"Cuz Baby I Perform This Way..."

As I look back at what I’ve learned this past month in my Artist and Product Management class through Full Sail University’s master’s program concentrating in Entertainment Business, I am full of new ideas, concepts and overall excitement for a career in the industry in the near future. In my time at Full Sail, I’ve gotten totally sucked in to my class reading, many of the books are ones that I’ve browsed pre-Full Sail and wanted to buy…now I get to read them for my educational enrichment! Along with these educational reads, I also have been creating a PLN (Personal Learning Network) that spans Twitter, LinkedIn, many RSS feeds and, of course, facebook. As my PLN grows, so does my knack to find the most recent and riveting entertainment news. With all of that said, this post is dedicated to some of the earth-shaking news in the world of entertainment, and how it ties into what I’ve been learning this past month. What is the topic and breaking news? None other than our dear friends Lady Gaga and Weird Al Yankovic…

How do these two even fit in the same sentence together besides the obvious fact that, well, they are both just plain ole weird? In a recent flurry of events this past week, Weird Al made it known that he attempted to parody Gaga’s  “Born This Way” with his “I Perform This Way” single, but was rejected by Gaga and her management team to move forward. Weird Al has for years been making parodies of well-known artists song from “White and Nerdy” to “I’m Fat” and thought he would give a shot at Lady Gaga, who thus far had escaped his good-fun poking parodies. Though Weird Al doesn’t need permission to release these parodies, he’s made it a general rule of thumb to get approval from the artist. In this case, Weird Al’s management team contacted Gaga’s team and eventually got a “no-go” after hearing the song. Mr. Yankovic was so shocked and bummed by the news that he wrote about his feelings on his blog and posted the “what would-be” song for fans to hear despite not actually officially releasing it. All of the profits would be going to the Human Rights Campaign if released.

Here’s where the drama continues to unfold…turns out Gaga never actually heard the song, and her manager took the liberty of rejecting the song. After all of the hoopla, Gaga ended up hearing the song a few days ago, and actually loved it, and also approved it. Phew, huh? ;-) It all goes to show you, artist and manager relationships can at times over-step boundaries. Now, let’s be honest, this managerial decision to reject Weird Al’s song isn’t the end of the world, unless you’re a die hard Weird Al fan, but in the end it makes me question Gaga’s relationship with her manager a little bit. I’m sure he/she’s a great guy or gal, and is just trying to keep her focused on preparing for her tour, but at the end of the day, that should have been Gaga’s decision. Those are the types of bumps that are likely to happen along the way unless an artist and manager sit down and hash out their communication plan and what’s most important. Again, overall, not the biggest decision in the world about Weird Al’s song, but it brings up a good point of keeping communication lines open with your manager, or the artist you are managing. Let’s face it, at the end of the day you could be missing out on a Weird Al parody. Word to the wise: Managers- communicate to your artists. Artists - communicate with your managers. Thanks for listening, family and friends. :-)

Facts referenced from this article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20056596-10391698.html

And, for a listen of the highly anticipated single: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUxXKfQkswE