I’m sick to fucking death of the marketing plans.<\/p>\n
That’s what’s wrong with the major labels today.\u00c2\u00a0 Fuck the product, that’s irrelevant, they’re more interested in how they’re going to SELL the product!<\/p>\n
Did you read that inane story about Epic’s band Cartel recording its new album in a huge transparent bubble on the Hudson, with the act entering said "biosphere" live on MTV?<\/p>\n
Ever heard of Cartel?<\/p>\n
Not me.\u00c2\u00a0 But I’m sure they can’t be making music I’m interested in.\u00c2\u00a0 Music comes from inspiration, not marketing plans.\u00c2\u00a0 Whoever convinced the act to be involved in this stunt, whether it be their manager or Charlie Walk or somebody else, should be exiled from the business immediately, made to live in said biosphere WITH the band, sans BlackBerry, sans dinners at Peter Luger’s, sans ANY of the creature comforts of modern society.<\/p>\n
Better yet, Cartel still has time to back out of this misguided stunt.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than become the David Blaines of music (and it’s not like Mr. Blaine gets any respect from magicians), Cartel can only save itself by issuing a press release REBELLING against such crap.\u00c2\u00a0 Would the Sex Pistols listen to their label?\u00c2\u00a0 Would they be playing it safe?\u00c2\u00a0 Would they be tools of the marketing machine?\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly not when they mattered, back in ’76.<\/p>\n
Imagination.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why the Ramones were so great.\u00c2\u00a0 In an era when we had classical virtuosos on stage in capes (yes, you Rick Wakeman), this band of boroughmen all donned leather jackets and made two minute ditties, in some cases with the stupidest lyrics of all time.\u00c2\u00a0 It was kind of like abstract expressionism…ANYBODY could do it, but nobody else could THINK of it!<\/p>\n
That’s what kept rock and roll alive.\u00c2\u00a0 The constant innovation.\u00c2\u00a0 The unexpected.\u00c2\u00a0 Alice Cooper beheading himself on stage.\u00c2\u00a0 David Bowie on the cover of his album as a dog.\u00c2\u00a0 The artists were testing the limits, they were LEADING the company, they weren’t being towed around town on leashes by execs who couldn’t play a note.<\/p>\n
Here’s a revolutionary idea for you, MAKE IT ABOUT THE MUSIC FIRST!<\/p>\n
The music comes last today.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be pretty, you’ve got to be poised.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll get one of the usual suspects to write a hit for you, and then we’ll promote you as the fuckable human of the moment all over the media.<\/p>\n
Oh, you indie bands aren’t much better.\u00c2\u00a0 You sing poorly, and your material isn’t catchy, but you’re coming from the right place.\u00c2\u00a0 Not being sold out is not enough for anybody but a small coterie of people to care.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to make music that works even if you’re NOT a fan!<\/p>\n
Maybe you’ve got a good voice and a knack with a melody.\u00c2\u00a0 Well then you can twist the formula like Harry Nilsson or 10cc, so the obviousness of your music is leavened with humor.\u00c2\u00a0 Why the FUCK did you put the lime in the coconut and mix them both together?\u00c2\u00a0 And, a Beach Boys-esque number about a PRISON RIOT?\u00c2\u00a0 How did people COME UP WITH THIS STUFF!<\/p>\n
That’s how you break through.\u00c2\u00a0 By surprising, by CONFOUNDING the public.\u00c2\u00a0 By making people stop and think, not bump their asses as you try to convince us you’re bringing sexy back when no one believes it ever went away.<\/p>\n
And after you create your music, you don’t sell it with stunts.\u00c2\u00a0 Stunts are how you get the old wave media to pay attention.\u00c2\u00a0 A stunt is Lonelygirl15.\u00c2\u00a0 Heard anything about HER lately?\u00c2\u00a0 Now you’ve just got to put your stuff up on the Web, and wait for people to find it.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, service music blogs, and provide your friends\/family\/fans with free MP3s and other goodies, but you’ve got to let the public do the marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s cheaper, and if you gain momentum, it LASTS!<\/p>\n
The foregoing is anathema to the old wave players.\u00c2\u00a0 They need insurance.\u00c2\u00a0 They worry about radio, they think about television, they’ve got to get a pass from the gatekeepers.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, I’ve got to tell you, the only gatekeepers who even matter now are the authors of music blogs.\u00c2\u00a0 THAT’S where so many records get started.\u00c2\u00a0 But really, an act is now its OWN gatekeeper.\u00c2\u00a0 You have to figure out how accessible you are online, to what degree you pressure people to pay attention.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be available, but you’ve got to get others to PULL!\u00c2\u00a0 You need infrastructure, but you can’t fire up the machine until the public DEMANDS IT!<\/p>\n
We haven’t got a new Frank Zappa.\u00c2\u00a0 And, even though Yes is oftentimes pilloried, their sound was a revelation back in ’69.\u00c2\u00a0 And it was sheer perseverance that allowed the band to break through\u00c2\u00a0 in ’72.\u00c2\u00a0 Their music got FURTHER OUT, they tested the limits MORE!\u00c2\u00a0 If you don’t succeed at first, you don’t compromise, you don’t do what everybody else does, you STAY THE COURSE!<\/p>\n
EXPAND upon the music with your identity, don’t make the identity primary.\u00c2\u00a0 Yes, create a whole culture around your music.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t come up with stunts\/marketing plans, come up with enhancements of your ART!\u00c2\u00a0 Those last.\u00c2\u00a0 Marketing efforts evaporate.<\/p>\n
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I’m sick to fucking death of the marketing plans. That’s what’s wrong with the major labels today.\u00c2\u00a0 Fuck the product, that’s irrelevant, they’re more interested in how they’re going to SELL the product! Did you read that inane story about Epic’s band Cartel recording its new album in a huge transparent bubble on the Hudson, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","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-771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-cr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}