Actually, you're understating the sales that Eminem's album has racked up... it has reached quadruple platinum... 4 million copies, in just over a month... I think that's unprecedented sales for almost any artist... I don't think he is hurting at all.
Secondly, RIAA will also use MP3's for it's own personal gain as well. Just as long as no one else uses them.
Billboard.com has MP3 links to obscure artists as well... etc.
Still, it's not wise to equate advertising with modern culture.
Yeah, I wish advertisers got that. If you look at the majority of our modern culture, it is awash in advertising tie ins. Britney Spears, musical icon to many, is almost a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepsico. And I don't think we can count how many musicians have a renewed popularity because of being featured in a car commercial. Dave Brubeck, Nick Drake, various techno artists.
We in turn become bathed in pop culture/ advertising - i.e. we equate advertising with modern culture. How many people do you know that started shouting "Wassssssuuuuuup!" for 3 successive months after those Bud commercials came out.
I know several people who at one time or another had collections of Taco Bell Chihuahua stuffed animals because of those commercials.
My uncle's jokes come from commercials now...
I agree it's unwise to equate advertising with modern culture, but, it is our culture now.
Useless junk? Well, sure it is. All entertainment could be classified that way. Sports too, and drinking for pleasure. Humans need breaks. We can't *always* be doing "productive" things. We need some down-time, and some plain old "fun time" to recharge our bodies and minds.
All entertainment could be classified as "useless junk" or... unproductive, definetely. However, the aim of advertisement, of creating a mass phenomenon out of a band such as Everclear or Fatboy Slim (which I will admit to liking at times,) is to make a productive use the time and money we use for entertainment. There are no pop culture icons that exist to make us feel good about being unproductive while listening to or watching them.
Our popular entertainment is not meant to relax us. It offers us escape, but where to? Escape to a series of places engineered to make us feel inadequate. That is what advertising is designed for, to create a desire. The majority of our cultural icons are toned, slender, clear skin, impeccably coiffed and dressed. Which inspires us with dreams of our own, and that is important, but our dreams are mostly channeled down avenues of desire.
Fast food? It is a boon for productivity! What would happen if we sat down for hour long dinners every evening? A definite loss of productivity!
Anyway, I agree with your point that pop culture is a way that we gain common experiences as a society, but it comes at a serious price to those who create the culture (in that their "artistic vision" is merely a byproduct of an advertising office) and at a price to those who relate to the culture. How long does any cultural experience last today? The "Wassup" fad lasted about 3 months. Also, I'd rather my common cultural experiences not involve huge explosions triggered by muscled Austrians.
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Actually, you're understating the sales that Eminem's album has racked up... it has reached quadruple platinum... 4 million copies, in just over a month... I think that's unprecedented sales for almost any artist... I don't think he is hurting at all.
Secondly, RIAA will also use MP3's for it's own personal gain as well. Just as long as no one else uses them.
Billboard.com has MP3 links to obscure artists as well... etc.
Still, it's not wise to equate advertising with modern culture.
Yeah, I wish advertisers got that. If you look at the majority of our modern culture, it is awash in advertising tie ins. Britney Spears, musical icon to many, is almost a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepsico. And I don't think we can count how many musicians have a renewed popularity because of being featured in a car commercial. Dave Brubeck, Nick Drake, various techno artists.
We in turn become bathed in pop culture/ advertising - i.e. we equate advertising with modern culture. How many people do you know that started shouting "Wassssssuuuuuup!" for 3 successive months after those Bud commercials came out.
I know several people who at one time or another had collections of Taco Bell Chihuahua stuffed animals because of those commercials.
My uncle's jokes come from commercials now...
I agree it's unwise to equate advertising with modern culture, but, it is our culture now.
Useless junk? Well, sure it is. All entertainment could be classified that way. Sports too, and drinking for pleasure. Humans need breaks. We can't *always* be doing "productive" things. We need some down-time, and some plain old "fun time" to recharge our bodies and minds.
All entertainment could be classified as "useless junk" or... unproductive, definetely. However, the aim of advertisement, of creating a mass phenomenon out of a band such as Everclear or Fatboy Slim (which I will admit to liking at times,) is to make a productive use the time and money we use for entertainment. There are no pop culture icons that exist to make us feel good about being unproductive while listening to or watching them.
Our popular entertainment is not meant to relax us. It offers us escape, but where to? Escape to a series of places engineered to make us feel inadequate. That is what advertising is designed for, to create a desire. The majority of our cultural icons are toned, slender, clear skin, impeccably coiffed and dressed. Which inspires us with dreams of our own, and that is important, but our dreams are mostly channeled down avenues of desire.
Fast food? It is a boon for productivity! What would happen if we sat down for hour long dinners every evening? A definite loss of productivity!
Anyway, I agree with your point that pop culture is a way that we gain common experiences as a society, but it comes at a serious price to those who create the culture (in that their "artistic vision" is merely a byproduct of an advertising office) and at a price to those who relate to the culture. How long does any cultural experience last today? The "Wassup" fad lasted about 3 months. Also, I'd rather my common cultural experiences not involve huge explosions triggered by muscled Austrians.