near future.
Source: http://thisbonustrack.com/2011/08/29/of-monsters-and-men/
“ ”

30. ...and fans on Facebook and Twitter
told their network about this band

31. …and things started to move
…quickly

32. The digital EP became
a bestseller in the US
iTunes chose “Little Talks” as “Single of the
Week” and the EP exceeded sales of 22k in
one short month. As of now [February 8th],
various digital sales have surpassed 100k
cumulatively, making the band the #2 best-
selling alternative artist of 2012
Source: http://www.theblueindian.com/features/band-of-the-month/february-2012-band-of-the-month-of-monsters-and-men/
“ ”

33. …and is in good company
among Recent Hits
January 8th 2012: #18 on the iTunes chart of Top Albums in the U.S.

34. …a huge US success
…without even
visiting the country
…once

36. Great Success = Some Talent + a lot of Luck
Success = Some Talent + Luck
Source: Daniel Kahneman

37. Luck is Good
(and needed)

38. Anybody can win
in the viral lottery
…even a band from a small town in Iceland
More: Salganik,, Duncan Watts, Experimental Study of Inequality and Unpredictability in an Artificial Cultural Market

39. This would not have
been possible without
the social influence and
unpredictability of the
Internet

40. That’s why…

41. Album is Out: My Head Is an Animal
Source: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/my-head-is-an-animal/id509345651

42. Check out Of Monsters and Men
• http://www.ofmonstersandmen.is/
• https://www.facebook.com/ofmonstersandmen
• https://twitter.com/monstersandmen
• http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/of-monsters-and-men/id487906750
• http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/

43. @bolafsson
linkedin.com/in/bolafsson
- April 2012 -

44. Appendix
- April 2012 -
What I have learned, mistakes I have made
and interested interactions with experts out there

45. When I made this presentation in mid March I hadn‘t done extensive research. I had read
what was available in the local Icelandic media and gathered together a bunch of articles
and blogs from all over the web. I had a lot to learn on this (but still had a lot of fun).
In the spirit of continous improvement the story is changing. I have updated the
presentation once and now updated and added an appendix with some more detailed
“technical” slides.
I have had a lot of fun making this and enjoyed the distribution it has gotten. I have
especially loved the feedback I have gotten and want to especially thank….
• The team at Next Big Sound
www.nextbigsound.com
• Josh Jackson (@joshjackson), editor of Paste Magazine (@pastemagazine)
www.pastemagazine.com
• John Allers (@Radio1045Johnny) at WRFF/Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia
www.radio1045.com/pages/johnny.html
Process, Progress and Thanks

46. • I got an email from John, the radio host in Philly that seems responsible for the local
affection in Pennsylvania. It is confirmed by Google analysis that Philadelphia was the
first melting pot of Of Monsters and Men fan craze in the US (though it became
popular at a Seattle station in 2010).
• In October, just after Airwaves, Universal Music Publishing signed the band and have
since then put considerable efforts (and money) into its future. This has probably been
very influential in the following internet craze.
• The manager, a veteran named Heather Kolker, at a respected agency in NY, is very well
connected and influential. She has for sure played an important role in their success.
• Large group of global music journalists wrote about the band after Iceland Airwaves in
October 2011 – and soon after internet interest increased drastically.
• It is not completely accurate that the band had never visited the US. It has visited and
even played some promo gigs to try to gain attention – but never toured in the US
(which was the underlying point).
New Findings (and corrections)

47. Quick recap..
In August of 2011, my friend Bobby Malone visited Iceland and saw OMAM at Culture Day & heard them on Icelandic radio, and was
very impressed; so, he sent me a link for the song which impressed me too. So, on August 25th, 2011, I downloaded a demo version of
“Little Talks” from iTunes and played it for our audience who absolutely freaked out over the song; so, we continued to play it more and
more. With our airplay, sales of the demo started to jump in Philly and I started receiving phone calls from Record Labels interested
learning more about OMAM and letting me know that they were trying to sign them to their label. Additionally, other Radio stations
(terrestrial and Satellite) started playing “Little Talks” after seeing the response it had in Philly
• OMAM had not been written about in Rolling Stone until AFTER Radio 104.5 started playing the song and calling attention to it
• OMAM had not been written about in Paste until after our airplay started spawn significant interest.
• OMAM did not have an International Record Label deal until long AFTER Radio 104.5 started playing “Little Talks” and demonstrated
how much appeal the band/song had
• OMAM had been in the U.S. prior to Radio 104.5’s airplay and their current explosion, as they had already showcased for at least one
other record label; also, I believe they opened a show for The Airborne Toxic Event in NYC
Also, if you look at your own graphs, you will see that Philly indexed extremely high with searches of OMAM, after our audience started
hearing them. (Your graph suggests that these searches were purely viral)
I’m convinced that OMAM would have been discovered in the U.S., with or without Bobby bringing them to my attention; but this
sequence of events is specifically what launched the label bidding war and impacted the timing of how the band would break in the
U.S.
John Allers
WRFF/Radio 104.5-Philadelphia: Program Director/Morning Host
Clear Channel Media + Entertainment : Philadelphia
Interesting Insights from
John Allers in Philadelphia (April 2nd)

48. More
Data
Google, Youtube and Itunes

49. Very limited national attention
before October 2011
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22&geo=US&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=q/

50. Last 12 Months
Last 90 Days
Last 30 Days
Traction moved over time
Last 12 Months
• Pennsylvania (100)
• New Jersey (51)
• Washington (51)
• Oregon (51)
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22&geo=US&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=q
Last 90 Days
• Pennsylvania (100)
• Oregon (87)
• Washington (81)
• Minnesota (71)
Last 30 Days
• Washington (100)
• Minnesota (76)
• Pennsylvania (72)
• Massachusetts (62)

51. Google searches in New York
NY
NY took off after Airwaves
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22%20%2C%22little%20talks%22%2C&geo=US-NY-501&date=7%2F2011%2010m&cmpt=q
Was that a coincidence?

52. Pennsylvania still the strongest
overall in the US since December
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22&geo=US&date=12%2F2011%205m&cmpt=q/

53. …until Oregon took the lead in Feb
Source: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22of%20monsters%20and%20men%22%20-%22little%20monsters%22&geo=US&date=2%2F2012%203m&cmpt=q

54. A lot of YouTube views in the two weeks
+~800,000
+~200,000
+~200,000
+~800,000
+~150,000
Source:http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=of+monsters+and+men+little+talks+&oq=of+monsters+and+men+-+&aq=0C&aqi=g-C10&aql=&gs_l=youtube-psuggest.3.0.0i33l10.42138l43373l0l44613l7l7l1l0l0l0l105l463l5j1l6l0.
Numberofviews2weeksago
Viewsinthelasttwoweeks

55. My Head is an Animal
Second on Itunes Music Bestseller list
on April 3rd
Source: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTop?genreId=34&id=700&popId=11

56. Source: http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/

57. Thanks!
- April 3 2012 -
Twitter: bolafsson
linkedIn.com/in/bolafsson