Studying Pop Stars

Obviously this is one person's subjective selection, but they do have all the 'greats' in there, who share an important characteristic —their music continues to sell, and to define upcoming generations of singers.

their music has been adopted (and continues to be bought) by successive generations of fans, and their profile and persona endures in popular culture far beyond the time and place of their origin. Long after their physical remains have disintegrated, their star power persists.

‘Is constantly evolving into a variety of hybrid forms, pop stars retain common characteristics. The songs change, but the singers remain the same.’

‘The rock'n'roll lifestyle erodes good looks. Young stars get old, complacent, become part of the establishment. It's extremely difficult to quit while you're ahead. But if you don't quit, eventually popular culture moves on, and quits you.’

That's why we're so familiar with all those members of the 27 Club. Pop stars have a definite sell-by date. Those who leave the party early exit with most of their dignity and appeal still intact.

A star's death doesn't mean the music is over, far from it. Postmortem sales mean big business. A celebrity death creates news headlines, often rekindling fan interest that may have ebbed.

Michael Jackson sold more music in the week after his death than he had for years previously. This is when producers, record companies and other interested parties start to make sense of the music. 

Therefore Amy Winehouse's Lioness is not marketed, as originally intended, as a long-awaited comeback from a troubled talent, but as an obituary, the capping off of a brilliant, but short, career.

I find the key point in this article is that pop stars are often more successful after they have died as they are often on front cover news papers, on the new and in all the headline. It is a media mogul for their music and their image. If I made this my notion when producing my products that you should often market your product very well and often make deals with companies and sponsors.