They want her to be successful, don’t you get it?<\/p>\n
It’s easier this way.\u00c2\u00a0 You find someone attractive, hook her up with the producers\/songwriters du jour, and hype her to high heaven.\u00c2\u00a0 If it doesn’t work?<\/p>\n
Then you’re screwed.\u00c2\u00a0 Then you’ve got to do it the hard way.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to find someone with talent, who’s put in thousands of hours and is willing to put in thousands more in order to establish a career fan by fan, by playing live ad infinitum, by being nice, realizing the customer is the fan, not the TV network or the radio station or any of the dying intermediaries.<\/p>\n
I don’t think Katy Perry is without talent.\u00c2\u00a0 But the YouTube link below doesn’t close me.\u00c2\u00a0 In order to close you, a clip, whether it be audio or video, has to stop you in your tracks, it’s got to make you forget what you planned to do as you sit there stunned, overwhelmed with the sheer quality and intrinsic value of the artist’s material.<\/p>\n
A good enough voice won’t stop you.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s the alchemy of song, singer and presentation.\u00c2\u00a0 Not everybody has it.\u00c2\u00a0 But when you’ve got it, you’re a star.<\/p>\n
Maybe Katy Perry could have a career if she played by career rules.\u00c2\u00a0 If she refused to work with the usual suspects and just went on the road, starting in clubs, grinding it out, gig by gig, fan by fan, until suddenly there’s a buzz, when your friends ask HAVE YOU HEARD THIS GIRL?<\/p>\n
But no.\u00c2\u00a0 She decided to take the easy way out.\u00c2\u00a0 Issuing novelty singles.\u00c2\u00a0 Trading on her sexuality.\u00c2\u00a0 Hyping to high heaven.<\/p>\n
Sure, she did the Warped Tour, I commend her for that. But instead of dallying with Russell Brand in the gossip pages, she could have stayed on the road, honing her chops, building her audience.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, she was holed up in a studio, trying to create pop perfection.\u00c2\u00a0 And pop perfection just doesn’t go as far as it used to.<\/p>\n
So let this be a lesson to you.\u00c2\u00a0 Play the game at your peril.\u00c2\u00a0 Listen to the usual suspects with caution.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s your one and only career.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody might know who you are overnight, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got any fans.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the essence of a reality star.\u00c2\u00a0 Famous for nothing other than overexposure.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s Paris Hilton.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s Kim Kardashian.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s not a musical star.<\/p>\n
Katy should do a mea culpa.\u00c2\u00a0 Can the overscripted, slick videos with guest rappers and go on the road with a band, sans hype.<\/p>\n
But she doesn’t want to work that hard.<\/p>\n
Oh, she’ll tell us how hard it is to be today’s Katy Perry.\u00c2\u00a0 All that time in the studio, all that hair and makeup.\u00c2\u00a0 Hogwash.\u00c2\u00a0 AC\/DC had it right decades ago, and it hasn’t changed since, it’s more true now than ever:<\/p>\n
Hotel, motel<\/span> Those driving hundreds of miles a day in a van, sleeping four to a room, eating fast food to stay alive are the true stars of tomorrow.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a learning experience.\u00c2\u00a0 You bond with your audience.\u00c2\u00a0 You get good.\u00c2\u00a0 And the public knows it.<\/p>\n Hell, how many albums did AC\/DC release in America before they made it?\u00c2\u00a0 PLENTY!\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, their American label wouldn’t even put out "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", but after the mega-success of "Back In Black", that earlier album came out and sold tonnage too.<\/p>\n And isn’t it great to be able to go back in time and find the undiscovered gems, as opposed to an act making one hit album, which succeeds immediately, and then nothing?<\/p>\n And now it’s not even an album, but a track.<\/p>\n And you can’t charge $1000 for a track.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t sell a Topspin $100 package.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, you can license it to a commercial, whore it out ad infinitum, but when the mania dies down, you’re left with almost nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 A momentary pile of cash that you’d better save, because there’s no more coming in.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile, the fat cats who told you to sell out are on to the next thing.<\/p>\n Let Katy Perry be a warning.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve got a modicum of talent, take the road less traveled.\u00c2\u00a0 Go your own way.\u00c2\u00a0 Find your own voice.\u00c2\u00a0 Create something unique.\u00c2\u00a0 Build your audience fan by fan.\u00c2\u00a0 Then you’ll have a career, and money that rains down year after year.<\/p>\n _______________________________________ She’s done all this, do some youtube research and you’ll see.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s very talented.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s possible the persona she currently pushes might negate this, might push it back underground where no one will find it.\u00c2\u00a0 But she’s demonstrated her cred numerous times, those in the industry know, which is why they’ve invested massively in her, even at this teen- hits stage.<\/p>\n Michael Olson<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Well, had you been to her many hotel cafe shows (including other singer\/songwriter events) prior to the emi signing, you would realize how far wide right you missed on this missive. <\/p>\n Todd A. Cooper _______________________________________<\/p>\n You should check out Katy Perry’s unplugged set. It’s got what you need to help her "real musician" cred.<\/p>\n Matt O’Donnell<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n I couldn’t agree more with you on Katy . A little tough love now to learn from might still give her a career if she takes it all in and comes up with something SPECIAL not a sensational tease.<\/p>\n Kevin Sutter<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n You mean like this?<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZLgy3P11aXI<\/p>\n Daniel Barassi<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Bob, Just a note regarding Katy Perry (formerly Katy Hudson).\u00c2\u00a0 I signed her in 2002 to a new label venture and had the bright idea to bring in Glen Ballard to write with her before we had her emancipated- She was 17.\u00c2\u00a0 Glen convinced her to jump ship to his label, which eventually folded. However, I will say she is truly talented and could easily pull off an unplugged guitar vocal performance.<\/p>\n Keith Thomas<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Do a youtube search for Katy Perry acoustic at Hotel Cafe and you will find hundreds of videos of her alone onstage and playing guitar.\u00c2\u00a0 She played there a lot before she got her break and she still plays there occasionally for her friends and fans.\u00c2\u00a0 I find it commendable that she saves that for the people that know her instead of trying to prove to the world that she is a real artist\/musician\/songwriter. \u00c2\u00a0 Kevin Lyon<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Hi Bob….I’m a new subscriber and really enjoy your thoughts. Yeah, she – now – is basically "Katy Perry – the product". I had her on my (now defunct) Indie 103.1FM radio show back in December 2007 – many months before "I Kissed A Girl" was even released, and way way before her debut CD exploded. My radio show ("Neon Noise") was a DJ mix show — mainly an electro-indie rock club beats kind of thing.<\/p>\n While she sounds nothing like that, I’d really loved a 5-track sampler I’d gotten from her press people. And in my gut, I thought She did two songs live…just her and her acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n "You’re So Gay" is on video here – http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZLgy3P11aXI<\/p>\n Just the (better) audio is here – http:\/\/www.divshare.com\/download\/3270232-318<\/p>\n And here’s just the audio for "One Of The Boys" No Dr. Luke, no Swedish hit producers, no auto-tune & no Snoop Dogg – and if you watch the video — not even the glammed up makeup\/look.<\/p>\n She wrote these songs, sang them live, and the talent IS there. But I thought you’d like to compare and contrast?<\/p>\n Best – Paul V., Los Angeles<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Perry released an Unplugged album between the debut and this one. She can actually sing. But no one cared. They like her as a cartoon character, a Disney version of Gwen Stefani.<\/p>\n – Phil Freeman<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n Did you see Katy Perry’s MTV Unplugged? She is talented. Get real. Stop hating on the pop machine.<\/p>\n Sexuality\/Gimmicks get you attention- case and point: GaGa. She would not have been known or had as many fans is she was just sitting at a piano singing her songs. She was smart. She had talent, but knew her talent alone would not be enough to reach the stardom\/fame that she longed for. So, she used the questionable sexuality, costumes and odd behavior to get what she wanted. Just like Katy Perry did with "I Kissed a Girl", on a smaller scale, but still, it is the same equation. And just because you use it doesn’t mean you aren’t talented, it means you understand pop.<\/p>\n L.A. Landgraf<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n I can’t argue with any of your assessments because frankly, you know your shit and are normally 100% on target. I confess to being a little bit of a casual Katy Perry fan (her looks certainly have something to do with it). Her "music" is just ok on record. <\/p>\n I did catch her though on\u00c2\u00a0 that "Pladia" HD channel (the one you have to stick a coat hanger on to your roof with Dish Network dish to get) and she was quite impressive in a LIVE setting. <\/p>\n She played all of her songs acoustic and even did a great cover of an obscure Fountains Of Wayne song. <\/p>\n For what its worth, I came away impressed (especially with the choice of cover material) and I usually hate everything plastic and packaged up for music consumption.<\/p>\n Jeff D. Fulton _______________________________________<\/p>\n Katy Perry:<\/p>\n Have you seen her performance on Letterman?\u00c2\u00a0 I think her handlers wanted to prove her vocal talent with an acapella start to her song.\u00c2\u00a0 BIG MISTAKE!\u00c2\u00a0 Truly awful vocals.\u00c2\u00a0 So bad that even when the instruments kicked in it was unlistenable!<\/p>\n -Please keep my name confidential-<\/p>\n _______________________________________<\/p>\n EW.com article on Perry’s disappointing sales:<\/p>\n http:\/\/music-mix.ew.com\/2010\/09\/01\/katy-perry-album-sales\/?xid=email-ThisWeekend-20100902-5Things-Story4<\/p>\n Eric Schornhorst<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They want her to be successful, don’t you get it? It’s easier this way.\u00c2\u00a0 You find someone attractive, hook her up with the producers\/songwriters du jour, and hype her to high heaven.\u00c2\u00a0 If it doesn’t work? Then you’re screwed.\u00c2\u00a0 Then you’ve got to do it the hard way.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to find someone with talent, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-Rp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3311"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3313,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311\/revisions\/3313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Make you wanna cry<\/span>
Lady do the hard sell<\/span>
Know the reason why<\/span>
Gettin’ old<\/span>
Gettin’ grey<\/span>
Gettin’ ripped off<\/span>
Underpaid<\/span>
Gettin’ sold<\/span>
Second hand<\/span>
That’s how it goes<\/span>
Playin’ in a band<\/span>
It’s a long way to the top<\/span>
If you wanna rock ‘n’ roll<\/span><\/p>\n
_______________________________________<\/p>\n\n
Of Counsel
Greenberg Traurig<\/p>\n
When Lady Gaga does it on national television, it almost seems gimmicky.<\/p>\n
I think I want to disagree with you about Katy Perry, on some level.<\/p>\n
Or fully submersed in the machinations of pop stardom, perhaps.
But she really is talented underneath all the makeup and baggage.<\/p>\n
"This girl’s gonna be something big" – so I booked her on my show.
She came in with her buddy DJ Skeet Skeet and we had a silly, fun time.<\/p>\n
– http:\/\/www.divshare.com\/download\/3270252-1c1<\/p>\n
But sigh, yes — that was then, and this is now.<\/p>\n
8bitrocket Studios<\/p>\n