Re: The never-ending Kate/Tori debate

[Raven Tompkins <rtompkin@indiana.edu>]

heisjohn@juno.com wrote:
> 
> >And then there's the very sensible reaction of  "S.Irani-lewis"
> ><MDA95SI@sheffield.ac.uk>:
> >>
> >>Marketing rarely has anything to do with the artist......you
> >>shouldn't hold the marketing managers limited imagination against
> >>her.......its fairly obvious she has one! :-)
> >
> >I rest my case.
> 
> An interesting observation -- but unfortunately, it's a little naive.
> Like it or not, marketing in the music business is *EVERYTHING*.  Back in
> the late 60's, Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz (Super K Productions) scored
> an impressive string of top selling singles by the likes of 1910 Fruitgum
> Company, Ohio Express and Crazy Elephant.  But the funny thing is -- none
> of these groups actually existed!  Over the years, Super K employed
> hundreds of very talented songwriters and session musicians who wrote and
> played in groups that lived only as (flawlessly executed) marketing
> concepts!!
> 
> So now we know that great marketing ALONE can produce top-selling
> material.  Can you think of an example where a "great" song went to the
> top of the charts with NO marketing??
> 
> 
> John

Since when does whether or not a song goes to the top of the charts
have anything to do with with whether or not it's a "good" song? I can
only think of a handful of songs that made anyone charts in the last
few years that I tbought were any good. 

I don't agree at all that marketing is everything. I'm sure if Kate
Bush were marketed exactly the same way that Alanis Morisette was the
results would be different. For the most part, mass marketed chart
topping songs have a sort of lowest common denominator appeal. They
sound alot like most everything else on the radio, they're lyrically
simplistic and they don't challenge the listener. It's music for
the masses. Kinda like the way that McDonalds has undoubtably
sold more coffee than your favorite neightborhood coffee shop, but
very few of would say that McDonalds coffee is better. It's simply
more accessible.

I'd bet a bunch of money that no matter how you wanted to market
Ani DiFranco, she'll never make a top 40 chart.

Raven