Wu-Tang, Art, Music, Marketing

You may have heard the news that Wu-Tang will be releasing a single copy cd. First of, it looks like it is a Cilvaringz project. He has been recording track with various Wu-Tang members over the years since the release of his album I. And smart as he is, this has been spun around in the media to the news of a Clan record, while it is actually ‘Ringz his new record with the blessing of The RZA. And on that note, it is not just a blessing. RZA & Ringz are like brothers.

But the subject I would like to touch on is the ideas and discussions this concept brings to the table. While I do not think this would be the best way to step into the arena with a Wu-Tang project, since their offerings have been far from art ever since the late nineties. And their latest release has radio airplay all over it. So while interesting, it would seem that aiming for art is a bit out of their league since Wu has been hitting for the masses for the last fifteen years, and has not been really accepted as artists. With even a more controversial reputation for on stage performance.

As laid out in the press release on Forbes, there are several ideas being thrown into the arena. First off the curation of music by people. That would mean artists being paid exclusive sums of money for their music. Touring the exclusive music around museums as if it was art and letting people pay large sums, the numbers $ 30 – $ 50 were thrown around,  of money to hear it. And music being appreciated as art again.

Those are some very exclusive prices for a listening session. One would even pay less to go to a concert. And with the work being auctioned of to the highest bidder, this would seem a bid out of place, or to be real, a smart cash grab.

And on that note, The Wu are not that relevant anymore. Sure they made a mark on the music industry, and no one will deny that. But as artists their work has seen a steady decline, let alone as a group. So how many people would be interested in paying those amounts to listen to some unproven work?

With the amount of flair they are strolling this around, is it even art? Or is it just a very smart business move. Nobody has heard the music. Nobody knows how it will stand. How many of the people out there actually know Cilvaringz as a world renowned artist of music production?

It will be interesting to see how this will all unfold. And at this point, everybody may be talking about it. But nobody is talking about the music. And in the long run, gimmicks come and go, but the music stays. And if the music sucks, you’ll be left with a very expensive cd box that will be obsolete in the next fifty years. Now let’s start a discussion about that, the longevity of music and its storage media. And combine a business move with that to show that you actually love art and want it to be shared and enjoyed. Because what is art without its audience?