Ryan Tedder: It’s “Tone-deaf” to release an album right now

[ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY 6,270]

So I’m not a One Republic fan but USA Today recently interviewed Ryan Tedder and was asked about delaying One Republic’s album initially out for a May release but now pushed to fall. He has this to say:

Q: Many artists have been wrestling with whether to release their albums right now. On one hand, you want to give fans something to enjoy during these times, while also considering all the mechanics of releasing, promoting and touring an album. How have you approached that, in regards to OneRepublic? 

A: “Nobody can compete with the news cycle right now. And if you're not doing that, you're competing with "Tiger King." We have this huge record that we wanted to drop in mid-May that we now won't. It's a summer song, it's like the Beach Boys, it feels like it's such a hit, but I'm not going to do it in the middle of a pandemic.  We dropped a charity song two weeks ago called "Better Days," and it's a non-cheesy anthem about what it feels like now to be in this time and space we're in. But the only way I could release it in good conscience was by donating profits to the Red Cross, because I feel weird saying, "Come buy my stuff, check me out." Meanwhile, people are sick and dying. It's very tone-deaf. And unless you're an artist who had a lot of momentum going into this pandemic like The Weeknd or Dua Lipa, it's really hard to get anyone to pay attention.”

 

He also mentions artists he’s working with that had releases scheduled in the next months but suspiciously leaves Gaga’s name out of it:

“I have a lot of songs with artists – Miley Cyrus, Diplo, Katy Perry – that were all supposed to be coming out in the next couple of months. Some of them might, but I can tell you that every single artist I've talked with is sitting there going, "Well, what do I do? Is it going to be a tree falling in a forest?" 

He also says in other parts of the article that apparently Spotify stats show listeners are engaging with older music rather than new music. 
 

“When I have conversations with my friends at Spotify and Apple, we're finding that the listening data is skewing so much toward already established songs and records.”

Just wanted peoples opinions on this. This is a pretty bold claim considering there are still artists releasing music right now. He also contributed to Chromatica. Do you think this logic is right and would apply to Gaga if the album actually does come in June? People eventually are going to want new music in general imo
 

Full article/source: 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5128349002

[DC 25,164]

[whore 11,447]

I fully agree, especially with his supporting argument 

[Cookie Tookie 10,546]

I absolutely disagree. 

[ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY 6,270]

4 minutes ago, Loeppke said:

I fully agree, especially with his supporting argument 

So the entire music industry is just not suppose to create art or delay it indefinitely? Most people subscribe to streaming services and Spotify has a free tier so I don’t really agree with the “cant expect people to pay for this right now” argument personally. I’m just wondering at what point it becomes “OK” to release new music. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[RickMonster98 7,462]

Ok, we're in a pandemic. But many people are sick and die EVERY DAY. This has nothing to do with music. 

So no, I don't agree. 

 

[BleepBloop 10,316]

LMAO, shut up pls

[gagaisitalian 3,573]

I fully agree.

Artists will fail commercially if they release right now, no one will pay attention, and they can't provide live performances besides boring livestreams of them sitting in their pajamas in their living room.

I am SO relieved Gaga pushed Chromatica back. I want to see her performing these songs on talk shows and going on a proper promo campaign.

Edit: y'all can criticize me for wanting Gaga to release her project on her own time, but I don't care if we have to wait until 2021 or what. I don't want an album right now that I "might" not be able to see live until 2022.

[ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY 6,270]

He also cites watching Tiger King which you need a subscription to Netflix to watch lol and a music streaming service can be cheaper so I feel as though there are some flaws in his argument. And I’m especially shocked considering he’s a well known song writer/producer. You’d think he’d advocate for giving new material to the world right now. 

[RickMonster98 7,462]

9 minutes ago, ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY said:

We dropped a charity song two weeks ago called "Better Days," and it's a non-cheesy anthem about what it feels like now to be in this time and space we're in. But the only way I could release it in good conscience was by donating profits to the Red Cross, because I feel weird saying, "Come buy my stuff, check me out." Meanwhile, people are sick and dying. It's very tone-deaf. And unless you're an artist who had a lot of momentum going into this pandemic like The Weeknd or Dua Lipa, it's really hard to get anyone to pay attention.”

This is UTTERLY RIDICULOUS they literally dropped an official single a few weeks ago ("didn't i") and they're pretty much still promoting it (a lyric video came out just a few days ago) 

so yeah, they're basically saying "come buy my stuff, check me out"
 

[Kindness Hooker 7]

5 minutes ago, Cookie Tookie said:

I absolutely disagree. 

And there it is. Close the thread. 

[Mister G 10,420]

3 minutes ago, ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY said:

So the entire music industry is just not suppose to create art or delay it indefinitely? Most people subscribe to streaming services and Spotify has a free tier so I don’t really agree with the “cant expect people to pay for this right now” argument personally. I’m just wondering at what point it becomes “OK” to release new music. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I mean I think ultimately it’ll be each artist’s own discretion that dictates how they release content and when. Just like how the different governors here are forming coalitions to reopen states based on expert guidance. Music isn't cancelled and shouldn’t be; if this guy is saying “right now,” then that makes sense but by June we don’t know what the situation will look like and for all we know the music industry will be pushing forward like the rest of us. That’s all we can do is keep moving forward.

[ARTPOPSYCHOLOGY 6,270]

10 minutes ago, gagaisitalian said:

I fully agree.

Artists will fail commercially if they release right now, no one will pay attention, and they can't provide live performances besides boring livestreams of them sitting in their pajamas in their living room.

I am SO relieved Gaga pushed Chromatica back. I want to see her performing these songs on talk shows and going on a proper promo campaign.

And when do you think she can accomplish a promo campaign that you envision? I think it’s well established (regardless if credible insiders have said it) that she’s focusing on her concert and will reformat promo for digital formats. There’s too much money to be lost for record labels to “wait” until it’s okay for proper promo to be accomplished. I don’t think the album should’ve came on it’s original date - but at some point we have to attempt to resume normalcy and roll with the punches. I understand you and a lot of fans want the era that was envisioned but it just isn’t happening unfortunately. I’m confident she can still build hype under the current circumstances and I look forward to see how she does that. 

[InstantDejavu 571]

Are you all so thirsty you expect artists to release new music during an pandemic? 

Dua Lipa did and she barely had any physical sales so it goes on to show that people are NOT in the mood for buying new music.

Y'all want Gaga to flop with low physical sales? You complain about SL doing just OK but nothing more and yet here we are with you wanting the album in the middle of a crisis.

Some of you...I can't...

[ARTBOP 7,433]

Please. “We relased a charity single that is not at all cheezy” Who says that about their own work? 

It’s all about the performance of the work, which he himself also says later in the interview. Miss me with that “tone deaf” ****. He’s scared noone’s gonna be bopping to his summer songs.