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Arcade Fire, Google, & HTML5 – The Music Video Experiment

Music ties us emotionally to experiences in our lives. There are certain songs that evoke memories from childhood, special events and specific places. With the way music and technology has evolved in recent years, fans are looking for ways to connect with bands in real time is now more prevalent than ever.

The landscape of music has changed. The way we are introduced to music today is completely different than five years ago. More now then ever bands are coming up with innovative ways to introduce their music to fans. Bands have to fight Internet piracy with innovative marketing techniques to grab fans’ attention and encourage them to purchase their music.

The band The National, partnered with the New York Times’ website and Vevo to stream their new album “High Violet”. The result of the bands efforts help them to land the number three spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart after its debut week.

The band Arcade Fire has taken personal musical experience to the next level. Today the band unveiled their partnership with Google. The Chrome Experiment utilizes the newest HTML5 features and is the vision of writer/director Chris Milk. This custom music video experience specifically built for the Google Chrome browsers called “The Wilderness Downtown”, links the song “We Used to Wait” with a deeply personal view of the streets you grew up on. This experiment works by leveraging Google maps, HTML5, an integrated drawing tool and multiple browser windows that move around your screen as you watch your highly personalized music video. It is a bit hard to describe but the theme of childhood slipping away is very prevalent throughout the video as you see your street change, without ruining it.

The overall experience is incredible. It is not only innovative and creative but pushes the technology envelope. Social media allows bands to put their music in the hands of their fans and allow them to create a personalized connection.

This experiment pushes music promotion to new heights. This kind of interactive music experience has turned the traditional music video on its ear in a positive way. I do have to warn you, it is very processor-intense.

Kudos, Arcade Fire you have set the bar. I just hope other bands start to take note.

Learn more about the Chrome Experiments here.

What are your thoughts on Arcade Fire/Google experiment? What artists do you feel are innovative in social media?

Tags: google, html5, Mike Wisniewski, Milwaukee, music videos, social media agency milwaukee, the arcade fire, the national, The New York Times