Newspaper Page Text
Monday, May 4, 1998
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 13
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
DEATH as a
sales PITCH
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
Let's look at some stats to
back this up. We'll use three
prominent examples: Tupac
Shakur, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob
Marley.
H endrix's story is
the prototype for
the successful
dead artist: A
short, promising career full of
numerous signed and forged
contracts that gave one record
company or another the rights
to his music and his
pocketbook. A
death shrouded
in mystery. An
afterlife
marked by
"greates
ever" status
and an
overwhelming
number of
vultures
flying over th§
remains of his
musical catalog.
Hendrix was
known for having no
control over his finances
throughout his entire career.
Though he died in 1971,
Hendrix's family did not gain
control of his estate until 1996.
In this 25-year span,
hundreds of CD's — either
including or featuring
Hendrix — have been placed
on the market. One would be
hard pressed to find someone
who hasn't heard of, seen, or
purchased some mechandise
featuring him.
VH-1 plays Hendrix
"rockumentaries" monthly,
and he is an icon for millions,
including artists like
D'Angelo and Lenny Kravitz
and multi-billionaires like
Paul Allen.
A four-year recording
career has now been
transformed into a name and
face worth millions of
merchandising dollars a year.
All of this coincides with
Hendrix's death at the peak of
his career. Coincidence? Or
the mass-market appeal of a
dead superstar?
upac Shakur's All
E y e z
on Me went five times
platinum when he
was alive, and has sold two
million more copies since. The
Makaveli album? As of
January '98, it had gone triple
platinum. Furthermore, R U
Still Down? (remember me) has
moved two million units since
January. That's a hell of a lot
of money going to someone
other than the man who
MADE the music.
These astronomical sales
aren't hurt by Tupac's godlike
status in rap. He was, and still
is, one of the few artists who
command attention
through name
alone. No
artist in
about
'using
Tupads
name
or his
legend
-to sell
albums,
either.
Just ask
Fatal Hussein,
Master P or even
Mobb Deep (who did you
think "Drop a Gem on 'Em"
was about? Liberace?).
It's sad to say this, but his
death was Tupac's greatest
career move. He left the stage
at the zenith of his career,
when his popularity and
notoriety were both at their
peak. Now, death has
transformed this entertainer
with incredible magnetism
and ridiculous potential into a
demigod and icon for an entire
generation of listeners. That's
more sales than an R. Kelly
remix will ever get you.
B ob Marley, 'Rasta
prophet' and
musical
phenomenon, died
in 1981. His music and legend
carry on today as the message
of truth to the masses.
Marley's popularity in the
Caribbean was huge at the
start of the 70's, but he and the
Wailers were virtually
unknown internationally. This
would change in 1972 when
the group signed with Island
Records, and became the first
reggae band to gain access to
the same amenities as other
major international rock acts.
Marley's fame grew
astonishingly as he and his
Dnny Hathaway, soul smger from bt
Louis, committed suicide on January
Successful career; held up by many as the stan
dard for new male R&B artists. Singles still
getting airplay: “This Christmas,” “Little Ghetto
Roberta
MARVIN GAVE,
brilliant vocalist
and composer, died
filled with
;§J reer
ill enormous popular-
I J ity and personal
I 1 tragedy. Another
artist given the
“best ever” label. Still successful singles in
clude: “I Want You,” “What’s Going On,” “Dis
tant Lover,” “Mercy Mercy Me,” “Let’s Get It
On,” and “Sexual Healing.”
music were globally
recognized and accepted. His
death from cancer cut short
another brilliant musician's
career.
This of course didn't cut
into the earning power of
Marley's name, face, or
legend.
Today, he is number three
on Billboard's catalog for all-
time sales. In fact, a new 10-
disc set is hitting the market
between '97 and '99.
Now if a double-CD goes
for about $20 - $22, then
multiply that by 5, multiply
that total by, say, two million
... carry the one ... ah, you do
the math. A mere portion of
the money Marley's music has
made since his death would be
more than he saw during his
life. Somebody's getting paid.
So, who should be
credited for these post-mortem
payoffs? Why, the living, of
course. It's our fascination
with dead musicians that
keeps the "re-issue,"
"complilation" business
going.
OK, so you couldn't help
buying Life After Death or Are
You Experienced? after the
artist's death, but nobody
foced you to buy Don
Killuminati: the Seven Day
Theory or No Way Out. You
bought it because you wanted
a taste of those last words. You
bought it because all of a
sudden the music was full of
"hidden messages" : The
Makaveli album was
prophecy, Marvin Gaye knew
his time here wasn't long,
Biggie was preparing for his
"Downfall."
Don't kid yourselves,
people. The dead sell (and so
do The Dead. Just ask Jerry
Garcia.)
