साइट आइकन 2:00

नंबर 256: मैन ऑफ द वुड्स

वेब स्मिथ
वॉटरमार्क_बायटेलरब्रांड्स
पेंडलटन के लिए जस्टिन टिम्बरलेक

डीएनवीबी / मीडिया / ई-कॉमर्स : (1) जस्टिन टिम्बरलेक दुनिया के सबसे प्रतिभाशाली संगीतकारों में से एक हैं और वह 40 की उम्र तक भी अच्छा प्रदर्शन करना चाहते हैं। (2) संगीत उद्योग निरंतर विकसित हो रहा है और केवल सबसे कुशल कलाकार ही स्ट्रीमिंग की आर्थिक सीमाओं का उचित ढंग से सामना कर पा रहे हैं।

मैन ऑफ द वुड्स के बारे में सोचते समय इन दो आकलनों पर विचार करें।

टिम्बरलेक एक समझदार व्यवसायी हैं। इसलिए जब उनके "मैन ऑफ़ द वुड्स" एल्बम की शुरुआती तस्वीरें रिलीज़ हुईं, तो इस बात पर मज़ाक करना आसान था कि प्रचार कितना ज़बरदस्त था। मेरे पिछले ट्वीट की विडंबना यह थी कि टिम्बरलेक का विकास निर्विवाद है। अपनी पिछली, बड़ी सफलताओं के कारण, वह ज़्यादातर दूसरे कलाकारों की तुलना में ज़्यादा समय तक खेल सकते हैं।

ट्विटर पर वेब स्मिथ

टिम्बरलेक और ब्रूनो मार्स के कौशल एक जैसे हैं। एक ने विकास करना सीख लिया और दूसरा फिलसन के लिए नेटिव विज्ञापन बना रहा है।

टिम्बरलेक के करियर की कहानी संक्षेप में इस प्रकार है। मिस्टर बील तीन दशकों के बदलते संगीत, अपने विचित्र पॉप-फ़ैशन और ज़्यादातर खराब हेयरकेयर फ़ैसलों के बीच एक दुर्लभ और निरंतर सफलता रहे हैं। उन्होंने अमेरिकी संगीत के विकास के असंभव रास्तों को पार किया है:

To better understand Timberlake’s newfound interest in American heritage brands, consider that he is proudly from Tennessee and he was always inspired by the music of the region. 

Consider these two quotes from Refinery29‘s Album Review:

There was much debate about how Mumford & Sons/O Brother Where Art Thou? this album would get after Timberlake debuted its teaser trailer, but when the first two singles (“Filthy” and “Supplies”) were the straight-ahead dance pop we expected, it was assumed that Timberlake didn’t go full Montana — or even Tennessee. But there are strong country moments here, daringly on songs not involving Stapleton, who plays guitar on multiple songs.

and…

The key to understanding why this feels like cultural tourism may come in Timberlake’s interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1. He told Lowe that all of his records before were “aspiration,” either to a lifestyle or for him to “pay homage to my influences.” When you dabble in country or Americana but don’t have influences in mind to pay homage to, things are going to get weird.

When I was an elementary school kid in Houston, I lived down the street from a music hall owned by Kris Kristofferson, a place where he’d perform with musicians like Shel Silverstein. I also had the opportunity to watch several of Kristofferson’s colleagues in their later years: Merle, Waylon, and so on. It’s squarely here that Timberlake is drawing aspiration for the next decade of his career with the help of Chris Stapleton, wool, and a beard.

Few can take issue with his staying power. And staying power means that you have to be willing to adapt to remain at the forefront of your craft. Timberlake is the master of this. So now that we’ve established the musician’s newfound musical aspiration, let’s look at the merchandising deals that were organized by Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandising arm.

A scene from the Man of The Woods pop up at 138 Wooster, NY, NY

Each track from Man of the Woods had a collaborative item:

  • Filthy: Heron Preston
  • Midnight Summer Jam: YETI
  • Sauce: Best Made Co.
  • Man Of The Woods: Best Made Co.
  • Higher Higher: Jordan Brand
  • Wave: Warby Parker
  • Supplies: Best Made Co.
  • Morning Light: Pendleton
  • Say Something: Moleskin
  • Hers: Pendleton
  • Flannel: Levi’s
  • Montana: Levi’s
  • Breeze Off The Pond: Maestro’s Classic
  • Livin’ Off The Land: Best Made Co.
  • The Hard Stuff: by Leor Yerushalmi
  • Young Man: Lucchese

In exchange for cross promotion and sales, several heritage brands and DNVB’s joined in on this experiment through Universal Music Group. The end result: Timberlake has masterfully monetized streaming music in a way that most artists had only dreamt of before Universal’s Bravado arm came about.

In the end, perhaps I was right about the snide comparison between Mars and Timberlake. Just days after Mars’ musical mastery and charisma amassed him six Grammy awards, Timberlake officially left craftsmanship behind – choosing to use streaming music as a vehicle for commerce and reinvention.

The Man of the Woods album is wholly forgettable. With any luck and a few more American albums, Timberlake will eventually get that nod from southern rock’s good ole’ boys. But everything from the Nike SNKRS stunt (1) at Super Bowl LII to corralling Yeti and Heron Preston is pure 24 karat magic.

(1) The Super Bowl / Nike / SNKRS deal explained.

इस मुद्दे पर अधिक जानकारी यहां पढ़ें।

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