This morning I went through my normal morning detail: getting my kids off to school, and then rushing back home to read through the websites and facebook before blogging. A lot of times I will wake up knowing what I’m going to blog about, but today was not one of them. I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to tackle in my writing, and so sometimes reading the message board forums helps.
One of my now favorite message boards is a UK board that began just as duranduran.com quit hosting an official message board. It’s a good board with great people – even if I don’t necessarily agree with everything that is being posted. The important thing is that people participate, and I like that. I love a good old fashioned debate like anyone else, and that board is filled with smart people who have no problem stating their case. It’s good, so I go there each day in hopes of spurring some creativity, or learning something new.
Today, I was reading a thread about someone on twitter who had commented that the band has a lot of interest from various labels – which was interesting to me, not because of the subject, but because of the fact that the twitter member who tweeted that is one of Duran Duran’s PR people. (If not the only one. I have no idea. Seems to me that the band would need more than one, but that’s just me.) I immediately put the tweet aside, saying that it’s the guy’s JOB to say that. And it is. I mean, what PR person is going to tweet – “Nah, nobody wants the band.” So, you get my point.
Then I started thinking that maybe, just maybe – I was a little harsh. I don’t know this person on twitter (I’m not giving out the name purposely), and for all I know – he was being truthful. It’s possible. Labels are signing more artists now than ever before – they just don’t sign for the huge deals, and I don’t believe promotion is done as it once was either. In my experience, (and yes, I really do have some. I worked in promotion for a little band that once toured for Duran Duran – eye opening experience. Huge.) labels expect the band to sell their own crap now, and if they can prove they’re selling – because money talks – then the label backs the band a little bit more, and a little bit more as time goes on. The band I worked for learned (?) that the hard way. They believed that since they’d already toured with a big name band, they’d already done the hard work. What they found out is that they were only beginning to do the hard work – and hard times were on the way. Anyway, it’s very possible that the band is attracting label interest, right?
Then I read farther down the thread, and another tweet was copied and pasted – this time the same person tweeting that there’s a song on the new album that is basically like another ballad in the band’s back catalog. I’m not going to name either song here in this blog – but the ballad was on an album that starts with ‘R’. 🙂 For whatever reason, that comment infuriated me.
Are we REALLY at the point where we need to continuously point out the similarities between this new album that almost none of us have heard yet to Rio? Really?? Is that really going to sell it any better than saying it’s some of Duran Duran’s finest work and leave it to stand on it’s own merit? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – they are setting themselves up for certain failure by doing that. The ballad in question is one of DD’s most beloved songs, and I know for a fact that fans hold that up in the highest regard. Why on earth would you want to pre-dispose this new song up to that kind of scrutiny? The longer it takes for this album to see the light of day, the more this issue will continue to be debated, and the more cynical the fan base will become. I know that the band, their management, their PR people and probably even Mark Ronson think that by trying to explain the new album as being at all similar to Rio would help to generate excitement, but once again they have underestimated their fans. We’re not normal people!! 😀 We don’t want Rio, take 2. I know they thought that because so many of us disliked RCM so intensely; but what we *really* want is for the band to create something they truly love, and believe in it. We’re not expecting another Rio. Hell, we don’t even want that. We just want what many of us believe to be the antithesis of Red Carpet Massacre. Not just musically, but emotionally, from the band. LOVE YOUR MUSIC, and then let us experience that with you. It’s really all we want, and all we ask for. (as if that’s a little thing) It’s intensely personal at this point – and shouldn’t it be? We’ve been your fans for an incredibly long time at this point. It’s gone way beyond kissing our posters. Well, mostly. 😉
And with that, I condemn myself to the ranks of Duranie Cynicism. The reality of it is, I’m not 12 or 13 anymore – and I know bad things can happen to the best of people. I know the band is not made up of a bunch of Prince Charmings, and I also know that try as I might – I’m never going to be the supermodel that any of those guys ends up with. I may not have quite as much innocense and optimism as I used to, but I still love this band. Cynical yes, but still a fan.
-R (have a good weekend everyone! As for me – I’m off to see Mark Ronson tonight, yay!!!)
Just wanted to let you know that the link for UK Board leads to an ad on how to surf by DVD. Weird. I, for one, really wouldn't mind a “Rio, take 2”. I would love an album that I could love and adore as much as I did Rio. I don't want a replica, but I'd sure enjoy more music with the same originality, vitality, and optimism.
You know, I wouldn't mind if the band made another “Rio.” It's a good album and still, in my opinion, their best. If the new album is even close to that, I'll be 200% happy.
If the PR person is actually bragging that the band has label interest, they are more out of touch than I realized. Music fans, these days, are much more savvy. Being on a label doesn't guarantee success and isn't as prestigious as it once was. In fact, these days, being on a label can actually mean that an artist is too stupid and too lazy to do it themselves and have signed away all rights to anything creative they do. Label deals these days mean giving up proceeds from every aspect of what you do, not just CD sales, as it once was. Now label acts have to also share proceeds from merchandise sales and touring, too.
I would rather hear the PR people bragging about how Duran Duran is going to innovate marketing themselves and the new album on their own. THAT would impress me. But of course, like you, Rhonda, I've seen the dirty insides of the business, and I think that can make one very cynical.
@mmmarmalade – hey there! Thanks for commenting and letting me know about the link. It's weird because I just clicked on it and it worked – but I will remove the link since it's not working for everyone. (It could be because I'm already a member….duh me!)
@Robin – as I understand it, not all acts signed to a label give up a percentage of merch and touring proceeds- but I've been told that the overwhelming majority do(?). I don't really see the advantage to a label anymore because it's not as though they really DO anything. There's no promotion, sales suck…so what else is there? I suppose you could say there's financial backing, but in the case of a small band, or one that hasn't proven themselves as financially worthy – they still pay their own writing, recording and production costs. So what's the point? Now THAT is a question I'd love for the band to answer.
I totally get what you're saying about Rio – it'd be fantastic to have another album as great as that one, no question. I guess time will tell!