Alizee In America? But How?

[suzybananasplit]

Originally Posted by Deepwaters

I would say that depends on how long she continues performing. You may not be able to get to France this year, but in future years you might.

Maybe if I go on a trip to France, but I can't say I'd ever go specifically to see her perform. I can't spend the time or money to fly to France on a whim. I really wish I could. I'd go in a heartbeat if it were possible.

[Paoli]

Ah, it was a good listen.

The thing about this thread that keeps snagging me, like a nail head snags a sweater sleeve, is the distinction (or lack of it) between the original question - whether, why and how Alizée might tour in the US - versus this other issue about whether, why and how she might become (or not want to become) a global "superstar."

As much as we hard-core Alizée fans love and admire her, and reluctant as I am to underestimate la petite corse in any way, her chances of becoming a truly global superstar along the lines of Céline Dion or Julio Iglesias are not very great. Lightning could always strike, and 23 is still very young, so I will never say never. But it's not the issue immediately at hand.

It is possible - and it is occasionally done, for example with Phoenix - to break a European pop act in the US to the point where we can be profitably included in the world tours. It is not necessary for the artist to be a superstar beforehand, and adding US dates does not make them a superstar afterward (although it does look very nice on the tour T-shirt! And it definitely helps your reputation in the rest of the world, although funny old France itself would frankly prefer that you come here and be misunderstood rather than make millions).

The goal for now (I wield my manager's crystal ball) is solid, profitable touring, probably in the 80-100,000 gross per night range, and to keep that going for several months around various world markets. That is how you pay the bills, and how you build a larger base for the next album. I am pretty sure that this is RCA's goal for the near term - in whatever countries will support the tour. It is not superstardom - it is just stardom and professionalism, which are nothing new to Alizée.

In the longer term, I think Sony BMG/RCA would very much like to break Alizée in the US, because they recognize that the series of tabloid trainwrecks in US/UK pop star ranks has left a void and created an audience demand for something different, something better. The times are changing. We have Alicia but there is room for more. Clearly she has the qualities. But it's not an easy jump.

As to whether Alizée herself is "doing" what she would need to do for a US break - it is not the time yet. At this moment she literally does not have the power to prevent or accelerate the US market. Much work must be done by others before it will even reach the point where she has to make that decision. In the meantime, we loyal fans can keep spreading the word, letting Alizée's team know we're out here, requesting her on our favorite stations, etc. Overnight successes are built a sand grain at a time. The original poster should definitely not give up hope.

[espire]

Paoli, the problem with most of your argument is that you assume possibility of Alizée's popular in America; Unfortunately, that possibility is not worth paying attention to. There was a little bit of promotion for the Gourmandises era, including music videos played in certain occurrences, and Moi...Lolita being in the recent movie, A Good Year. Neither did anything, even the very sought-after movie spot.

This was all based on almost entirely Moi...Lolita, a massive success that took Europe and much more by storm. Now we're left with the good, but not nearly as impressive, Psychédélices, which is selling rather unimpressively. If Gourmandises and Mes courants électriques did not penetrate America, there is absolutely no possibility of this happening with what we've got now.

If Alizée teams up with some better (which is of course subjective) writers next time, there's a sliver of a hope.

[Deepwaters]

Originally Posted by Paoli

It is not necessary for the artist to be a superstar beforehand,

This idea has, of course, not been mentioned before now, and it was thus unnecessary for you to respond to it. I am not at all certain why you did, and would hesitate to suggest that you were doing anything so duplicitous as to present us with a red herring. So I won't suggest that.

and adding US dates does not make them a superstar afterward

No, but the discussion concerned why Alizée has never attempted to break into the U.S. market at all. This is not really a Sony/BMG question, since she never did when her label was Polydor, either.

Successful conquest of the American market (as opposed to merely "adding US dates") does make one a superstar. My thought here is: if you're going to successfully conquer the American market, you need to be ready for the consequences; if you're not going to succeed at that, why bother; and why bother trying if you are expecting and hoping not to succeed?

Thus, the question of whether she would succeed -- and I agree for the record that it is not a foregone conclusion -- is irrelevant to the question of why she is not trying.

funny old France itself would frankly prefer that you come here and be misunderstood rather than make millions).

Probably so, and that may well be another reason.

In the longer term, I think Sony BMG/RCA would very much like to break Alizée in the US

I think they would, too. And this leaves me (and others) wondering why they have not so much as dipped a toe in the water. I'm not talking major concert tours here, just making the album readily available through distribution channels. I can't think of a reason why Sony wouldn't -- which leads me to the conclusion that they may not altogether be calling the shots. We don't know the terms of Alizée's contract with them (unless you work for them, of course), and we do know that, having done all the recording and production herself at her own expense, she has more leverage than most artists.

As to whether Alizée herself is "doing" what she would need to do for a US break - it is not the time yet.

Here I must disagree. It isn't the time for a U.S. tour, but it is the time to begin exposing Americans to her music, if a U.S. tour is conceived for the future. Most Americans have simply never heard of her. Why this isn't being rectified is the mystery, not why she isn't scheduling a tour here; that's obvious.

Originally Posted by suzybananasplit

Maybe if I go on a trip to France, but I can't say I'd ever go specifically to see her perform.

No, of course not. But if you're considering (even vaguely) a trip to Europe any time in the foreseeable future ... and if you know she's planning a concert tour in the year you're going ... just coordinate the dates and get the tickets. That's what I'm going to do.

And she's very nicely delaying her French tour until late this year, when I may well be able to do it.

[Paoli]

Label relationships and A&R priorities are complicated, especially internationally. In my first post I said she needs a 'champion' here - someone who believes in her enough to cut through the multinational conglomerate red tape and make some things happen. I don't thank that person exists today. When he or she does, you'll see the signs whose lack you're lamenting.

[Youpidou1]

DeepWaters, do you think if RCA got enough letters or E-Mails that they might consider a small shipment of albums to the states and see how they sell? I mean seriously if it's a hit then we have luck for a concert. If it is bad then they only lost a few CD's and not to much money. I think it's worth a shot.

[fsquared]

Originally Posted by Deepwaters

I think they would, too. And this leaves me (and others) wondering why they have not so much as dipped a toe in the water. I'm not talking major concert tours here, just making the album readily available through distribution channels. I can't think of a reason why Sony wouldn't -- which leads me to the conclusion that they may not altogether be calling the shots. We don't know the terms of Alizée's contract with them (unless you work for them, of course), and we do know that, having done all the recording and production herself at her own expense, she has more leverage than most artists.

My best guess is either (probably both): 1. As Tink and others said, she probably does not want the lifestyle sacrifices that would be involved in attempting to become a success in the US (and, particularly, those that involve actually succeeding in becoming a success), and 2. that Sony/BMG did a cost-benefit analysis and decided that it was not worth the risk or investment to attempt any sort of promotion in the US -- these sorts of investments are presumably not linear; beneath a certain threshold of success, any money put into it would be wasted. America is a huge and fickle country, and lots of highly successful English-language pop stars have avoided it entirely or withdrawn (e.g., Kylie Minogue).

I think an implicit (and not necessarily universally warranted) assumption in much of the discussion is that success in America and/or superstardom is, in and of itself, actually a "desirable" goal.

Originally Posted by Youpidou1

DeepWaters, do you think if RCA got enough letters or E-Mails that they might consider a small shipment of albums to the states and see how they sell? I mean seriously if it's a hit then we have luck for a concert. If it is bad then they only lost a few CD's and not to much money. I think it's worth a shot.

This is a case where I think that, beneath a certain threshold, any effort expended here is wasted. At this point, now that the backlog seems to be cleared, anyone in the US who wants Psychédélices can go to amazon.com or bn.com or etc. and order one for a couple dollars more than a usual CD, and anecdotal evidence indicates that one can get it in some "import CD" stores. The amount of effort required to convince a major label retailer (e.g. Wal-Mart or FYE or whatever) to devote precious shelf space to it is almost certainly not worth however many CDs they would sell (especially given the amount of promo money that would be required to draw attention to an otherwise anonymous album sitting in some bin in a store).

[Youpidou1]

Originally Posted by fsquared

My best guess is either (probably both): 1. As Tink and others said, she probably does not want the lifestyle sacrifices that would be involved in attempting to become a success in the US (and, particularly, those that involve actually succeeding in becoming a success), and 2. that Sony/BMG did a cost-benefit analysis and decided that it was not worth the risk or investment to attempt any sort of promotion in the US -- these sorts of investments are presumably not linear; beneath a certain threshold of success, any money put into it would be wasted. America is a huge and fickle country, and lots of highly successful English-language pop stars have avoided it entirely or withdrawn (e.g., Kylie Minogue).

I think an implicit (and not necessarily universally warranted) assumption in much of the discussion is that success in America and/or superstardom is, in and of itself, actually a "desirable" goal.

So are we out of luck to see some sort of release here in the US? Maybe Alizée will rethink? Only time will tell.

[Paoli]

Amazon had some stock, although they're sold out now. The real downer is that they have done nothing with iTunes or the Amazon MP3 store. A "small shipment" to US brick and mortar might as well be dumped directly in the Gowanus Canal. Without retail promotion it will never see the fluorescent light of day.

The thing is, it's a really good album. I've still got it in rotation after two months straight. But... it's in French - real, contemporary, colloquial/slangy French. Might as well be in Urdu as far as the average US listener is concerned.

[Jess]

Regardless of whether you think she will come to America or not, I think that everyone from the states should let her know how much we appreciate her music, and also that we would be interested in a performance here. Even if it's just to show our support to our petit princess... I think she would appreciate that from her fans.