Could Axl Be A Marketing Genius?

[ComeOnAxl!]

I've worked harder shifts myself, my dads shifts pisses all over those shifts.

[AxlsMainMan]

I don't care how good a marketing genius he is - it's going to be damn near impossible for him to deal with people stealing (sorry downloading) the album when it's released.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is currently what is holding the album up if it is indeed with the record company now.  They will need a very clever marketing strategy to try and circumvent people simply stealing the album and the guys not getting paid for what they created.

It's a pretty shit position for them to be in - you put your heart and soul into something for 15 years and when you finally go to share it with everyone, there is a fair chance that you will see only a fraction of the $$'s that you actually should for all your hard work because of illegal downloading.

In this day and age, record companies have to give people an extra incentive to go out and purchase an album, instead of just downloading it for free.

B-sides and bonus DVDs can also be easily downloaded, but what if the packaging of the album itself was so unique that both the casual and hardcore fans wouldn't be able to resist purchasing the album?

The packaging for Tool's 10,000 Days consists of a thick cardboard-bound booklet, partly covered by a flap holding a pair of stereoscopic eyeglasses, which produce an illusion of depth and three-dimensionality when the artwork inside the booklet is viewed through them.

Here is a picture of 10,000 Days so you guys and gals will be able to understand what I'm talking about:



While I'm sure Tool are not the first to do this, the idea itself is still brilliant.

Perhaps Gn'R should try something similar?

I'll be buying multiple copies of the album either way, but if Chinese Democracy were to come with a pair of stereoscopic eyeglasses and a kick ass booklet of artwork, I'm sure plenty of casual listeners would be intrigued enough to lay down their money on the counter for a copy or two, instead of asking for a copy from their buddy, or downloading it for free.

Because let's face it:

Music may be downloadable, but awesome album packaging and artwork isn't

[AxlsMainMan]

i believe the longest worked on album in history is  songwriter/musician  brian wilson of the beach boys. the smile album took over 38 years i believe to be released due to his mental illness and drug abuse. released in 2004, i believe the work started around 1964/1965. and for all those bitching about how long cd is.......smile was well worth the wait!

Smile was not consistently worked on for 38 years, it spent more than half that time collecting dust on Brian's shelf.

[williambailey]

I don't care how good a marketing genius he is - it's going to be damn near impossible for him to deal with people stealing (sorry downloading) the album when it's released.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is currently what is holding the album up if it is indeed with the record company now.  They will need a very clever marketing strategy to try and circumvent people simply stealing the album and the guys not getting paid for what they created.

It's a pretty shit position for them to be in - you put your heart and soul into something for 15 years and when you finally go to share it with everyone, there is a fair chance that you will see only a fraction of the $$'s that you actually should for all your hard work because of illegal downloading.

In this day and age, record companies have to give people an extra incentive to go out and purchase an album, instead of just downloading it for free.

B-sides and bonus DVDs can also be easily downloaded, but what if the packaging of the album itself was so unique that both the casual and hardcore fans wouldn't be able to resist purchasing the album?

The packaging for Tool's 10,000 Days consists of a thick cardboard-bound booklet, partly covered by a flap holding a pair of stereoscopic eyeglasses, which produce an illusion of depth and three-dimensionality when the artwork inside the booklet is viewed through them.

Here is a picture of 10,000 Days so you guys and gals will be able to understand what I'm talking about:



While I'm sure Tool are not the first to do this, the idea itself is still brilliant.

Perhaps Gn'R should try something similar?

I'll be buying multiple copies of the album either way, but if Chinese Democracy were to come with a pair of stereoscopic eyeglasses and a kick ass booklet of artwork, I'm sure plenty of casual listeners would be intrigued enough to lay down their money on the counter for a copy or two, instead of asking for a copy from their buddy, or downloading it for free.

Because let's face it:

Music may be downloadable, but awesome album packaging and artwork isn't

Cool post - I totally agree, packaging is a big area where they may be able to entice more people to "buy" the album, by giving them something unique.  For a long time record companies have ignored packaging.  Think about when we switched from vinyl to cds.  You used to get a massive vinyl sleeve with all the artwork etc then suddenly you got a tiny cd case with a little booklet.  Right there and then people could feel justified for being ripped off from a packaging side of things and they have never really done much since.

If they get really savvy with the packaging of it and throw in other ideas like say a voucher to reduce the price of a concert ticket to see GN'R on the next tour, plus heaps of other unique things you can't get from downloading they may have a shot.   I definitely say don't package it like a regular CD, charge more for it if you have to but if it's really unique I'm sure a lot more people will buy it.

[D]

If Axl was a marketing genius he would do this:



Instead of releasing Chinese Democracy, 1 CD for 9.99 or whatever CD costs

He would get ALL of the material GNR have recorded and release it all in ONE HUGE BOX SET for like 50 bucks.  the boxset would come with the CDS, Exclusive Making of Chinese Democracy DVD, A LIVE DVD of one of the 2006 shows.  Some extra stuff like pics, pictures, whatever


Then HAVE ONE CD to market which would be a best of collection of all the songs in the boxset. Release singles/videos off of it and charge the standard 10 to 15 bucks for it.



Thats the only way to kill the downloads.


That way selling 500,000 copies at 50 bucks is like selling 2.5 million at 10 bucks.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

I sure am glad D isn't on Axl's marketing team.

That is the best way to lose money.  No one is going to pony up 50 dollars for a huge boxset.

It's going to kill downloads, because no one will buy it and it won't go on the net! 

[Funeral]

I've worked harder shifts myself, my dads shifts pisses all over those shifts.

?  I'll try to translate that in Babel Fish..

[Feel_The_Burn]

If Axl was a marketing genius he would do this:



Instead of releasing Chinese Democracy, 1 CD for 9.99 or whatever CD costs

He would get ALL of the material GNR have recorded and release it all in ONE HUGE BOX SET for like 50 bucks.  the boxset would come with the CDS, Exclusive Making of Chinese Democracy DVD, A LIVE DVD of one of the 2006 shows.  Some extra stuff like pics, pictures, whatever


Then HAVE ONE CD to market which would be a best of collection of all the songs in the boxset. Release singles/videos off of it and charge the standard 10 to 15 bucks for it.



Thats the only way to kill the downloads.


That way selling 500,000 copies at 50 bucks is like selling 2.5 million at 10 bucks.

By far the dumbest marketing ploy they could use. Anyone that isn't hardcore GNR isn't going to shell out that much cash. Axl needs to put out good music and people will by the cd , thats how I see it. I don't need any fancy package or any bs , good music is good music and its worth my time and cash.

[Bodhi]

Get my facts right? hey i've been reading this site since you were an inch in your daddys pants, i got this article from a heavy metal website, so before you throw your toys from the pram, think to yourself i know shit.

you havent the slightest idea what you are talking about...why dont you do some research on the band before just pulling stuff out of your ass???  There has never been a DEFINITE official release date for Chinese Democracy....the closest thing to a release date was a TENTATIVE date in March of 2007.....that was never carved in stone.....do some research...i would read some of the articles archived  here on heretodaygonetohell.com or thenewguns.com....those are the only accurate sites ive found concerning GNR....

[williambailey]

If Axl was a marketing genius he would do this:



Instead of releasing Chinese Democracy, 1 CD for 9.99 or whatever CD costs

He would get ALL of the material GNR have recorded and release it all in ONE HUGE BOX SET for like 50 bucks.  the boxset would come with the CDS, Exclusive Making of Chinese Democracy DVD, A LIVE DVD of one of the 2006 shows.  Some extra stuff like pics, pictures, whatever


Then HAVE ONE CD to market which would be a best of collection of all the songs in the boxset. Release singles/videos off of it and charge the standard 10 to 15 bucks for it.



Thats the only way to kill the downloads.


That way selling 500,000 copies at 50 bucks is like selling 2.5 million at 10 bucks.

By far the dumbest marketing ploy they could use. Anyone that isn't hardcore GNR isn't going to shell out that much cash. Axl needs to put out good music and people will by the cd , thats how I see it. I don't need any fancy package or any bs , good music is good music and its worth my time and cash.

Unfortunately from what I read and sales figures etc that I see,  people like you (and me for that matter I feel the same way as you do) are in the minority.  So many people think nowadays "good music is good music and worth my time downloading - NOT paying cash for.  Just checkout sales figures for releases nowadays they are proof of this mentalilty (yeah I know some shit releases don't help but..).  LIke it or not if you want people to pay for music and not download it you gotta give em something more (as wrong as I feel this is in from a traditional point of view - it should be about the music), it's a fact of life nowadays.

[misterID]

Is he a marketing genius??

No. Not by a long shot. But he's good at pissing people off; fans who were planning to buy three or four copies are going to download the album now. Not that its going to be a huge faction when it comes down to it, but it will be felt.

And if the record company is holding it up, it kind of looks like he pissed them off too, so if he did have a "plan" I guess you could say it was failure.

[rubinho.ma]

I won't be surprised if we get some solid news saying that Axl and the label's lawyers are fighting on some court, trying to decide what share of the album's profits each one will receive.  Even worse is to imagine how hard it must be to deal with every musician, making deals with each one of them about their rights over the album's royalties. o.O

[williambailey]

I won't be surprised if we get some solid news saying that Axl and the label's lawyers are fighting on some court, trying to decide what share of the album's profits each one will receive.  Even worse is to imagine how hard it must be to deal with every musician, making deals with each one of them about their rights over the album's royalties. o.O

I wouldn't be surprised if the record company was trying to negotiate a cut of future merchandise and concert ticket sales - that's the only place where real money can still be made in this downloading age.

[seely]

The very title of this thread made me laugh!

If axl was a marketing genius, would he:
-Constantly show up late for gigs?
-Cancel tours half-way through (e.g 2002)?
-NEVER inform us about the album?
-Force out all his co-musicians?

[gunns1]

Axl CAN   be a marketing genious

if he does the following:


Release it
at
8/8/2008
so it coincides with the CHINESE olympics,

Then he can ride the wave of hype that goes with olympics,
and also, He could steel and hotlink the official countdown to the olympics that is used on yahoo to the gunsnroses.com site..

And when the olypmics starts at 8 pm on the 8/8/2008,
He could have the albums in record stores released at the same time...

thats marketing,
riding of someone elses wave,
the best defence is offence

[John Galt]

Axl CAN   be a marketing genious

if he does the following:


Release it
at
8/8/2008
so it coincides with the CHINESE olympics,

Then he can ride the wave of hype that goes with olympics,
and also, He could steel and hotlink the official countdown to the olympics that is used on yahoo to the gunsnroses.com site..

And when the olypmics starts at 8 pm on the 8/8/2008,
He could have the albums in record stores released at the same time...

thats marketing,
riding of someone elses wave,
the best defence is offence

Hmm - not a bad shout - China is making no secret of the fact that 2008 is the year it is going to really make a huge effort to establish itself as a global player - prove it is equal to USA.  Anything linked to China might catch the zeitgeist, especially something linking China and Democracy - its human rights record and people's freedoms are its potential embarrasment so could generate additional media coverage....

[D]

Hell I am afraid to order from the GNR store.

Im afraid my order will show up a month late




Ok Bad joke..............

[elmir]

let's see.

The GNR camp has been selling a non existing product for over ten years now.....we bought into it....the media bought into it....they made bucks off of Chinese Democracy and no one knows if the thing even exists, let alone when it will see the light of day....

How much free media coverage did Chinese Democracy receive up until this point? Work it out.....magazine articles, tv spots...features here and there....all non commissioned by gnr....(most rumor driven, but that's beside the point)....

How many fans flocked to see those shows in 02, 06 and 07?
90% in hope that it was the big announcement of a return to greatness....almost all of those show attendants knew about Chinese Democracy, the basics of the story, and its history so far...

Wasn't Better one of the most downloaded files on the net during that week when it leaked?

Which other rock star do you know of who went out of the public eye for so long, and still, 14 odd years later stayed as popular with the media and fans as Axl Rose has?

Is Axl Rose a marketing genius?

Absolutely.
No Doubt about it.

[fuckin crazy]

Get my facts right? hey i've been reading this site since you were an inch in your daddys pants, i got this article from a heavy metal website, so before you throw your toys from the pram, think to yourself i know shit.

Hell, most of the kids know more about GnR than I do(I'm an old fart). Word to the wise, read the forum before you post.

[wight gunner]

The true way to launch CD would be to offer a collectors version (not limited edition) and download version also, the fans would buy the collector version as they want more than just the music. Maybe they should include a hologram of CD to give the public the tease, as to say here it is - or is it! After all they've been doing this for years now 

The collector version would also need extra tracks and perhaps a DVD to supprt the album, I like most of you would buy something real as opposed to a file!