B.) SyCo see this as a real threat to Joe McEldrey's chances of reaching #1 and have used their contacts via Max Clifford to get Facebook to take the site down.

I thought Simon didn't care about getting number one :P

If that is the case, our best hope is that the OCC ban both songs from the chart. Now that really would make my Christmas

Can you explain more. Why would they ban them? Is there some rule been broken or possibly could be broken? :unsure:

"The group went down last night in which a member of Facebook's PR team contacted to say it was a 'bug'," he explained. "Later in the evening the group returned as normal, but now it's gone yet again I do start to be concerned."

I think this was a bug, like a virus, that was infecting many people because so many where visiting the group. Facebook had to take it offline to stop the infection and clean it up.

I read a thread about it on facebook soon after the group re-appeared. Darn if I can find it now, there is so much chatter there it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

 

Rage Factor: Cowell and Co in Second Xmas Chart Con

This bit of evidence seems particularly odious:

... championing Morter's campaign is Rage Factor! A Online Media company dedicated to promoting an online 'offensive' against Cowell and his chums. The company's founder is Neil Ridley - a former A&R man for Sony BMG and asscociate of one Simon Cowell.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

This bit of evidence seems particularly odious:

 

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Been checking earlier on this. Neil Ridley joined Warner Music in 2004(article below from 2004). I guess that means he left Sony BMG at the time?

 

http://www.songlink.com/songlink-music-ind...ws-2004-12.html

Well regardless of which one employs him now, it appears that Neil Ridley is still a major record company professional, so why and what is he doing here involved in running a supposedly grass roots protest? And who is paying for all this professional PR work? I find it hard to believe he and others are doing it for no reward.

 

It costs money to launch a professional looking website like ragefactor.co.uk, who paid for that?

The behind the scenes stuff about this campaign all seems very dubious. I think people are being conned into thinking this is a protest vote when it is simply another huge marketing ploy from a record company who are employing the same sort of tactics as Simon Cowell. So true about the old saying that a fool and his money are soon parted.

Well if this is a con being perpetrated by Fony (as George Michael famously called them in the past) then the OCC Rules have the power to disqualify both this and the X-Factor Winners single from the chart....

 

http://www.theofficialcharts.com/docs/Offi...gust%202009.pdf

 

No record company, distributor, retailer, Artist or other party should act or encourage others to act in any way designed to distort, or which has the effect of distorting the Chart by achieving a higher or lower Chart

position for a record than it would otherwise achieve...

 

...Where the Official Charts Company has reason to believe that a record is the subject of any of the above types of activity, it will, at its discretion, either remove identifiable irregular sales transactions from the data used to compile the Chart, or exclude the record from the Chart with immediate effect.

Well regardless of which one employs him now, it appears that Neil Ridley is still a major record company professional, so why and what is he doing here involved in running a supposedly grass roots protest? And who is paying for all this professional PR work? I find it hard to believe he and others are doing it for no reward.

 

It costs money to launch a professional looking website like ragefactor.co.uk, who paid for that?

 

ragefactor.co.uk is supposedly not affiliated with the people who made the facebook group, but as you said, it is very professional.

Neil now calls himself Neill, and owns and runs a design and branding company since at least 2007 (according to linkedin), so I assume he left that position at Warner. Still makes you wonder how and why he is employing his and his companies professional time and resources into this.

ragefactor.co.uk is supposedly not affiliated with the people who made the facebook group, but as you said, it is very professional.

 

It's not really that professional...could have knocked that up in a matter of hours.

Oh my, now this has is has descended into conspiracy theories 101. :blink: :unsure:

 

Isn't it likely that a person who'd set up a campaign like this would be a media student/graduate? It's added a bit more spice to the chart this week, and money is being raised for Shelter.

 

A bit of fun, a serious statement, or a cynical ploy to hype sales up this week? Who knows.

 

An ideal protest, IMO, would be a Chartjackers style project to create a Christmas song raising money for charity released on an independent label. :)

Oh my, now this has is has descended into conspiracy theories 101. :blink: :unsure:

 

Isn't it likely that a person who'd set up a campaign like this would be a media student/graduate? It's added a bit more spice to the chart this week, and money is being raised for Shelter.

 

A bit of fun, a serious statement, or a cynical ploy to hype sales up this week? Who knows.

 

An ideal protest, IMO, would be a Chartjackers style project to create a Christmas song raising money for charity released on an independent label. :)

 

Agreed the best example to date was the Nizlopi - JCB single. Which reached #1 and was Xmas #2 in 2005 behind Chav Justin Timberlake's "That my cover of a terrible song Westlife rejected"

Whether this was started by Sony or not it's the most important anymore. Cuz if this gets to #1 or even lots of media coverage it will make people question to karoate X-Factor output and put some interest back into other music at Xmas.

delete

Edited December 15, 200915 yr by zenon

They've just re-broadcast Cowell's comments from a few days ago on Radio 5. Judging by some of the comments sent in, some people were hearing it for the first time and were so outraged by his arrogance that they are now going to download RATM. The general feeling seemed to be that for him to denounce something as a cynical campaign was an extreme example of the pot calling the kettle black.

Whether this was started by Sony or not it's the most important anymore. Cuz if this gets to #1 or even lots of media coverage it will make people question to karoate X-Factor output and put some interest back into other music at Xmas.

 

It is clear from the first midweek figures that Simon Cowell is going to have his 5th consecutive Xmas #1 two more than any other act in UK music history has ever had.

 

However, it shows that there are a significant number of people who want to stick two fingers up to Simon Cowell.

 

What I hope comes out of this is that a Thom Yorke; Matt Bellamy; Damon Albarn or Jarvis Cocker decides to organise and orchestrate a bunch of contemporary acts who make and create real original music to get together to record a song to take on the Simon Cowell sausage making pop machine in 2010; and then try to do it again and again until Simon Cowell gets the message, because it is clear that there are nearly as many people out their who would buy an anti X-Factor record as muppets who will buy a record by someone who will probably be in 24 months time be appearing in panto with Les Dennis; a former soap actress & the Krankies.

oh also its on the ITV news. interesting, i hope this encourages people to download it. i want a good exciting race.

I live in hope that this sniff of a chart battle galvanizes support for RATM; media hype combined with a long overdue backlash, against Cowell and the X Factor, could push KITN further. RATM FTW xD.

This is a bit off topic but I've thought up a good name we can call this project:

 

Operation Rage Against The McElderry! :lol: