So You Wanna Be a Pop $tar
In major news this week, Rebecca Black’s new single “My Moment” came out. It actually, bizarrely, made me miss “Friday,” which had a charming level of innocence (and left me giving thanks to the digital gods that broadband did not exist when I was in high school). But although I think she looks gorgeous in the new video, upping the production level seems to have cheapened the effect. It’s just not as fun, fun, fun, fun as her breakout hit.
Still, quality aside, I have to give this fourteen year old props for continuing to cash in. “Friday” didn’t make as much as many people thought—Slate.com used their better-than-a-book-editor-with-a-calculator math skills to run the numbers and figured she netted $20K or less from the whole deal (full rundown here). I’m not sure what the minimum dollar value would be for me to agree to let professionals dress me up and teach me some dance moves, but I would probably do it for $20K. (Hear that, music pros? Call me.*) In fact…just how many downloads would I have to sell in order to make a living as an internet pop star?
Well. On InformationIsBeautiful.net, data visualization ninja (and author of The Visual Miscellaneum**) David McCandless decided to tackle the question of how much money musicians actually make online—and just how many downloads it would take them to make minimum wage. Check it out (full post here):
Conclusion: After a careful review of the numbers, I’ll leave the music career to Rebecca Black—but I’ll happily edit her memoir when the day comes! (Hear that, Rebecca? Call me.***)
*If anyone has a copy of my 8th grade play video, please do not share it with the music pros, or they will never attempt to teach me dance moves.
**Full disclosure: I’m the editor, and the book is mind-blowingly awesome, thanks entirely to David. You can view more of his visualizations here.
***Seriously.
Chris Brown: An agent for good?
It's no coincidence Brown rhymes with Clown. Image courtesy of Joel Telling
I was tipped off to this seriously funny wedding video yesterday by MTV Buzzworthy Blog. It’s since become an internet sensation, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a Bravo TV reality show is already in the works. I certainly share Buzzworthy’s conflicted feelings towards promoting anything with über-sketchy Chris Brown’s vocals attached, but in this case I say: hate the artist (Brown) and love the art (a bunch of really awkward dancers creating a memorable wedding moment).
