(08-16-2012, 02:19 AM)JT9789 Wrote: I think they were leaving that part to AI and the AI promotional tours, that is why Haley is always introduced as American Idol finalist and not singer/songwriter Haley Reinhart.
Once a contestant's run with AI is over their contractual obligation is as well. They publicly support one another because it's beneficial to both. Being introduced as an American Idol finalist comes with the territory. It's laziness on the part of some on-air personalities in interviews but marketing in the bigger picture -- the media outlet wants to grab the attention of American Idol's still sizable audience.
Interscope paid for placement of "Free" on 90210 and footed the bill for the radio tours. Because of past legal issues, they can't pay the stations directly to put a song on the air, so I think them having stations host promotional appearances is a way of funneling cash to the stations. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be as effective as direct payments as many of the hosts didn't play or barely played "Free." One station in Minnesota played the hell out of it and Haley now has a solid fanbase there as a result.
(08-16-2012, 03:50 AM)Mr. Bill Wrote: ...she had a chance to shine in front of the largest possible audience on AI, she was put in a bizarre bird cage contraption that made it hard to see her for half the performance (not to mention the Vegas hair she was sporting). This did her no favors, and she received no major bump in sales from the performance.
I blame AI for that. They didn't intentionally sabotage her like some believe, but they exercised bad judgement. They let that choreographer who had worked closely with Michael Jackson have creative control and his vision was a distraction. Haley was no doubt flattered they wanted to make a big production of it and likely desired that herself given it was such a big opportunity.
In retrospect, it would have been much better if they would have pulled it down like they did on The View (just Haley and John) -- "I'm a singer baby and I no longer have to jump through hoops to get votes!" But that would have been an incredibly bold decision given she was a new artist being offered vast resources to make a production out of the debut of her single. The later, stripped-down performances were likely due to budget restraints -- "Necessity is the mother of invention."
Quote:We'll see what the fall brings, but I remain mystified that most of America has no idea who Haley Reinhart is...It's like they don't want her to be successful. Or, they want her to be successful so long as it doesn't cost any money.
Interscope is a big company. Their attention might be focused elsewhere. If they look at their artists like pieces of real estate, Haley is currently a plot of land in an outlying area that isn't ripe for development given the lack of traffic.
Ole, on the other hand, is smaller and appears to regard her as one of the biggest potential stars on their roster. Perhaps, in part, because
Listen Up! has so many songs they feel they can license. Their efforts in this realm could lead to wider exposure than another radio station promo tour.
