I knew that sh*t was gonna happen.
No matter what industry you are in, performance art, emceeing, investment banking, quarter backing, you have to take control of your career and not expect an institution to manage it for you IN YOUR BEST INTEREST.
If I were her manager I would have done the following:
1. Created a MAJOR INTERACTIVE myspace/you tube web presence for her.
2. Would have had her opening for all relevant artists on tour, ie those who are brown/black friendly.
3. Created a mix tape, right after that Nas/ Jay sh*t popped off to capitalize on their respective Fall 2006 hype. Specifically a mixtape w/ John Legend, Yeye, Ledisi, Nas, Jay, Common, Kweli, Pharoe and Ghost and other folks relevent to her lane.
4. Woulda pitched her hard on some Jennifer Hudson type love, ie, she AIN'T what YALL ARE TAUGHT TO THINK IS BEAUTIFUL, but she BAD as SH*T.
5. Would have went HARD at the BLOGS and the ALTERNATIVE WEEKLY JAWN's, pluggin her as much as possible.
6. Would have had her vocals shining on soundtracks this spring and summer.
Full disclosure.
The only thing I love more than Corporate Governance and Mergers and Acquisitions is Managing Artist
Def Jam. There is still time to do this right.
You know where to find me. [ Wherever you need me]
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Yall think they f*cked up her promotion?
Why or why not?
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12 comments:
i do think it's a shame but the album is still the hotness!
As I was thinking bout what to say to Common when I see him today (other than "when u gonna make ur deposit to this egg bank" lol) lol I started to think about the marginalization of neo singers and "underground" rappers by the business as well as other artists then I started to think about the Roots situation with Def Jam...was it really in their best interest to move to a highly successful label but be marketed in a WTF manner? whazzup with Def Jam? r they the cool crowd with exclusive membership to certain hip hop veterans and the highly influential good gorls gone bad...wtf "umbrella ella eh eheh"
was it really in their best interest to move to a highly successful label but be marketed in a WTF manner?
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I think it was just for the publicity and sora jumpstarting their career. I read in an article that Black Thought said that they have never recouped on a record and don't expect to. So if they can live with it, so can I. But I hear what your saying.
But back to Ms. Michele. They dropped the ball big time.
1. Nas or Jay should have returned the favor and been on the album. It's not smart for the only guest appearance on the album (Ne-yo) to be promoting his own album. Ghostface would have been a good choice too(hint, hint "remix").
2. She should have been opening for Robin Thicke. Their music is similar and he has an audience that crosses gender, age, & genre lines.
Honestly they need to follow Thicke's plan for recovering from a botche first single. They need to find a song that can play on various radio formats.
3. She should have been on three soundtracks (two romantic comedies and an urban films). Better yet get played in the movie itself.
4. Put her out on the road in small club settings, like coffee houses and spoken word joints. Let her connect with people.
5. Keep her singing hooks, exposure and getting her familiar with music listeners is important.
I thought Def Jam was on the right track when I saw her on CBS's Morning Show, singing at a wedding. But I was wrong. That was three months before the album came out and nothing else happened.
She has two or three legit wedding on her album(couples first dance, brides dance with father, & another i can't remember).
Holla at me too Def Jam.
(other than "when u gonna make ur deposit to this egg bank" lol)
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OH MY GAWD.
a. Egg Deposit request.
b. You blogged about it.
c. The picture you took with him.
d. The fact that my most recent post discusses egg deposits and its aftermath.
They definitely fucked up on her promotion. For a minute, I didn't even know her CD had dropped.
Everyone's an armchair A&R..lol.
Sometimes there's no science to cracking plat...radio picks up on a record and ppl DEMAND it you gotta factor in what the ppl as far as current radio demographic are looking for.
and honestly homegirl ain't that. Current R&B is just blah...and if you ain't singing about tweakin' (c) R.Kelly or whatever you might not get any form of attention whatsoever.
I dunno what Def Jam did as far as money but we should all bear in mind homegirl is a BRAND NEW ARTIST. No record label in today's modern music business will take the risk of pumping millions of marketing dollars if said artist's single doesn't attract that much interest or they don't have a fan base at all.
No one builds/develops artists any longer, you get ready-made artists who already have a fan base and put some money in there and hope it works, sell a couple ringtones...that's current music industry process right about now.
Look @ Ghost, he got promo and still didn't sell as much as I thought based on his promo, could possibly get and yet he's got a bigger world-wide fanbase than homegirl...that's just how it works in the record biz right now if you brand new you ain't gon' get that much...
So based on current industry standards I think they did just what everyone does...gradually introduce her to the audience and hope for the best.
She is not light enough although she straigtned her hair.
a. We don't want millions pumped into her. We want strategically spend $ that has measurable results.
b.Ghost is a poor example. He is a old school Slang-riffic emcee. Apples to Oranges ock.
c.gradually introduce her to the audience and hope for the best.
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Well then the investors need to uprise. Because as an [aspiring] Artist's agent, I want my artist to get the most valuable deal possible. As a potential universal shareholder I and a shareholder I want my share value to improve.
Just BECAUSE LABELS flip a hope for the best attitude does not mean that IT IS acceptable.
She is not light enough although she straigtned her hair.
***DEAD****
I think I just saw Tupac and Marvin.
Again:
Major Labels in this day and age are no longer in the biz of building/developing artists of any genre. They sell ringtones, they don't even sell albums no more.
Artists these days just have to brand themselves, have great management, surround themselves with like-minded ppl who can hustle, grind and put themselves out there.
She prolly had a better chance of signing with an Indy who may have had the space and time and roster to concentrate on her.
Homegirl is facing/coming up against cats that are on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc SUCCESSFUL/PLAT albums on the same roster...
Your boy ne-yo for instance before he got big had already been writing for folk...maybe homegirl can break some popularity and bank off that..she did say she was doing that here and there so maybe she needs to put in work and write, write, write..
What she imo needs to do is take her career into her own hands and not wait for Def Jam. Do everything she can do by herself to get her exposure only THEN will the label feel the need to invest some more into her. Shoot, its even amazing she got the deal on Def Jam to begin with. Again, peep their roster.
Waiting on a major label to do it for you in this day and age of the recording business is akin to career suicide...ask folk that done been on the shelf (Joe Buddens, etc etc). So really I won't blame Def Jam knowing all this...they're about the bottomline not necessarily promoting great R&B. Do i agree with it? Heck naw, but that's the reality of what we as artists are dealing with.
I dunno what Def Jam did as far as money but we should all bear in mind homegirl is a BRAND NEW ARTIST. No record label in today's modern music business will take the risk of pumping millions of marketing dollars if said artist's single doesn't attract that much interest or they don't have a fan base at all.
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Three words:
"Robyn Rihanna Fenty"
S.
You are obnox.
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