728huey said:

Yeah i agree, Maxwell and Chrisette also appear to an older crowd, and a varied crowd, like Alicia Keys does. R Kelly is selling to his base but lost alot of it due to what happend, he also LOST that crossover appeal and generation gap he could have had because of it. Mariah is doing low, but thats because we are thinking in MIMI terms, if you take that album out, she is following the market trend, as for Rihanna i just think she didnt stay away long enough, i also think in this media world, she didnt take a better stand on this whole subject, not that she had to, but if she was going to make the stand she did (which was nothing) then she needed to take at least a year or two off. Its like if Tiger Woods went out and playing golf a month from now, he needs to just hibernate for a year or so and let the shit settle, rihanna and chris didnt.

728huey said:

Well said. Maxwell has not released anything for eight years. Whitney hasn't put out a new studio album for seven years (sans the holiday album), and only a super hard core fan would remember any song from Just Whitney (2002). Oddly, it did make it to the top 10 on the US charts, barely. I think your statement, and Whitney and Maxwell's numbers (which skyrocket over the #3 spot which is Mariah, who can't seem to take a freakin' break like Beyonce), show that Max' and Whit's fans were always anticipatory for a new release. People made fun of Whitney, but people still rooted for her. They wanted her away from Bobby Brown, they saw the train wreck of a marriage on Being Bobby Brown, they knew about the drugs, the interventions, etc. When there were reports she had left Bobby, and Clive had a hold on her, trying to help her back to good health, people rejoiced JUST at that news alone. Then the first couple of singles from the album were really GOOD, and the album was getting a lot of positive talk, then the numbers shot up.

Same for Maxwell. He just stepped back from it all, took a break, but then started working on the album(s) from 2007-2009, releasing it in the middle of this year. But people missed him. They missed having a new Maxwell CD in their collection. They clung onto NOW, Embrya, Unplugged, and Urban Hang Suite. Then his Myspace changed to reflect 3 new albums, released over 3 years - 2008/2009/2010. That was all pushed back a year, but fans still responded in patience, and then with their dollars by buying the CD when it hit shelves in July. I bought the CD/DVD set.

Both of these careers are brilliant in their "comeback" approach.

The fact that R. Smelly "beat the rap" in court doesn't mean he's not guilty of doing what we saw on the video. Even MJ suffered a lot, for years, after the allegations. However, the difference is, MJ didn't have a video surface. R Smelly did. He was already slimy in his music, and then his personal life truly reflected that sleaze factor. That's why no one gives a fattie about him....no one beyond those 110K people who bought it (and money says 20% of them hated the CD). But let's not forget the other 100,000 that downloaded his album out of curiosity, without paying for it (money well spent!)

1. Bad, very bad economy

2. Bad music, very bad music = low sales

3. The singel is back and it's whatever single you choose to purchase at iTunes/Amazon.

4..Competing for the consumer $, cable, computers, net, cell phones/text messaging, car payments, clothes, video games..... and I'm talkin' about the "kiddies".

As far as Max, it took me a while to get with his new Cd but I like it, it's OK. Still, I think the 8 year lay off hurt him; I don't think he can every do that again or it wouldn't be wise (IMHO)

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[Edited 12/14/09 6:56am]

vainandy said:

The Elton John Syndrome.

in other news, vinyl sales are steadily growing

ernestsewell said:

You are exactly correct!!!! The days of those monster CD's are over. I fault the record industry for this. As soon as people were able to listen to CD's on their computers....they should have been all over it with downloading, but they waited too late and then wanted to sue everyone who illegally downloaded music. People were illegally downloading well before I-Tunes came along.

Whitney and Maxwell are right on par with a big selling album these days. I think Whitney just got certified platinum though. That's pretty good with no major radio airplay.

Cinnie said:

Actually she didn't win that show....

You gotta love poetic justice.

It will give the older generation of artists a big dose of reality to stop feeling so damn content with their status and stop acting like they're shitting diamonds to their audience when its mostly filler-fest, 1/2 assed albums.

And it will give the younger generation of artists a big dose of reality to give their BEST A game to maintain longevity in this business, and it will be a lesson to them that no matter how WELL you fit in the "flavor of the month" criteria,,,,you'll be forgotton by the next month if you don't a) have substance, no matter how big the hype machine is backing you up and b) craft your talent in order to continue working, or end up like Whitney/Mariah who're promoting their albums solely with their image not music.

I'm glad for this shit mainly because it will make everybody re-evaluate, put more effort and heart into their work and mostly I'm SO glad that it brought record labels with their arrogant 'whateva we ditch out no matter how shitty it is, people will buy' mentality down to their knees. No more insulting the audience' intelligence.

banks said:

I realized after I posted I didn't really know for sure. Okay, so she didn't win. What show was it?

Cinnie said:

Britains Got Talent.

Allegedly.

Susan Boyle is a fucking JOKE.

Timmy84 said:

I think her older fans are just weary of her trying to be 'young' and her young fans are weary of her trying to be young and considered 'old' by now.

minneapolisFunq said:

Why? Her core audience are people who grew up actually buying albums...whats wrong with that? They didnt grow up stealing albums off the net.

midiscover said:

Yeah, exactly, with that yodeling shit I've heard a few days ago, he could as well start a carrer as a classical singer... What a sucker...Rest in peace, R Kelly : 1991 -2003

Exactly. Just look at Tina Turner. She's even older and still gets down.

vainandy said:

For real. Tina still slays them live!

Damn right. I'll still be shakin' ass in the nursing home in my walker. Just have a few guys on each side to catch me if I start to fall.

I haven't forgot how downloading is killing the record sales. That's why the evillol was my first post in this thread. I see the record labels getting what they deserve. They killed music by only signing acts that use computers to make their music. Now computers are turning around and killing them by people having the capability to download songs for free. I see it as fair and as what goes around, comes around.

vainandy said:

And aaaaand....

The TALENTS that the record label weren't "looking for", excuse me,,,,,didn't give a fuck about, are using the SAME thing that is killing the record label, to expand their fanbase and their own music experience

It doesn't get any sweeter,,,,,I'm sorry, it DOES

Harlepolis said:

Harley, that's why they're stupid.
[Edited 12/14/09 7:55am]

I download plenty of stuff these days. That's the only way I'm going to find it because the stuff I want that I don't already have is usually out of print or very rare. Also, if I do find it, it's in a used record store and the artists have already made their sale off the album anyway.

As for new stuff, I buy CDs from folks like Jamiroquai because they deserve their record sales because they are still playing music and throwing down. As for shit hop though, I encourage people to not only download it, but also to make as many copies for thier friends that like it as possible. If shit hop can't go out of style by people wising up and getting better taste, then let it go out of style by going broke.

"Passion" is my alltime favorite Rod Stewart song. I listed "Infatuation" because it's faster and I didn't want to list a slower song while I was getting on these folks asses for liking slow to midtempo music only.

Yep, it's the Elton John Syndrome for the older white artists and it's the Shit Hop Syndrome for the older black artists.

paisleypark4 said:

I agree. Online piracy is one of the primary reasons why the record industry is in dire straits. Nowadays people would rather steal from artists than reward their creativity by purchasing their releases.

I'm very glad to see a lot of the newer acts selling their stuff through the internet by downloads without any record label participation at all. The only gripe I have about it is the fact that internet service is a pay service and not everyone can afford it, especially an internet service that is fast enough to download something. If I weren't bleeding off someone in the nearby area with this laptop, I'd be hooked up to $20 a month dial-up which is too slow to download anything.

vainandy said:

Harlepolis said:

I suppose if they can rest on their laurels and money, they probably won't do anything anymore. However, you're very correct in that sense of entitlement. The RESPECT is what they deserve. The ACKNOWLEDGMENT of what they've done is what is garnered after 20 or 30 or 40 years of making music. I fucking love Earth, Wind & Fire, but they also still work for their audience, and for the money. They tour, and they put on a great show. They put 110% into it. Whereas you have other folks who put out half ass albums (read: Lotusflow3r) and think that's good enough. It's just not. Shit, or get off the pot.


Here lies a world of debate and social commentary, but I'll try to abbreviate it all. The thing is, the "flavor of the month", and their "A-Game", just isn't good enough. The sad part of it is that people who are 30 and under think that shit like Chris Brown, or Rihanna or Britney IS the A-Game. Gosh, they're popular, this MUST be MUSIC! If they're constantly fed rotten apples, how will they ever know what a fresh apple tastes like? How do they know that a worm in the fruit is NOT part of the package? The hype is just a side dish to the plate of garbage they've been fed musically for the past decade or so.

You are so spot on about the crafting of the talent. Even Prince said, "Learn your instrument". I think that goes for your voice, or a guitar, or a piano. Don't sit behind a piano for a verse of a song, just to look diverse and more talented (read: Britney, among others). Between auto-tune, and other tricks/effects/"production", 90% of these people cannot hold their own live, or one on one. You'll NEVER see Ne-Yo, or Chris Brown, or any of these scallywags do Unplugged. They can't handle it! It scares the fuckery out of them, and I love that. We won't see an unplugged type segment in a concert. People like Usher used to use a ballad as a reason to breathe and catch their breath instead of just sitting and singing. Makes them all look cheap.

However, all of that has really played well for the older artists. People got tired of fakery very quickly, and soon turned back to their favorite older artists, like Whitney, Prince, Michael Jackson, Chicago, Journey, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, etc. These aren't novelty or reunion acts, it's just the fan's need for something real, deep, and honest. People don't like being lied to. Not smart people.

ernestsewell said:

Yeah, I should've referred to whatshisheight and people like him in my earlier post, I stand corrected on that note.

.

Hey hey heeeeey you're talking to a member of the "30 & younger" group, I'd soon go to hell with burnt draws on if I ever catch myself listening to that crap I'll give you this though, a big spectrum of the x generation are easily influenced by visuals, which make the "flavor of the month" micrwave popcorn music easy to market(lack of artists development equal less time, energy and money) but I don't think its a RULE, I think the issue here is deeper than that because on the other hand, there's a big spectrum who didn't fell for the commercialized okey doke as well.



Nobody likes being robbed in broad daylight, period,,,,,its unfortunate that the smart ones are the 1st FEW ones to catch the clock on the wall while the rest keep letting themselves getting robbed willingly, blind like sheep indeed
[Edited 12/14/09 12:29pm]