================================================ Subject: Re: Creed on MTV From: "Tara" To: Date: Mon 5 Nov 2001 19:18:58 -0500 ================================================ It shouldn't matter how LONG a band exists before reaching popularity for it to count. Whether it takes 10 weeks or 10 years, the fact remains that if people pay for it, then there's something that they value in it. Whether or not other people disagree with the value of that band's work is unimportant to them. Just because I personally can't stand Christina What's-her-name doesn't mean that there isn't something in her work that other people enjoy and are willing to spend their money on. Just because you don't like Creed doesn't make their work less desirable to me. The fact is, marketing and mass production is a way for artists to get their music out to more people. Yes, that also means they'll be making more money - is that inherently wrong? If someone told me "Give me all the stuff you've written, and I'll put a flashy picture on it and market it all over the country and give you royalties", I'd go for it. Most people like to make money, and most of them like to make money doing something they enjoy. If something truly sucks and gets big anyway, it probably won't be big for long. Regardless, Creed wasn't an overnight success. They did tour smaller venues before making it big. They produced an album themselves before Wind-Up brought them on board. They have plenty of fans who were fans prior to them becoming famous. When I first started listening to Creed, no one had any idea who I was talking about. I'd never seen an ad for them, I'd never seen them on MTV, never read an article about them. I became a fan based on their music alone. To me, marketing has nothing to do with whether or not I like a band, it simply plays a part in whether or not I hear about them in the first place. I can't be a fan of a band I've never heard or seen. And my opinion on why Pearl Jam's popularity went down was that after "Ten", the rest of the music wasn't nearly as good. I still went to a concert (back in 99), because I liked their earlier music enough to sit through the other songs they'd be playing. Tara > many bands have developed their fanbase and renown the good-old-fashioned > way...touring. Phish, for example, toured for 12 years before being > acknowledged on any radio station. Soundgarden and Nirvana existed for four > years each before they cut a record deal. I once saw a video of a concert > of Led Zeppelin performing Led Zeppelin I to a stone-faced, emotionless > crowd of 40. None of the audience had ever heard the album before. It took > another two years of playing their music before anyone gave a shit. Sonic > Youth celebrated their 21st anniversary this year. They have never > marketted an album, and have only had one single ever play on radio. yet, > no one would doubt that they are among the best, most influential artists of > their generation. Same deal with the Sex Pistols, and with Fugazi. > Nowadays, a band just needs to be playing in the right bar at the right time > and they'll be stars by midday. Pearl Jam, who I love, was by no means > deserving of a national following as quickly as they received it. NOR WAS > CREED!!!!! > > There are TONS of amazing groups that have intentionally avoided the > pressures of marketing and corporate culture. You've probably never heard > of them, but you could just as easily fall in love with them...IF you were > pummelled over the head with their songs every waking moment. Marketing does > NOT play a role in everything...just the things people are customarily > exposed to. To unsubscribe or change your preferences for the Creed-Discuss list, visit: http://www.winduplist.com/ls/discuss/form.asp