Hello again, this site has been so quiet! I do apologise but there has been a lot going on in life, just in general. Eurovision never sleeps though and there is much to talk about. Today though the participants picked internally by broadcasters are beginning to be announced (finally) so it makes a lot of sense to start with them!
But why on Earth has it taken so long for the first internal selection to be now… a measly two weeks before the national final season wraps up?
Strategy or Convenience?
When the entry has been chosen by the broadcaster, they have full control over when they present said entry to the public. This means theoretically internally selected songs can be revealed as the Eurovision entry as early as the first of September. And yet here we are. Many (multiple week long) national finals which had to be fitted into a TV schedule, have wrapped up, yet 5 minute announcement videos have not. There have been many opportunities to release songs earlier yet delegations have held off.
Later Is Greater?
You would think logically then that there must be an element of strategy to this then. This idea follows the train of thought that releasing songs closer to the submission deadline will reduce the number of times people listen to the music before the contest and improve. Evidence as to whether this is the case is dubious… many songs grow on people over time. Sure some tracks are designed for that quick feel good buzz and then to be thrown out after two weeks of non-stop looping. If you are sending a song like that then yeah sure don’t release it.
Homogeny of Thought
And yet this is clearly not the case for all songs. Ask any Eurofan if they have always loved every song they now love from the contest and you will be met with a resounding ‘no’. Our music preferences are constantly evolving as we age and develop as people. Truly this is one of the most magical things about music. Not every song released by delegations in the coming days will be an instant hit with fans, so why are so many delegations leaving their reveal so late?
Too Much Information
I know for one, that Eurovision season can be a bit overwhelming at times. Suddenly, there is a cascade of Saturdays with much multi-screen, multi-media mayhem being consumed in the space of a few hours. I have to take my hat off to anyone who takes on the mammoth task of live commentary during these events as there is just so much information to be consumed in a short space of time. For most this ultimately means we don’t watch every national final and promo opportunities are lost by delegations.
Replay Replay Replay Yeah
This rule of thumb can also apply to the internal selections though. For example as Montenegro release their song today, they will be competing for press coverage with the German national final. Now obviously it is near impossible for broadcasters to analyse the scheduling of every other competing member but by releasing a song now, the risk of clashing with national finals and the other internal selections have been amplified. Yeah, it reduces the risk of your song being played to death but you equally need people talking about it.
A Complete Over-Analysis
My hunch is that ultimately this all comes down to life just being busy! In the same way I have left posting here way too long, many delegations will have several pressing deadlines and other projects going on in the background. But would having a little more strategy actually be worth prioritising over those deadlines? Does it really make any difference when you release a song in practise? Well like a lot of you seem to love to do, I wanna (Latvia 2002 tease) pull out some data and see!
So When Were Previous Winners Released?
Mean Winners
Looking back over this century, most winners were released at roughly the same time. With the average winner being released around 77 days before the contest itself. It should be noted that all of these winning songs were announced to be the Eurovision entry somewhere between January and March, sorry Festivali I Kenges, though this lines up nicely with the average song release and really cannot be read into.
So The Optimum Date To Release Your 2022 Song Is?
The 26th of February – which has passed!
So good luck Australia and Finland! The date is in your favour. And as for you internal selections, well I’m not saying hurry up BUT… we are all just begging to hear them! Take the breaks off and lets hear more great music!
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