Understanding the French music scene...

[CleverCowboy]

I am hoping some of our French members will chime in here.

Since Alizee decided to get back into singing and booking dates, first there was Warsaw, then Mexico, then... who knows what is next, if anything. The question that keeps returning to my mind is, why not Paris or any other destination on the mainland? Can she not get 500 people from the entire country of France to meet in one place and pay 50 Euros to see a singing engagement that was the country's darling 15 years ago? I think in the US you would still get many thousands to pay big bucks to see a washed up Britney Spears sing her old songs. It made me think of the music culture of France.

Since delving into Les Enfoires, I knew very little about French entertainers other than Alizee. Now, I am no expert or even close, but I am amazed at the talent the French singers bring and I have went a step further and researched many of my favorites from the shows. One thing that is evident is that many of the popular male singers, such as Pascal Obispo, stay consistent in record sales and popularity, or in his particular case, sell more as he goes on. The women singers, such as Alizee, Jenifer, Lorie, etc. tend to make a big initial impact then trend off pretty sharply... unless your name is Mylene, and if so you are the queen of France. But even Mylene's record sales have dropped over the years, but her concerts are a spectacle to the point where I would pay to see her in concert and I think that is her main draw.

So this brings me back to my original curiosity about the French music scene - what does it take to be a home-grown entertainer and make a lifetime income entertaining in France? Why do the men seem to outlast the women? I'm not trying to be sexist in that question, but in the US there is a lot of parity between the sexes in music - if you put out good music, people will buy it no matter who you are. When international acts play Paris, there is always a fantastic turnout. The home grown artists have a lot to compete against.

So this goes full circle back to Alizee. Since Alizee is no longer a "Parisian", does that work against her? Are people from the protectorate of Corsica looked at differently than those from the mainland? Even with Alizee seemingly reconciling with Mylene, there still does not seem to be any rush in signing Alizee to any engagements in France.

Thoughts?

[Thejudge94]

I am curious about the same questions and hope to hear some insite. It would be great if she started performing on a regular basis. I for one would travel to see her if I knew dates well in advance.

[Edsel Di Meo]

Hello ! i've met plenty of french people since i'm learning french and i remember one of them told me 'Alizée is not that important right now' when i told her that i was learning french due to Alizée's music and after reading this i decided to ask in a french group and a good friend of mine has a valid point in my opinion, i'll leave it here:



'Mais tu sais, elles ne sont pas faites pour durer, les chanteuses comme Lorie sont des produits markéting destinés à un public de jeunes ados voire d'enfants, donc par définition, elles n'évoluent pas avec leur public, et dès qu'elles commencent à vieillir, elles ne sont plus faites pour ce rôle...'



I can not translate it because i feel i would forget some important point that is worth to maintain. (the one with the opinion is Siddre brut and specifically his second message the first one he was correcting my french lol and the other person is a french friend of mine that agreed with him)

[Rev]

But you know, they are not made to last, the singers like Lorie are marketing products intended for an audience of young teens or even children, so by definition, they do not evolve with their public, and as soon as they begin to age, they are no longer made for this role ... '

...from Google

A good thought.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Rev

But you know, they are not made to last, the singers like Lorie are marketing products intended for an audience of young teens or even children, so by definition, they do not evolve with their public, and as soon as they begin to age, they are no longer made for this role ... '

...from Google

A good thought.

It looks like Lorie wrote an autobiography this year and had a book signing last month. She did have two concerts in 2018 and one coming up in March 2019 at the Le Trianon in Paris. It looks to have a capacity of around 1000 people. While her career is not dead, it does seem to be limping along.

It would be great if Alizee wrote an autobiography, but since she doesn't write a lot, hire a ghost writer. I would buy the audio version if she would be the one reading it in English with that great accent of hers!

Edit:

Originally Posted by Thejudge94

I am curious about the same questions and hope to hear some insite. It would be great if she started performing on a regular basis. I for one would travel to see her if I knew dates well in advance.

How far would you travel? Mexico City?

[Mr Coucou]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

So this brings me back to my original curiosity about the French music scene - what does it take to be a home-grown entertainer and make a lifetime income entertaining in France?

I think one factor here might be the French language itself.

Compared to English, French is a monotone; for instance, I once heard a French woman describe English as sounding "flowy." My suspicion is that the "flowy" vocal inflection pattern of English is better for creating melodies.

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

Why do the men seem to outlast the women? I'm not trying to be sexist in that question, but in the US there is a lot of parity between the sexes in music - if you put out good music, people will buy it no matter who you are.

My guess: French isn't as good for writing catchy melodies--- French is better for writing ballads. And the ideal singer for a ballad is a male "crooner."

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

When international acts play Paris, there is always a fantastic turnout. The home grown artists have a lot to compete against.

These "international acts" are English-language bands, aren't they? That's why there is a fantastic turnout: the tonal structure of the English language is better for writing songs.

[Mr Coucou]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

Since Alizee decided to get back into singing and booking dates, first there was Warsaw, then Mexico, then... who knows what is next, if anything. The question that keeps returning to my mind is, why not Paris or any other destination on the mainland? Can she not get 500 people from the entire country of France to meet in one place and pay 50 Euros to see a singing engagement that was the country's darling 15 years ago?

If Alizee were to give larger performances in France, what would people be expecting??? Would they be okay with her singing along with a recording, or would people be expecting a live band??? Etc. It could involve much more commitment on her part.

Warsaw and Mexico City, on the other hand, are low-hassle. Alizee doesn't have to do anything except show up.

Edit:

I think the reason she doesn't do large performances is because she doesn't think its worth it.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Mr Coucou

I think the reason she doesn't do large performances is because she doesn't think its worth it.

This is what I keep thinking of, but it's also hard to not wish for more. But what if Alizee throws a party and nobody shows up? Just getting ready to put on a show, if it is not karaoke style, takes a lot of money and work. If she cancels shows, her team still has to be paid. I don't think she has the resources to do that.

I think if she worked with Mylene again, things would be different. Mylene is playing Paris in 2019 for nine or ten shows in two weeks. In a big arena, and probably every show will be sold out. I cannot wrap my head around the draw that Mylene has to pull this off. There is Mylene... then there is everybody else in a very distant second place. If Alizee opened for Mylene, or did a few songs with Mylene, it would make a huge difference in Alizee's career. If Mylene just opened her mouth and told the crowd to go see Alizee in concert, they would probably do it. French pop seems to start and end with Mylene, and she totally monopolizes it.

[Mr Coucou]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

. Mylene is playing Paris in 2019 for nine or ten shows in two weeks. In a big arena, and probably every show will be sold out. I cannot wrap my head around the draw that Mylene has to pull this off. There is Mylene... then there is everybody else in a very distant second place. [...] French pop seems to start and end with Mylene, and she totally monopolizes it.

I have an idea.

How good is Alizee's voice compared to Mylene's voice? Could Alizee sing Mylene's songs about as good as Mylene does????

How about if we have Alizee do Mylene's concerts instead of Mylene???

Do you think it would work???

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Mr Coucou

I have an idea.

How good is Alizee's voice compared to Mylene's voice? Could Alizee sing Mylene's songs about as good as Mylene does????

How about if we have Alizee do Mylene's concerts instead of Mylene???

Do you think it would work???

If you never seen a concert video of Mylene, here's one, and after watching it, I would wonder if you could answer your own question.

It might be a little on the long side, so you can forward to about the 5 minute mark and watch to the end. It's to the point where it's a bit creepy to me.