Honestly, do we want LIVE to be popular on the radio? Options

[FishOutaWater]

We are at a special time in the world of LIVE. Many of us like what we have heard but remain apprehensive about whether new LIVE will be able to impress the rest of the world like they have impressed us. But what is it we actually want?

Do we want LIVE to be popular? Which would be better in your eyes; a commercial victory and being able to talk with strangers and have them recognize who LIVE is without an explanation or would it be better to have a deep, meaningful, and great sounding album that flops commercially? Would being popular again change them?

Weigh in people and think about what it is you actually want.

Live is my favorite band and I root for them. For some reason, that makes me want them to be popular and successful. I don't want them to become so popular that I can get a ticket closer than the back of a packed stadium. I have to admit that I like seeing them in the front row of the Starland ballroom. But I would love to here them one the radio and for everyone to get what it is that I get about them.

If they do get wildly popular, I think it is only fair that the few and the proud of us on this meesage board should get some kind of VIP status for life with the golden ticket for front row seats.

[+Ed+]

Fishy, with all due respect, I do not think any of us can demand anything, but music from our fave band.

They do not owe me.

I owe them. A lot.

[FishOutaWater]

Fishy, with all due respect, I do not think any of us can demand anything, but music from our fave band.

They do not owe me.

I owe them. A lot.

I was just kidding about that. The point I was trying to make is that if Live became wildly popular, it would be bitter sweet. I want them to be successful at their craft. An artist doesn't make art for art's sake alone. Otherwise instead of releasing records, they would record music and keep it on their own ipod and listen to it when they are alone in the car. An artist makes art to share with the world and express something to others. But on the other hand, it would be bothersome for lots people to like the music but not "get it" or have a superficial enjoyment. It would be unfortunate to be crowded by teenagers at a concert or get ananymously washed away amongst throngs of millions. I would have that ego-based grudge that says "hey, this was my band before all you other people came around".

But, I am trying to help promote the band to get a bigger following. I am spending some time and effort keeping a Twitter account and website going to build a base of promotional content that will hopefully raise visibility for the band. I am not going to join some "street team" or circulate flyers for concerts or anything . But I will try to make some noise for The Band Live to help get something going.

By the way - for anyone with an iPad or iPhone or other e-reader device that can read epub or pdf formatted books - I am working on developing photo books of my photos and I am hopeful that in the future, I can document future concerts in photo books. I will diseminate them for free on my website.

This post has been edited by FishOutaWater: May 3 2012, 3:43 pm

[OutToDry]

VIP status? what's that?

[IndyYakr]

Hmm, let's see. Lady GaGa is "popular" and certainly "commercially successful". She; however, does not move me. No one knows TGF and they certainly didn't receive any substantial time on the airwaves. Yet, TGF restored my faith in rock n roll-made me feel like a kid again. You tell me of which I prefer. We'll never again see the success we saw from LIVE back in the day. The state of the music industry and technological advances in the studio, I believe, have made mediocrity commercially viable, what with all it's studio gimmicks and auto-tuning. With a click of the mouse and a keystroke you too can have golden pipes-you too can be a star! Ugggh. Face it, "fashion pop" is in. It's getting the recording contracts, it's getting the airtime, it's getting the big bucks. What ticks me off is that Lady GaGa probably spends more time on creating stupid costumes and doing stupid dance moves then creating the music, if she even does that at all. No, commercial success is not all that important to me because I don't think it's possible. I do hope the there's enough economic success for the band so they can continue as long as they want and still make a satisfying living. Basically, I want what the band wants. They deserve it. They've inspired me for many years so I have nothing but the deepest best wishes for them, including Ed. I'm a LIVE lifer for sure.

[World Dreamer]

I want them to be popular. I want them to be so damn popular that people hear the message of their music more than the complete horseshit that corrupts the airwaves.

I want Live to be the light in the darkness. I want them to produce a product that shames the cheap, over produced, fake, cookie cutter bullshit "bands" that we see embarass what it means to be a musician at every award show you can name.

[sh4rpz]

Like most of the posts above, I would firstly prefer to get an album of music we've been waiting for, for 10+ years.

And I wish the boys every success with that music - and if that means they blow up as a commercial success - then awesome. That can only be a good thing cos a) it would be well deserved, b) if more people got/understood LIVE the world would be a better place I'm pretty sure and c) we'd get awesome tours and the paraphernalia to go with a successful band. Those things would be in demand.

Yes, that would mean we'd have to share our most precious band with the world - but that is half the point really.

A big part of me wants to see it go that way because it is the least the boys deserve.

[dancing queen]

Hmm, let's see. Lady GaGa is "popular" and certainly "commercially successful". She; however, does not move me. No one knows TGF and they certainly didn't receive any substantial time on the airwaves. Yet, TGF restored my faith in rock n roll-made me feel like a kid again. You tell me of which I prefer. We'll never again see the success we saw from LIVE back in the day. The state of the music industry and technological advances in the studio, I believe, have made mediocrity commercially viable, what with all it's studio gimmicks and auto-tuning. With a click of the mouse and a keystroke you too can have golden pipes-you too can be a star! Ugggh. Face it, "fashion pop" is in. It's getting the recording contracts, it's getting the airtime, it's getting the big bucks. What ticks me off is that Lady GaGa probably spends more time on creating stupid costumes and doing stupid dance moves then creating the music, if she even does that at all. No, commercial success is not all that important to me because I don't think it's possible. I do hope the there's enough economic success for the band so they can continue as long as they want and still make a satisfying living. Basically, I want what the band wants. They deserve it. They've inspired me for many years so I have nothing but the deepest best wishes for them, including Ed. I'm a LIVE lifer for sure.

Lady Gaga is not my favorite performer, though she does have a gorgeous voice and I really do enjoy some of her music. But she is a bad example of the kind of crap music made today.
She is a classically trained pianist, who writes/co-writes all of her songs (lyrics and music).
She has been making music for years (she's only 25 I think) and she has said in multiple interviews that the whole Gaga deal is what she needed to do to make money singing, but she's a marketing genius. I believe in a few years she'll be able to get rid of the costumes and just be a singer/songwriter. But she knows the industry is shit, and it's more about hype than quality... so she built up some hype around herself, and made herself famous. Now she can make whatever music she wants.
Actually, maybe she's a perfect example of the crap music made today. But really, if you ever see her perform with just a piano and her pipes, don't look at what she's wearing, she's amazing.

Would I ever want the boys to dress up in ridiculous costumes to get attention and become popular (KISS anyone?). No thank you.
But I really do hope to hear them on the radio. There's something awesome about hearing songs I love on the radio.

[Pokey]

Lady Gaga is not my favorite performer, though she does have a gorgeous voice and I really do enjoy some of her music. But she is a bad example of the kind of crap music made today.
She is a classically trained pianist, who writes/co-writes all of her songs (lyrics and music).
She has been making music for years (she's only 25 I think) and she has said in multiple interviews that the whole Gaga deal is what she needed to do to make money singing, but she's a marketing genius. I believe in a few years she'll be able to get rid of the costumes and just be a singer/songwriter. But she knows the industry is shit, and it's more about hype than quality... so she built up some hype around herself, and made herself famous. Now she can make whatever music she wants.
Actually, maybe she's a perfect example of the crap music made today. But really, if you ever see her perform with just a piano and her pipes, don't look at what she's wearing, she's amazing.

Would I ever want the boys to dress up in ridiculous costumes to get attention and become popular (KISS anyone?). No thank you.
But I really do hope to hear them on the radio. There's something awesome about hearing songs I love on the radio.

I'm with you on Gaga, there's a lot of her stuff I like, but her biggest crime is making music that is beneath her, it's almost disappointing in a way that her talent gets hidden behind all the crazy costumes and electronics and auto-tune ... you hear some of her acoustic stuff with just her and a piano and it's gorgeous, she doesn't need the machines. I would rather see her fall down the charts and sacrifice some of "the fame game" for more of her quality music.

And that's really what it's about with Live, I would rather not see them ripping it up on the radio if it means they're going to be playing beneath themselves. I know to some certain people here that getting that airplay is the absolute most important thing in the world when it comes to a band, but I just don't subscribe to that. I'm a music fan, not a record exec. I would love to see Live produce some absolute quality music and be recognized for it, if that happens its great! I'm certainly not one of those people who once a band gets popular (or popular again, in this case) that they jump off the ship. It's all about the quality of the music.

[donno]

I want the passionate tunes that move me again. I'd have to say I don't want commercial success only for the fact that "popular" music is so bland, mindless, talentless and formula that would mean that the boys had written a Nickleback album. Insert sound of vomiting here.

[Good_Pain]

I want the passionate tunes that move me again. I'd have to say I don't want commercial success only for the fact that "popular" music is so bland, mindless, talentless and formula that would mean that the boys had written a Nickleback album. Insert sound of vomiting here.

Donno great to see you on here I couldn't agree more with what you said. As someone who has worked in radio in the past, Clear Channel and other major radio corporations have been the damnation of good music. Just like the payola generation of 1950's radio at the birth of Rock n' Roll we are living in a generation where corporate radio tells you what should be popular and what you should be listening to. Pay for play is very much in existence in today's radio, don't let anyone fool you. With all that said I wish nothing but the highest level of success for CCCP, but if it is to the detriment of making quality music, I'd rather have them keep it low profile. Donno hope to see you again soon my friend, that York show seems so long ago yet still fresh in my mind

[PillarOfDavidson]

Face it, "fashion pop" is in. It's getting the recording contracts, it's getting the airtime, it's getting the big bucks.

Bro, that's always been the case. But there have been instances throughout where true, genuine creativity seemed to break through. Things seem to go in cycles, so maybe we're on the cusp of a new cycle of creativity?