Concerned About Second Single

[Mr. Bill]

Now I hate to be a naysayer, but I'm worried for Haley right now. There really is no reason for Interscope not to have any news about a second single/video production for another video. There's way too much silence, and Free is absolutely done.

Here's my sneaking suspicion: The worst possible thing that could have happened, did, when Kraig Fox was fired in May. He was championing Haley and that's why she was getting some good promotion early on. Since then, she's been left without someone really, truly in her corner.

I have no basis for this other than an overactive imagination, but I'm worried nonetheless. This album is way too good not to have a second single. All it has received is positive praise. But in the end, Interscope is about money. They make lots of it selling their top artists. An artist like Haley can get lost without someone championing her.

Please someone tell me I'm wrong.

My other theory is that American Idol is "over" and Haley is feeling the heat from being associated with it. You may have noticed recently that Adam Lambert and Kris Allen have also fallen off the Hot AC charts with their singles. No further singles have been announced for either artist. Is this an "AI is dead" thing?

[Miguel]

Dozens of artists released new albums that same day. I doubt many of them have more than one single out at this time.

I don't think rolling out another single is as simple as releasing it. Another round of promotional appearances would need to be planned.

Haley's playing Lolla in two weeks and I think a second round of promo would not come until after that.

[Flask Man]

Dozens of artists released new albums that same day. I'm doubtful any of them have more than one single out at this time.

I don't think rolling out another single is as simple as releasing it. Another round of promotional appearances would need to be planned.

Haley's playing Lolla in two weeks and I think a second round of promo would not come until after that.

Free was released March 22nd. I know for a fact MANY of the major label artists who released their singles way back then have since had their 2nd singles released. Plenty with 3rd singles, too. Doesn't mean Haley won't get hers, it could be announced tomorrow for all we know, along with big plans for a music video and major tour, but it has indeed gone into the overdo category now and needs to be understood as such.

[midnightblues]

I'm headed in the direction with what Miguel said. I think after Lolla. Things will be able to bounce back again. Re thinking their strategic move, Interscope is waiting till after the concert to invest money in another single and video.

[Flask Man]

I agree that the next single will likely not come before Lolla. Hopefully not too much later than that, tho. Time will tell. The one thing we know is that we don't really know anything, but have fun pretending we do. lol

[Mr. Bill]

Thanks for the perspective, Miguel et al. I hope you're right.

I think I am concerned because while I'm hardly Haley, I had a similar situation to the one I mentioned above as an author. When my first novel came out in 2008, it was with a major publisher (Dutton, part of Penguin). Things were going extremely well, it got bought up in big numbers by the chains (Barnes and Noble) and the release was solid. About a month later, my editor left Dutton.

Without anyone left to champion my book, it stagnated. There was no more push from a marketing perspective, and in the end the numbers were somewhat disappointing. And of course, the only thing that matters to the house is the numbers. They don't have an asterisk after them saying, "But his editor left!"

Anyhow, I'm getting another chance and have another major release coming next year with a different major publishing house. But I know how painful it was for me when it felt as though there was nothing I could do and the people in control weren't fighting for me.

Not 100 percent sure this is the deal for Haley, but I worry. Because I love her.

[Tusk]

I was reading the Seattle Weekly at lunch and came across an article that is somewhat related.

It points out, for the first time, "catalog records" aka older records outsold 'current' albums... 76.6 million to 73.9 million.

This, despite Adele's "21" selling 1 million more copies in 2012 compared to the same time last year. She is selling more this year..... and the totals of current albums still falls beneath sales of 'catalog' albums. (Adele's 21 is a true monster unseen in recent memory)

The article states (with no data...not that you can count it) that 'stealing' them online is by far the most popular way of acquiring music. Older consumers would more likely buy their music, younger consumers would more likely 'steal' from online.

We see that Haley has over 200,000 twitter followers...we can make a safe assumption that most of these followers are likely of the 'younger consumer' variety. So no surprise that Haley's sales numbers do not reflect the number of followers she has. She has 200,000 followers but not even close to sniffing 100,000 in sales.

It's a fair bet a good number have not bought her songs/album, their following does not in fact result in sales, especially if they, themselves, don't buy (Imagine if every twitter follower bought one album, instead of a handful of her core fans buying and 'gifting' multiple albums... )

This is a microcosm of what the big guys in the industry have to factor in. They have to be able to project potential profits from investments in this type of environment.. factor in that Haley is a relative unknown who doesn't put out 'typical' music, so is a calculated risk as far as return on investments....her fans don't buy her album, despite her twitter/social network popularity. So it's understandable that they may want to give "Free" more chance to catch on, and delay rolling out a new single until they are certain that "Free" has done what it could.

Interscope has been good to her, in letting her be who she is, exposing her to industry heavyweights... but as far as touring, single releases and adjusting, those signed to smaller companies (Casey, James, Stefano) have the ability to react and make decisions quickly (like setting up a tour), whereas bigger companies, tend to be slower and more deliberate in their decision making.

I think ultimately, Interscope is a great way for Haley to dive into the whole process of writing and producing at the beginning of her career, but ultimately, she is made for a company that is smaller and possibly more adept at understanding and taking advantage of the changing nature of the recording/music industry and Ultimately, it will be her live performance/touring ability where Haley will make her mark...

[Tom22]

Since hearing the album and reading the reviews I've suspected that the general music listening public/age group wasn't going to get it right away... especially on first listen. I (biased perhaps by how much I love every song) figure if enough people heard a lot of the songs 2 or 3 times they'd start getting the sound which is bound to turn into more sales.

The break she needs? I think her best chance might be other musicians and/or some big celebrities getting the album and listening to it, and mentioning it on "what are you listening to" interview questions. I figure it stands a better chance of getting a holywood/industry crowd listening to it because its "something different" and maybe many of them have a more flexible ear and enjoy the mix of genres.

OF course, that’s predicated on those Musicians actually liking the music. I suppose if all the musicians she's met have had a chance to listen to the album and they weren't impressed enough to listen to it again, well that sort of speaks for itself about a potential future.

While winning "best new artist of the year" would be a longshot without the album catching fire all of a sudden, even a consideration for a nomination would give a reason for a lot more artists to get around to listening to the album. Being on the short list of nominees would be huge. Again, a person listening doesn’t mean they'll fall in love with the sound but they certainly can't fall in love with it if they haven't found the time/reason to listen to the album through.

Another possible big break (for the Listen Up album) would be if a huge artist covered one of the songs. This is business and they wouldn't do that as a favor but because they really liked the songs.

Beyoncé could really bring something to "What you don't know won't hurt you", Now that you're here, or maybe Undone. It might be sacrilege (and don't take it wrong I like the way Haley sings the songs), but there are a few parts in those songs that might be better suited to a Diva with bigger glory notes (Haley hits them fine.. they're just not always "big" ). They'd take a different spin on other parts of the songs too which might not be as good for my ear, might have a larger mass appeal.

Movie soundtrack? lots of the songs on the album have a certain soundtrack quality to me. A lower budget movie that's a sleeper success ? Or a director with a different sort of ear?

Do studios send out hundreds of free albums to people in the business? Would the Cohen Brothers have received a copy of Listen Up for example?

[Flask Man]

I think concern equals caring, and what all of us are trying to say is we care about her and are concerned that she is given the proper attention and investment she deserves to succeed. I think Interscope still believes in her, as does 19, but they need ROI to back that belief and since sales have been tepid, and her music style unorthodox, they likely see her as somewhat of a risk, albeit a talented one with beauty, sex appeal, intelligence, and work ethic all factoring into a big potential upside.

I'm not an expert, just a fan and layman, but as one I see Interscope being a bit confused about how and to whom they best should be marketing and promoting her (i.e. the foolish miscalculation of following 50k Bieber & One Direction twitter fans who simply aren't her demographic). BoB is a way for them to soften the risk and marketing confusion, because he brings a real hit-making body of work to trust their investment to. He also has a big, established fan base to draw from, and will make radio feel more comfortable adding Haley to their rotation.

The problem is he's really not Haley's music style beyond this cameo, and his fans are probably not the type who will buy her album or become part of her fan base. It also risks the "sell out" label from serious music lovers who will mock his milquetoast rap and criticize her for adding him simply as a hired gun to pad her sales stats. Thus, it's still sort of a mixed bag...every pro has a con and every con has a pro.

In the end, anything that helps Haley I'm in favor of. If the experts think the pros of BoB will outway the cons and help her success than I'm all for it. Personally, though, I just cringe at the possibility that Haley could get lost in the BoB name. I would rather she get all the acclaim for the hit, and become successful without this crutch. Later in her career, when she has big superstar cachet like Taylor Swift and can carry the day, than fine.

My top choice for a single from the opening day of snippet release has been Spiderweb. I think it has all the elements to be an absolute monster hit, and fits everything Haley herself wants to be as an artist. I know it won't happen, but I sure wish it would.

[Miguel]

There have been tweets today about new advertisements for Haley and "Free."

Adam ‏@AdamPercyRahhal

@HaleyReinhart @HaleyRNews @HaleySetUsFree @HaleysHart13 @HalienChecklist @MissHalien @Reinharted look what I found:-) http://pic.twitter.com/9Btu9x0q

Anthony Morales ‏@Gimpy_Morales

I am seeing so much advertisement online and on social media for @HaleyReinhart. Your agent's doing a great job! #MarketingMajorTweet

Justin Rowland ‏@J2theman22

@HaleyReinhart Look what is being advertised on YouTube! I got so excited when I saw it! #ListenUp! http://pic.twitter.com/JTlZ3HGr

Facebook:

Haley Reinhart
about an hour ago ·

Listen Up! is featured in the Great Debut Album Sale this week for $7.99 which starts today until 7/23.-http://smarturl.it/ListenUp

-Team Haley

^ Links to standard edition on iTunes