Hit single! Classic! Superstar artist!
This entry is inspired by various emails I’ve read in the past 2 weeks from artists/labels in our scene and also in the mainstream.
Can it be hit single… if nobody has ever heard it, it hasn’t charted and you haven’t mailed it to radio?
Can it be a classic record… if you’ve mailed it to only a few niche websites without a trusted history? Or sites that call everything “classic” in the loosest sense possible?
Can an artist be a superstar… if I asked 100 avid fans of the genre and only a handful have even heard of you much less experienced your music?
A problem here is of outlandish claims and at times 100% dishonest marketing. It happens all the time in our scene and in the music industry in general. Telling such fibs to your fans is one thing, believing them yourself is the most dangerous part of the fib. Believing your own hype creates complacency, laziness and poor stewardship tendencies. A potential fan is going to be turned off pretty quickly and dismiss it as over-hyped. It’s too common and needs to change.
Let radio chart positions tell the story for you. Let a very broad base media decide if your record is worthy of the labeling “classic”. Let the masses decide if you’re a “superstar”. It’s better that way anyways. It’s not of your own doing and will have some beneficial lasting power (the “superstar” thing being whatever).
Besides, if you need to tell people you are something… you probably aren’t.