The Contradiction of 'Music Not the Bling'

[Better Day 5,766]

It’s been 8 years this November since ARTPOP and yous still have no idea what ARTPOP actually means. It doesn’t mean she won’t be doing brands. The song, and the lyric means that she won’t sell her music out, she’ll always make the music she wants too. 

[Mother of Puppies 34,380]

7 minutes ago, Miss Dolly said:

It’s been 8 years this November since ARTPOP and yous still have no idea what ARTPOP actually means. It doesn’t mean she won’t be doing brands. The song, and the lyric means that she won’t sell her music out, she’ll always make the music she wants too. 

 

Exactly... It's like she once said in an interview that she's not doing music that people want her to do or what's "hot right now" so she sells more records... she sings about stuff and does the music style she wants to do... I can't remember the interview... I think it was a radio interview during Joanna era in 2016

 

edit: ok I found the interview... it was the apple music interview (although there was another one where she said something similar)

 (time stamp at 24:17)

[Ronk 14,097]

3 minutes ago, Miss Dolly said:

It’s been 8 years this November since ARTPOP and yous still have no idea what ARTPOP actually means. It doesn’t mean she won’t be doing brands. The song, and the lyric means that she won’t sell her music out, she’ll always make the music she wants too. 

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

This song, this album and what she said in general is so misunderstood 1

[DoremonLove 7,841]

But honestly guys what do u expect gaga to not make money? People can be passionate about something and still get earned from it. Who in the world doesnt want money tho? this is very weird logic where fans want her to just do music  and just ignore any from of earning? Music not th bling but doesnt mean music and bankrupcy Shes doing good brand deals and getting paid she successfully launched her own makeup line bcoz shes know as fashion icon. Shes a musician, actor,  business women. This is growth we shuld be happy that she has established herself so well. 

[Mother of Puppies 34,380]

6 minutes ago, DoremonLove said:

But honestly guys what do u expect gaga to not make money? People can be passionate about something and still get earned from it. Who in the world doesnt want money tho? this is very weird logic where fans want her to just do music  and just ignore any from of earning? Music not th bling but doesnt mean music and bankrupcy Shes doing good brand deals and getting paid she successfully launched her own makeup line bcoz shes know as fashion icon. Shes a musician, actor,  business women. This is growth we shuld be happy that she has established herself so well. 

 

yeah I feel like some people want her to work for free or just earn a certain amount of money (but not more) because only then it would be "fair" to them... I think some people are a bit jealous, I guess...

 

I certainly do not have as much money as she has but she can earn as much as she wants... I really don't care. Good for her, cuz she works hard & her jobs has some downsides to it that I wouldn't wanna have... (And yes, a lot of people work hard, but everyone can become a musician or an actress or a business owner)

I'm happy with what I have financially... and money certainly doesn't buy you happiness. We all know that.

 

[Kattys 4,319]

I always looked at those lyrics in full context:

Brushes with darknes won't help you create
Your destiny of self but ARTPOP could mean anything, anything
I try to sell myself but I am really laughing
Because I just want the music, not the bling
Music, not the bling

 

"Sell myself" could be in relation to business she didn't want to do, but had to do in order to build her career. So she was in a place of mind (I can only guess) that she was super tired of all in the industry (aka bling) because she wasn't in much control. We know it - she was overworked etc. So it was a way of saying - please let me live, I just want to make music and enjoy it with my fans. It doesn't mean that I want to be indie artist and live under a rock.

 

She wants the music. But she's not saying "I hate bling".

 

I think now it is completely different conversation, not because we aged or music aged but because she is now in completely different position in her life. She has more control. She can choose better what she wants to do. She has experience. So the struggles are different now. And it's okay, it's growing. Maybe she will regret those choices in future, but we don't know.

 

[GucciGa 3,729]

Yeah it's so stupid and hypocritical. They want her dripping in designer gear and doing all the fabulous things that these pop girls do yet they don't want her earning the money to afford it. 

 

I honestly hope she posts a new brand deal every fortnight just to annoy the snowflakes 😂

[Enigma 7,182]

2 hours ago, GucciGa said:

Yeah it's so stupid and hypocritical. They want her dripping in designer gear and doing all the fabulous things that these pop girls do yet they don't want her earning the money to afford it. 

 

I honestly hope she posts a new brand deal every fortnight just to annoy the snowflakes 😂

Maybe it becomes a problem when she does the brand deals to "afford it" yet never puts it to use?

The truth is if you hadn't stanned her for so long you wouldn't be excited about a ****ing champagne ad, and when said ads are the only content we get in months, we're not crazy for pointing it out. More ads than content is not interesting whatsoever unless you're deep in your cult mentality which is the case for most people here.

[Werk 13,165]

Is anyone able to do a summary of this whole thread? I'm lost 

[imnotyourbabe10 5,999]

I suppose I always knew she would slightly assimilate to the norms of Hollywood and whatnot.  The branding stuff is definitely cringey but I guess that is how culture and celebrities do things these days (on Instagram, makeup lines, alcohol lines, etc). 

I just always thought ARTPOP and especially the "music not the bling" theme would carry through her career.  The whole point of ARTPOP stood out to me through the title track and at SXSW when she said "F**k you pop music, this is ARTPOP!"  Sticking it to the man and the system.  Experimental pop music.  But I guess we can't be as rebellious as we age it seems.  Also, she did say pop music would never be low brow....so I'm confused as I write this , she's so enigmatic

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

I think we all know that at the end of the day, Lady Gaga is a business and a brand. Gaga needs to make money so that everyone else involved with Gaga makes money. From the record label to Bobby, to Freddie, to Richy... they all depend on Gaga being 'sellable', and they all depend on eachother to make it work. 

As a celebrity, brand deals and sponsorships are inevitable. Who is a mainstream celebrity who DOESN'T have a brand deal? Exactly... brand deals are important and will be a part of Gaga's career for a long time. When she said back in 2015 that she hated being seen as a money making machine, she meant that she hated just being the face/name to a brand with no creative input... with every brand deal, it seems like she's had a lot of creative input... the Oreos, and now the wine, you can tell that she's involved with them. 

There's nothing wrong with artists wanting to make money or wanting brand deals. However, the problem with Gaga and us fans is that it reads almost like a choice between brand deals and giving an era. There hasn't been anything in the Chromatica era that wasn't a brand deal or sponsorship thing. It just seems like instead of Gaga wanting to interact with her fans, giving an actual era, releasing singles, giving performances... she wants to sell us a brand. Its like she only really comes on social media to promote a brand deal that's signed for, or its Haus Labs, or something like that... and thats where it gets tired. 

Like it shouldn't have to be a choice between giving an era and celebrating your album/performing your album, and a brand deal. And that’s where people are saying its a contradiction to 'music not the bling' since bombarding fans with brand deals, and not the current album era, isn't exactly true to that statement.

[Agunimon 20,461]

Don't most people just bring that up to make a joke? 

[HEARTSTOP 3,109]

Imagine attacking a biologist for being an athlete on the side.

Let people do whatever they want. She made an album, she doesn't need to do anything with it. You buy it if you enjoy it and want to buy it, that's it. Everything else, promotion, tours, performances, are just bonuses that would help her get more bling. I don't get how having more music videos would be more "music". It's all bling besides the actual songs.

And that goes for everyone in the world. Who here does their job for free?

[Bebe 16,562]

"I try to sell myself but I am really laughing, because I just love the music, not the bling" isn't a line that I think is supposed to be taken as "I am not human, I am artist, every breath I take and everything I do must be about music and art and I reject any commercialisation".

 

While that's a romantic idea of an artist, it's not reality. It's really following the same logic she has been sprouting since The Fame where she said she felt like she had made it when she was writing music and performing at clubs in NY with Lady Starlight and able to pay her rent and do what she wanted.

The line suggests she is happy to sell herself, she is laughing about it, because what she cares about is having a platform where she can create music and perform. The financial independence and platform that this commercialisation provides her allows her to spread her views and live the life she wants (making music and performing). She sells herself for the music, not the bling.