Jopling: ‘Beware the hype machine’

Former IFPI director of strategic research Keith Jopling thinks bands and managers should be wary of the hype machine (as opposed to The Hype Machine) when building a fanbase. While the annual 'next best thing' and 'best thing of last year' polls may seem a quick route to popularity, in a post on his Juggernaut Brew blog he points out some of the downsides. “The exposure is great, but the potential for over-exposure and worse, backlash, seems a very real risk. Analysis of both albums made and sales from each album reveals ever- shortening life-cycles for modern day pop artists. Looking back to one year ago – the collective ‘buzz’ being generated around any number of new bands that included The Horrors, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Palladium – was almost claustrophobic.” He also points out that if such a thing as the Long Tail exists, it's “currently being well stocked with an ever-increasing volume of short career span artists, who were ‘this year’s big thing’ at the time but never got past album two in the end.” Jopling's view is that managers and labels should resist the hype machine and focus on longer term development of their artists.It's definitely [...]