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Post by medazzaboy1997 on Apr 29, 2015 14:47:29 GMT -5
Yep. A single that is released four months ahead of the album would be the true momentum killer. I don't know how true that is anymore...people buy first singles and pre-order albums based on that single nowadays. And what the heck...release a second single in August. But this time does not want to have single. People are more digitally downloaded song as they should buy a physical single. Single makes sense if the issue included several remixes and several quality b-sides. This is the time of albums and digital downloads.
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Post by Dr Of The Revolution on Apr 29, 2015 15:02:05 GMT -5
Rumours swirling that the unnamed album is holding back the single release to July. Yet again, DD lose momentum. Could you possibly give a hint of the source for this ? Anyway, if they were to release a single in May they would have to have shot a video by now. Which doesn't seem to be the case. I really wonder if they could and would shoot a video without anybody knowing about it.
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Post by Sir rogerlejohn jr. on Apr 29, 2015 15:08:43 GMT -5
if directed by Nick Rhodes, noone would know. Maybe they're not in the video at all, like the cover of the new album..strategy for not being jugded by the age, just their music. Maybe Janelle will be their face outward this time?
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Post by coolbarn on Apr 29, 2015 15:59:02 GMT -5
Who made the rule you can only release one single before the album? Why not two? Or if the first two are big hits, three for that matter???
Duran diehards like us are going to buy the album no matter what, in various forms digitally and then on CD. Then getting milked further by purchasing the Deluxe version with four extra tracks in November, and then the Super Ultra Deluxe version with 2 additional tracks plus a message from the band hidden as an Easter Egg conveniently just before Christmas.
It's the new or born again fan that Warner can use the singles to attract. Hypothetically if Pressure Off was to take off (I don't think it will, but for the band's sake it would be nice for them if it did) plus the second single being given some promotion as a result and it also did well, then it could make these new fans even more interested in purchasing the album.
The whole album has to be strong and well received though (which it reportedly has been by Warner, which is a great start), as good and bad reviews can make and break albums as well.
Think back to '93. Duran did the usual thing first of releasing one single (and not a bad one), then the album, and then Come Undone about a month after The Wedding Album had come out. If they had released Come Undone before the album then this would have made people even more excited to buy the record. But had they read the reviews, and seen that those two songs were the highlight of the record and that there wasn't much else anywhere near as good, then some might have thought "Well what's the point of buying the record then, we've heard the best two songs, and it sounds like there isn't too much else on there to write home about".
So if the album is going to consist of 11 amazing tracks, and going to be reviewed accordingly, then it shouldn't matter how many singles are released before it comes out. How great would it be if they did hear two or three singles, but then read that the remaining 8 or 9 songs are also fantastic and well worth purchasing.
That's win-win. The singles get them excited for the record and make a few dollars, and then the reviews suggest that the entire album is great which helps generate even more sales.
Of course all this is great in theory. However let's get back to reality. The reality is that Duran Duran will not get heavily promoted as we'd like, and Pressure Off will not be massive as we'd like. I would love to be wrong, but their track record since 1993 tells us this. The reality also is that the music press are not going to suddenly all sing the praises of Duran Duran from the rooftops in unison; there will still be plenty of cheap shots aimed at some of their favourite whipping boys when it comes to album review time. Hence if the album doesn't sell as well as hoped, they mightn't even release a second single, and definitely not a third single. I mean they had the promotion of the reunion for Astronaut and all the great press from the tour, and even then they only released Sunrise and What Happens Tomorrow. RCM only contained one poorly promoted single, and AYNIN only had two poorly promoted singles as well.
To go back to the halcyon days of Duran Duran releasing three tracks from an album (and even four as it ended up being on Rio) then Pressure Off is going to have to do amazing, the album is going to have to do amazing, and the second single is going to have to do amazing. Only then would they entertain thoughts of releasing a third single.
And this is where that unfortunate thing called reality checks in. I hope I'm wrong. If the band wants to sell a lot of albums again, then I hope they sell a lot of albums again. But if I were a betting man, and looking at their track record, since they couldn't chart well even when getting promotion about being reunited and selling out arenas, then you would have to think Pressure Off could also disappear without a trace.
Call me negative. Call me not a real fan. But that is the most likely result, even though I hope I am so wrong that I have egg on my face for the rest of my life. I hope the band sell 95 trillion copies of Pressure Off, and then 360 quadrillion copies of DD14. I hope they sell out Wembley in 3.5 seconds, and due to demand perform at the biggest stadiums around the world, with all these concerts touching everybody who experiences them which leads to World Peace and the extinction of hunger and poverty in all 196 countries of the world.
But here's a final hypothetical. You have a mad Culture Club fan (I know that's a tautology, but I digress) with a gun to your head. He's says "I want you to predict the fate of Pressure Off and DD14. You only have two choices, and the one closest to the truth will win".
He then hands you two cards. Card number one says "Pressure Off and DD14 will both be incredible smash hits, reaching number one in many countries, receiving millions of hits on Youtube, and making the name Duran Duran a household name around the world once again". Card number two says "Pressure Off and DD14 won't make much of a dent in the charts, and only be on them for a few weeks each before they slip away to obscurity".
He says you have to make a prediction and pick a card, and come November, if you're wrong, he'll shoot you in the head.
How many people here would honestly pick card number one if their life depended on it. I mean we all hope it's true, and we hope Warner are true to their word and promote the band, but not much of this has happened since the mid 80s. Post Notorious EMI didn't really want to promote the band, and it's only because of the success of Ordinary World that the band got any love at all. And the less said about Hollywood Records (Disney) and Epic (Sony) the better; there are Kalahari bushmen who have never heard rock music that would have done a better job of promotion than those two companies.
I'll be honest - if my life depended on it, I'd choose card number two. History tells me that is the most likely scenario, regardless of my love for the band and hoping for their success.
But Warner could be the knights who come along in shining armour and save the day. Some decent promotion, and who knows what songs and albums are going to take off in any given time period. So go on Warner, prove me wrong. I dare you.
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Post by jupiter on Apr 29, 2015 16:29:22 GMT -5
If there is more than one single (likely if pressure off comes out in may/june), then hopefully we'll also get some nice b sides and not just a bunch of gimmicky remixes. Duran time should be measured not by months and years but by the movement of tectonic plates.
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Post by stopdead on Apr 29, 2015 16:36:06 GMT -5
Yep. A single that is released four months ahead of the album would be the true momentum killer. I don't know how true that is anymore...people buy first singles and pre-order albums based on that single nowadays. And what the heck...release a second single in August. It's still very much true, particularly for a veteran act. That first single might be their only shot at airplay. If it comes and goes in 30 or 60 days (new music from veteran acts have a short lifespan), the momentum will be gone. It's a small percentage of consumers that pre-order albums and that number isn't likely to grow with services like Spotify getting more and more popular.
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Post by stopdead on Apr 29, 2015 16:45:18 GMT -5
coolbarn: Yep...we shouldn't be getting our expectations up because we'll likely be setting ourselves up for disappointment. The shelf life for new music from veteran acts is extremely short. The fans buy it right away, then it falls off the charts. That said, I'd like to think that Warner hears something magical and marketable with this new music and that's why they signed them. I am more than happy to be proven wrong.
All *I* hope for is that the band continues to make great music and put on great shows. Anything above and beyond that is icing on the cake.
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Post by madoldlu on Apr 30, 2015 13:11:39 GMT -5
Great read as always, coolbarn! Some very good points. Unfortunately I agree that as much as I would love this to be their big comeback, I don’t think it will be. Not because I don’t think the album will be good, but just because the kind of comeback we hope for just doesn’t happen any more. Nowadays, a band or singer needs to have a song on a soundtrack or even a TV commercial to be successful. That seems to be the best way to get exposure for your music. Hit songs still happen every once in a while, like Happy and Uptown Funk, but not to older bands that have been around a while. When was the last time U2 had a megahit? 15 years ago with Beautiful Day. Even Coldplay haven’t had a “hit” in several years like they did with Clocks or Viva La Vida. I read an article recently called “How Selling Out Saved Indie Rock” which talks about young indie bands now actively want to get some kind of commercial in order for them to even survive. Here’s a link: www.buzzfeed.com/jessicahopper/how-selling-out-saved-indie-rock#.qf88R3g4XI came across it because I saw a new Oreos commercial that I thought sounded like Tegan and Sara, and lo and behold, it was them! www.stereogum.com/1640941/hear-tegan-and-saras-oreo-jingle/video/Having Girls on Film in that Michael Kors commercial is the kind of thing they need.
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Post by stopdead on Apr 30, 2015 14:08:31 GMT -5
madoldlu: Right. Unless Warner has found a way to get DD in the closing credits of the next James Bond film, for example, I really don't expect that many (if any) new ears are going to hear this music.
Obviously we don't know the terms of the deal but I can't imagine Warner would be paying these guys to make music that nobody will buy. Warner is, after all, a for-profit business. I suspect there's a touring component to the deal, but I'd like to think there is some kind of plan to get the music in front of new ears...
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Post by coolbarn on Apr 30, 2015 15:54:57 GMT -5
madoldlu: Right. Unless Warner has found a way to get DD in the closing credits of the next James Bond film, for example, I really don't expect that many (if any) new ears are going to hear this music. Obviously we don't know the terms of the deal but I can't imagine Warner would be paying these guys to make music that nobody will buy. Warner is, after all, a for-profit business. I suspect there's a touring component to the deal, but I'd like to think there is some kind of plan to get the music in front of new ears... I hope you're right Skoogy, but Disney and Sony are also "for-profit" businesses and look how poorly they promoted the band. I'm still hopeful Warner will do their best for Duran Duran, and am quietly confident they will. However I will believe it when I see it. Sadly they could just end up giving lip service and not much else like the others; promise Duran the world, but then just give them an atlas.
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