The 2nd single versus a Fall Tour versus nothing

[Miguel]

We've all been waiting on word of two things:

- The release of a second single
- Details of a Fall tour with another artist

Both of these are dependent upon Interscope.

A month ago Haley sounded hopeful about the possibility of a tour in the fall. But if we back up even further, early in the summer she said she hoped to tour if the single did well.

"Free" won Haley new fans but didn't set the charts on fire because it struggled to get airplay. That's why Haley's fans have been chomping at the bit to have "Oh My" released - they think it's more radio friendly.

Fall is almost here - it's nearly football season.

We have no new single and no confirmation of a tour.

A 2nd single couldn't be released at this late date and climb the charts fast enough to make them decide to put together a tour.

So, a tour is either planned or it isn't.

If a tour is in the works, that tells us that Interscope still believes Haley has commercial appeal. Who she is paired with would indicate how much they believe in her.

If a tour is not being planned, that means Interscope doesn't plan on investing more in Haley. That means no second single.

This is a real possibility.

I believe 19 put together the 2 Allen Stone tour dates formally announced tonight. They manage both artists (Chiara Kramer is with 19). And the television and movie placements for Haley are probably due to Ole.

So what is Interscope doing? Are they following people on Twitter on Haley's behalf? Or is 19 behind that? If it's Interscope, they might have contracted the task out to third party for a predetermined time.

I believe if we don't hear confirmation of fall tour soon, it's not going to happen.

And Haley might have to go independent until another label picks her up.

The good news is Allen Stone is managed by 19 but not signed to a label and still manages to tour. In fact, he has about a dozen dates in Europe after he plays the two shows with Haley.

So Haley could still hit the road.

But she would probably be playing small venues, driving between them and staying in economy lodging. It's foreseeable the make up of her band might change given those conditions and less financial backing.

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This is speculation on my part. Just trying to piece things together.

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What do y'all think?

Is there going to be an Interscope-backed tour? And/or a second single?

[midnightblues]

There is a lot of things to consider number one is financial backing by Interscope. They've got the money to do it but seeing that free did not do all that well are they willing to bankroll a tour in the fall? I really feel that Wal -mart dropped the ball and didn't kept a full stock of LU, I went to several of Walmart stores and never found any. I don't know who contracted Walmart to distribute the albums, someone should have been checking to see if there was an adequate amount of merchandise. It's pretty much you can't sell what you don't have, that's poor marketing. Something was also mentioned about another labeled picking up Haley. Would they have to buy out the existing contract from Interscope? I don't know how that works, but from what I've seen Interscope has not done much on promoting and giving Haley adequate airtime.IMO This is a real reality It could happen on the negitive side. And than all the Haley haters would say , Ha I told you so. No tour would not be good news. Haley has come this far, and this is a hard buisness to do well in.

[Miguel]

I'm confident Haley will find success no matter what. And Interscope would be shortsighted if they cut her loose at this stage. But if she doesn't have an advocate who's paying attention they might.

I believe she can make a name for herself with the album Interscope helped her create. But another label would likely need new material to promote.

Still, Listen Up! is not a bad calling card. A musician in Nashville with over 1,000 followers just tweeted,

Seth Abram ‏@sethabrammusic

Dunno how I missed out on @HaleyReinhart 's music until now. Her record "Listen Up" is so good. Seriously, soo dang good. Check it friends!

[alpha7388]

Another possibility is that her worldwide recognition and grammy nomination takes more months and then explodes with tour and increased sales.

[JT9789]

After doing a little research on the web, I found that it cost between $30,000 to $50,000 to record an album (More if you are already famous) and between $1.00 to $2.00 per CD for manufacturing, I expect Walmart Paid up front for distribution, that's usually how big box stores work or maybe gave a big discount to Interscope for choosing them. The producers and songwriters get a percentage so there is no loss there. Haley has sold an estimation of 50,000 copies, at an average of $10.00 per copy. they made at the most $500,000 which is chump change when it comes to promoting and touring BUT... But you got to account for the promotional income Haley gets when she does a promotional event for being an American Idol finalist, she gets paid when people want to talk to her about her American Idol experience or when she Performs as American Idol Finalist Haley Reinhart, the average payment for her on that is between $1500 to $3000 per show or appearance plus lodging.that is why she never had a full band. Now, after all the adding and subtracting, I figure Interscope will keep her around until they recoup their cost plus a little profit then let her go. I feel like Interscope was only using her to gain a little profit from her span on American Idol and I don't think they had any plans at all for promoting her, 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. If Haley would have sold 100,000 + then Interscope would start considering a great tour but for now she will have to take what she can afford.

Remember guys, this is my opinion based on what I found on the web don't tare me apart too bad. My grammar sucks and thank God for spellchecker I think this is the most i have written since the Popwatch days

[Mr. Bill]

I'm confident Haley will find success no matter what. And Interscope would be shortsighted if they cut her loose at this stage. But if she doesn't have an advocate who's paying attention they might.

I think this is the key. This is only conjecture, but I have felt for a long time that the major problem is that Kraig Fox got fired in May. She doesn't seem to have been treated as if she has a big advocate at Interscope. If she did, you'd figure she would have gotten more attention.

The fact is, many opportunities were squandered. They chose to release a not-so-radio-friendly track as a lead single, and when 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. After the single sputtered, there has really been no movement to release one of the two extremely radio friendly singles, "Oh My" or "Undone."

We'll see what the fall brings, but I remain mystified that most of America has no idea who Haley Reinhart is. She has everything that most lovers of music like: a great voice, terrific pop hooks (albeit a bit old school), and a face and body to die for. That no one at Interscope thought that a sexy video for Oh My would get attention is just crazy.

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.

[Miguel]

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.

...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."

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.

[Mr. Bill]

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.

I agree with this. I think Ole is her ace in the hole. If she is to build on her popularity this go round, it will likely be through something like a major commercial deal. Couldn't you see Oh My! on a Mazda commercial? Zoom zoom! :-)

[Tusk]

Sigh...even this fan is feeling the cracks in the armor.
I'm confident she will have a long career because her talent is innate and she has her parents' experience in the business to strengthen her resolve to continue to push forward.

That being said, I don't want her to feel, if this doesn't work out 'as it should', that this is a failure on her part. She's been a trooper and deserves better.

One of the things about Haley that has me so taken with her is the seemingly endless, positivity and energy she exudes. She reminds me of younger days when the 'realities' of life were mere obstacles to overcome and not the weights and reasons for failure that they morph into in the latter days of life.

When I feel down, following her career and listening to her songs are what makes things seem just a little bit better.

I really hope what is beginning to become apparent regarding her representation is not true (from what I've seen of Chiara sp? , has been 'minor league' at best...more of a cheerleader than an advocate )... She seems to be 'happy to be here' and riding Haley's coat tails, rather than pro active and fighting to get more opportunities for Haley

I don't know enough about how the dance works, but it's starting to seem the trust we have in the people representing Haley has us betting on people who are two steps behind....

I hope we are wrong and they come out guns a blazing.

Whatever the case, I believe in Haley the person and the artist, it's the least I can do.

[Himm2]

Very true statements Tusk. I'm starting to feel that it was both a blessing and a curse that Haley got signed with Interscope rather than a label that would have felt she was their top meal ticket. I also agree that American Idol hasn't done Haley the favors she deserves with her return in a dark shadowy birdcage with styling that made her look vampish and reinforcing those opinions that didn't support her during season 10. It wasn't even a live presentation and the set was someone's disconnected vision of what the song was about.

What does make me feel wonderful however is the quality of the supportive comments that Haley gets everywhere that a video or blog or interview or review gets posted. And the fact that she has some of the highest numbers of views of just about any recent new performer to the scene. I just wish that would all translate to huge sales although I wouldn't be devastated if she ends up back locally where I can see her perform on a regular basis with or without her family's accompaniment. Sure I'd love her to be an international superstar packing giant arenas but I don't want her to lose a sense of her roots and still play the intimate settings where I can feel upclose and personally involved.