In Say it ain’t so, Marié Digby…, Taylor explores the stealth marketing campaign perpetrated by Hollywood Records on behalf of the gamine china doll, Marié Digby. Well, I think she’s cool. And while stealth marketing isn’t cool, it is interesting to watch. Even Carson Daly sticks to orders in this clip, which I paraphrase, who needs American Idol when you have the Internet? I saw Marié Digby on YouTube a few months ago, then heard her on the radio here in LA, and now we’re going to have her on the show, we’re going to make her a star, we’re going to make it happen. I am dead impressed at how well Mr Daly kept to his talking points.
And, for those of you not familiar with her video, Rihanna – Umbrella (Acoustic), then you should check it out.
I really like her. She’s pretty, of course, but she is also capable, subtle, sexy, feminine, and kind of tough. And no, I am NOT being paid by Hollywood Records. I think she’s good and the kind of raw that might pass through the gates as “raw talent.”
I think the problem is that people hate feeling “tricked.”
But you’re also right, in this case the product is excellent, so what’s the problem with how they chose to market her? It doesn’t take away from her obvious talent.
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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article was wrong about Marié Digby, and there is evidence to sj. Marié Digby never lied. To anyone who followed her videos, it’s obvious that Marié Digby has always been herself.
The article stated:
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“Ms. Digby’s MySpace and YouTube pages don’t mention Hollywood Records. Until last week, a box marked “Type of Label” on her MySpace Music page said, “None.”
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However, she had joined MySpace in 2004, roughly 2 years before she was signed, and she merely didn’t bother to update a setting, and she’d probably forgotten that setting even existed. I signed up for a MySpace music page, and it could even be missed when first signing up. And, since months after she recorded her CD, there was no indication it was ever going to be released, I wouldn’t expect that it would even cross her mind to change her status to signed, even if she was still aware of that setting. Note, her CD didn’t come out until approximately 2 years after she was signed, and approximately 4 years after she joined MySpace.
The article went on to state:
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“After inquiries from The Wall Street Journal, the entry was changed to “Major,” though the label still is not named.”
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Makes sense to me. There is no point in naming a record label when there is no indication they are going to release your CD. And, given that, who she was signed with has just as little relevance as that she was signed. (Note, the CD, titled “Unfold” finally came out on April 8, 2008. Buy it, it’s wonderful).
The Wall Street Journal article also contained:
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‘Most of Ms. Digby’s new fans seem pleased to believe that they discovered an underground sensation.
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In fact, the vast majority of the posts were about her music, and not about “discovering” her. For most of us viewers, a huge number of people had already seen her videos when we found her, which were posted long before the WSJ article, so we could hardly claim to have ‘discovered her.’
The term “feigning amateur status”, used in the WSJ article is completely ridiculous. Marié Digby posted music videos, and expressed enthusiasm, and hope. She was largely unknown outside of Los Angeles.
Marié Digby has posted that a Wall Street reporter talked to Marié Digby for about an hour, but they never asked the questions that would have cleared this up. Instead, they took one response, which merely meant that her signed status wasn’t relevant to her goals (and frankly, would have seemed ridiculous in the videos), as meaning she was hiding it.
There were radio station interviews, before the WSJ article, where she mentioned being signed. If she were hiding it, she would have hid it there too.
I gather Marié Digby’s family is rather well off. She never mentioned that in her videos either. I wouldn’t say she was, “feigning middle class status,” but I’m sure some people would! Sad!