The key to Hanson's success?
Jul. 9th, 2010 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
armanyaI have been musing on this for a while, but today reading this article brought the question up for me again. What was it that made Hanson so popular, so huge - that no band since have been able to replicate quite the same success? Dropping record saled being a trend notwithstanding, Hanson still have the record for the loudest (a record previously held by The Who) and the largest audience - proving that they inspired mania on a scale that we have not seen since.
It's tempting to say that they were young teens themselves, the same age as their target audience - and let's face it they were never bad looking guys, and that this is the only secret to their success. But if it was, surely the young disney stars of today should all inspire the same obsession, the same huge following?
But you know, their youth is one half of the key to their success I think. The second half? The fact that unlike child stars of today, and many child stars of the past, Hanson's music remained relatively untarnished by adult hands. They wrote the songs - songs with lyrics that their target audience could relate to, because they were actually written by people the same age. Really, I think this is where all the record company suits that are obviously churning out pre teen popstars in and effort to replicate the success of days gone by go wrong. If you have adults write the songs, teens are not automatically going to relate to them because you put someone that age on stage singing it.
And you know what? I have come to realize that the same fact is the reason that Hanson have had <i>lasting</i> success. While most young bands that remain on big labels never seem to grow up - the preferred strategy being to cash in on their youthful cuteness and then ditch them to find some new twinkle eyed toddlers to exploit - Hanson have always fought for their music and continued to grow both as song writers and musicians. Meaning that they grew up with the fans and continued to stay relevant to their audience.
I guess it sort of baffles me that the big record label executives have yet to realize this fact. It sort of proves that to major labels, musicians and pop acts are a mere commodity, and an esily replacable one at that. The way to go is to get as much sucess as possible and milk it until the audience grows out of it, then find a new similar artist to appeal to the next generation. (Because, let's face it, kids are normally not going to find it cool to listen to the same things as their parents or older siblings.)
I kind of hope that sometime in the near future, the music industry will be forced to reform and go back to valuing real, lasting, timeless music instead of passing fads.
(Yeah I have no clue what the point of this ramble was... merely an exercise in creative writing, perhaps)
It's tempting to say that they were young teens themselves, the same age as their target audience - and let's face it they were never bad looking guys, and that this is the only secret to their success. But if it was, surely the young disney stars of today should all inspire the same obsession, the same huge following?
But you know, their youth is one half of the key to their success I think. The second half? The fact that unlike child stars of today, and many child stars of the past, Hanson's music remained relatively untarnished by adult hands. They wrote the songs - songs with lyrics that their target audience could relate to, because they were actually written by people the same age. Really, I think this is where all the record company suits that are obviously churning out pre teen popstars in and effort to replicate the success of days gone by go wrong. If you have adults write the songs, teens are not automatically going to relate to them because you put someone that age on stage singing it.
And you know what? I have come to realize that the same fact is the reason that Hanson have had <i>lasting</i> success. While most young bands that remain on big labels never seem to grow up - the preferred strategy being to cash in on their youthful cuteness and then ditch them to find some new twinkle eyed toddlers to exploit - Hanson have always fought for their music and continued to grow both as song writers and musicians. Meaning that they grew up with the fans and continued to stay relevant to their audience.
I guess it sort of baffles me that the big record label executives have yet to realize this fact. It sort of proves that to major labels, musicians and pop acts are a mere commodity, and an esily replacable one at that. The way to go is to get as much sucess as possible and milk it until the audience grows out of it, then find a new similar artist to appeal to the next generation. (Because, let's face it, kids are normally not going to find it cool to listen to the same things as their parents or older siblings.)
I kind of hope that sometime in the near future, the music industry will be forced to reform and go back to valuing real, lasting, timeless music instead of passing fads.
(Yeah I have no clue what the point of this ramble was... merely an exercise in creative writing, perhaps)
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Date: 2010-07-09 10:58 am (UTC)It's true the industry is not only image-driven, but single-driven: just maximize as much as they can from an artist, toss them away, then find the next replica. The funny thing is, they say audiences are getting more savvy (no longer will a big music magazine ad saying "This group is HOT" or just getting it on radio work, and cause people to blindly buy it - people find out about it through word of mouth, social networking, sample tracks to find out for themselves, read all the reviews online from around the world, etc.) so are better able to sort through the junk. So it's thought perhaps it might swing the other way to more authenticity. On the other hand, they're still churning out lots of clones.
When you talk about Hanson and longevity and the fans sticking with them, I always think about how they're in it for the long career arc and not just a(nother) quickie single success. But the funny thing is, one smash single could bring them a new fanbase, reunite the old who'd lost touch, etc. It's still important. I thought they were a little hard on producer Bob Marlette's theory in "SETB" about how concentrating on just "One song, one really great song" could have so much open up. The guy from Third Eye Blind says it also, that SPIN magazine might do a piece on them and their return and perseverance and "People will remember you from when they were kids, and go 'These guys are really, the SHIT!'".
Somebody like The Jonas Brothers are a funny case, because they fit so much of what you talk about - "get as much success as possible and milk it", the singing of songs written by adults, "churning out pre teen popstars" (in this case, Disney, the masters of all that marketing), "cash in on their youthful cuteness", etc. But funny enough they're also "diversified" - they're not just doing music, but concert tours/concert movies, a steady TV show, TV movies, "Idol" judging, book memoirs, jumping aboard social media, Nick's side project/band, and whatever else. Try to think of an area the Jonas Bros. haven't been strategically slotted into. This is sort of a funny contradiction to me - it can show an aggressive marketing plan to try to connect with everywhere their audience is, but it also shows, maybe, some longer-term development where you don't sink all the eggs in one basket. Do I think Disney is thinking of the Jonas' long-term career arc, and not burning them out with overexposure right away? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's just extending the milking of fans.
This might be random, but you know what I was thinking of the other day? The old promotional tagline that started appearance on Hanson's early industry promos for the album and "MMMBop" single - "Where music is headed". I to this day sort of like the directional thrust of that; forward-looking and at the front of a trend. Maybe it's just a savvy marketing phrase to cash in on their youth and inexperience.
Zoomity zooming in...
By the way, you might really like the music documentary, "Before The Music Dies" (trailer is below) which wrestles with these kinds of questions - where the industry is ahead, what's "product" and what's real, what artists could make it today, how technology is impacting, and so forth. It's one of the best music documentaries I've seen. In fact I make (heh!) many of my friends watch it and "Strong Enough to Break" together, because it is an amazing counterpoint to what Hanson went through - the documentary backs up their story, but it's speaking on the whole and with a broad range of artists, whereas "SETB" is more personal. So they fit together so well!