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'Selling out' V not selling many records! |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,656
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'Selling out' V not selling many records!
Sia's recent collaborations have made me think: is it better for an artist to do what they like and have minimal success, or should they take a chance to make more money and get more well-known if they can, even if that means going against what they'd normally do?
I don't normally consider myself a music snob, but I do cringe when I hear Sia's track with Flo Rida. She's always seemed a really original and creative artist, and yet here she is on a generic club record from one of the most commercial rappers around. I quite like her song 'Titanium' with David Guetta as it's got some of the vibe that she had when she worked with Zero 7, but Flo Rida!? Really!? I think I'd rather artists I like stay small and didn't get any mainstream recognition than did trashy collabs, but I guess it pays the bills! I'm quite happy to see artists get success, but not at the risk of their integrity, but I guess it's a personal opinion. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 825
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Why not start out very commercial and all publicised and stuff, then when you've got an established fanbase and name, do what you want to do with your music after you've earned that right? All the greats did it pretty much that way. Very few of them are making music similar to their first record.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,167
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Quote:
Why not start out very commercial and all publicised and stuff, then when you've got an established fanbase and name, do what you want to do with your music after you've earned that right? All the greats did it pretty much that way. Very few of them are making music similar to their first record.
Assume you are talking about artist's who actively go after signing to a Major label & achieve that goal & become the 1 in 10 who achieve commercial success (it has often been stated that that only a 10% success rate for Major label signed artists was acieved in mid o'ties,anyway). Quote:
All the greats did it pretty much that way. Very few of them are making music similar to their first record.
Think you are a little nieve on how the relationship between Major label & artist works - especially these days.Think you need to read up on how recording contracts work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_contract extracts from above 'hit albums meeting or exceeding their previous sales figures must follow. Recording contracts may include opt-out clauses for the label in the event an act's popularity dips or the act releases non-hit albums under the deal' 'Record companies put forth huge sums of money to produce, release, and promote an album. Recording time, manufacturing, packaging, photos, distribution, marketing, and music videos are just some of the areas where the label must spend money on an act it has signed. The label usually absorbs these expenses [means they will work out another way to get their money back without being exposed to the risk of not getting a return on their investment], but in some artists contracts, some of this money may be due back to the label, unless otherwise worded [another way of wording it to what I put in bold above]. Advances (upfront money that is paid directly to a recording artist) are normally always owed back to the label. Once (and if) the advance has been paid back from record sales, the artist then begins to see royalty payments for additional sales. Advancing an act money is a risk the label endures as it does not know how well the act's album will sell'. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 738
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Sia has been around for years and never had major success so yeah shes selling out to get some glory i think.
Shes earned it but she has succomed to singing the David Guetta shite which is taking over the world at the moment. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,842
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Can't she be enjoying it? Just because she's never released records like these herself, it may have been because she'd never had the opportunity.
I think she still wrote her lyrics so she's not exactly just decided "i want to be famous, give me any song" and I think Titanium was actually written for someone else to sing (I want to say Mary J Blige but I may be making that up completely) so in that instance she's not gone out of her way for attention. It's not like she's promoted the tracks, they've been selected as singles by the main artist('s record labels) I always think it's unfair when music snobbery makes people turn on acts because they don't see them as cult or cool anymore because more people have heard of them. If you still like the music, who cares if 100 people here or 100 million, and noone can like every song an artist produces, "sold out" or not "sold out" |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,167
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Quote:
Can't she be enjoying it? Just because she's never released records like these herself, it may have been because she'd never had the opportunity.
I think she still wrote her lyrics so she's not exactly just decided "i want to be famous, give me any song" and I think Titanium was actually written for someone else to sing (I want to say Mary J Blige but I may be making that up completely) so in that instance she's not gone out of her way for attention. It's not like she's promoted the tracks, they've been selected as singles by the main artist('s record labels) I always think it's unfair when music snobbery makes people turn on acts because they don't see them as cult or cool anymore because more people have heard of them. If you still like the music, who cares if 100 people here or 100 million, and noone can like every song an artist produces, "sold out" or not "sold out" |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,656
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Quote:
Can't she be enjoying it? Just because she's never released records like these herself, it may have been because she'd never had the opportunity.
I think she still wrote her lyrics so she's not exactly just decided "i want to be famous, give me any song" and I think Titanium was actually written for someone else to sing (I want to say Mary J Blige but I may be making that up completely) so in that instance she's not gone out of her way for attention. It's not like she's promoted the tracks, they've been selected as singles by the main artist('s record labels) I always think it's unfair when music snobbery makes people turn on acts because they don't see them as cult or cool anymore because more people have heard of them. If you still like the music, who cares if 100 people here or 100 million, and noone can like every song an artist produces, "sold out" or not "sold out" I heard that 'Titanium' was intended for Mary J as well BTW. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,656
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Quote:
Just because you write your own stuff doesn't make it 'genuine' though.Alot of artists write / create music they think is commercially marketable, not because they genuinely love the music they are creating.If an artists music is both genuine & commercially successful - there is no problem with that of course.To my ears there seems to be alot of chart music , around these days, that isn't very genuine.Alot of artists, that are successful, don't seem to have any genuineness, or any redeemable talent to start with even IMO.This has led to the downward spiral in the quality of 'pop / chart' music, again IMO.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,167
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Wow, that was brilliantly worded - you've understood exactly what I was trying to say to begin with, and said more besides. I totally agree about music that has no genuine emotion behind it, IMO even Coldplay have succumbed to this recently, presumably to try and stay relevant. Chris Martin said this stuff is 'the future of music' but there are still plenty of people doing more meaninful songs AND having commercial success.
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,552
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Quote:
Can't she be enjoying it? Just because she's never released records like these herself, it may have been because she'd never had the opportunity.
I think she still wrote her lyrics so she's not exactly just decided "i want to be famous, give me any song" and I think Titanium was actually written for someone else to sing (I want to say Mary J Blige but I may be making that up completely) so in that instance she's not gone out of her way for attention. It's not like she's promoted the tracks, they've been selected as singles by the main artist('s record labels) I always think it's unfair when music snobbery makes people turn on acts because they don't see them as cult or cool anymore because more people have heard of them. If you still like the music, who cares if 100 people here or 100 million, and noone can like every song an artist produces, "sold out" or not "sold out" I don't think she's 'sold out' she is merely releasing records that sells, there is a big difference between that and doing big promotional stunts to get yourself on the front of the newspapers. Like the way that Geri Halliwell always used to enter a new relationship when she had a song out! |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Norrbotten, Sweden
Posts: 17,817
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I'd rather I enjoy the music, so if it doesn't sell well then so be it.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,656
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Quote:
Thanks.Alot of people on this site put it down tp music snobbery.Some people aren't looking for emotion or belief though.If it's got a catchy tune to it - that satisfies alot.Many would say if music hasn't got a hook to it - it's boring.Coldplay have seemingly pandered to this audience recently.It's increased their short term popularity but made them less relevent IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I do like some catchy pop music - it definitely has a place and I'd rather hear say LMFAO than Arcade Fire in a nightclub, but overall the emotion wins for me. |
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