The Perils Of Becoming A Brand

The music Jay-Z made with Samsung may have already been forgotten, but the deal has not.

That's what we've been hearing since the advent of the Internet music era, when the labels were bled by Napster. You've got to sell out to make it. It's no longer about the music, but the brand. Just like nitwits saw Mariah Carey perform in the early nineties and believed a singer was about melisma as opposed to...belief, nuance and emotion, today music takes a back seat as everybody dreams of getting a clothing line and a plethora of deals with the Fortune 500. Like the one with Fitty and Vitamin Water...then again, thank god he made that money, he's been forgotten ever since.

You know the drill. Where can I sell out?

And the agents and managers get a commission. And labels with 360 deals too, they know acts come and go. So uneducated artists always say yes, sell their souls to the devil and fans are cool with this.

Or are they?

Over the past two days, my inbox has been overflowing with the "Daily Show"'s takedown of Jay-Z. And you've got to watch it, it's more memorable than anything Jay-Z has cut in years. When Larry Wilmore says Jay-Z doesn't care about black people, and asks how you can criticize a brother for buying a belt...if you don't howl, you've got no pipes.

Here's the story. Jay-Z did a deal with Barneys, but it turns out Barneys is arresting black customers...AFTER THEY'VE MADE THEIR PURCHASES!

And merch at Barneys ain't cheap. One guy bought a Ferragamo belt for $350.

Now what?

Jay-Z is waiting for a full investigation, he doesn't want to make a snap judgment.

Huh? Now Jay-Z is acting like the government, which everybody hates. What he's saying is I'm gonna wait to see if this blows over, and I'm gonna make sure in my ultimate decision I hurt no one who's loyal to me, and certainly not myself. This isn't someone you believe in, this is someone you mock, kind of like the Rap Insider:

"Rapper Jay Z Found Dead Inside At 43": http://bit.ly/1dOIZz3

Used to be the machine was on your side. Just printing your press releases. Looking for backstage passes as payment. Criticism went out with the seventies. But suddenly everyone's realized that stars don't lift up their brethren.

White people have been doing it forever. They make it and leave everyone behind. Live behind gates and fly private and want no conversation, only your money.

Now black people do it too.

First it was the athletes, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

Now it's the entertainers.

But the difference is Jay-Z made it based on what's inside. What he stands for is important. And now we know he stands for one thing only, money.

We may have a black President, but that does not mean racism has been eradicated.

And mega-corporations may pay you a mint, but that does not mean credibility isn't king for a long term career.

People are all about loyalty. They want to believe they come first.

Now we know money comes first with Jay-Z.

So what have we learned?

That contrary to what everybody says, music and commercialism, selling out, don't always mix. If you're speaking from the heart, the message gets muddled when you bring in the wallet.

Isn't it funny that the Eagles can still fill arenas, and they do no corporate endorsement deals, and everybody who recently made it thinks it's a good idea to sell out.

And then there's virality. There's a belief that the artist controls his message. But that fiction disappeared when Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch. Sure, that was a mistake. But what made it so big was the endless story online. I.e. virality. Yes, you want your peeps to build you up, but once you've made it, be very careful they don't pull you down.

"Jay-Z Penney": http://bit.ly/1c1zDh9

(I gave away a couple of the jokes, but that's because no one clicks through anymore, hell, even I didn't, not until I got the link multiple times. It's worth the 6:45 investment, but if that's too much for you, start at 3:00, when Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore kicks in.)

P.S. Jon Stewart and troupe are creating every day, testing limits all the while, they're feeding their audience and keeping it loyal, something musical artists should learn how to do.


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --