Nzime

It’s that time of year again and the artists are battling it out for the inevitable x-factor win of the number 1 spot for Christmas. This year however social media is throwing its weight in to rebel against the machine that is Syco and X-Factor.

With months of free publicity for the single and using the reality TV platform to get millions of viewers emotionally attached to the artists X-Factor has dominated the number 1 position in the charts for all but 1 series of the program.

This year however this may change. A Facebook group has been started and has so far got over 710,000 members pledging to buy Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the name. The group has generated a lot of attention from the media and the frequency of Rage Against the Machine being played on national/local radio has greatly increased. More importantly bookies odds have been slashed with Killing in the Name now around 4 to 1 odds however X Factor is still the favorite to win.

Whether Rage Against the Machine gets to Christmas number 1, this is a great demonstration of the power of social media within the digital age. Using a networking platform such as Facebook to return a 1992 track to the charts is something record labels would struggle to achieve with the greatest of advertising budgets.

Do I think we will be hearing Killing in the Name on the number 1 slot this year? I doubt it, due to the months of promotion X factor has received and the millions it has made with involving the public in the voting process. But it will be a success story of the strength of Social Media platforms and how people can pull together to make a change whether in a commercial aspect or a political movement.

The Group: http://bit.ly/inthename