Advice/Opinion on marketing Beautiful Friction

[heimo]

But maybe allow me to add this: I am a collector and Fixx Junkie. So if there would be the idea of releasing a kind of premium limited Fixx Cd with lost tracks, different mixing versions or rare stuff like that - just for hardcore fixx fans - i would be on board - even paying a little bit more money then usual in advance for production (like the preorder offer).

[spaceroad]

Speaking of the upcoming vinyl release (which I have pre-ordered ) - do you know if it's the exact same mastering as the CD, or was it mastered specifically for vinyl? Also, are the masters 44khz/16, 48khz/24, or 96khz/24bit?

(yeah, I'm a geek)

I'm not sure Jeff, maybe Stephen can answer that one. I know they usually remaster for vinyl specifically.

[firstnovaprime]

But maybe allow me to add this: I am a collector and Fixx Junkie. So if there would be the idea of releasing a kind of premium limited Fixx Cd with lost tracks, different mixing versions or rare stuff like that - just for hardcore fixx fans - i would be on board - even paying a little bit more money then usual in advance for production (like the preorder offer).

Hey Heimo, I'd be on board too! Anything (cd) Fixx gotta have!
They could call it Anything and Everything Fixx!


"your amour is love"
Michael

[spaceroad]

Good to know folks. Maybe a future project there!

[Beached Male]

A few separate discussions now ongoing in the thread but many important issues to make a point on:

1. What Stephen Tayler said in the Lighthouse post on "Beautiful Friction" should get our attention, combined with his comment here on this thread. Stephen stated that when he was mixing "Saved by Zero" that he knew it "...was important" work to do. Similarly, he was "delighted" to mix Shaman once given the chance. Has the band or record label(s) ever considered the value of Stephen's opinion (ear for music) toward the marketing of the singles? Maybe "Shaman" is the SBZ of this album. Based on Muse's post, the "professionals" seem to be throwing darts at a dartboard to determine singles, but I disagree with Jeff that old/established bands can't break through with new singles. If it is "good enough" it will break through.

2. The idea of rarities/extras was actually talked about many times in the build up for this album. On many discussions here there were mentions of making an extended CD with extra songs. The pro's that surround the band should remember that there are two flavors of Fixxtures out there - the groupies and the junkies. The groupies simply want to be at the concerts, meet-and-greet, etc. etc. The junkies want to consume all things Fixx, especially what I would dub the subcategory "Purist Junkies" like me who care most about the recorded studio material. I fully realize that you can't let someone like Rupert get all the various atmospheric sounds in within a live show, takes studio work to shape it up (would be like trying to paint a painting live to an audience, just doesn't go over well unless you're Bob Ross). We probably need yet another silly poll to help figure out how many groupie vs junkie Fixxtures are out there.

3. We can't forget the value of the international audience. What are they finding appealing on the new album? There may be a totally different take on what is "single material" for Germany vs UK vs Japan, etc. Does anyone ever test-market any more? Yes, takes resources (time at minimum), but here's holding out hope of a breakthrough.

4. The band should reconsider what it considers as songs by the band "The Fixx" vs. Cy Curnin songs, and especially what it dubbed as material for this release (which should create a good argument for what goes in an extras CD). The new songs that were played at concerts since the last album WTL should have been released on this CD, regardless how good/bad/indifferent folks felt about them. The songs had been put out there as "new" and I think the band needs to connect that ownership to the following album release. Songs that should have been on this CD, as argued by many: "Everyone Believes in Something" and "Remember Me When I'm Gone" with the second one being an interesting argument. Yes, I know that Cy released "Remember Me..." on his Solo effort, but it wasn't a Cy-only song when I heard them live in Kansas City, as a band called The Fixx sang that song. I'm having a hard time reconciling what the heck the band and Cy are parsing out these days, and I really hold out hope that the band plays "Remember Me When I'm Gone" at future concerts, as Cy will almost never have a full-up backing band to offer that song live in its proper form. "Everyone Believes..." was a shocking drop from the album. You could have packaged a live version from when Ira was recording FixxStixx live and it would have been good enough.

Last, I still stand by my comments on "Anyone Else." I don't find this a "can't please everyone" issue, as I have consumed The Fixx since 1982 and found even their most different stuff like "Phantom Living" to be great listens in varying situations, but there is simply no connection on the song "Anyone Else," none. The only other song that has such a low point, my estimate, is the song "Brave" on WTL which was clear filler material.

BM

[Cary C-Troll]

...there are two flavors of Fixxtures out there - the groupies and the junkies. The groupies simply want to be at the concerts, meet-and-greet, etc. etc. The junkies want to consume all things Fixx, especially what I would dub the subcategory "Purist Junkies" like me who care most about the recorded studio material. I fully realize that you can't let someone like Rupert get all the various atmospheric sounds in within a live show, takes studio work to shape it up (would be like trying to paint a painting live to an audience, just doesn't go over well unless you're Bob Ross). We probably need yet another silly poll to help figure out how many groupie vs junkie Fixxtures are out there....BM

I don't like your tone there.
You got your Sign of Fire then.
What's with fans denigrating other fans?...not that you're the first to do so...

[Beached Male]

I wouldn't call what I described as "denigrating." I merely described. My goal was to emphasize that some who buy or participate in this band's entertainment are doing so for varying reasons, especially when it comes to studio vs live performances. There's a wide range of "fan" out there, but I am generalizing to make a point that some of us consumers of The Fixx are more interested in purchasing a studio album than anything else.
I'm still aghast that you must go to iTunes to obtain the only bonus song available for the album. What's up with that? Why aren't the purchasers of the hard asset (CD) provided that song before anyone else? Reeks a bit of the corporate music shenanigans that the boys have always argued against.

To reiterate another comment earlier, it is possible to squeeze so much more information into a CD now. We could have seen "Life Goes On," "Day Off," and "Everyone Believes in Something" added to this disc. I realize my argument about "Remember Me When I'm Gone" is a bit further removed, but the point is about song ownership and expectations. For all the Fixxtures who waited 10 years for this album, yet along the way a FixxStixx or random concert was available -- these were all the "new" songs we were treated to that we always looked forward to being packaged inside a studio-cut album (cleaned up, polished up, packaged and prepared to hear over and over...). That disappointment has been underwhelmed within this whole thread.
BM

[jeff]

but I disagree with Jeff that old/established bands can't break through with new singles

I'm not saying they absolutely can't break through. Nothing's impossible. I just think it highly doubtful. I know that sounds fatalistic, and I would LOVE to be proven wrong .

I can't really think of any instances of 70s & 80s bands that went "quiet" on the charts for 20 years climbing their way back up in the present. The few bands that still have hit singles were the giants of their time and were insanely famous (Rolling Stones, U2, Eagles, etc) - and never really dropped from the public eye, for whatever reason.

I think most of the bands that would have been at the same level of The Fixx, in terms of popularity and recognition, all struggle when they put out a new CD.

Hmm.. maybe Blondie would come close? Although I suspect Blondie was much bigger at their height. I think their comeback CD did fairly well, although I think a lot of that was from TV exposure based on their story (I remember interviews talking about Debby Harry and Chris Stein's struggle when he got sick in the 80s). Yet I still don't think it had a single chart in the US from it, did they?

I guess my real feeling is that the music industry is just inherently busted. With deregulation of radio, we have just a few monster corporations owning nearly all stations in the big markets, so it's nearly impossible to break a single without getting through to someone on ClearChannel, which I *think* hold something like 80% of the listening audience in the US.

In the days of old, you could actually break a single with a friendly DJ in one city, and it could spread from there. That's very difficult today.

I remember when Elemental came out, I tried calling all the relevant San Francisco stations requesting they play a song, and they basically laughed and said "good luck with that", all their programming came top-down from corporate and they weren't allowed to add anything to their song rotation.

And, although I'm in the mid-west now, whenever I'm back in California on business, which is 4 or 5 times a year for a couple of weeks at a time, I listen to Greg Kihn's show on KFOX. He's pretty great about bringing in classic rock artists and interviewing them about their latest album, and he'll play maybe 30 seconds of one of their new songs - not even a whole song! And that's it. You never hear the song again on the station.

This of course isn't anything new... youth sells, the public appetite wants the newest thing now, and the average shelf life of an artists is maybe 3 years, if they're lucky.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I have a point here. I suppose that I feel that we just won't see change until the old music industry dies. I think it's slowly getting there. I even read a few days back about the RIAA not doing so well, even after suing the pants off every mom and pop and teenage filesharer they can.

Ok.. enough rambling... time for bed!

[Cary C-Troll]

I wouldn't call what I described as "denigrating." I merely described. My goal was to emphasize that some who buy or participate in this band's entertainment are doing so for varying reasons, especially when it comes to studio vs live performances. There's a wide range of "fan" out there, but I am generalizing to make a point that some of us consumers of The Fixx are more interested in purchasing a studio album than anything else. BM

"groupie" from wikipedia:
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity or public figure. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group,[1] but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation. The word "groupie" is commonplace, a derisive term used to describe a particular kind of female fan assumed to be more interested in sex with rock stars than in their music.[2]

not denigrating?
Fine. Many of us female fans are not by this definition "groupies".

[jeff]

Yeah, I'd hate to be called a "groupie" - at minimum it reeks of just wanting to hang around a band because of their fame. At worst it's as Cary describes.

How about... "Live Connoisseur" instead?

[firstnovaprime]

Don't belittle each other. We all love the Fixx, that's all that matters.
I like to collect everything cd I can get my hands on, and I also like
to go to the concerts and be around the band, it makes everything
more personable. They are real people, they are artists who provide
us with music that means a lot to us. Makes life enjoyable. Call me
junkie or whatever, I don't care. I love the Fixx!



"your amour is love"
Michael

[musegirl]

We could have seen "Life Goes On," "Day Off," and "Everyone Believes in Something" added to this disc. I realize my argument about "Remember Me When I'm Gone" is a bit further removed, but the point is about song ownership and expectations. For all the Fixxtures who waited 10 years for this album, yet along the way a FixxStixx or random concert was available -- these were all the "new" songs we were treated to that we always looked forward to being packaged inside a studio-cut album (cleaned up, polished up, packaged and prepared to hear over and over...). That disappointment has been underwhelmed within this whole thread.
BM

Sometimes a song that resonates live doesn't work in the studio. I don't know if playing a track in concert might result in it peaking way too soon, or they simply lose interest in it. Sometimes the song is just too far in the rearview mirror to go with the new material and the vibe they have created in the studio. In the end, the guys endeavor to put out an album that works for them. They are artists and the only thing they owe the fans is their best creative effort. Maybe as a band that must constantly revisit their hits, they treasure the opportunity to record brand new material. Many choices made are personal and complicated - to keep a song or cut it, to make a solo track rather than a Fixx track. We might still hear some of the bits that didn't make it to this record, but I wouldn't count on it.

[tenohtwo]

Ugh. "Follow That Cab" and "Take A Risk" don't have any kind of hooks to be singles. I would think that anyone can recognize what song on the album is going to be the most promising single for The Fixx. I've mentioned before that the band/management erred in not promoting "Prove" as a single from the last album, but this time they got it right. "Anyone Else" is not my personal favorite on the album (I do like it a lot), but it clearly has the arrangement, hooks, and energy that work for radio and catching the listeners' attention, not to mention a very well done music video. For me, 'Cab' and 'Risk' are the weak links on the album, the farthest songs from being potential singles.

In regards to the Kimmel audience 'not being into it', we're talking late night talk show crowds that show up in the afternoon at a studio on a weekday, many of which are standing in line to get in the door and maybe see their favorite actor/actress, and then there will be some Fixx fans. The way Kimmel's stage is set up with the 'crowd' suggests they pull some audience members forward to the front to create the 'live' vibe - and while I'd like to think plenty of Fixx fans showed up in support - it more or less simulates those embarrassing Super Bowl halftime shows with the 'arranged' crowds bouncing up and down like they're watching the greatest show ever. In the case of the Kimmel performance, there were probably lots of people who either didn't know who The Fixx were, or just weren't into their music. It wasn't a FIXX concert, it was a Jimmy Kimmel talk show, so it's rare that you're gonna get a crazy crowd to watch the band. The last time I saw a talk show where it was clear a band's fans took over the whole studio audience was Depeche Mode on Leno in '98. I'd never heard a late night audience go that nuts before they came on!

Let's face it, The Fixx have been out of the spotlight for many, many years, and are gonna wear that 80s band scarlet letter til they're done, no matter what they do or how they adapt to the current music scene. "Anyone Else" works because it incorporates modern rhythms and lyrical themes with their classic sound, and the guys are good at writing catchy hooks. It's a very solid single, and should attract new fans.

I wouldn't be too quick to judge what we see on TV on these late night appearances, either. The Fixx clearly played all three songs very well, and more likely than not gained some new fans with this TV appearance. The bottom line is that it's nothing short of a miracle to take a 30-year-old band and have any more success today than what we're already seeing. The TV exposure is awesome, the video/YouTube exposure is awesome, and beyond that, it's really just a bonus for the band and fans. If they get new fans - awesome - that to me is success. They could choose to sell their souls, don Jason Mraz hats, and write soulless Marroon 5/Train hack pop garbage with ukuleles and be Clear Channel's puppets for the sake of getting a few more spins in the rotation. The feeling I get about The Fixx is that they would certainly like to have as much success and exposure as possible, like any artist, but they're not gonna compromise their principles or sound to carve their way onto the Billboard Hot 100. Charts and rankings are meaningless in the grand scheme, anyway. If they are happy with the new album, and have a great time on tour, and make a few new fans along the way, then as artists, they have achieved great success.

1002

[spaceroad]

Ugh. "Follow That Cab" and "Take A Risk" don't have any kind of hooks to be singles. I would think that anyone can recognize what song on the album is going to be the most promising single for The Fixx. I've mentioned before that the band/management erred in not promoting "Prove" as a single from the last album, but this time they got it right. "Anyone Else" is not my personal favorite on the album (I do like it a lot), but it clearly has the arrangement, hooks, and energy that work for radio and catching the listeners' attention, not to mention a very well done music video. For me, 'Cab' and 'Risk' are the weak links on the album, the farthest songs from being potential singles.

In regards to the Kimmel audience 'not being into it', we're talking late night talk show crowds that show up in the afternoon at a studio on a weekday, many of which are standing in line to get in the door and maybe see their favorite actor/actress, and then there will be some Fixx fans. The way Kimmel's stage is set up with the 'crowd' suggests they pull some audience members forward to the front to create the 'live' vibe - and while I'd like to think plenty of Fixx fans showed up in support - it more or less simulates those embarrassing Super Bowl halftime shows with the 'arranged' crowds bouncing up and down like they're watching the greatest show ever. In the case of the Kimmel performance, there were probably lots of people who either didn't know who The Fixx were, or just weren't into their music. It wasn't a FIXX concert, it was a Jimmy Kimmel talk show, so it's rare that you're gonna get a crazy crowd to watch the band. The last time I saw a talk show where it was clear a band's fans took over the whole studio audience was Depeche Mode on Leno in '98. I'd never heard a late night audience go that nuts before they came on!

Let's face it, The Fixx have been out of the spotlight for many, many years, and are gonna wear that 80s band scarlet letter til they're done, no matter what they do or how they adapt to the current music scene. "Anyone Else" works because it incorporates modern rhythms and lyrical themes with their classic sound, and the guys are good at writing catchy hooks. It's a very solid single, and should attract new fans.

I wouldn't be too quick to judge what we see on TV on these late night appearances, either. The Fixx clearly played all three songs very well, and more likely than not gained some new fans with this TV appearance. The bottom line is that it's nothing short of a miracle to take a 30-year-old band and have any more success today than what we're already seeing. The TV exposure is awesome, the video/YouTube exposure is awesome, and beyond that, it's really just a bonus for the band and fans. If they get new fans - awesome - that to me is success. They could choose to sell their souls, don Jason Mraz hats, and write soulless Marroon 5/Train hack pop garbage with ukuleles and be Clear Channel's puppets for the sake of getting a few more spins in the rotation. The feeling I get about The Fixx is that they would certainly like to have as much success and exposure as possible, like any artist, but they're not gonna compromise their principles or sound to carve their way onto the Billboard Hot 100. Charts and rankings are meaningless in the grand scheme, anyway. If they are happy with the new album, and have a great time on tour, and make a few new fans along the way, then as artists, they have achieved great success.

1002

I totally agree!

[musegirl]

The feeling I get about The Fixx is that they would certainly like to have as much success and exposure as possible, like any artist, but they're not gonna compromise their principles or sound to carve their way onto the Billboard Hot 100. Charts and rankings are meaningless in the grand scheme, anyway. If they are happy with the new album, and have a great time on tour, and make a few new fans along the way, then as artists, they have achieved great success.

1002

Amen! I agree with your assessment of "Prove" as well. Oh well. Life Goes On, as somebody said... I would hope that teir next big effort to promote the record would be an inspired video for "Shaman," perhaps.