[2010-03-29] Alizée autograph signing at Virgin Champs-Elysées

[User22]

Originally Posted by Jalen

Ever since I began watching Lost, lists kinda freak me out now.

I wasn't contacted, but in the Lost Universe, you never know if that's good or bad.

well i know he contacted some of the ones on the list...but i seriously doubt he was able to PM all 50 so who knows

[FanDeAliFee]

Let me speculate a little about our future.

I have never been a big consumer of art or entertainment. I have never been a professional entertainment marketer. But I have executed complicated projects as a scientist, engineer, software developer and manager. I only mention these things so you can put my words in the proper context.

Looking at the Alizée BUSINESS, one first has to recognize that the United States has never been an important source of revenue for it. For example, to date, none of Alizée's recordings have even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliz%C3%A9e_discography">charted</a> here. No doubt the insanity which has racked the United States during this century would have been an impediment, even if no others existed, but failure here remains a fact.

The rollout of broadband Internet access in the developed world has done a lot to alter the logic of entertainment promotion. Along with the plummeting cost of digital storage, it enabled the rise of video hosting firms like YouTube and Hulu that can narrowcast specialty acts which never would have even gotten their toe in the door during the era when we watched almost all our television by broadcast. I discovered Alizée through YouTube - perhaps you did too.

Yet even though Alizée could get a ready audition in the US through YouTube in 2006 and 2007, when <i>Psychédélices</i> was released, it was Mexico, and NOT the United States which sustained the Corsican girl's musical career through sale of the new CD. And this so, even though French is no more Mexico's first language than it is that of the United States. (As for France itself, well...)

Note the Internet also provides a rich new tool for doing marketing research at low cost. One can extract useful demographics from things like Google and YouTube searches and traffic to individual Websites. Let me examine the latter.

When I looked at the national origin of hits on Alizée's official Website on <a href="http://Alizeeamerica.com/forums/showpost.php?p=151335&postcount=12">12 February</a>, just before the release of <i>Limelight</i>, you would not know the United States even existed.

Although its population has tripled in the last three decades, the French department in South America called French Guiana still falls short of a quarter million residents. Yet it was responsible for more hits (2.7% of the total) on Alizée's Web site than a nation with over a THOUSAND times as many residents - the USA.

Happily, by the time I looked again on <a href="http://Alizeeamerica.com/forums/showpost.php?p=154177&postcount=16">11 March</a>, the US accounted for a 10.2% share of the site hits. AT LAST there was some evidence that substantial album sales in the United States were a possibility. This is something I suspect Alizée's marketing people knew without my intervention, but I made a point to tell the Virgin store in Paris anyway.

Alizée can be kind and polite to everyone, but a business cannot waste time coddling a tiny handful of fans in some country that will not make purchases. Alizée America can only be important to her if America is a plausible market. Otherwise, it does not matter how sincere, dedicated, bright or talented its members are.

As regards the private audience with Alizée, I think it was important that the emissary come from another continent, rather than just across the French border, from say, Switzerland. This is a grand (and EXPENSIVE) gesture which pays Alizée great court as a significant entertainer. I had some nerve calling our friend Scruffy our Ambassador, because we damn well are not PAYING his expenses. He is kind not to rebuke me.

In case you are curious, Alexa reports traffic to http://Alizée-officiel.com/ continues to grow, with France expanding its share lead, the US holding its own, and Mexico faltering.<table cellpadding="10"><tr><td></td><td>11 March</td><td>28 March</td></tr><tr><td>Reach (%)<br>(one month)</td><td>0.00036</td><td>0.00056</td></tr><tr><td>National<br>shares</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>France</td><td>32.6%</td><td>43.1%</td></tr><tr><td>Mexico</td><td>21.0%</td><td>12.4%</td></tr><tr><td>United States</td><td>10.2%</td><td>9.7%</td></tr><tr><td>Switzerland</td><td></td><td>4.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Germany</td><td></td><td>4.0%</td></tr><tr><td>Spain</td><td></td><td>2.6%</td></tr><tr><td>Poland</td><td></td><td>2.3%</td></tr><tr><td>Hungary</td><td></td><td>1.4%</td></tr><tr><td>other</td><td></td><td>19.9%</td></tr></table>
I have no idea what role a "fan club" like Alizée America might play in helping Alizée succeed in the US market. We should not feel hurt if the Alizée people thank us for the offer tendered in the Open Letter, say they will let us know, and then never contact us again. They have to budget their time and effort in the most productive way. They are not being rude or ungrateful. They must succeed.

But if we are asked to do something, it will be very important that we execute well, because any first task would be a TEST of our talent and sincerity. If we drop the ball, don't count on playing another game.

Sadly, I have often found that outside of professional societies where reputations are important, people who serve in volunteer efforts tend to talk a much bigger game than they are ever willing to play.

If there is a marketing professional among us who would volunteer to lead us if we get tapped as helpers, now would be a great time to step forward and tell us you are here. I get the impression that half the people who take part here are males 18-25 who are either in school or gaining work experience at their first adult jobs. The <a href="http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showpost.php?p=155938&postcount=203">methodology</a> I used to nucleate the <a href="http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showpost.php?p=155926&postcount=164">happy result</a> of an audience with Alizée didn't require any entertainment industry smarts. I suspect helping her sell CDs in America would.

If I wanted to use some sort of classy, intimate event to jump-start a sales effort for <i>UEdS</i> in the US, I guess I would try to book Alizée for a performance at <a href="http://www.fiaf.org/about/index.shtml">French Institute Alliance Française</a> on the Upper East Side in New York City. Their 400-seat Florence Gould Hall Theater hosts live events, such as one by French actor <a href="http://www.fiaf.org/calendar/calendar.asp?vw=2&evt=PA">Sami Frey</a> (reserved seats $50). Because the album is set in the city, this venue would be particularly appropriate. It would not only interest francophiles, but people from institutions which had relationships with the Factory crowd. This might lead to articles or interviews in the local arts press and maybe some air play on radio. It's too bad The Andy Warhol Museum is in his hometown of Pittsburgh, rather than New York City, where it might have co-sponsored something like this.

In any event, it is no easy task to sell non-English songs in the US! Who can name any well-known examples of success? The single <i>Dominique</i> by the Belgian <i>Sœur Sourire</i> pops into my head - and that was half a century ago! It took a decade for another foreign-language single to chart in the US, <i>Eres tú</i> in 1973.

Anyway, that's my amateur suggestion. Good luck, Alizée!

[VVVACCPLPNLY]

Doc, as negative as some of that was, thank you. You basically said everything I was thinking, but you articulated far better than I could. As much as we want it to happen, it is more than a 50% chance that it never will. Even if Alizée wants to release here, itis up to her label to make the final decision. And not to say anything negative, but they are going to be thinking about money. A release here would almost certainly fail. Simply because it is French. Americans, for the most part, are far too xenophobic to allow a foreigner to become popular. My cousin said yesterday that even though Alizée is good (an understatement!), I shouldn't listen t her if I can't understand her. This, I feel, is the reaction most Americans would have. Les Collines has a chance to gain some popularity, but only because it is half English. Which is sad, but true.

[ALS]

It's too bad The Andy Warhol Museum is in his hometown of Pittsburgh, rather than New York City, where it might have co-sponsored something like this.

I live here and believe me Alizée does not want to perform here.

Pittsburgh is a slowly dying steel town. If not for the great medical facilities, universities and professional sports teams they would have had to closed the city down years ago.

Pittsburgh has had a population decline of fifty percent since 1960. It was the thirteenth largest city in America back then, today it is ranked in the mid-fifties and dropping.

The actress Sienna Miller while filming a movie here a few years ago was asked what she thought of Pittsburgh. She kindly called it Shitsburgh.
Of course people got outraged over her comments, but she was as they say calling it as she saw it. I didn't find it offencive since she was basing her comments on what she observed while filming here in the city.

[lefty12357]

I agree with pretty much everything Doc said. Someone here once pointed out that the USA is such a huge maker and exporter of music and movies that we have more than we can handle to pick from and less likely to import. But it's a huge market.

Somewhere around here is a thread where a number of foreign language songs that did well in the US are listed. Yes, it's still a small number, but it's not impossible. Here's an example I posted. It was a pretty big hit in the USA, and all in Japanese.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RtXQ31F1A-k&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RtXQ31F1A-k&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

A marginal success in the USA would still be able to substantially add to Alizée's overall sales. I really don't see her becoming huge here, but she is unique compared to what we have in the US market and I suppose those marketing gurus could figure out a way to make what seems to be a weakness for Alizée in this market actually be a strength. If she could sell 50 000 - 100 000 units here and disappear off to Corse with no hassles anytime she wants, well that would be great.

I don't think our little group of fans has the ability to get the job done by ourselves. But we can support any effort made and act as a central meeting point for new fans. I have always wished a marketing or media insider would join this site and give us direction. If you're out there, it would be nice if you would step up to the plate.

The Mexican fans worked very hard, and they were able to do things you couldn't get away with in the USA. Either way, I agree with Doc, don't feel disappointed if nothing comes of our letter. Getting Alizée to enter this market is a long shot at best. And really, I don't want her to try if the risk is too high. The last thing I want is for her to get hurt. But obviously Team Alizée can evaluate the risk and potential gains.

[davmuz]

if they put their heart in to it, this wouldn't be the latest recruitment drive:
http://twitter.com/SonyMusicJobs

[Scruffydog777]

Well I left for the airport Saturday around 3pm. It felt like I was driving above the road, not on it. A very surreal feeling. Couldn't believe I was on my way to Paris for a private meeting with Alizee. As you know, I'm an airline employee. When we travel, it's on a standby basis. If the planes full you dont fly. Well Air France has a way of checking how full their flights are that I didn't really trust. It showed the flight as being green, which is a good thing. Well I walked up to their ticket counter and the ticket agent said the flight was full. My heart sank. Couldn't believe it but I should have expected it because saturday is one of the worst days to fly on a standby basis. I was worried sick. I still had another day to get over there, but if a plane the next day had to cancel at the last moment, I'd be screwed because most trips for Paris leave around the same time. So you have to sit and wait in a case like this, wait and hope someone doesn't show up and as luck turns out, I made it. What an enormous sense of relief.

I arrived in Paris and reached my hotel a little after 9am. I headed for the Arc de triomphe, because I had never been to the top before. I went right past the Virgin record store around 9:45 and they were still closed, so I did some touring. Arc de triomphe, Hotel de Ville (city hall) where Alizee performed J'ai pas vingt ans during the 100th running of the Tour de France, Notre Dame, the Latin quarter where the University of Paris is, and a few other places. I stopped by a small record store near the Pompidou center which Roman introduced me to a couple of years ago that usually stocks some Alizee stuff, but they were closed as is the case with several businesses here on Sunday. They had a copy of an Alizee 50 60 rimex record in the window which means I'm sure they'll have some more of her stuff when I go back tomorrow.

The day here has been overcast with several periods of drizzle. Hopefully tomorrow it will be better, but it really doesn't matter. All that's going to matter is what's going on inside the Virgin record store.

I think I mentioned if not in the forum, at least to Ben, that my co-worker who cancelled out, before he found out about this private session and then re-instated himself afterwards, is trying to make it over. I probably should have told this guy to take a hike, but the thing is, having him there will mean an awful lot to me. It will give me a feeling of security, of confidence that otherwise I wouldn't have. A lot of the younger members here might think something like Alizee comes along on a regualar basis, but I can assure you that is not the case. She is something that happens only once in a lifetime if even that often, and to meet someone who has brought so much happiness, so much enjoyment on such a close basis is going to very tough emotionally. My co-workers, my family, I'm sure think there's something wrong with me, They see the skimpy outfits of the early years and think that's the big attraction. They don't have a clue. They cant understand that I love her for her voice, for the way she dances, for her physical beauty and for something that which anyone else has found out about her that has given her a chance and that is her tremendous inner beauty. So I hope he can make it. It will be a very emotional moment. I just hope nothing and no one else screws it up

I tried to upload some picture to image shack so I could post them here but they keep timing out.

P. s. Please let Jalen know he's in.

[Edcognito]

Glad to hear you made it - and don't worry about the emotional thing m8! I find they generally take care of themselves!


GOOD LUCK!

[User22]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

They cant understand that I love her for her voice, for the way she dances, for her physical beauty and for something that which anyone else has found out about her that has given her a chance and that is her tremendous inner beauty.

P. s. Please let Jalen know he's in.

That's how I feel Scruff, and just to let everyone know, yes, she makes all of us very emotional at some point. And usually it's the why can't I be with her type thing...but hey Scruff, thanks for sharing that cuz I needed to share that too. Hopefully all will go well with her and she will see how much she means to you and no one will mess this special moment up for you. Carpe Momento! Seize the moment manand i hope seizing something means that you should savor it and take it slow haha.

Will do on letting Jalen know.

Take care man and you make all of us very proud

[VVVACCPLPNLY]

Hmm... Have we gotten off topic, or what? Well, I know I am a guy, but if you doubt me, that's fine. But, it may just be that the more common ways that people discover her in America are more geared towards males. Like WoW, how I found her, even though I have never actually played. Speaking of, how do you expect people to discover her, that is more likely to be a females' way?