The biggest-selling artist in the 21st century



In little more than eight years, Adele has come from nowhere to establish herself as one of the world's biggest entertainment brands, right up there with Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars, FIFA 2016, and Call of Duty. The proof was is in prizes - she just walked away with a record-equalling four Brit Awards. Her success is a remarkable achievement - all the more impressive given the music market that has roughly halved in size over the past decade.

It is a feat for which she has been been lauded, applauded and awarded across the globe. And called a "freak", by Tim Ingham, a respected music journalist who runs the website Music Business Worldwide. She is not normal, he told me. At least, in terms of her achievements: "Breaking album sales records in 2016 is in and of itself a miracle."

A high-ranking music exec who preferred not to be named called Adele
"an anomaly", "label-proof", and a beacon "of hope for the industry".

For a beleaguered and besieged music business Adele is living proof that money can still be made in an industry dominated and decimated by streaming and freeness. The bad news, according to Ingham, is that Adele is
"the artist you cannot manufacture". She's a one-off. Which was apparent from the start.

She has since been variously described as fun, gobby, bolshie, and loud - a big personality who (and this comes up less frequently) is not one to suffer fools. I have heard that a lot. Not publicly though. "Off the record" was a standard refrain used by industry-types when speaking to me about her. They were worried about upsetting the singer, which is not surprising. She is a powerful individual who can make people nervous. I guess that has always been the case. A force to be reckoned with. As is her voice.



From the highly selective choice of TV shows on which to appear, to the hand-picked magazine interviews, the plan is precision-made and ruthlessly executed. And when interest starts to flag another Adele moment will drop - SNL, Graham Norton, James Corden's Carpool, a Brits performance and so on. The choice of Hello as the album-launching single was no accident. Not only did it set the tone and contain all the major themes of 25, it also played to her two most important markets, America and the UK: "Hello from the other side… I'm in California dreaming about how we used to be."

The album's launch was straight out of Steve Jobs's handbook. Control everything, withhold information, build up anticipation, never break cover, keep the message simple, and treat your product's arrival as if it is a major event. Don't worry about feeding the wider media machine. It will gorge itself quite happily on scraps. Adele is like Star Wars, Grand Theft Auto, and Apple Corp .. a masterful promoter of her brand.

Adele appeared relieved. Thankful that the fan-base she had built up with her first two albums had retained an interest in her output even though she had kept them waiting nearly five years. A case of absence making the heart grow fonder, maybe. Anyway, she had been busy. She had fallen in love again, this time with an ex-public schoolboy 14 years older than her called Simon Konecki. They had a child called Angelo, whose name is tattooed along the outer edge of her right hand. An Oscar for Bond theme Skyfall, and awarded an MBE from the Queen.

Everything was going well, except for the songwriting. She had come up with some lyrics about being a mother, but Rick Rubin and Jonathan Dickins weren't impressed. Rubin said he didn't think they were authentic. Dickins suspected she was rushing. She lost confidence, and felt guilty leaving her young son at home when she didn't really need to work.



Both 19 and 21 had a narrative running through them. They were - in a way - like 1970s concept albums. That was part of the reason for her success. In an age when album sales are plummeting (785 million albums were sold in 2000 in America, 257 million in 2014) she is selling more than most of the big acts did back in the business's glory days.

Her voice is such a fine instrument it deserves top quality material. It marks her out. Madonna, Michael Jackson, Miley - in fact the majority of major pop stars - have relied on videos and spectacle to build their audience.
Adele has not. She has relied on her singing and her songwriting, and so far, they haven't let her down.

Originally posted by 22 Two's

Originally posted by 22 Two's