KENNEDY H-K MEDIA BLOG G324: SLIPKNOT- REINVENTION AND PROMOTION

This band has been around since 1996 and is still performing today. Therefore, they have the tough job of keeping their music up to date. Their latest album was released in 2008; however, they still manage to remain very successful without releasing new music.

They remain in the public’s view by headlining the massive metal festival Download in 2013, which was one of their 4 performances there. They take advantage of social networks and have a twitter, Facebook and MySpace page to promote their work. Each band member has their own pursuits outside of the band which promotes the band and the members themselves. The lead singer Corey Taylor is also in the band ‘Stone sour’ and Clown works with people with eating disorders.

To reinvent themselves previously, they have changed their masks over the years. This gives them new identities and added to their air of mystery. The band says that the masks are used to draw the attention away from themselves as individuals and put it on the music, even though they each now have their own star power. Slipknot have developed their image; changing their uniforms and each member's mask accordingly with the release of each album. They keep to their own individual themes so that the audience can recognise which member is which. In 2012, Slipknot released an app for iOS and Android called "Slipknot: Wear the Mask." The app invites fans to construct their own masks, allowing them to define what kind of Slipknot fans they are. This is still available today.

For each studio album they have done a concept tour to spread the popularity of their music and please the fans. This also brought about new merchandise including t-shirts, jumpers etc.

They decided the rules that define the current Slipknot:
1. "We do not answer to anyone"
2. "We do not worry about trends"
3. "We play what we want"
4. "We would not allow people to have any sort of influence on the band"

As the band create new albums and music, they renewed their merchandise, image and social networks with it. They then follow this up with a tour. This promotes them further and allows fans to follow the band easily. This preparation has allowed them to remain popular along with their frequent appearances at festivals.

Studio albums