Jack Savoretti caught the music industry slightly by surprise with his first No.1 album last week. With sales of 32,264, Singing To Strangers performed strongly to romp home for BMG. Its sales are also holding up in the second week.
Here, Alistair Norbury, president, repertoire & marketing, UK at BMG takes Music Week inside the chart-topping campaign…
How did BMG achieve this strong No.1 UK performance?
“For the past five years, BMG and Jack Savoretti have been quietly working towards this moment. Over three albums, a combination of Jack’s talent as an artist and songwriter, together with consistent A&R from Thomas Haimovici and marketing lead by Gemma Reilly, all supported by Danielle and Niko at Push Management, has lead Jack to a UK No.1.”
How did the collaboration with fellow BMG artist Kylie on Music’s Too Sad Without You help set up this album?
“It was the perfect ‘amuse-bouche’! Kylie effectively handed over the baton to Jack by virtue of Music’s Too Sad Without You being the conclusion of her campaign and the opening of Jack’s. Certainly all the promo they did together reignited the interest in Jack.”
It's been a strong physical performer - can you also build the campaign on streaming from the low base?
“UK album-equivalent streams for the week so far are already 100% up on total week one streams for the last album. Overall, Jack’s streams are up 140%, so we are seeing him outperform market growth.”
Will the SSE Arena Wembley date on May 31 be a significant moment in the campaign?
“It’s a massive statement and demonstrates that Jack’s live base is growing at the same rate as his success as a recording artist. The May run gives us an instant boost to maintain the focused promo plot and we have significant international touring alongside our global campaign.”
Has there been strong radio and media support for Jack?
“Jack is one of the most engaging and hardworking artists at BMG. As an example, his repeated bookings on Graham Norton’s TV show are testament to how well he comes across and to how his appearances positively react for the show and at retail. This campaign has been consistently strong across radio (Hesso Media), TV (Sassy) and press (MBCPR) and this demand is set to continue.”
What are the international plans for the album?
“The initial focus territories are Italy, France, Germany and the USA, with promo trips continuing across all these markets. The No.1 success story will impact positively in these markets and beyond.”
Finally, do you think his growing success as an artist has been a little overlooked?
“To be fair, the BBC have been supporters across radio and TV over the last three albums and it really feels that it’s the press that’s caught up this time around. Retail has also embraced Jack as a strong physical seller, with D2C additionally being particularly strong. So we feel we have had the media support over the last few years. But I agree, the music industry will be taken by surprise, especially by the week one number!”
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