doctorwho
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Ponkine: The world of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles and even the 80's U2 is long gone. It's 2005. The music still plays a HUGE role, but it's not enough. Great music will keep an artist on top. If HTDAAB had horrible tunes (and while I know you think it does, most disagree), it would've been a one-week wonder and fallen fast. However, it's still in the Top 15 in both the U.S. and the U.K., two key markets indicative of success.
But unlike those other eras, music alone isn't enough - marketing must be done to catch the public's attention. Many artists, like Sting and Moby, produced brilliant albums that were ignored. So Sting and Moby did commercials featuring their music and suddenly they have multi-Platinum albums. The commercials were their marketing and people realized how good the music was.
But let's not be TOO easy on those artists of the 60's and 70's and even 80's. The Beatles did a series of movies and had TV appearances. That was their marketing. Led Zeppelin toured extensively and they stood out as they were unique for their time - this helped them tremendously. But they also had concert movies to help promote them. And the 80's were filled with videos and commercials by many artists. U2 had a ton of TV appearances in the 80's - just not in the U.S. So don't think they didn't market themselves. It was just a different style of marketing then - perhaps one you more readily accepted. For better or worse, that time is gone and unless one is some "hot new artist" getting all the attention on radio, it's tough to get noticed in the marketplace. Look at the current top 20 on the U.S. charts - only 2 rock bands. That's the state of music now and U2 have to fight in that.
To me, it's not the marketing that's important; what's critical is the music - and IMO, HTDAAB is brilliant. Furthermore, we thankfully lost the preachy Bono of the 80's. I'll readily and happily take today's Bono and U2 who *do* not just talk. These are men of action, not preachers telling us how to live. I'm thrilled that that era of U2 is gone forever. From my perspective, we got great music and a U2/Bono that's more concerned with human rights than ever. If it takes some marketing to get them noticed - so be it. But that's not selling out. Like Jick said, it's just smart.
But unlike those other eras, music alone isn't enough - marketing must be done to catch the public's attention. Many artists, like Sting and Moby, produced brilliant albums that were ignored. So Sting and Moby did commercials featuring their music and suddenly they have multi-Platinum albums. The commercials were their marketing and people realized how good the music was.
But let's not be TOO easy on those artists of the 60's and 70's and even 80's. The Beatles did a series of movies and had TV appearances. That was their marketing. Led Zeppelin toured extensively and they stood out as they were unique for their time - this helped them tremendously. But they also had concert movies to help promote them. And the 80's were filled with videos and commercials by many artists. U2 had a ton of TV appearances in the 80's - just not in the U.S. So don't think they didn't market themselves. It was just a different style of marketing then - perhaps one you more readily accepted. For better or worse, that time is gone and unless one is some "hot new artist" getting all the attention on radio, it's tough to get noticed in the marketplace. Look at the current top 20 on the U.S. charts - only 2 rock bands. That's the state of music now and U2 have to fight in that.
To me, it's not the marketing that's important; what's critical is the music - and IMO, HTDAAB is brilliant. Furthermore, we thankfully lost the preachy Bono of the 80's. I'll readily and happily take today's Bono and U2 who *do* not just talk. These are men of action, not preachers telling us how to live. I'm thrilled that that era of U2 is gone forever. From my perspective, we got great music and a U2/Bono that's more concerned with human rights than ever. If it takes some marketing to get them noticed - so be it. But that's not selling out. Like Jick said, it's just smart.
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