Musicians as brands

Not many people are willing to admit that The Prodigy, Daft Punk, Moby, Aphex Twin, van Buuren, and Tiësto are incredibly overrated names (as are many other guys in the electronic music hall of fame). No doubt they have their merits and I write about them regularly, but most of the buzz around their names has been blown up by the marketing department of the label that promotes them. The record company creates added value for the musicians, which pays back, if not through music, then through concerts, merchandise and the general hype around them. With that money, the label can survive failure with other artists. (Like in film studios, where one good box office hit makes up for ten failed ones.)

And this is the moment when The Prodigy, Daft Punk, Moby, Aphex Twin, van Buuren, Tiësto and others become trademarks that give a certain status, just like the latest iPhone, a Gucci bag, a Lambo or a trip to Dubai. This is easy to see with a simple example: how well known are the labels of Bangalter (Roulé) and Guy-Manuel (Crydamoure) among Daft Punk listeners? How long would the queue of people wanting to buy Howlett’s album be if he wanted to release a solo record outside of The Prodigy? How many people have heard Tiësto or van Buuren’s first tracks? About five percent of the total number of their fans. So, in this respect, music is not important: it’s about belonging to a certain tribe that has been declared the best, most progressive, successful, intellectual, unique and so on.