Earned Relevance

Usher, LLCool J & Janet: Don’t believe Madonna!

Two significant events happened in the music world this week. Weaved together, they paint a telling story, at least to me. Billboard Magazine announced that Madonna’s North American music tour grossed $91.5 million.  Thanks to @caramelbella for sharing the story. Also, this week The Recording Academy released the nominations for the 51^st Annual Grammy Awards.  Perusing the list of nominees made me think about the music artists I like and have liked for a long time. Artists like Usher, LL Cool J, and Janet Jackson. I wondered out load, “they each had albums out this year that received lukewarm reviews and achieved low sales numbers, why aren’t fans flocking into stores to buy their CD’s like in years past?” Granted Usher is nominated for a R&B Male Performance Award for his song Here I Stand, but still, the luster he and the others had is fading. What makes us fall out of love with our favorite music stars and how can they can earn our love and lust back?

What artists like Usher, LL, and Janet should not do is look at Madonna’s impressive numbers and expect the same for themselves.

Madonna does something that is very important for superstars to do. During those times when she’s not touring or promoting her music, she steps away from the glaring lights of the camera. You rarely see her in the news beyond an occasional sighting at a swanky British eatery or European fashion event. She doesn’t comment on every starlet’s goings on or other stars’ personal affairs.

For Madonna, who is known as the master of reinvention, part of her success comes because her hiatuses allow us to miss her; similar to how the singer Sade does it.  Also important to note is that her music has evolved with her maturity. Even with her upbeat dance music, she’s shown growth to mirror the collective change in taste of her fans.

The glow fades on artists like Usher, LL Cool J, and Janet Jackson because of a lack of evolution in their music and/or too much exposure.  Many other factors contribute to their lack of sales, however one common thread is that there exists a disconnect between how they perceive themselves and how their fans see them.

I’ll use Usher as a generalization for the male artists that achieve great success but overestimate their desirability. Fans, specifically female fans, adored Usher because of his sex appeal, ability to perform, and steaming-hot songs. They desired the fantasy of the man he presented through his chart topping album Confessions four years ago.  Since then, he has allowed his personal life play to out in public, which was obviously a move that his fans did not like.  He openly fired his mother as his manager, and he openly battled public opinion and the media about his ultimate choice of a bride.  

It also seemed like he worked painstakingly hard to portray to the public a crafted adult image after the birth of his child. According to Mrs. EarnedRelevance, Usher developed an arrogance that turned-off many of his female fans.  When he debuted his album this year after that four year span from his last album, there didn’t appear to be growth or a connection with his fans.

LL and Janet fall into the category of once superstars who expect to flash their former uber-status cards and watch as millions of adoring fans flock into retail stores to drop $15 on their albums. What both seem to miss is that their audiences have grown-up. We are parents, business professionals, and community leaders. We’ve evolved. Our tastes have evolved. Our buying desires have evolved.  LL’s and Janet’s music appears to still be holding on to their yesteryears.

LL is still making music for the night club crowd. Janet is still wearing barely nothing outfits and choreographing Rhythm Nation type dance routines. Their fans apparently aren’t into those things anymore, or at least are not willing to pay for them.

The good news is that there are ways that Usher, LL, and Janet types can get their fans to fall back in love with them. If I were handling them, here’s a general plan I’d put into effect to get fans back on their side.

Shut up! Get off the mic! Usher keep your business to yourself, don’t feel the need to repudiated everything you hear. LL stop insinuating that you will inflict bodily harm on every MC out today, even if you once were the G.O.A.T. Humble yourselves. Janet, you do pretty well in this category, however you have to stop talking in public using Penny’s voice from Good Times. Use your real voice like you displayed in the recent Tyler Perry movie Why did I get Married? No more baby talk, you sound ridiculous AND we know it’s not really you. By the way, Janet, it’s ok to put on some clothes. Let us think you have something else to offer.

Go out to see your fans in their backyards. Follow the lead of successful comedians that test out new material while on touring small clubs around the country.  Hit intimate venues that are off the beaten path and simply treat your fans to unbridled performances. Let them touch you, sing with you, and discover the story of where you are now in your life without the glaring cameras of MTV Unplugged.

Connect with your fans online.  Let them connect with you online, the real you. Launch a “21 Songs in 21 Days” online campaign where you and the top producers you employ commit to producing a song a day for 21 days and releasing each online at 12 am each day for $2. You’re a star and fans would love to have real, open access to you which resulted in them acquiring exclusive music for their iPods. Can you imagine the buzz in the city where people eagerly anticipate the 12am release of your new music each day?  You won’t likely make a mint, but you will show your fans how prolific you are at making great music.  Then again, you probably will make a small mint because you will be cutting out marketing and distribution costs associated with your record label.  Independent music artists already employ an online distribution approach, but they don’t have the large international following that you have, so their results are marginal save for an occasional breakout scenario. Use the online strategy to your advantage, like Prince did when he was battling his record label.

Use UStream.com to stream live video showing you in the studio making the music on each of the 21 days. Show fans your creative process. Let them see your battles with your musicians.  Let them witness your passion to give them something memorable daily and all the hard work that goes into it. Allow a lucky, new music producer the opportunity to work with a star (you) by submitting music tracks to you online to be used on one of your songs.  You may be surprised by how this can turn into your new business model, one that excludes the under performing major music labels that slow and weigh you down.

See R&B singer Maxwell’s comeback strategy if you need proof. He is doing a good job of reconnecting with his fans by playing small venues and genuinely engaging them online.  Earn back your relevance on a human level. We’re waiting.