Reasons that lead up to the Chromatica delay

[Supersonic 49,376]

Hi, this will be a lengthy post. With the delay of Chromatica now being official, lots of y'all are probably mad/sad/angry. I'm not here to tell you you shouldn't be angry, you're entitled to feel however you want to fell. I just wanna give you a few reasons as to why a delay makes sense from an artistic standpoint, but also an economical stand point.

 

1. Printing physical copies

As some of you know, physical album copies are printed worldwide in several plants distributed throughout the planet. However, with the outbreak of the coronavirus almost all CD plants in Germany and Italy (who produce for the entirety of Europe mostly) have been shut down as they do not produce "essential goods" for survival. This would mean: To guarantee physical copies in Europe, the production of CDs would have to be re-directed towards other plants on other continents (presumably the USA or China). This would pose another set of problems:

a) Importing goods from other countries is expensive and the tolls would increase the price for the consumer (aka YOU)
b) It would endanger factory workers, who'd have to work twice as much during a global pandemic, under conditions that were probably not even fit for humans before the virus broke out
c) It would increase the shipping time to Europe by a lot. International shipping is surely faster for businesses, but delivery services worldwide announced that they would priortize the delivery of essential goods first. That could mean indefinite delays, CDs being stuck in storage units for weeks or more and ultimately also no physical copies shipped on release day.

The problem really is that copies of CDs/Vinyls are not really produced ahead of time to prevent leaks, the start of production and release date are actually relatively close together.

 

2. Extremely stripped down era

Another problem that is not really based on the logistics & economy of producing physical copies is that during the pandemic, there's really not a lot Gaga can do with the album except livestreaming it from her living room (no band, dancers, production assistants, sound assistants, chroeographers, hair & make-up people, instrumentalists, potential duet partners etc.) and upload it on digital retailers & streaming platforms.

We'd have to look at an era with

• no physical copies
• no (elaborate) live performances
• no TV show appearances
• no tour
• no further visuals except the ones that she may or may have not filmed yet
• no red carpets/public appearances
• sort of impersonal telephone/e-mail interviews only
• an album that kinda celebrates going out to party with your friends to dance away your pain in a world that's supposed to stay inside to quarantine

It doesn't just take away the excitement for us, as the consumers, as the fans. It also takes the excitement out of the performer. Gaga already revealed that she was supposed to play a secret set @ Coachella including Chromatica tracks, which has now been effectively cancelled. We probably don't even know the full scope of the situation, but I'm sure there's a lot more exciting stuff that was planned she did not tell us about, that just... got cancelled/postponed indefinitely. And even in a pandemic, where people are hurting and dying, you would still feel some kind of way about cancellations in regards to your projects crashing into your inbox like a wrecking ball.

 

Again... I'm not here to tell you "You're selfish for resenting Gaga for delaying the album!!!!!". I'm not, I understand your anger. A lot of us in self quarantine thought this album was the only thing we could really look forward to in the near future. But I also think it's important to recognize that every situation has a bajillion of facets and not everything is really black and white.

[Ladey Gaygay 9,321]

Period I swear this site really knows how to turn a blind eye to facts

[Bio 23,538]

The main reason is Interscope doesn't wanna lose money and that's the tea. It has nothing to do with being sensitive or any other bullshit like that.

[Ryusei 61,110]

The only reason is Corona  And Interscope wanting to make big money.

[Supersonic 49,376]

Just now, Bio said:

The main reason is Interscope doesn't wanna lose money and that's the tea. It has nothing to do with being sensitive or any other bullshit like that.

If you read through my post you would have seen that the first half is entirely about the economics and the problems about CD plants shutting down, potentially having to increase production in other plants and having to up the costs of the album (which would result in losing money for the label), but ok

[Didymus 34,380]

You're right of course. However, tons of artists are releasing rn and are simply adapting to the situation (like we all are). So even though you're technically correct, delaying the album was not the only option and we shouldn't pretend it was.

[Chic 20,830]

Just letting you know I appreciate you greatly for this post and I think you’re quite the intellectual!

[Aga Gydal 3,158]

Thank you for this thread. I think we’re all allowed to feel sad and disappointed since, like me, Chromatica was one of the few things we were looking forward to in the near future. Gaga music is like therapy for me, and the idea of waiting however much longer feels soul crushing. However, this needed to happen because if not, we’ll always be wondering about what could have been. For now, let’s buckle down and get through this pandemic. 

[Ladey Gaygay 9,321]

3 minutes ago, Bio said:

The main reason is Interscope doesn't wanna lose money and that's the tea. It has nothing to do with being sensitive or any other bullshit like that.

[Bio 23,538]

1 minute ago, Supersonic said:

If you read through my post you would have seen that the first half is entirely about the economics and the problems about CD plants shutting down, potentially having to increase production in other plants and having to up the costs of the album (which would result in losing money for the label), but ok

I read your post, I get what you're saying. I'm adding that Gaga is using fake sensitivity as a way to mask their finantial intent. 

[Suuus 5,632]

2 minutes ago, Bio said:

I read your post, I get what you're saying. I'm adding that Gaga is using fake sensitivity as a way to mask their finantial intent. 

But if she told you it was about money you would be upset too so its lose/lose situation 

[geusst1235 5,398]

5 minutes ago, Bio said:

I read your post, I get what you're saying. I'm adding that Gaga is using fake sensitivity as a way to mask their finantial intent. 

I'm sure Gaga is also sensitive to what is happening. Those two things do NOT have to be mutually exclusive at all and I have absolutely no idea why you believe they have to be separate. 

[JonJon Dailey 30]

I completely agree. Thank you for posting that, it kinda helped me deal. I just am disappointed with how this was handled, but I also have to understand. I’m upset there was such long silence and they took so long to announce the delay, but then again I understand that these decisions are never quick or easy ones. I’m also so upset over what Coachella would’ve been, and if anything else amazing is permanently cancelled. I’m angry, but not at gaga or Interscope. There’s no one to be angry at, and that’s the frustrating part. This is just really awful. I can’t imagine how upset Gaga is.

[Supersonic 49,376]

2 minutes ago, Didymus said:

You're right of course. However, tons of artists are releasing rn and are simply adapting to the situation (like we all are). So even though you're technically correct, delaying the album was not the only option and we shouldn't pretend it was.

The Weeknd & Dua Lipa did have one advantage though: They released leads and singles prior to the virus breaking out/being called a pandemic, they already did a lot of promo (Dua) or recorded several visuals in advance (The Weeknd) and had physicals already printed and shipped to shops (Dua's were printed for sure because the album leaked, but not shipped to shops yet). Gaga probably has shot the video for the second single and that's it. If physicals were already printed, I think Interscope would have urged her to keep the release date to prevent leaks.

Not saying that I "love" this decision, I kinda hate it and I want the music as well, but Interscope is a company, Gaga is one of their cash cows and they have to make decisions to ensure that the album will be as successful as it possibly can be.

[gagafrontrow 267]

Money.