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Fumbled Lady Gaga Release Could Cost Interscope $25 Million

Lady GagaLady Gaga's ARTPOP is likely to debut at #1.  But expected sales of 250,000 would represent a 75% drop from the 1 million copies of "Born This Way" sold in it's debut week.  Interscope has spent an estimated $25 – $30 million to promote ARTPOP; and this large a fail could spell trouble for the label, leading to the layoffs of as many as 50 staffers, according to one report.

What Went Wrong and What It Says About The Record Business

It would be easy to blame the music; though the core of her "Little Monsters" fan base loves the record. Then there was the aburpt depature of her respected manager Troy Carter. But the problem, others say, is meddling by her label

Allegations Of Delays, Label Pressure & Payola

image from 401f867be03107e6cff9-8cf7b64f1279feaa8c06a2730f278ca7.r95.cf1.rackcdn.com"She originally was going to have the album ready by last Christmas. They made her re-record it. When her tour wasn't selling, they invented a hip injury and told Gaga to go away for months so the public could be interested in her 'comeback.' After the lead single 'Applause' didn't get such a great reception, they made her re-record the album again," one music indsutry insider told The Examiner who also alleged payola.

"I can't say for sure what she is doing for Billboard, but they are definitely trying to save her. They let her song 'Dope' chart at number 8 this week based on YouTube views that weren't intended just for her," said the same source. "The magazine also counted thousands of free giveaways of the song for that chart position. They are covering up for her big time."

What Gaga's Failure Says About Today's Record Business

Some of Gaga's sales lump can be attributed to an overall decline in music sales.. First week sales in the 250,000 range are becoming closer to the new normal.  But until recently, Lady Gaga's trajectory was nothing close to normal. 

If true, the allegations of label pressure on Gaga and the media hark en back to the old school record business that many hoped was gone forever. Hadn't pressure and payments to guarantee a hit been replaced by a more democratic marketplace where the best – or at least the most interesting – rose to the top?

The old school music business is still hanging on. But it's a sign of real progress that their tactics aren't working nearly as well as they used to.  

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14 Comments

  1. maybe there is some questionable hanky-panky going on in terms of making gaga’s album look more successful than it is. that sort of thing never went away for even a moment. but the real problem is that it’s not a standout album. as much as lady gaga gets attention for her unique and outlandish stage persona, it doesn’t translate to her music, which sounds like every other pop album on the radio. “art pop,” in fact, is her most blatant attempt to sound as much like madonna as possible. some of the songs on “art pop” are pretty good, but there’s nothing new there at all, and i suspect that’s the real problem.

  2. Wear a dress made of raw meat the first time? You’re going viral baby. Do it twice? You’re getting annoying, you just want attention.
    Miley made a twerk vid on youtube.
    Miley came out on stage and twerked at the VMA’s (or whatever it was).
    Miley lit a joint on stage.
    Miley spotted in PDA with MikeWillMadeIt
    Miley makes a sexually suggestive video sitting on top of a big black wrecking ball.
    Miley is shocking the world, but her antics keep raising the bar for the time being. Gaga’s shock elements from 2008 now seem antiquated compared to Miley in 2013.
    I saw Gaga is bumpin n grindin with R Kelly now… ehhhh, whatever, not big enough.
    Now it comes down to talent, which Gaga has talent, hence the core fanbase, the 250K that ARE buying. But the other millions were there in the beginning because GaGa was the shock factor when she came out. And it WAS a different era in 2008 compared to what it is now when it comes to sales. There was going to be a decline regardless.
    Granted, Interscope did the right thing by investing to maintain the powerful GaGa brand. But like the comment above, there’s “nothing new” here.

  3. So you’re saying the record label rolled the dice and lost?
    Wow, there’s news …
    And you say that employees at the label may get laid off?
    Wow, more news …
    The real story here is “artist releases mediocre album and label can’t spend or spin it into success. But of course that’s not much of a story, is it?

  4. how/where do you spend 23 – 30 million to promote an album?
    That sounds like the business to be in, ’cause trying to make a living as a musician isn’t getting any easier.

  5. Can’t forget that the reason why “Born This Way” sold so much initially was because Amazon had .99 cent sale the first week. Also some of her audience may have grown up and moved onto other music.

  6. Gaga fires her manager Troy Carter because she doesn’t like his opinion and her stylist Nicola Formichetti quits because Gaga is too demanding. Her album tanks and she’s lost her shock value. Im not very good a math, but I think it all adds up.

  7. The article is based on a terribly unreliable source. Hypebot is better than this. I can’t believe an entire article was sourced from The Examiner. Check out the author’s Twitter account: https://twitter.com/sabrinaoconnor9 think she’s obsessed with Lady Gaga at all?
    Hypebot would be smart to retract this entire unsubstantiated post to restore faith in its readership.

  8. Do you realize the source article alleges Billboard, Glamour, MTV, ABC and Rolling Stone accepted bribes for coverage of Lady Gaga?
    Same. Retract this story, now.

  9. Wow, this is completely unsubstantiated! Posting on the examiner requires the same credentials as posting a youtube comment, I’m really disappointed in hypebot. Lazy sourcing such as this is the reason web journalism isn’t taken seriously.

  10. I can’t believe this garbage post is still up on Hypebot.
    Totally unsubstantiated, hearsay at best.

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