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From the December 30, 2004 issue of Rolling Stone, page 40 (no link):
With Ashlee Simpson offering the latest proof that reality TV can lift singers from nowhere to Number One, Missy Elliott, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and the surviving members of INXS are among a growing group of artists kicking off new series in 2005.
The reality gold rush marks a fundamental shift in labels’ promotion tactics, according to universal Music Group senior VP of marketing Kim Garner. “The [sales] driver before was the song, but now the driver is the personality, the celebrity,” says Garner, who’s attempting to break the U.K. pop-punk boy band Busted in the U.S. with an MTV2 series. “you feel invested in them,” adds MTV exec and Ashlee Simpson Show producer Lois Curren. “When your [TV] friend releases an album, you’re going to go get it.”
Got that? People used to buy CD’s for the songs, but the music business has decided that’s not what people are doing any more. Which is correct, of course, since with few exceptions (Missy Elliott, Eminem, etc.) most of the stuff released by the major labels doesn’t have the benefit of actually being fun to listen to. The industry would like to dispense with the annoying difficulty of having to produce a product that is actually good, since (like most businesses) that’s the hardest part of what they do. It would be so much easier if they could just find likable, charismatic people who look good on TV and wear clothes well, and get them to sing whatever tracks they happen to have around, and just sell that. It would take almost all the hard work out of it.
The only difficulty of course, is that this approach is killing the entire music industry. Yes, it’s hard work and takes tremendous talent to write and produce a good song. But without that, the music business is just selling the sizzle without the steak.
