Is It Time For The Music Buying Public To Cut Chris Brown A Break Or Should He Find Another Career?
Chris Brown has deserved all the criticism he has received, but when does his public punishment end? I'm no Chris Brown teeny-bobber fan, but I am troubled by his difficulties to get his latest CD on the shelf and to get airplay on the radio. The stores that sell CDs and the radio stations don't give a damn about the public and I hate them acting like they are taking a stand against domestic violence by keeping Chris Brown from making a living.
Tiger Woods' merchandise remains on store shelves and he's a bigger jackass in my book. Kobe Bryant is still selling jerseys and folks keep bringing out Mike Tyson and dusting him off for one more opportunity. And you can go into any Best Buy and purchase a James Brown, Ike Turner or Miles Davis CD and they were well-known woman beaters. Not to mention the same issues of sexism and violence regarding women and hip hop that still remain. What makes Chris Brown so special?
The best album of Chris Brown's short career has been tanking since it's release late last year and it hasn't been primarily because fans don't want it. His promotion has been flat and dead as a doornail since the date of release. Maybe he should have waited longer to release it, but I wonder would that have made a difference. His public flaying is starting to get uncomfortable because even Brown is wondering what he needs to do next.
So, that's the question folks, is it over or does the youngster Chris Brown need to take an extended hiatus from the music business and release an album in 2 or 3 years?
7 comments:
I didn't realize that was his song, although I do turn it to the local radio channel and hear it at times. I say take a hiatus, since many of these folks have the attention span of a gnat...
I think Chris Brown's career is tanking not because of lack of shelf space in record stores, but because his fan base has a tendency not to buy records. They download them from pirate sites. It's something that's impacted the music industry for a while now. That's why you see very few record stores anymore. I know I've seen his CD in both Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart and iTunes are the 800 pound gorillas in the music/publishing industry these days, and I've seen his CD in both those places. Musicians don't make their money from record sales these days. They make it on concert tours. Frankly I'm not a fan and wasn't before he beat Rihanna up, so I really don't care if he makes a living or not. If there is any dip in his popularity I would imagine it's because his fans are young women and girls, probably the same demographic of the famous woman he beat up. Miles Davis and James Brown were both woman beaters, but other than Cicely Tyson, neither were known to beat up women who were as or more famous than they were. If Rihanna were less well-known, or just another groupie he wouldn't have gotten the notoriety that he did. Frankly I think it's time to shut up and sit down. Oh, and stop comparing his case to every other case that comes down the pike. Twitter is not his friend, it just makes him look unrepentant and stupid.
He needs to take a sit-down. Even though this album was probably in the making, if not done, when all the mess came out about him and Ri-ri, it came out too early. But it is an interesting turn of events for Chris.
I think the case of Chris Brown is really quite interesting. It is a known fact that those convicted of criminal behaviour have great difficulty being reintegrated into society. It is not often that this kind of discipline happens on this level with someone like Brown's social status. Quite commonly, when the criminal is rich or even more specifically rich and White, (Martha Stewart) society is more than willing to overlook previous behaviour.
I do believe that everyone deserves second chances, but that does not mean that Brown is entitled to the career that he once had. Sometimes there are consequences that are far reaching to actions. Brown is finding out first hand that certain behavior will stay with you for life. If Rihanna has to live with the terrible memories of what he did to her, why should he escape?
Also, regarding the re-inventing of Mike Tyson, I personally find it disgusting. He is not a sympathetic figure beyond the fact that he was personally undereducated and exploited by Don Kind and the boxing world. At some point, every individual needs to be held accountable and no matter how much the man may love pigeons, his penchant for violence makes him a scurrilous being in my mind.
I just dont think chris is that talented in the first place. Kobe, Tiger and Mike Tyson were arguably the best that ever done it in their fields. Chris Rock is just the latest teeny bopper of the moment, disposable
Won't be losing sleep over Chris Brown, although, I agree that it's not right what the radio stations and CD stores are doing to him. I do feel that there is a difference between CBrown and Tiger Woods as well as several of the other folks that were named. Chris Brown IS a product. The Tiger Woods name helps to SELL products. Tiger makes a lot of money by playing golf very well and while he may have ruined his image as the "clean cut golfer" and lost some sponsors, he can still make a crap load of money by winning tournaments and being the "undercover freak" golfer. While Chris Brown works in a profession where he's crooning "love songs" to young girls and singing about being cool and "Breezy" or whatever and he's got to SELL that idea to these kids and their parents and yes, these radio stations too. We live in a day and time where every single thing these artists do and say is in the public eye and it affects the idea they work so hard to sell. In a profession like music, where image is everything, a singer has more to lose today than say Ike Turner did in the 1960s. ...And Miles Davis???!!! Nooooo :-(
Either way, I think Chris needs to take a long hiatus and learn that in life (no matter how unfair) you don't get to pick your own punishments...just like you don't get to pick your own nickname.
He definitely came back out too soon. Although he was never a huge seller, this cd has clearly tanked. I wish him well. I no longer listen to the radio, so I don't know how much airplay he is getting now. Some of the ones boycotting him were full of it...just saying.
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