August 01, 2006

MTV Turns 25 Today

I almost hesitate to put this post under the category of "music", but those of us who are...ahem...old enough to remember can look back fondly on that fateful day in 1981 when the world of media completely changed.

Frankly, for me, MTV died before it even hit its 10th birthday. About the time I got out of college, I recall turning it on and noticing a distinct change in MTV. Soon it was filled with MTV news, reality shows and rap (thank you sooooo much, Viacom). The "M" in "MTV" that originally stood for "music" now can be substituted with "mind-numbing" or "moronic". And they've done their very best to wear their politic leanings on their sleeves with whole "Rock The Vote/Vote Or Die" crap. No thanks.

Click.

Pretty much everybody knows that the very first video the network aired was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles. Impress you friends today with the knowledge of what the second video shown was: Pat Benetar's "You Better Run".

Posted by: Gary at 02:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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June 23, 2006

The "Dixie Chicks Democrats"

Didn't it seem a little odd that the Dixie Chicks' latest album would hit number one in its debut week when their overall sales have hit the skids? I mean, they are (or were) a country music group and country music fans have pretty much left them behind since they not only insulted the President on foreign soil in a time of war but have completely dissed their old fan base at every opportunity. Something didn't add up in my mind.

Lorie Byrd writes this morning what I had suspected about this as well as some advice for Democrat politicians:

"The new Chicks CD sold well the first couple of weeks, topping the charts. It is hard to imagine with the cover of Time Magazine, a 60 Minutes feature and an avalanche of favorable media, that the CD would not be a top seller. I recently heard Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. say he went out and bought a copy the first week.

I suspect that many who never would have paid a dime to listen to the Dixie Chicks when they were a kitschy country band, went out and purchased a copy as a political statement.

Although sales the first week put the CD at the top of the charts, compared to the previous Dixie Chicks CD, sales were down considerably. Concert ticket sales in some venues have been so slow that some shows may even be cancelled.

The example of the Dixie ChicksÂ’ rejection by many country music fans is one that carries a lesson those marketing any product would do well to heed. It easily translates from musicians and fans to politicians and voters, too. When politicians treat voters as ignorant and backward for not accepting their position on an issue, the voters are likely to go elsewhere."

The advice, alas, is sure to be ignored. It's an elitist mindset. And it would be more than appropriate to identify them as "Dixie Chick Democrats" - tone deaf, from a marketing perspective.

UPDATE: 11:15am
Then again, if Natalie Maines can't understand the NYC subway system, how can we expect this dim bulb to understand her fans?

h/t: HotAir.com

Posted by: Gary at 09:25 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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