"ugly" vs. successful female vocalists

["Moynes, Laurie" <MOYNESL@CCOURT.CANADOREC.ON.CA>]

Before I start, let me say that I burn easily, so don't flame too close! : )

I am relatively new to love-hounds, and I have (for the most part) enjoyed 
the digest on a daily basis.  Lately, however, I notice that a lot of people 
seem to be caught up in the Bjork/etc. thing.  I sat back in silence for a 
couple weeks, but now it is time to stick my neck out, and say my piece.

I think that, if you consider the situation carefully, you will discover 
that good looks became a requirement for a successful female vocalist at 
about the same time that videos caught on.  In the days B.V. (before video), 
all a girl needed was a good singing voice and some catchy songs; no one 
ever saw her face except on an album cover (remember records?  they are 
those big, round, black things that take up so much space in your living 
room), or from a distance in a large arena somewhere.  If one liked the 
music, one was happy just to get the opportunity to attend a show and be in 
the company of a favourite performer, even if only for an evening.  Looks 
didn't matter, not from the second deck, or from beside the stage.  We saw 
the face so seldom that we were in awe just to have it in the same room.
But, with the onset of videos, we were forced to look at the performer's 
face on TV.  The looks (or lack of same) became just another piece of data 
input for our subconcious mind to use when formulating an opinion on a 
performer's music (emphasis on sub; I would hope that I do not base my 
opinion of a song on whether or not I like the looks of a performer).  
Videos are so prevalent that these faces are "in our face" as many as four 
and five times a day (at least they are on MuchMusic in Canada).
Is it possible that promoters, etc. purposely look for "presentable" folks 
to market a product?  Watch CMT some time.  It seems that there are NO 
bad-looking folks in country music (OK, Hank Williams Jr.  So sue me!!).  If 
you think about it, it makes perfect sense.  There are so many performers in 
the market today, and the competition for the consumer dollars is so fierce. 
 The mentality is "maybe if I sell my product in a prettier package...".  
We've always known that "sex sells"; just look at any commercial for beer on 
TV!
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.........(besides which, I'm at 
work, and some silly t** wants to know how to put bullets in a WordPerfect 
document)

Flame on..........

Laurie