There is no doubt that Lady Gaga is a marketing genius. With over 15.4 million tracks sold in 2009 alone, coupled with a strong focus on touring, merchandising, and fashion--with over 1,000 wardrobe changes, apparently--she is, without question, on a major roll, literally transforming an industry that is struggling to say the least. She has found that 'lightning in a bottle,' and is milking it to the max. Regardless of whether you like or hate her--and sentiments run strong on both sides--she is a veritable marketing machine, and may launch (hopefully not) a million imitators who are focused solely on imitating the savvy marketing techniques without capturing the essence of what it means (and takes) to really break through the clutter of noise out there in the marketplace. In a poignant January 29th Wall Street Journal article, written by John Jurgensen, entitled "The Lessons of Lady Gaga," the author accurately points out that Lady Gaga is "a product of a new kind of recording contract which goes beyond just selling records to encompass everything from touring, merchandise--even her make-up deal." Talk about the art of knowing how to monetize every element of a brand (even a make-up deal). Underlying the success of Lady Gaga, however, is not only her talent, as she can sing, but the marketing power of her label--in this case, Universal's Interscope Records. Using what is now called a 360-degree deal--in which the label puts more marketing money up front for a percentage of all back-end profits, touring, merchandising, etc.--the few remaining powerful labels are doing what the movie studios have done for quite some time...betting on the big hits. It was Spielberg's hit move, "Jaws," that really launched this "big hit" mentality in filmmaking. In regard to the music industry's woes, Jurgensen points out, ""The business needs more Gagas. The upheaval of the last decade has forced the major record companies to cut their work force by 60%." But do we really want more Gagas? As her main producer, RedOne said about the choice of her songs, "The songs have to be lyrically simple and easy to sing along to, even for people in the world who don't speak English." The key here is that Lady Gaga represents, in my view, that rare breed of artist--someone who had the right goods at the right time, a "perfect storm," if you will. Her Madonna-like transitions, which are numbing, will be tested over the next few years, and tested in the light of a stream of imitators no doubt. Sadly, her producer's comments about the simplicity of her songs may reflect the demands of the marketplace for some time. As labels strive to create more Gaga-like artists, however, they will most likely find that 'lightning in a bottle' is hard to replicate. In fact, let's face it: artists, like brands, must stand for something unique, and there's no substitute for an original. Just ask Coke. |
