5 ms·

I was hoping for more fleshed-out examples of why the business models were good, but the list was interesting nonetheless. My two personal-favorite business mo

by jabelk 12y ago

I was hoping for more fleshed-out examples of why the business models were good, but the list was interesting nonetheless. My two personal-favorite business models are (in no particular order): Tesla and Miley Cyrus. Tesla: evident if you're familiar with it (http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-p...) My interest in the Miley Cyrus model might need a little more explanation. Back a few months ago, when she was releasing over-the-top videos (wrecking ball?), everyone was saying some variant of "wow why is Miley famous she obviously has no talent and this is just lewd." But this is the crux of her brilliance.[0] She has tricked a very large number of people into advertising for her, regardless of whether she does anything requiring talent. But then there's the obvious tradeoff: she has to deliver all of these ridiculous things, likely to the detriment of her ability to contribute anything actually meaningful to the industry. Maybe other people have made that deal but none seem to have been as successful, at least based on the data from my facebook feed. And this is a rare case in which facebook feed data is a useful measure of the success of the business, because it fuels the clicks and the conversations and the weird interest. Anyway. Every time I see something about her, even overwhelmingly negative, I shake my head and think "another person tricked into feeding her success". Her willingness to decouple her success from anything "worthwhile"[1] about her (talent/skill/beauty/benefit to fans), at the cost of irrecoverably changing her career in what most would view as a very negative way, is sort of fascinating. [0] I say "her brilliance" but in reality I am sure she is just the face for a manager type orchestrating the money-and-fame-for-girl's-reputation-and-soul deal. [1] "Worthwhile" in quotes because is anything in the pop music industry really worthwhile?

instakill 12y ago
I'm assuming the Rap Genius guys are following the Miley Cyrus model then.
- jabelk 12y ago
  I don't think so - unless I'm missing information about them (they're now rebranded as just "Genius" FYI). Their two main controversies that I'm aware of were the SEO violation thing and the founder's inappropriate comments about the serial killer's sister. The first they apologized (and were penalized) for, the second they fired the founder. They aren't embracing negative attention, as far as I can tell.
- jw989 12y ago
  I disagree. Even though Rap Genius has showcased plenty of what I like to call "douchey" behavior, in the end of the day they still make an awesome app that I and many others essentially need.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
gclaramunt 12y ago
I'm pretty sure with a father and godmother long timers in the music business, I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing. For another take that confirms it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw
- jabelk 12y ago
  She definitely knows what she's doing. You can't go from that "Jolene" video you linked to sitting naked on a wrecking ball[0] in one year, by accident. The interesting thing is that she would choose deliberately to do that. [0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8 - note that this song has 20x more views
  - gclaramunt 12y ago
    Yes, I think she needed to kill the Hanna Montana image. And look! here we are, talking in "social media" about her... damn!
ssharp 12y ago
Are you purporting that Miley is currently popular because she's doing over the top things, despite her music not being good? If so, I don't think it's a correct assessment. Her music is ultimately popular because people like it. I don't think people think Wrecking Ball is a better song because the video was over-the-top, nor would a wild video make me like a song I would otherwise hate. Miley was also popular before she got more extreme. On the flip-side, Britney Spears was far more popular before she got extreme. I'm sure there are other cases where an artist receives more press attention that does not correlate to increased music sales. Chris Brown has had nothing but bad press since he hit Rhianna a few years ago and he's still placing songs on the charts and radio. People seem to mostly dislike him, but will still listen to his music. I don't think they're listening to him because he hit a woman and is in and out of jail. I think they just like the songs he makes. In the end, people still need to have some connection to the music. In pop music, that connection may not be entirely rational, and it certainly isn't lasting, but it's still there for some period of time.
- syntern 12y ago
  I think that an over-the-top video helps to get more reach, helps to introduce more people to a song. There are many songs with similar qualities, but if yours reach a wider audience, you will dominate the sales (and award) charts. Put it another way: it doesn't matter if your song is good for many people, if you can't reach them, nobody will know about you.
- sosborn 12y ago
  >Her music is ultimately popular because people like it. It is so simple, yet I'm always amazed about how uncomfortable this can be for some people.
- jabelk 12y ago
  It seems like some baseline talent is necessary to make the strategy work. I don't claim to have any ability to judge musical ability, plus it seems many artists aren't writing their own songs anyway, so I'm not trying to comment on her merits. Just noting that she's chosen to shift attention from her actual music to these antics, which is a strange choice from my perspective.
fsckin 12y ago
Tesla Master Plan: Build sports car Use that money to build an affordable car Use that money to build an even more affordable car While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options Thanks for the link, good reading.
TheBiv 12y ago
Soulja Boy also used the 'Miley Cyrus' model, except he would release a short, easy to do, dance video for everyone to dance when his song came on!
- nostrademons 12y ago
  Paris Hilton did it as well - leak a sex tape, do all sorts of outrageous shit, and make sure that the media covers it all and people talk about it. Ironically, she's the first Hilton in a while to be a self-made millionaire; her actions got her cut off from the bulk of her trust fund, but she's making about $10M/year in endorsements and public appearances.
mtdewcmu 12y ago
Why is Miley Cyrus famous, despite an apparent lack of talent? She was probably famous before she was born.
theycallmemorty 12y ago
It's worth pointing out that Miley Cyrus didn't exactly invent this model. The old saying is "there's no such thing as bad publicity". The first example that came to my mind is Madonna who always seems to do something "stupid" and "crazy" every couple years that reminds people she exists and keeps her in the public eye.
- Goladus 12y ago
  The old saying is "there's no such thing as bad publicity". I am really so sick of hearing people repeat this mantra. Bad publicity can have silver linings and sometimes what might seems like bad publicity is not bad at all. But there are plenty of examples of bad publicity that is just bad publicity. See Tiger Woods for a straightforward example.
Goladus 12y ago
Every time I see something about her, even overwhelmingly negative, I shake my head and think "another person tricked into feeding her success". What does it say about you, though, that you are reading that person's commentary? Whoever it was was probably just using her notoriety to make a point they wanted to make anyway. Media feeding frenzies go both ways. The media uses Miley as much as she uses them. The system isn't as simple as one person tricking another person into free publicity.

by jabelk 12y ago

instakill 12y ago

I'm assuming the Rap Genius guys are following the Miley Cyrus model then.

jabelk 12y ago
I don't think so - unless I'm missing information about them (they're now rebranded as just "Genius" FYI). Their two main controversies that I'm aware of were the SEO violation thing and the founder's inappropriate comments about the serial killer's sister. The first they apologized (and were penalized) for, the second they fired the founder. They aren't embracing negative attention, as far as I can tell.
jw989 12y ago
I disagree. Even though Rap Genius has showcased plenty of what I like to call "douchey" behavior, in the end of the day they still make an awesome app that I and many others essentially need.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

gclaramunt 12y ago

I'm pretty sure with a father and godmother long timers in the music business, I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing. For another take that confirms it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw

jabelk 12y ago
She definitely knows what she's doing. You can't go from that "Jolene" video you linked to sitting naked on a wrecking ball[0] in one year, by accident. The interesting thing is that she would choose deliberately to do that. [0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8 - note that this song has 20x more views
- gclaramunt 12y ago
  Yes, I think she needed to kill the Hanna Montana image. And look! here we are, talking in "social media" about her... damn!

ssharp 12y ago

Are you purporting that Miley is currently popular because she's doing over the top things, despite her music not being good? If so, I don't think it's a correct assessment. Her music is ultimately popular because people like it. I don't think people think Wrecking Ball is a better song because the video was over-the-top, nor would a wild video make me like a song I would otherwise hate. Miley was also popular before she got more extreme. On the flip-side, Britney Spears was far more popular before she got extreme. I'm sure there are other cases where an artist receives more press attention that does not correlate to increased music sales. Chris Brown has had nothing but bad press since he hit Rhianna a few years ago and he's still placing songs on the charts and radio. People seem to mostly dislike him, but will still listen to his music. I don't think they're listening to him because he hit a woman and is in and out of jail. I think they just like the songs he makes. In the end, people still need to have some connection to the music. In pop music, that connection may not be entirely rational, and it certainly isn't lasting, but it's still there for some period of time.

syntern 12y ago
I think that an over-the-top video helps to get more reach, helps to introduce more people to a song. There are many songs with similar qualities, but if yours reach a wider audience, you will dominate the sales (and award) charts. Put it another way: it doesn't matter if your song is good for many people, if you can't reach them, nobody will know about you.
sosborn 12y ago
>Her music is ultimately popular because people like it. It is so simple, yet I'm always amazed about how uncomfortable this can be for some people.
jabelk 12y ago
It seems like some baseline talent is necessary to make the strategy work. I don't claim to have any ability to judge musical ability, plus it seems many artists aren't writing their own songs anyway, so I'm not trying to comment on her merits. Just noting that she's chosen to shift attention from her actual music to these antics, which is a strange choice from my perspective.

fsckin 12y ago

Tesla Master Plan: Build sports car Use that money to build an affordable car Use that money to build an even more affordable car While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options Thanks for the link, good reading.

TheBiv 12y ago

Soulja Boy also used the 'Miley Cyrus' model, except he would release a short, easy to do, dance video for everyone to dance when his song came on!

nostrademons 12y ago
Paris Hilton did it as well - leak a sex tape, do all sorts of outrageous shit, and make sure that the media covers it all and people talk about it. Ironically, she's the first Hilton in a while to be a self-made millionaire; her actions got her cut off from the bulk of her trust fund, but she's making about $10M/year in endorsements and public appearances.

mtdewcmu 12y ago

Why is Miley Cyrus famous, despite an apparent lack of talent? She was probably famous before she was born.

theycallmemorty 12y ago

It's worth pointing out that Miley Cyrus didn't exactly invent this model. The old saying is "there's no such thing as bad publicity". The first example that came to my mind is Madonna who always seems to do something "stupid" and "crazy" every couple years that reminds people she exists and keeps her in the public eye.

Goladus 12y ago
The old saying is "there's no such thing as bad publicity". I am really so sick of hearing people repeat this mantra. Bad publicity can have silver linings and sometimes what might seems like bad publicity is not bad at all. But there are plenty of examples of bad publicity that is just bad publicity. See Tiger Woods for a straightforward example.

Goladus 12y ago

Every time I see something about her, even overwhelmingly negative, I shake my head and think "another person tricked into feeding her success". What does it say about you, though, that you are reading that person's commentary? Whoever it was was probably just using her notoriety to make a point they wanted to make anyway. Media feeding frenzies go both ways. The media uses Miley as much as she uses them. The system isn't as simple as one person tricking another person into free publicity.