Anyway, any advantage that Elliott got from Cousin Josh was about 1/10 the advantage that the people who Clive signed get. In the end, their music finds an audience or not and fair doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean much

Agreed. Elliot can’t get a booking on Leno because his sales aren’t high enough according to an article I read not too long ago about Elliott’s new type of indie deal. I’m not trying to start a fan war either but Kat did have two Leno appearances and Elliott has outsold her. A major label can be a huge acvantage in terms of exposure. In the end, I think Elliott is pretty happy with his situation. Apparently Chris is happy with his. He should be – he’s taking the radio airwaves by storm. Oh shoot – I hope everyone is happy!

The reason Elliott has sold more than Constantine (for example) is not because [snip] b) has a music industry cousin

Now, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Mr. Music Industry Cousin (Mr. MIC). There are a lot of intangibles in the music biz.

Would Elliott have been able to hook up with uber-producers/songwriters Stargate if not for Mr. MIC? Maybe. Maybe not. Would Elliott have known how to swim with the sharks in the music biz and come up with his nifty keen deals with Sony ATV and Sony distribution without Mr. MIC? Maybe. Maybe not. Would Elliott have been able to get interviews on every radio station in the country without Mr MIC and his Clear Channel connections? Maybe. Maybe not (Ace did it without Mr. MIC, so this one is probably likely).

Would Elliott have been such a huge success without a great opening single from Stargate, radio exposure and his CDs in major record stores? Maybe. Maybe not.

So, Mr. MIC probably helped out a bit. At the same time, Mr. MIC (and every other MIC in the biz) has lots of cousins who never become hit recording artists. Elliott has an AMAZING talent and he hussled his butt off for the last year (talking to radio stations, meeting with major vendors such as Target, touring, touring, touring).

There is a lot that goes into making somebody a hit. So, if you want a career in music and have your own Mr. MIC, then accept his help. Oh, and try to be talented.

NOTE: I’m not saying that Elliott is a hit because of Mr. MIC or that he would never have been a huge hit without Mr. MIC, I’m just saying that I suspect that Mr. MIC may have helped to grease the wheels to a quicker success. And there is NOTHING wrong with having a little help. And, even with all the help in the world, if you make carp, people still aren’t necessarily going to buy it (although, they still might…one never knows…I’m sure we can all point out a successful recording artist or movie star who we think should be flipping burgers instead….and I’m not saying that Elliott is that person…I’m talking about people like Paris Hilton…and I’m not trying to start a fan war about how your Idol had more help than My Idol because everybody gets some help here and there from whatever situation they are in and they aren’t stealing sales from each other so who gives a carp if somebody has a cousin here or a friend there or an “undeserved” Idol win here or great legs there or the ability to make shadow puppets here or a great recipe for lasagne there…it all good)

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wait to see how 1Rà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album does against the heavy hitters next Tuesday.

1R might give Jordin a run for her money. They’ve had a huge myspace following for a while now.

There is no “religion card” in the music business. Clive Davis who is Jewish passed on signing the only Jewish contestant on the show. Jews do not get favored treatment because of their religion. To think so actually IS a from of Anti-semitism in my opinion. Elliott’s cousin probably helped him negotiate the music business waters but Elliott’s talent is selling his music. The only “card” people play in the music business is selling their music in the best way they can. The reason Elliott has sold more than Constantine (for example) is not because a)he’s Jewish, b) has a music industry cousin
c)has diabetes d)etc. It’s because 400,000 more people decided to buy his album. Comprende?

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wait to see how 1Rà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album does against the heavy hitters next Tuesday.

Well, I know which album I’ll be buying. :happy_tb:

*whistles* It’s too late to apologize…