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 Emma Bunton - 'Free Me', 2004 • 2nd Album |
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 26th January 2021, 02:25 PM
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#41
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 "Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
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What did you guys make of Emma Bunton changing her stage name for this era, to be just 'Emma'? Do you think it made any difference, in a positive or negative way?
I suppose it was kind of bold for her to become mononymous for a while, considering it's quite a common name. Personally I prefer her stage name as 'Emma Bunton' though, particularly when said aloud... it has a nice ring to it.  Though 'Emma' by itself does look quite good on the artwork.(I also wonder if 'Emma' had any bearing on Geri Halliwell temporarily becoming just 'Geri' with the Ride It single?  That kind of made more sense to me... she's the most famous Geri after all. Was interesting that she immediately reverted back to Geri Halliwell for Desire/Passion)
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26th January 2021, 02:39 PM
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#42
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
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I always thought that just Emma suited her quite well actually. Emma Bunton is nice but it is, as you say, quite common so just Emma sounds better I think. Shame it didnt stick for too long.
I always thought she should have kept it. What is a shame is how that distinction messes up her iTunes pages... She should merge the two pages that are under her name for better visibility of the Free Me era as currently only the Emma Bunton releases get a proper seen to as most would search for Emma Bunton |
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26th January 2021, 02:57 PM
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#43
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Sugar Like Apple Pie
Joined: 8 March 2006
Posts: 52,249 User: 126
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I didn't even realise that at the time, I think everyone was struggling at the time of 2003/4 due to low sales, there was so many TV shows for them to appear on too.
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26th January 2021, 03:39 PM
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#44
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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QUOTE(Simon. @ Jan 26 2021, 02:57 PM)  I didn't even realise that at the time, I think everyone was struggling at the time of 2003/4 due to low sales, there was so many TV shows for them to appear on too. For real!! The Free Me era was more successful than people give it credit to. And imagine having more than one UK TV performance of a song nowadays... Free Me has so many: I mean... Im not sure this is all of them but just a quick youtube search shows at least 11 TV performances just in the UK of the single Free Me  And some of these are not your usual GMTV or Top of the Pops. She performed in places like Graham Norton too - if only any of the girls would get a solo slot like that today lol Imagine having that level of performances nowadays 
This post has been edited by Mr.X: 26th January 2021, 03:40 PM |
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26th January 2021, 03:41 PM
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#45
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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One place I wished she has performed during this era was the Jools Holland show. A missed opportunity.
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26th January 2021, 03:52 PM
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#46
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Sugar Like Apple Pie
Joined: 8 March 2006
Posts: 52,249 User: 126
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Wow I thought there was a lot of choice of TV shows but yeh there really was
 Makes you wonder if at the time it wasn't such an easy option to have CD's copied or to just download from Kazaa/Limewire, what sales what have really been. |
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26th January 2021, 04:01 PM
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#47
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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QUOTE(Simon. @ Jan 26 2021, 03:52 PM) Wow I thought there was a lot of choice of TV shows but yeh there really was Makes you wonder if at the time it wasn't such an easy option to have CD's copied or to just download from Kazaa/Limewire, what sales what have really been. I think they would have been much healthier, yeah... Maybe at least was EVERYWHERE and she performed it quite a lot too, probably even more than Free Me. If sales were healthier, it probably would be closer to 200k now Here are some Maybe performances: Best era ever  Just wish we had had a tour
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26th January 2021, 04:11 PM
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#48
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"Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 4 April 2007 Posts: 41,456 User: 3,217
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Oh yes, I do miss when there used to be so many shows an artist could perform on!
 It really made a single campaign feel major, and very enjoyable to experience as a fan. Lots of TV interviews too, of course.Most music artists really had to work incredibly hard to convince people to go out and buy the CD singles! With all that promotion, I feel like it could be argued that Free Me under-performed a little... I mean #5 was a great peak of course, but it dipped down the chart quickly. It sold about 20,000 in week 1, and 54,000 sales in 2003, which made it the 134th best seller of the year. It was sad to see diminishing returns for the majority of singles in the mid 2000s, but it's understandable why that happened. Looking back on those days, it seems odd to recall that an artist would be doing performances of a song on TV maybe a month before the physical was even released to stores... record labels really relied on the public remembering that the song they heard and liked a few weeks earlier is finally available to buy. Like Simon mentions, clearly at this point in time, a lot of people were like 'why wait to buy it, when I can download it and listen now when it's fresh and I'm enjoying the song?'. Nowadays, such intense promotion isn't hugely necessary anymore, even if it was still possible. Major artists get their songs on the right playlists immediately, and that essentially does most of the work for them in creating a hit. If TV performances happen, it feel like they're bonuses rather than being essential, and generally more geared towards encouraging album sales. Oh and Maybe at the British Style Awards was sensational! *.* One of her best performances. |
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26th January 2021, 04:16 PM
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#49
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 16 November 2009
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I'll never forgive Maybe for only having 1 cd single, I'm sure it cost her a top 5 and a lot of extra sales. Did we ever get an explanation as to why? Was it that Free me the single slightly underperformed so it was sort of a cost cutting exercise then when Maybe did well it was back to full budget.
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26th January 2021, 04:22 PM
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#50
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 6 September 2017
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I’ve been playing the album off the back of this thread and I’ll be there and breathing have been repeated SO many time, they are such instant sing along songs. I still can’t get over her not releasing Breathing as a single, it’s so much more commerical, catchy and superior to crickets?!?
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26th January 2021, 04:28 PM
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#51
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"Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 4 April 2007 Posts: 41,456 User: 3,217
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Re: Maybe's 1 CD, I don't think we ever knew why that was decided, but it was so frustrating (no doubt I moaned about it a lot at the time on DenDen lol) - to me there didn't appear to be any logic with that decision. She ended up being about 800 copies behind #5. Funny that they went back to CD1/2 for both I'll Be There and Crickets, which of course both sold a lot less than Maybe. Sigh! A dumb decision for Maybe.
Interesting that Emma's Top 3 best selling singles all only had 1 CD (and a cassette) though! What Took You So Long, What I Am and Maybe. Choosing Crickets as single 4 was certainly a bold and out there choice. Although the #15 peak was a bit meh, it actually encouraged album sales (before Crickets, the album fell out of the Top 200, but Crickets promotion helped Free Me climb back to #43 and it spent 10 weeks back inside the Top 200). However I wonder if a song like Breathing or No Sign of Life would have done even better things for Free Me? We'll never know! A reminder of Free Me's chart run: [1st Entry: 15/02/2004] 07-16-20-24-38-44-67-86-117-145-167-Out (11w) [2nd Entry: 16/05/2004] 194-137-50-53-43-53-77-146-182-193-Out (10w) ^ The week at #53, its fourth week of re-entry, was the week that Crickets entered at #15. |
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26th January 2021, 06:25 PM
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#52
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 16 November 2009
Posts: 7,606 User: 9,988
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I think any song would have causes a rebound and re-entry for the album, it already had 3 hits so anyone hearing 1 more song (especially one better than crickets) would be persuaded to buy the album.
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26th January 2021, 06:47 PM
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#53
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 September 2017
Posts: 5,086 User: 39,587
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I think Breathing should have been the 4th single and then close the era with a Crickets/No Sign of Life double-single.
There were a few misteps in the era, mainly: - Maybe not having 2 CDs or even more variety - Launching the album after I'll Be There when it should have been released after Maybe - Emma going on holiday for 3 weeks in the week when the album dropped  (the most solo Spice thing to do ever lol)- Dropping the ball after Crickets and not bother with it anymore... QUOTE(Jay❄ @ Jan 26 2021, 04:11 PM) Most music artists really had to work incredibly hard to convince people to go out and buy the CD singles! With all that promotion, I feel like it could be argued that Free Me under-performed a little... I mean #5 was a great peak of course, but it dipped down the chart quickly. It sold about 20,000 in week 1, and 54,000 sales in 2003, which made it the 134th best seller of the year. It was sad to see diminishing returns for the majority of singles in the mid 2000s, but it's understandable why that happened. Looking back on those days, it seems odd to recall that an artist would be doing performances of a song on TV maybe a month before the physical was even released to stores... record labels really relied on the public remembering that the song they heard and liked a few weeks earlier is finally available to buy. Like Simon mentions, clearly at this point in time, a lot of people were like 'why wait to buy it, when I can download it and listen now when it's fresh and I'm enjoying the song?'. Nowadays, such intense promotion isn't hugely necessary anymore, even if it was still possible. Major artists get their songs on the right playlists immediately, and that essentially does most of the work for them in creating a hit. If TV performances happen, it feel like they're bonuses rather than being essential, and generally more geared towards encouraging album sales. But isnt that the same principle nowadays? Like, yes back then they would promote the shit out of singles for long time, hopefully building the anticipation for the album. Nowadays, a lot of artists do the same by releasing 3-4 singles pre-album and promoting them and building anticipation for the album before the album drops and they go on tour. That is what Mel C, Little Mix, Kylie, Dua Lipa etc etc have been doing since the streaming era and it has worked... I know it is a different strategy in a sense, but the principle is the same: build awareness of the song and prepare people for the album that will eventually come ah the strategy might be slightly different as there isnt so many performance slots available but the singles get heavy promotion and focus on streaming leading up to the album... This post has been edited by Mr.X: 26th January 2021, 06:58 PM |
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26th January 2021, 07:00 PM
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#54
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 September 2017
Posts: 5,086 User: 39,587
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QUOTE(Jay❄ @ Jan 26 2021, 04:28 PM) Re: Maybe's 1 CD, I don't think we ever knew why that was decided, but it was so frustrating (no doubt I moaned about it a lot at the time on DenDen lol) - to me there didn't appear to be any logic with that decision. She ended up being about 800 copies behind #5. Funny that they went back to CD1/2 for both I'll Be There and Crickets, which of course both sold a lot less than Maybe. Sigh! A dumb decision for Maybe. Interesting that Emma's Top 3 best selling singles all only had 1 CD (and a cassette) though! What Took You So Long, What I Am and Maybe. Choosing Crickets as single 4 was certainly a bold and out there choice. Although the #15 peak was a bit meh, it actually encouraged album sales (before Crickets, the album fell out of the Top 200, but Crickets promotion helped Free Me climb back to #43 and it spent 10 weeks back inside the Top 200). However I wonder if a song like Breathing or No Sign of Life would have done even better things for Free Me? We'll never know! A reminder of Free Me's chart run: [1st Entry: 15/02/2004] 07-16-20-24-38-44-67-86-117-145-167-Out (11w) [2nd Entry: 16/05/2004] 194-137-50-53-43-53-77-146-182-193-Out (10w) ^ The week at #53, its fourth week of re-entry, was the week that Crickets entered at #15. It definitely was a missed opportunity and if Maybe had sold more and more quickly, it probably would have given I'll Be There and the album itself a better focus from the press/public. I remember that I'll Be There was quite the radio hit, right? It probably benefitted from Maybe being so popular and this being the follow up... Not discounting I'll Be There's success as it did ok but always thought that it also deserved better!! |
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26th January 2021, 07:19 PM
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#55
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"Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 4 April 2007 Posts: 41,456 User: 3,217
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QUOTE(Mr.X @ Jan 26 2021, 06:47 PM) But isnt that the same principle nowadays? Like, yes back then they would promote the shit out of singles for long time, hopefully building the anticipation for the album. Nowadays, a lot of artists do the same by releasing 3-4 singles pre-album and promoting them and building anticipation for the album before the album drops and they go on tour. That is what Mel C, Little Mix, Kylie, Dua Lipa etc etc have been doing since the streaming era and it has worked... I know it is a different strategy in a sense, but the principle is the same: build awareness of the song and prepare people for the album that will eventually come ah the strategy might be slightly different as there isnt so many performance slots available but the singles get heavy promotion and focus on streaming leading up to the album... What I mean is, nowadays artists release singles/instant grats onto streaming and mostly build the hype online - in a sense they can "sit back and relax" (not literally), but like, there isn't really a necessity for a very intense promo schedule to go alongside these releases anymore. It's a stark contrast to artists attempting to convince tens of thousands of people (ideally hundreds of thousands) into buying CD singles, because it mattered a huge amount to have a #1 / Top 5 / Top 10 hit single, which is an aspect to a single that isn't quite as important these days. All those performances of Free Me demonstrate how hard artists worked those days. I'm pretty sure that Dua Lipa hasn't performed Don't Start Now, a worldwide hit, as many times as Emma did for Free Me lol. For the reasons mentioned by others, that there's not as many shows to perform on, but also that there's not really any need for her to do so. Yep I'll Be There (#10 on airplay) did better than Free Me (#15) and Maybe (#16)! |
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26th January 2021, 07:29 PM
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#56
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BuzzJack Idol
Joined: 8 December 2010
Posts: 50,985 User: 12,472
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^ Not sure if 'Don't Start Now' is the best example, Dua did tones of promo for it across the world!
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26th January 2021, 07:35 PM
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#57
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 3 February 2018
Posts: 2,041 User: 64,815
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QUOTE(Jay❄ @ Jan 26 2021, 07:19 PM) What I mean is, nowadays artists release singles/instant grats onto streaming and mostly build the hype online - in a sense they can "sit back and relax" (not literally), but like, there isn't really a necessity for a very intense promo schedule to go alongside these releases anymore. It's a stark contrast to artists attempting to convince tens of thousands of people (ideally hundreds of thousands) into buying CD singles, because it mattered a huge amount to have a #1 / Top 5 / Top 10 hit single, which is an aspect to a single that isn't quite as important these days. All those performances of Free Me demonstrate how hard artists worked those days. I'm pretty sure that Dua Lipa hasn't performed Don't Start Now, a worldwide hit, as many times as Emma did for Free Me lol. For the reasons mentioned by others, that there's not as many shows to perform on, but also that there's not really any need for her to do so. Yep I'll Be There (#10 on airplay) did better than Free Me (#15) and Maybe (#16)! Yes and even before Covid some artists would only do a few TV appearances/performances to promote their song/album because a massive proportion of advertising/marketing music is through social media now. In the early to mid-2000s, music artists, like Jay said, had to convince many fans and listeners to leave the house, go to a shop and buy the single for £2-3.99. Now it's instant with digital downloading (which is 24/7) not like Woolworths where you could only buy the music during opening hours and now with streaming you can listen to ANY song at any time for free. |
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26th January 2021, 07:46 PM
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#58
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"Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 4 April 2007 Posts: 41,456 User: 3,217
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QUOTE(Liam.k. @ Jan 26 2021, 07:29 PM) ^ Not sure if 'Don't Start Now' is the best example, Dua did tones of promo for it across the world! She did, the specific reason I mentioned Dua and that song is that despite it being huge and despite her doing a few performances for it (more than is typical these days), it still wasn't as much promotion as Emma did for Free Me (in the UK alone!). (I feel like no one is understanding me today lol )
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26th January 2021, 07:51 PM
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#59
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"Jayrusaleminians" - Umi.
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 4 April 2007 Posts: 41,456 User: 3,217
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QUOTE(Spice Girls Net @ Jan 26 2021, 07:35 PM) Yes and even before Covid some artists would only do a few TV appearances/performances to promote their song/album because a massive proportion of advertising/marketing music is through social media now. In the early to mid-2000s, music artists, like Jay said, had to convince many fans and listeners to leave the house, go to a shop and buy the single for £2-3.99. Now it's instant with digital downloading (which is 24/7) not like Woolworths where you could only buy the music during opening hours and now with streaming you can listen to ANY song at any time for free. So true! Lol it really wasn't very convenient but I still have nostalgia for those days and miss the thrill of buying a fave artist's single in HMV, Woolworths etc 
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26th January 2021, 11:12 PM
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#60
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 September 2017
Posts: 5,086 User: 39,587
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QUOTE(Jay❄ @ Jan 26 2021, 07:46 PM) She did, the specific reason I mentioned Dua and that song is that despite it being huge and despite her doing a few performances for it (more than is typical these days), it still wasn't as much promotion as Emma did for Free Me (in the UK alone!). (I feel like no one is understanding me today lol )Dont cry babe  I get you, and I think we are ultimately saying similar things. It's a direct correlation: CD sales provided bigger incomes. I am sure that Maybe generated more money than say Baby Please Dont Stop, thus the budget would allow for more promo for the next single, and so on... One of the executives from Universal at the time said that a new single was possible if Crickets sold more than 35,000 copies.... Sadly, that didnt pan out... I wonder if nowadays the ask would be if it did a certain amount of streams/engagement... Performances on TV cost a lot of cash, I remember Mel C saying she couldnt really afford to do a lot of TV (think it was during the Sea era) so perhaps when the budgets got tighter as a consequence of the diminishing returns from CD sales, they turned to other means - online engagement. The music business is a weird space right now and I do miss having much more music present in our lives as a visual medium. The abundance of music and live performance is something that always brings happiness and colour to our lives, a shame that the opportunities to engage with it more affluently arent so present... Hope this shifts in the future, somehow. More acts on tour and performing on TV is always welcome |
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