> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lisa M Olson [mailto:lisa_molson@m...]
> Sent: Friday, September 29, 2000 10:02 AM
> To: vocalist-temporary@egroups.com
> Subject: Re: [vocalist-temporary] 'opera singer' was junior, church
>
> The powers that
> be in the music industry have decided that the only way to make
> an "opera" singer interesting is if they are some sort of anomoly
> (i.e. being 13 years old, being blind, being married to Andrew
> Lloyd Webber).
Americans generally respond to gimmicks and marketing techniques. They also
tend to prefer blandness, sameness, and that which is not intellectually or
emotionally challenging. They also tend to go for whatever is popular
regardless of whether it has intrinsic value to them personally. They also
tend to be afraid of women who "take up space" either physically or vocally
or mentally.
Americans like pretty women with pretty voices, children, and people with
personal challenges to overcome.
The reason you'll never see Jane Eaglen singing on Oprah is that she's not
considered marketable to the masses. Her voice is too large, her persona too
expansive and she's not a small woman who resembles a 15 year old and is
therefore considered attractive. She would either terrify or amuse the
average midwest soccer mom- Oprah's (and her advertisers') target market.
With the exception of some wonderful arts organizations, educational
institutions and a core group of fans, most American music, and indeed
performing arts in general, is about the money. You do what sells. And what
sells to the largest number of people is that which will appeal to the
largest number, and offend or challenge the fewest number. You find your
lowest common denominator and manufacture something that fits it.
The "3 Tenors" phenom actually is kind of amusing, but remember how long it
took to build the momentum necessary for that.
I think that the more educated the populace becomes, and the more critical
of being marketed to, the more we'll see more discerning tastes. People may
still not be able to sit through 4 hours of Verdi, but at least they'll be
able to tell you why.
-Shawna
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