In past headlines it read, “Ax may be hovering over Mariah
Carey…recording giant ready to drop singer.”
Now wait a minute, didn’t Mariah Carey sell well over 50 million
albums since 1990? (Strictly speaking in the dollar terms,
that’s roughly 649 million dollars in album sales alone.) And
wasn’t she one of the hottest acts in the past decade and in the
exclusive Top Ten All Time Artist who have the most consecutive
#1 hits?
Okay, so she’s not married to the head of Sony Records any more
and who cares that she had an emotional breakdown (who wouldn’t
with the kind of pressure she has to deal with - I think I’d
like to have a breakdown now!) - She’s considered a liability?
When her contract was reportedly worth an estimated 80 million
dollars and trouble looming over an already unsteady economy,
which has hit the music industry over the past several year in
declining sales, especially since the tragic events that
occurred on September 11th, it’s no wonder the “ax” would fall
on those with huge salaries.
With sales from her first release on Virgin/EMI only reaching
400,000 when it was released, this album has been a
disappointment to record company execs as I am sure it was to
Ms. Carey who has always been at the top of the charts until
now. But doesn’t everyone have a bad hair day? Of course, but
not to the tune (excuse the pun) of 25 million dollars which is
what Ms. Carey was reportedly paid for the first release,
“Glitter” on her old label. Now mind you, I would love to make
that kind of money, and hats off to Ms. Carey’s people for
negotiating that kind of deal, but the risk one takes in being
the highest paid, is that you are usually the first one to go
when times are tough.
While Ms. Carey might have had an easier time with her old label
because of loyalty to her and the huge profits she has generated
and still does for them, this brand new label had nothing but
dollar signs and no loyalty to her financially. Hopefully, Alain
Levy who replaced Ken Berry will be able to renegotiate Ms.
Carey’s contract instead of letting her go.
This was and still is today definitely yet another wake up call
in an already floundering industry. With Record Companies going
down and out and hanging out their shingles right and left
(DreamWorks being the latest). Executives being fired here,
there and everywhere. Artists trying to duck for cover so they
aren’t the next casualty; it’s a scary proposition being a
musician. Okay, so it’s always been a scary proposition.
So I ponder…why are things so much worse then they used to be?
Could it be that too much money is being paid at the top? Is
there not enough promotion? Is there too much shifting and
leveraging to get the best deal? Is the quality of the product
not meeting the demands of the populace? Bingo! With the fragile
state of this and so many other industries, 1 hit wonders
mentality must go if the recording industry wants to not just
survive, but thrive. (Ms. Carey does not fall into this
category; other then they are trying to find the next Mariah
Carey.) Quality, not quantity. The industry needs to stop the
mass cookie cutter attitude by trying to produce the same acts
with different people in them over and over again. It’s like
eating the same meal at different restaurants night after night.
Different chefs, the same recipe, but none of the meals were as
good as the first taste you had at your favorite restaurant. If
you keep churning out the same act with different faces,
eventually the fans will get tired of the original acts also and
stop buying even their product.
Change is a good thing and new acts come up all the time, but
change is not good when it is constantly happening and no one
knows which end is up. The industry needs some stability and
consistency, not only in the ranks, but also with the artists.
Too many artists are pulled off the shelves before they even get
off the ground, leaving the listening audiences confused and
disgruntled. The labels have forgotten the fans and is only
worrying about paying their costly mortgages, thereby losing all
loyalty from the paying public.
If the audience is not happy, they won’t buy the product. In
addition, we seem to be seeing even in the bigger named artists,
with only 1 song released off their albums to the listening
public. Not many people want or can afford to buy an album for
$11.98 with only 1 song they like on it anymore, even if they
are loyal fans of the established artist. The general population
is the ones who are suffering the most in this economy.
If there is little or no money coming in, then the day of the
big contracts is gone. Some of the largest selling albums are
ones with multiple songs on it that the listener likes. Take
Shania Twain for example. Her albums are mega sellers with more
then 1/2 the album on the singles charts at various times. Why
are her albums huge? Because they are quality, and a great
bargain. The buying populace wants a deal. The Record Industry
seems to want to put out a little and expect to get a lot, and
in doing so, they are losing the fan base in general. People are
spending their money elsewhere.
They forgot that we are the fans and the fans have the buying
power. Without the buying power, they lose their jobs, the big
deals go away, and the labels go under. They need to stick with
the artists once they have signed them, promote them, and if the
first album doesn’t work, try another one and work harder with a
different strategy. Forget trying to get another Mariah Carey,
N-Sync, or Shania Twain.
Use the talent that is there and churn out more then a 1 hit
wonder. Then the buying public will come back and the fan base
will be there for hopefully years to come. Look at acts like the
Beatles, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, ABBA and Barbara Streisand
to name a few. These acts stir the general public, and very few
people have not heard of them. They still sell records and when
they do a concert, it’s sold out in a second. This is because of
quality. They weren’t churned out and then spit out.
Let’s take ABBA for example. This is a group based in the 70’s,
and they haven’t had a hit record in decades. They are also one
of the biggest selling groups of all times, still selling albums
today. Recently, they were offered a billion dollars to tour for
one year. The turned it down (wish I could do that!). While that
is a contradiction of what I said about those with the largest
pay being cut first, it is in line with what I have been trying
to say here all along - the bottom line is the fan base. If it’s
not there, the money will not come in, and it can’t be there
with a 1 hit wonder. Too much spending, and not enough quality
product has caused the music industry to come crashing down to
reality.
A little side note on Ms. Carey. I do wish all the success on
her new CD (and it looks like she’s hitting the top). She
certainly deserves it. She has worked hard and worked smart for
the most part and has earned the right to a deal of the
magnitude she received.
