I'm talking to a bunch of ugg-selling robots but I'm in an Oxegen-has-just-been-cancelled depression so whatever, you can be my audience.

I saw someone say  on the FATM FB page that Flo's efforts to get into the mainstream really aren't working. I kind of feel like I agree with that.  It just seems to me that her label is pushing her to gain a big US following and become as big as Beyonce and that isn't going to happen. The music just seems too 'niche' I think for that sort of success. Nearly all the promotion for the new album has been in America. And they'd only just finished promoting Lungs there.

 

Like after the X-factor performance (especially the US one) she seemed to get a lot more negative then postive response, and most of the positive response was from people who are already fans anyway. Also she mentioned in an interview recently that she was in tears before the X-factor performance and feels trapped by the cameras during TV performances so thats a lot of pressure on her. She doesn't look like she's as happy on-stage as she used to be and the performances just don't seem to be as good as they were, aside from the Jools Holland show and Live Lounge session, and I've noticed she's really over-doing the vibrato lately. Plus it seems she's been isolated from the machine, who used to surround her and now play either in a corner or further back.

I don't mean she should be kept an indie secret (too late for that anyway) .I know I said before in the X-factor thread that the more people who hear her stuff the better but her labels kind of gone on over-drive, getting her on every US show going,appearing on tonnes of magazine covers answering the same questions(pretty though they are) and including her in the line-up of a jazz-fest for some reason. She already had a massive fan-base before all this promotion so it's a bit un-necessary I think,its not like she's in danger of disappearing. Ceremonials has 2 years of promotion I don't think it needs considering its sold quite well. I think Florence needs a break (and come to oxegen next year lol). Or at least tour places where she has a big fanbase already waiting (Europe) and hasn't gone yet, like South America,rather than constantly being in a country where a lot of people aren't that interested.

 

Maybe she could focus less on the press stuff,crazy videos and focus more on the music. Or take a bit more control over what she does rather than leaving it all to her label which seem more interested in cracking the US than she is.

That sounded like a massive whinge I know. But I'm still not buying any of your ugg boots,tiffany rip-off or items of a dubious nature.

 

 

 

 

 I entirely agre with you. The record company are trying to sqeeze every penny they can out of her.

From the recent live video's Flo does seem to have lost her spark. I think I said in a previous post that The Machine were being ignored.

Lets hope Flo has a restfull Xmas and comes back refreshed in thenew year.

Merry Christmas to all. 

 

Yep.

Got to take her health into account as well. She has looked absolutely knackered for a while now, all this travelling can't be doing her much good. And if she performs too much she will get voice issues like Adele or the singer from The Vaccines. She needs a rest, a long one. Christmas isn't nowhere near long enough.

Getting someone shoved down your throat constantly will put people off, not bring them in, everyone will get bored of her. Happens to so many people.

i agree! i think she's spending too much time in the US and she's hardly back in the UK:(

Universal Records said this:

“We’ve got incredibly high expectations. She can compete against anybody in the marketplace and that’s the way we’re treating this. We’re giving it everything we’ve got.”

“This is a wonderful album that has the potential to explode Florence internationally, and we are targeting platinum in all markets.”

 

Deducing from this, I assume we'll be seeing much more promotion and they are really going to try and push the album out there. It's not a bad thing...but as you said, too much can just put people off and think the label's desperate. I really hope they don't overdo it with the amount of singles that are released like they did with Lungs though; for us Flows it's amazing how she's released so many, but for others, it's a bit like "come on, we need new material". :)

 

 ^ That sounds worrying to me. So, if she sells quite well but not up to their expectations will they just drop her?. As I said, I don't think she has the same wide appeal of other artists so that seems an un-realistic goal and she said herself she's happy with the fame she has right now.

 

All the singles and re-releases from Lungs did make it seem like it was being milked so yeah hopefully they won't do that again. Watching Cosmic love, my favourite song, not even make top 40 was terrible. The video for it wasn't great either...

 I know, it's made me think about it actually...I mean, would they actually WANT to drop Florence? They must not, surly. She's just getting big over in the US, her album was number 1 in 3 countries (as far as I'm aware) and in the top 10 for most of the others, so she has a huge fanbase that will continue to buy the albums. And aha she said she was happy with her fame because the paps didn't follow her everywhere, but those photos some pap took of Flo knicker-shopping proved otherwise!

 

I thought the video was...alright. It had so much more potential though to really explode in colour, light; general epicness really. I think it's because it's such a huge song, the video would never ever live up to it. I felt like crying when it peaked at 51. I still remember looking on the chart at the 30-20 section (I had high hopes, as would anyone with Cosmic Love) and 51 made my heart sink. Heavy In Your Arms gave me the same feeling too. Let's hope NLNL does well :)

Even if she does get dropped I'm sure another would come along, maybe let her have more say. Heavy in your arms floundering in the charts didn't really surprise me, its not really a chart song and didn't even get played during the movie except in the credits that most people don't even watch. I actually saw that on TV more than cosmic love.

Hey guys, long time since I've been on here. I think the concerns aren't Flo specific, every artist goes through it with labels pushing them in directions that their original fans and sometimes they themselves aren't comfortable with.

 I'm not so sure thats what is happening here, but still....

I'd definitely say be careful what you wish for. Back in the day I was a big Alanis Morissette fan and although I'm not trying to compare her career with Florence's, Alanis' first record sold 30M. Her second although, never likely to be a huge commercial success was not backed by her record company, or promoted and therefore she ended up with a smaller and smaller fan base

I'd rather Flo's record company were interested in her and pushed her even if it is towards America, than showed no interest whatsoever.

As for TV performances, I'm not sure she's ever done one that I was fully convinced by, compared to her true live stuff. Having said that she is still the most compelling act to watch on TV, the nature of that medium means you can't do what you'd like in a live performance without it looking and sounding abysmal....

I totally agree with what you've said! What I most loved about Florence was what set her apart from other artists - the way she ran around the stage, her big but shy smile and how she went on stage wearing what ever she wanted! I feel she's being pushed into doing soo much. If shes not touring in the UK, she's doing tens of concerts in th US. Its rare I find a video of her performing like she used to and smiling and laughing. It seems lately she looks too serious and too perfect in the way her hair is always done up perfectly and the way she wears big branded clothing, as if shes advertising the brands. I still love her style, but I preferred it when she wore her own vintage clothes, that she often said were from vintage shops, boot fairs and charity shops, not by major designers. I also loved her ever-changing hair styles, which now seem to always be immaculate pinned up hair. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge fan and love everything about her. I just think the record company and publicity should give her a rest and show everyone who Flo really is and the Flo that everyone loved!

As someone who lives in America, I gotta say, you're spot on. If I find a normal person who has even HEARD of Florence and the Machine, they usually say something along the lines of "Oh, ew, she's weird." I've met a few people who really like her and her music, but it's a very small number. They're really pushing the album here though. I've heard Shake It Out on like, ten different commercials or TV trailer/spots etc, and I see the album ads on VH1 all the time (or at least on the occasions I watch VH1). She was on New Year's Rockin' Eve as well, and while Spectrum is an incredibly difficult song to do live (I have no idea how she's going to do these shows), she seemed really nervous and let the band and choir take care of most everything. The only performances where I've been really moved by her recently is the Live Lounge one. I think the labels and stuff are pushing her way too hard. She's not getting fantastic reception in America so they should back off. Granted, I probably wouldn't be saying this if she was actually coming to a city near me, but she's not making it very far over here. Most people are still listening to Dog Days. I've met maybe two who didn't even know Ceremonials had been released. It's quite sad. -Randi

Oh, I'm so pleased to hear that I'm not the only Florence fan who feels this way! I definitely think the label's pushing her way, way too hard. She should have had a proper break in between the albums to rest and gather her creative energies - instead she went straight back to the studio after years of non-stop touring. And then all of this promotion and yet more touring. I do worry for Florence a bit. She's so talented and I don't want to see her burn out just because the label is trying to cash in on her recent success in America. Also, I don't understand why there are so many ads on her website, ad placements in the recent music videos, why her tour is sponsored by a massive corporation, why she's appearing in so many silly shows like X-Factor. As someone who's been a fan since 2009, it makes me a bit sad to see her talents exploited like this. Florence is better than all this.

She looked really thin for a while. A lot of people were worried Flo had lost a lot of weight due to anxiety. She looks a lot better now but still. And yeah, I'm not a big fan of all the TV promos either, but that's how you promote an album nowadays really.

 I had a read of that Q magazine interview the other day. She doesn't seem happy and is exhausted, and has weird fans she calls the 'ebay dudes' who won't leave her alone. Maybe they just caught her on a bad day though.

Ebay dudes? That sounds odd..... Interviewers have caught Flo on bad days before though. I remember there was one youtube performance from a Festival trailer where she sang My Boy Builds Coffins and was a little grumpish in the interview. So it is possible. But I still stand by my opinion: She needs a break.