March 17, 2005

Horse 316 - Australian Idle

This is taken from a conversation that I had tonight (well yesterday as it's like really early now).

Isn't this song really good?
Let me hear a bit of it and I'll tell you
Huh?
I haven't heard this before
Have a listen for a bit
...
What do you think?
I think it's kinda crap actually
You're only saying that because she's fat
I don't even know who the heck this is!
It's Casey Donovan
And?
The winner of Australian Idol?
Yeah her, uh. I never watched the show
Don't you think you're being rude?
No. I never saw the show, had no idea who it was until you told me and I still thought that it sucked.

The song in question was Casey Donovan's "What's Going On" which had acheived the notable feat of getting airplay on at stupid o'clock on the radio. In Horse 300 I alluded to poor CD sales being linked to the fact that CD singles are being run for fewer weeks than previous, so that record companies can shift more units. I think that this single is a case which warrants futher investigation.

ARIA accused lower than expected sales of the first single (I don't know what it's called - or rather I don't care) on illegal downloads over file-sharing networks. I think after hearing the second single that there is in fact are far more obvious reason and that is that the record is genuinely poo.

I in theory am/are the prime target for record companies to be selling records to, I have a reasonably disposable income and travel in the car quite a lot. Therefore I should have a high exposure to whatever the record companies want to sell. However, what the record companies seem to have forgotten is that the radio is the prime media for their product to be exposed. If the music they want to sell isn't something I want to buy, then no transaction will take place.

I suppose that there is some degree of moral indignency about the winner of Australian Idol (and let's be fair about this, if the winner doesn't shift sales then the talent in general must have been poor) being voted by the public and then bombing in the sales charts. I still think that my reaction is typical, and that I'm hardly under any obligation to part with my money.

And no I don't think I'm being visually discriminating, it was on the radio and yes it was crap.

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