How effectively were your three main texts marketed?
Nirvana had to rely upon upon their major record label Geffen to gain them mainstream popularity in the 1990's as the internet was in its infancy. Their 1991 release 'Nevermind' was released by Geffen at a time when to achieve widespread success in the music industry it was essential to be signed to a global label as they had the marketing and distribution capabilities to promote artists. At this time critical acclaim, through reviews, and 'word of mouth' enabled artists to become popular and established on the independent circuit, but this restricted worldwide success due to lack of revenue - this is why Nirvana chose to ditch their independent label Sub Pop and sign to the major label Geffen.
Their use of a strong visual rebellious iconography; long-hair, ripped jeans and punk rock attitude had already created a hardcore audience which had allowed them to successfully market themselves to not only metal fans but also more alternative genres. This attitude can be clearly seen in the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' music video. In the opening shot we instantly see the 'Converse All Star' baseball shoe a typical clothing signifier of teen rebellion. The videos mise-en-scene of a high school basketball court with teenagers 'moshing' in slow-motion was also highly evocative of Nirvana's cultural ideology and potential audience appeal.
Nirvana's DIY, punk attitude was already well-established from their time at Sub Pop, but maintaining this with the move to Geffen increased their marketing potential as they hadn't 'sold out' to their hardcore fans. On the UK promotional tour for 'Nevermind' Kurt Cobain, and the rest of the band, maintained their authentic attitude and image on several TV shows such as Jonathan Ross and Top Of The Pops. On the Jonathan Ross show in 1991 they were expected to play their new single 'In Bloom' but instead chose to play one of their heaviest metal genre songs 'Territorial Pissings'. This created a buzz around them and people wanted to see them live and this also increased the sales of their album 'Nevermind'. This would have been viewed as a highly effective marketing strategy in the early 90's before the progression to internet marketing as their popularity was increasing through reviews and 'word of mouth'.
However, since the demise of Cobain and Nirvana the internet has now enabled their legacy to continue through iTunes and youtube and their music can still be marketed at a young rebellious audience. The ability to target audiences through iTunes with links to other artists has allowed marketing approaches to successfully reach appropriate audiences without the added costs of promotional and live touring. The internet has also allowed new audiences to discover Nirvana and buy their album 'Nevermind' as witnessed for the 20th Anniversary re-release via iTunes. This has now allowed the album to achieve over 26 million sales worldwide since its release in 1991.
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