I think you all are over analyzing it a bit. It’s just one word: Advertising. For the last 72 hours or so MJ’s name and music have been plastered all over every TV station, website and radio station. If you gave any product that kind of attention and exposure it’d sell like hotcakes. Sure advertising and marketing work on different levels and motivate people for a plethora of specific reasons, but in the end Michael Jackson has just had the all-time biggest ad campaign running this weekend. Advertising and marketing work, you’re seeing the evidence.
I’ve never been a huge fan of MJ and this question has bugged me too. With all of the things happening in Iran and Honduras as well as other countries, THIS is what has grabbed peoples attention? Billy Mays (sp?) has gotten more attention lately than Honduras…
I’m personally not persuaded to go buy his music (or download it illegally for that matter).
I figured the OP is well aware that this is effectively the result of advertising, the question is really about why people are going out and buying an old product that they would already own if they had an interest in it.
My WAG: it is popular. Loads of hipsters that are too young to remember MJ in his prime are suddenly introduced to it, and it is the “in” thing to be listening to now.
I don’t think Nostalgia is a big factor to be honest. Those that were into him probably still have his CD or at the very least a tape of him somewhere already. He is dead and has a lot of attention. Gen-Yers that never knew him other than a alleged child molester are now hearing about his music and are trying to be part of the “in” crowd.
I’ve heard quite a few people say that now they know the money won’t be going into MJ’s pocket and supporting his, ah, unorthodox choices. So that contributes to it.
But I figure the main factors are the “advertising” and nostalgia.
GenYer hera. Until the guy died, I pretty much forgot he existed. And if someone mentioned his name, I only thought of his caricature as a black man who became a pervy white woman. Lately, I’ve been hearing his music, and I realize Thriller* and his Jackson 5** days aren’t his only good music. While I haven’t went out and bought his stuff, most of that is just because I’ve so much financial problems that someone else paid my subscription here.
*I remember seeing a clip from “Thriller” at a church function a few years ago, and was asking who that well-voiced dancing guy was. I almost did a double take when I figured out who it was.
**I was likewise surprised when I found out that ABC-123 song was lead by Jackson.
ETA: Elyanna’s point is good, too. I know a lot of people who, even if they had known Jackson’s music was good, would not have bought music from a (alleged) pedophile. (I know I still don’t have to say alleged, but I’d still like some better proof.)
This is a bit of a silly distinction. It seems to presume that everyone always buys everything they want at the first opportunity. Let me put it this way: If Apple bought a $100 Billion ad campaign to market the iPhone on every channel for 72 straight hours I’m pretty sure their sales would skyrocket. You could say that everyone who wants an iPhone already has one. But I think that’s obviously a pretty silly stance. There are several billion people in the world. Not everyone buys everything immediately, this MJ advertising campaign is simply nudging the people that forgot or never got around to buying it in a modern format to do so now. Asking what precise motivation they have a meaningless exercise. The reasons for their purchase are literally infinite, if you could distill it down to a single reason you’d have a very lucrative career in teaching Marketing and Advertising and selling your services to Microsoft.
I’m not so sure I’d call it silly. Marketing something 20 years old could be a bit of a gamble. You would mostly get people that are familiar with it but only a small percentage would be new clientele. Since the Iphone has only been out about two years I’d say it isn’t an accurate analogy. Two years != 20 years.
Not saying MJ hasn’t put anything out for 20 years… just saying his peak was about then.
I’m 43 and have a few MJ records which have long been packed away along with the turntable.
His death has prompted me to buy 2 albums from itunes because I really forgot just how good the guy was.
Even as I write this, I’m listening to “You Are Not Alone”
I think it has to do with the fact that when an artist is still among the living, it’s a lot easier to take him for granted because you think he will be there forever.
I’m not arguing with you, I’m just saying that the “it’s advertising” answer is obvious and presumably not what the OP was asking, he’s asking “why is the advertising having such a big effect.” Note, I’m not asking that, I’m just rephrasing the OP.
I’ve had Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad on my list of albums I should get, but never got around to it. Jackson’s death reminded me of this.
For me, though, my time frame of “eventually” hasn’t changed to “immediately,” but others are more impulsive.
I think it is true that the “freakshow” that was his personal life eclipsed the music. It’s not fair in my opinion, but it’s almost human nature to despise the art for the moral transgressions of the artist.
I’m not a fan but can still see he was a huge talent. Maybe not Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles huge, but probably up there with Smokey Robinson, for example. He wrote his own songs, had a killer voice, and could dance. I happened to be visiting the UCLA campus when the news broke, and later, walking through the Village, I heard his music emanating from several cars passing by. I was surprised how contemporary it sounded.
Lots of good music from the past doesn’t get bought much, until something happens to direct people’s attention to it. It’s nothing new.
The same thing happened when Elvis died.
Another example. We tend to focus only on the bloated, degenerate Elvis of his last years. But not long ago I happened to see the 1968 Comeback Special, and some other footage of him from about that time, and it was remarkable how well he projected the vibe and image of “rock star” rather than “has been”.
It’s not just that he is mentioned in the news. It’s also that the news articles are saying how his music was ground-breaking, innovative, wonderful, etc. Then it mentions the names of some albums saying “these were great albums” giving you something specific to look for. For example, I never really knew about the “Off The Wall” album until this week. If I had seen it in a bookstore in the CD section, it wouldn’t have caught my eye - I might have thought it was some live album or greatest hist album. Now I’ve read in the paper that it’s one of his better albums so it will form part of my mental library as “album worth buying maybe”.
Same here. Except for me, it’s made me realize just what a huge deal the Jackson 5 was. I always thought of them as a cute singing group, but little else. But they really meant a lot to people and now that I’ve actually watched them performing, it is quite amazing that such a young boy could sing and dance more skillfully and with just more…well, heart (not to be cheesy) than most adults.