Ask anyone I know and they will tell you what a Britney Spears fanatic I am. I'll admit, it is an obsession that might be borderline unhealthy and probably psychotic, however that is an entirely different post. Yesterday, Rihanna released a remix of her single S&M featuring none other than the Queen of Pop herself, which got me thinking about collaboration in general.
To me, collaboration is all about symbiotic relationships or using others (and others using you) in ways that are mutually beneficial, forget if your working on the same project. It seems simple at first and for all that it entails it should be. However, when you throw society into the mix and all the hierarchical structures that are in place it becomes a very complicated tool... one that is used to keep some out and let others in. Understanding how someone becomes a "part of the club", for lack of better terminology, is essential to any public relations practitioner for obvious reasons. Looking at collaboration through the lenses of one of the most competitive businesses in the world, I think we can easier understand what kind of function it serves, helping newbies like me be a little bit more strategic about getting their foot in the door.
I want to preface by mentioning that 2007-2011 Brit Brit doesn't do collabos... well at least not until now. She is kind of the big cheese aside from the infamous meltdown of 07, which I feel only strengthened her career, ironically enough. I was even more surprised that her managers agreed to let her be "featured" on the track opposed to sharing the credit equally. Britney betch has been around for over a decade now and while RiRi has got some serious star power, it pales in comparison to Brit's.
Superstars collaborating with lesser known artists (not that I consider Rihanna lesser or anything) is nothing new. We have seen it before with a million artists including Queen B, except last time it happened she was on the other end of the deal when Madonna was featured on her Me Against the Music single, which was released in 2003. For well established artists, simply working with an icon takes them one step closer to being elevated to that status themselves. Could there be an association between collabos such as these and the advancement of sub-iconic artists and, more important, a reason for doing them aside from them selling a crap ton of music? I think so...
Arguably, Britney Spears is an icon right up there with the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis, Madonna, etc. Even popular artists like RiRi in the recording industry have to fight like dogs to stay on top, well at least their teams do. In any case, there is an obvious hierarchy in the music biz, especially when it comes to Top 40 ranking artists. That is where I made a connection that I think is applicable to the professional world... and I guess the world in general.
Why did Britney's people pick Rihanna? Why did Madonna's people pick Britney? Were they just trying to take washed out superstars and freshen up their images? Meh... I don't think so. I think, going back to the hierarchy thing, when superstars and their management see something emerging from like artists whose images are still in the developmental stage, they decide they want a piece of the pie and the easiest way to make that happen is to work with that artist.
To kind of put it back in the mindset of a PR student, how do you transition from being an established practitioner to collaborating with the big boys? We've been through years of getting it pounded into our brains how to establish ourselves in the professional world, but once we reach that level and want to go further?
What do RiRi and 2003 Brit Brit have in common that made them the target of a superstar collabo? They are HOT and have something new and innovative to bring to the scene. So how does that translate to an established PR practitioner or us students who daydream about aspirations beyond our already high and hopeful goals?
Well in the case of HOT, it might not mean physically (although it certainly couldn't hurt to be sexy as hell) per se, but our ability to be flexible and stay on top of current trends... hell maybe even inventing a trend of your own and being a pioneer for the future of our industry.
Our idea of sexy is always changing and I think HOT is in a constant state of begging to be redefined or reinvented. In other words, take a risk, especially when you know you have got something good. Fall on your ass, take the criticism, and be better next time. Sooner or later you will have something worth something... and if you've got something that is worth something then you're only a step away from a big boy collabo which (and I am not quite sure how many) is only a few steps away from being one of the big boys yourself.
Obviously, there are tons of other factors that come into play. If you completely disagree, I get it... it is sort of out there. I just thought I would put a few of my thought processes to pen. Also, if you got nothing else out of my babble, at least you learned there is a sweet new remix to S&M featuring Britney...
To me, collaboration is all about symbiotic relationships or using others (and others using you) in ways that are mutually beneficial, forget if your working on the same project. It seems simple at first and for all that it entails it should be. However, when you throw society into the mix and all the hierarchical structures that are in place it becomes a very complicated tool... one that is used to keep some out and let others in. Understanding how someone becomes a "part of the club", for lack of better terminology, is essential to any public relations practitioner for obvious reasons. Looking at collaboration through the lenses of one of the most competitive businesses in the world, I think we can easier understand what kind of function it serves, helping newbies like me be a little bit more strategic about getting their foot in the door.
I want to preface by mentioning that 2007-2011 Brit Brit doesn't do collabos... well at least not until now. She is kind of the big cheese aside from the infamous meltdown of 07, which I feel only strengthened her career, ironically enough. I was even more surprised that her managers agreed to let her be "featured" on the track opposed to sharing the credit equally. Britney betch has been around for over a decade now and while RiRi has got some serious star power, it pales in comparison to Brit's.
Arguably, Britney Spears is an icon right up there with the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis, Madonna, etc. Even popular artists like RiRi in the recording industry have to fight like dogs to stay on top, well at least their teams do. In any case, there is an obvious hierarchy in the music biz, especially when it comes to Top 40 ranking artists. That is where I made a connection that I think is applicable to the professional world... and I guess the world in general.
Why did Britney's people pick Rihanna? Why did Madonna's people pick Britney? Were they just trying to take washed out superstars and freshen up their images? Meh... I don't think so. I think, going back to the hierarchy thing, when superstars and their management see something emerging from like artists whose images are still in the developmental stage, they decide they want a piece of the pie and the easiest way to make that happen is to work with that artist.
To kind of put it back in the mindset of a PR student, how do you transition from being an established practitioner to collaborating with the big boys? We've been through years of getting it pounded into our brains how to establish ourselves in the professional world, but once we reach that level and want to go further?
What do RiRi and 2003 Brit Brit have in common that made them the target of a superstar collabo? They are HOT and have something new and innovative to bring to the scene. So how does that translate to an established PR practitioner or us students who daydream about aspirations beyond our already high and hopeful goals?
Well in the case of HOT, it might not mean physically (although it certainly couldn't hurt to be sexy as hell) per se, but our ability to be flexible and stay on top of current trends... hell maybe even inventing a trend of your own and being a pioneer for the future of our industry.
Our idea of sexy is always changing and I think HOT is in a constant state of begging to be redefined or reinvented. In other words, take a risk, especially when you know you have got something good. Fall on your ass, take the criticism, and be better next time. Sooner or later you will have something worth something... and if you've got something that is worth something then you're only a step away from a big boy collabo which (and I am not quite sure how many) is only a few steps away from being one of the big boys yourself.
Obviously, there are tons of other factors that come into play. If you completely disagree, I get it... it is sort of out there. I just thought I would put a few of my thought processes to pen. Also, if you got nothing else out of my babble, at least you learned there is a sweet new remix to S&M featuring Britney...
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