MP3s and Pop Princesses

Just as our parents have to dust off their old vinyl records, and we can barely remember fast-forwarding and rewinding our cassette tapes, kids of Gen Y are already finding the compact disc obsolete. The sale of CDs has taken a hit in recent years due to the proliferation of portable media and free music on the Internet, otherwise known as mp3s.

With music so accessible now, consumers have the ability to be pickier, choosier, and more critical of where their dollars are spent. As a result of the wave of portable media, it seems now more than ever, artists must not only promote their talents, but also must sell themselves by creating a resonating impression with their audiences. It’s not enough to produce a good song and hope that the music alone will generate sales. Artists must present an image that distinguishes themselves as pop icons. Legends like Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and Aerosmith have survived year after year not only because they are talented, but also because they have somehow maintained a consistent image while still evolving with the latest trends in pop culture.

Artists in the 80s and 90s who produced a good song but couldn’t create a lasting impression, or “one-hit-wonders,” were typically still able to sell albums. A “single” was a cassette tape that included one or two songs and generally sold for about $4. But if artists could produce two or more hit songs, like M.C. Hammer or New Kids on the Block, they could typically sell an entire album – which cost about $10-$18. How many consumers probably purchased an entire album, but ended up only liking the two hit songs? Regardless, the artist was able to make money from the sale. With music readily available on the Internet today, however, artists are much more susceptible to losing sales. With the click of a mouse, consumers can preview an entire album before deciding whether to purchase it. All too easily, an artist’s song can fill a consumer’s iPod for a fleeting moment, only to be quickly forgotten and deleted from the playlist. This makes it much more difficult to stand out in the industry.

The ability to stay fashionable in the industry is almost impossible without a good public relations manager. Britney Spears possesses no talent, but has dominated the industry because of publicity stunts that keep her in the headlines. Even when her music sales were down, kissing Madonna on an MTV awards show, or getting married, divorced, and married again were enough to keep the paparazzi thirsty for more. Spears reportedly fired her publicist, Leslie Sloane-Zelnick, this past September in order to manage her own media relations. It will be interesting to see what happens now.

As the music industry progresses with new technology, only artists with prominent images will be able to keep a presence in the music industry. One can only hope that consumers with free media will start being pickier and choosier for the exceptional artists in the industry, rather than the no-talent pop princesses. Hopefully Britney’s intelligence in the PR world will result in her disappearance from the industry altogether.

-KZ