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By rascal
I am thrilled for David that he will get an opportunity to broaden his horizons, but the two things I really like about the McFly tour are the clear indication that David’s management is not as narrow-minded and unimaginative as previous decisions might indicate, and the sheer showmanship of McFly as a terrific master class for David’s stage skills–not hoping for anything from David remotely like what the McFly boys do (that’s just ridiculous and creepy), but it’s an area where David has some room to evolve, and I suspect he will benefit handsomely from regular proximity to a bunch of rabble-rousing, freewheeling performers.
Although I remain deeply disappointed that money is winning every argument in decisions about the U.S. market, saddling David with image risks and compromises that could take years to undo, the international leg of his ‘09 tour is likely to have more of a positive impact on his image here than it might otherwise have, say, a decade ago, all because of our beloved Internet. News is fast and global, now, especially in entertainment, and the fact that David is touring with a band that has been favored on some of the smartest sites this side of Gawker–particularly and especially on gay sites (gay opinion is a powerful driver of what’s cool in the young-adult opinion-maker markets; I’ve said before that David would be wise to cultivate his appeal there)–is good news indeed.
I would still like to see more imagination in PR and marketing stateside. I’ve been asked a number of times to share my views on possible solutions, rather than just constantly playing Casandra, so, here goes. Music marketing is not my specialty, there are much more experienced folks than me to turn to on this, but off the top of my head, here are just a few ideas:
Surprise cameos at smart gigs. I am clueless as to who exactly these smart gigs would be, but I’m talking about up-and-coming performers, singer-songwriters, small combos, who are cultivating young adult audiences with a clear predilection for authentic, skilled, interesting music. The point of this is not to gain wide appeal or to sell albums but to generate buzz in the right quarters and seed the alternative press and blogosphere with a clear message that David Archuleta intends to be taken seriously as an artist and not just an American Idol alumnus with records to sell. Let David pick the gigs and a few acoustic songs. These smart, hipster audiences will be gleefully shocked at how impressed they are with him.
Surprise cameos on cool shows. The quickest and best way for David to become cool without sacrificing one iota of his already fabled conservatism is by making fun of himself. Appear suddenly in a skit on Saturday Night Live as a Boy Scout in the middle of a tawdry backstage party. This kind of thing writes itself. It’s easy. It’s hilarious. And it will confer upon David instant cool cred.
Artistic photography in fashionable magazines. David is gorgeous. Period, end of story. This should be celebrated and captured in beautifully artistic and interesting ways in publications like Paper Magazine and Arena Homme Plus. The reaction of the Elle Magazine readership is both utterly unsurprising and tangible proof for anyone blind enough to miss this.
Here’s the thing. None of these ideas are anything that David’s PR and management team don’t already know and haven’t done a million times before for other artists. David is undoubtedly being told that these strategies can be implemented later, once the kiddie market has been exploited. They’re probably telling him that he should in fact not engage such opportunities now, for fear that he would only have to repeat them later, and which would allegedly be harder to do.
Bull. The only reason they’re not doing them for David now is that they don’t provide instant cash by selling albums. They are part of a long-term strategy to build an image for David that will not only place him in a far better position to cultivate the audiences he deserves, but which will better reflect the full and true dimensional range of the man. David doesn’t yet have enough cred to get on the cover of Paper Magazine. But if they don’t start cultivating that direction soon, he may miss the chance altogether.
It’s easy, of course, to engage in armchair marketing. David’s people would be justified in their resentment and dismissal of those of us who constantly tweak their very able and, I suspect, for the most part well-intentioned noses with how things should be done. But David isn’t just any young new artist, and despite the fact that every über fan of every artist probably feels that way, even an objective reading of David’s attributes will reveal an extremely unique individual indeed. I hope David’s people can find it in their hearts to forgive us for blathering on about how much we care and how much we think we know.
We love him, that’s all.
Update:
After this emotional week and the controversies generated, I have come to the conclusion that my sensibilities may be too incongruous with the majority of the DA fan base at this point in his career, and that my own energies are needed elsewhere. I sincerely hope that my departure will not result in a preponderance of non-critical happy talk.
I want to extend my truest and heartfelt thanks to the warm, brilliant, hilarious, and remarkable people who have made notingDavid such a rich source of engagement and entertainment. I sincerely hope that we have been able to add some measure of support and worthy perspective to the evolution of David’s career.
Mostly I want to thank David for being such a remarkable source of… well, everything. Life itself, sometimes. Despite the opinion that so many have of me, I have not one scintilla of desire for David to be anything other than who he is and what he chooses to be. My hopes for him are whatever his hopes for himself are.
I will leave the comments open for another few days, and then close them. The site will remain up, and folks may communicate with me if they wish thereafter through the contact form.
Let’s not overanalyze this, it’s just time for a break. Many other duties call. If, at some point in the future, David’s career has matured to a degree where my own sensibilities may not be as antithetical to what most perceive as his best interests, perhaps I may jump into the fray once again. I leave with no hard feelings for those who oppose me, no regrets for anything I have said, yet with a sincere sense of sorrow for the beloved regulars who consider this place home.
It has all been for one, glorious, shining purpose:
The miracle that is David Archuleta.
Until we meet again,
Rascal
By rascal
With characteristic resistance, self-dismissal, humility and embarrassment, David sings along with the great Jason Mraz track, “I’m Yours” (we get to hear it a capella) and provides a pretty exciting glimpse of what’s in store when the material matches his talent.
I love hearing him do this, but I have to say that if I was his publicist this kind of thing would never be allowed. The reputation of a great talent is too important to have it exposed in public in any other way than in as controlled and prepared a manner as possible. Improvisational performance is anathema to any decent artist management concern.
[MEDIA=17]
By rascal
I realize the Clayton photographs are old news already (sometimes I think this fan base gets news of things before they actually happen), but I’ve been waylaid with attempts to mitigate that impact of the financial crisis on practically every aspect of professional and personal business. Occasionally my career has to come before David’s. But only occasionally.
I like the Clayton photographs. I don’t love them. Aside from the styling (not diggin’ the hair), the problem for me (and it’s not really a problem so much as it is a stylistic choice) is that there is really nothing in the way of attitude or viewpoint in these layouts. Nothing to really sink your teeth into, as it were; nothing even remotely inscrutable. Clayton is a skilled photog, but more of a talented journeyman than an artist. His work is lovely, classic, fresh, and authentic. He avoids, for the most part, anything mawkish or trite, even as he stays quite safely within the bounds of well-established convention. Nice work, nothing more.
I remain in a state of chagrin about the continued pimping of David in those awful teen magazines. I was given a vivid reminder of why I’m so against this strategy (or lack of one) when I read recently about the actor Chris Evans, and the issues surrounding a much passed-around shirtless photo spread of him that appeared in Flaunt magazine. The shoot lead to a ban by the actor’s publicist on photo shoots of that nature, so as to protect his chances at becoming a serious actor. Said Evans of the shoot: “I really didn’t think twice about taking my shirt off at the time, but my current publicist would pull her hair out if I did that photo shoot today.” Evans’ publicist is exactly right. Image is everything in show business and the careful crafting and aggressive control of perception is especially critical if an artist wants to be taken seriously. David cuddling stuffed animals in the pages of Teen Bop Tiger Pop undermines his potential to be seen as a serious musician just as surely as Chris Evans flaunting beefcake in Flaunt compromises his intentions as a serious actor.
It’s time for David to decide what his intentions are, and make certain that the people who work for him are carrying out his wishes.
By rascal
I have to admit to being a little disappointed that David didn’t draw the line at this tacky promotional magazine entitled “Life Story,” from Bauer Publishing. As you might expect, Bauer is the syndicate behind a half-dozen of those popular teen and tween magazines. They also stock your local supermarket with journalistic titans like InTouch Weekly, Woman’s World, and First. Indeed, there is not one publication from this Hamburg, Germany based company that has any redeeming news, literary, or artistic value. It’s all cheese, and aerosol cheese at that.
At best, the photography and styling is undistinguished. In some cases it is downright plebeian: A wall of retro 45 singles with cute genre titles on the labels as a background? Are you kidding me? Talk about phoning it in.
Industry and audience legitimacy won’t necessarily be undermined by appearances in Bauer properties if one has earned market credibility in the first place, but when one is trying to establish a certain authenticity, it most assuredly does not help the case. Once again the responsibility for such decisions must undoubtedly rest with Jive, which continues to telegraph its focus on their own short-term gain at the expense of David’s long-term interests.
By rascal
By virtue of their selections about what was included on the different issues of the CD, Jive tipped its hand about what it really thinks of David relative to the marketplace. The most telling example of this was their decision to relegate “Somebody Out There”–one of the most moving, one of the most David of the entire collection–to the most marginal release opportunity, a pre-order special on iTunes, now available to the public–oh, that’s right, nowhere.
This, along with their edition selections, make it clear what Jive considers priority in terms of David’s ultimate appeal, and have telegraphed in no uncertain terms their level of strategic sensitivity about him and his career: They either don’t get it or they don’t care. What we are seeing here is a quintessential short-term strategy. Get in, get out, go to the bank.
Exacerbating the insights gleaned from their product decisions is Jive’s marketing, which is turning out to look like a full-on, total teen strategy, with all the requisite TV shows, magazines, web sites, and appearances. It may not be Disney, but it’s only one step away. Given all indications, Jive would undoubtedly be thrilled to see images of David competing with the likes of Miley and the JB’s for cover and homepage real estate.
This would all be perfectly fine and thoroughly reasonable if David were any other teenage sensation, with prospects no more substantial than a goodlooking youth who can carry a tune and stand still for stylists. But David has more artistic legitimacy in his little finger than all the cutie patooties that have filled out the last ten years worth of Popstar Magazine pages put together. Is there a downside to this Total Teen positioning? Yeah, there is.
For the time being, the more legitimate and influential press have indicated that they are predisposed to accord David the credibility he deserves. Billboard, The L.A. Times, and the New York Times have all to one degree or another observed what we already know: that David should by all indications (and even despite Jive’s efforts to the contrary) be seen as an artist to be taken seriously. The potential problem is that the more David comes to be seen in the marketplace as a cover-boy teen dream, the more it will undermine his artistic credibility. Reviewers and cultural columnists will be forced to mine their courage in order to go up against the prevailing assumptions about teen idols to proclaim David’s real merits. Do we really want to rely on the courage of the press? Please.
I’m not suggesting that Jive should ignore the teen market, that would be foolish. But it is equally foolish, and ultimately against everyone’s best interests, to ignore or fail to leverage the more substantive and long-term value that David brings to the market. Some recognition, some degree of support in the marketing strategy, needs to establish David in somewhat more serious musical terms. Quietly book some small clubs in larger cities where he can experiment, play piano, have some fun, and get some write-ups in smaller pubs and blogs with some street cred, for example.
Given the ridiculous time-frame, maybe we can give Jive a pass for not recognizing what they had on their hands right away. But now that it’s becoming obvious that some of the best cuts on the album are David’s own, and that those who truly appreciate what he offers (and which will not be lost on the teen market, either) are crying “foul” on the edition selections, why not regroup and consider just exactly what this kid’s potential really is. Don’t make him have to make up for a year’s worth of superficial positioning with several years worth of re-establishing his serious musical credibility. Give him that chance now.
By rascal
The fact that David is retaining any visibility at all as a true musician in the midst of the tsunami that is Jive’s marketimanufactory is a freaking miracle. Even aside from the album’s assembly line production and overwrought arrangements (if we could convert just the violins into currency we would have enough for another bailout package), there’s this infuriating business of bonus tracks, extra cuts, special releases, deluxe editions and retail channel exclusives. I’ve purchased the dang album twice already and I still don’t have all the songs.
Memo to Jive: When you’re too slick, you’re slimy.
I understand that David is just doing the very little best he can within a wide web of music industry hacks and spiders, and feeling grateful for the opportunity to live his dream. Well, I hope he gets over that but quick. David has too much depth and too much heart to continue for too long to play the good industrial soldier so that others can shore up their coffers before the tweens move on to the next doe-eyed boy crooner.
For all his sweet softiness, David has a steel spine when it comes to his principles and his work ethic. He will need to start thinking about where his principles are with regard to not only his musical integrity but also his market integrity. Is he going to tow the industry line of maximum exploitation (have they even allowed him to sleep in the past three weeks?), or is he going to devise a more personal approach, one that matches his own interests and sensibilities more closely?
At the very least, I hope David is observing and absorbing what the wing-tipped American music industry considers important, where its interests really lie, and how its methods may–or may not–play to the more thoughtful and sensitive factions of the music consuming public. Maybe it wouldn’t matter if David didn’t appeal so much to the truly thoughtful and sensitive among us (even though this album doesn’t really map to that). But the many, many stories about expanded awareness, personal transformation, and spiritual breakthroughs triggered by David’s earlier performances tell an extremely unique story about this artist, and they are about as uncommon as Jive’s venal marketing methods are common.
When David signed on to be an American Idol, he made a Faustian bargain that he’ll need to live up to for a time. I only hope his commitment to purity and avoiding corruption extends beyond the corporeal to more complex cultural and economic dimensions.
By rascal
The album description in the Wal-Mart catalog gives us a unique insight into the marketing strategy in place for David. It was in all likelihood not intended to be published as-is, but rather the result of a lazy or overworked Wal-Mart publishing arm that didn’t bother to re-write the distributor release from the label. Here’s an excerpt:
A series of multi-layered marketing and media campaigns will be implemented in the coming months to assure a chart topping album release. The primary target demographic of teen and tween girls will be reached through a series of high school and cultural initiatives the brand Archuleta as every girl’s “best friend,” “all-American crush” and “future heartthrob.” A secondary demographic of parents will be reached by emphasizing Archuleta’s natural talent as “inspirational,” “genuine” and “refreshing.” The week of release media campaign will include a series of live performances and appearances on morning and late night television programs, and Archuleta will perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, post-release.
Although the copy might be tailored specifically to Wal-Mart and similar retailers who expect to be selling to particular demographics, the positioning seems nevertheless to be quite narrow, and makes me wonder if Jive really does understand what they have in David. Perhaps his producers know, but one wonders if that knowledge has been translated to Marketing.
On the one hand, David has plenty of time to evolve his positioning to reflect the true depth and breadth of his work and the nature of his diversified appeal; on the other hand, there’s a risk in getting pigeon-holed as a teen heartthrob (even if it’s distinguished as a “future” heartthrob–that modifier sounds suspiciously like the result of a David-driven negotiation to me…!). Such narrow-casting may well make it tougher to transition to broader, more “serious” markets down the line.
In the language of the current political climate, appealing to the base has limited value. Those constituents will show up anyway. Jive would be better advised to establish a broad base of appeal for David–one that indeed reflects current reality more accurately–right from the get-go.
