| Sex Sells... But What About the Music? | ||
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As, year after year, we watch Britney Spears lose more and more clothes in an attempt to use her cheap 'n trampy image to somehow rescue dwindling record sales we have to ask ourselves, "Sex may sell, but shouldn't the music sell itself?" ...And what do big breasts and a flat stomach have to do with music anyway? Why is it that artists - especially female artists - have to flaunt flesh and scantilly-clad figures in order to attract enough attention to their music to make decent sales? I suppose a better question would be, "do they actually have to?" The fact of the matter is that a lot of female artists manage to sell albums based purely on the quality of the music contained therein. Is it simply a strategy of the vacuaous and vacant-minded to fall back on sexuality; much like the prostitute who lacks any real skills or imagination and thus makes a living by employing an attribute that requires nothing more to use than a lack of conscience? Does Sex Cheapen the Entire Music Industry?Music is supposed to be an art form and, in an ideal world, it would sell based on it's merits as such. However, in the real world, music often sells based on it's creator's marketability, their "look". The value of art is lost in the face of a porn-esque marketing strategy formed around the idea of appealing to our baser instincts; generally of those who've yet to learn to control their hormones. Truth is, when PR managers and label execs sell sex, they're selling it to teenagers and younger. Even more disturbing is that they're exploiting teenagers as their half-dressed billboards on which to sell it. (I'm sure we should all remember the hoopla that was caused last year by the revealing pictures of 15-year old Miley Cyrus in vanity fair magazine.) Hell, it's even gotten to the point where it seems that sex tapes are "leaked" intentionally just to draw attention to the celebrities taking part in the acts they reveal. So, is the entire music industry cheapened by this ever-worsening trend of turning pop stars into porn stars? One could say that the music industry is no more cheapened by this than the film industry is cheapened by pornography. Unfortunately the fact is that in the music industy the roles are reversed and it is the trash that is mainstream, whereas the actual art is more of a niche market. The more popular genres of music - Rap, Hip Hop, RnB, Pop - are the genres that use sex to sell their sounds, whereas the more fringe, "artistic genres - Jazz, Blues, Metal, classical - generally (minus a few exceptions) rely purely on musical quality.
Changing Trends of Sex and MusicOn a brighter note, for those of us who find the thought of music being sold by it's quality of sound, times seem to be changing and trends have shifted with the current economic difficulties faced by a majority of the world. It seems that people are currently looking to music for more mature and thoughtful guidance. Lyrics are beginning to matter again, and artists like Katie Melua, rather than Miley Cyrus are enjoying increased record sales. Will this shift in buyer behaviour alter the way marketers sell music? Unlikely. "Sex sells" is too powerful an adage, too consistent a strategy, but it is nice to think that, even if just for a while, the good girls are coming first. |
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