Orson, a pop-rock band originally from Hollywood, California, is fairly unknown in their home country of America, but over in the United Kingdom, they have chart-topping hits as well as records that go by unheard in the States. What is it about Orson's sound that makes it attractive to British but not American ears? Because of their successes in England, the band relocated to London and rarely, if ever, play at American venues anymore.
For my research project, I wish to examine Orson's American following and the ways in which the band still has fans on this side of the Atlantic. Through online sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and last.fm, I am hoping to see how Americans who listen to Orson were first introduced to the band's music and how they are able to remain active fans since the Orson material available in the United States (other than via Internet) is rare.
Other questions to be answered:
*What other artists - British or American - do Orson fans listen to? Do these fans consider Orson an American or British band?
*Where are these Orson fans mostly located? What is their age range?
*Do these fans want Orson to become more popular in America? Or is their fondness of Orson music due to the fact that it is relatively unknown here?
*Do American listeners of Orson try to connect with each other?
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A lot of bands struggle to integrate into the American music scene after being popular abroad. What drove Orson out of America in the first place? It would be interesting to see if it were because of American producing/music management, or due to a lack of popularity. The technology aspect would also be helpful--you could also track the comments on Orson videos on YouTube and see if the fans seem to be interacting with each other. Where are the commenters from, the US or the UK? What other groups are the fans of Orson on Myspace also interested in, and do they overlap?
ReplyDeleteI myself have never even heard of Orson (though I'm looking them up right now), but the fact that they are hardly the first band to become more popular in Britain than in America should make them a great case study for this type of trend. It might also be interesting to see if there's any information (or if you can somehow connect with a fan overseas) to learn exactly how they become more popular in Britain than here--maybe they were promoted by a record company or radio/tv show? Either way, great topic, and I'm interested to see what you find.
ReplyDeleteI myself have never even heard of Orson (though I'm looking them up right now), but the fact that they are hardly the first band to become more popular in Britain than in America should make them a great case study for this type of trend. It might also be interesting to see if there's any information (or if you can somehow connect with a fan overseas) to learn exactly how they become more popular in Britain than here--maybe they were promoted by a record company or radio/tv show? Either way, great topic, and I'm interested to see what you find.
ReplyDeleteYour ethnography topic seems very interesting. How did you come across a group so unpopular in United States? Either way, it sounds very interesting and your methods for doing the research seem very practical and organized. I'm very interested to see if you find out why Orson appeals to British listeners and not American ones. Good luck on your research!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is great because it seems very small, but you can use it as a lens to examine much bigger issues. I stumbled upon Orson on Pandora, and liked what I heard, but other than that have not heard even a whisper about the band anywhere else. (WEIRD - I was just trying to figure out which station I made that kept giving me Orson. I clicked "Meg and Dia Radio" and the fist song was Orson - Bright Idea.)
ReplyDeleteInteresting to look at, as Alyssa mentioned, was the bands label/promotional company. It seems like a possible scenario is that they are just not doing a good job in the U.S. Wikipedia says they're on Mercury, which is U.K. based - so maybe they aren't even trying. Interesting broader questions you could touch on are just how much promotional support a band really needs to be heard in the U.S., or also the difference in taste/accessibility of U.S. vs. U.K. music.
Just testing if my last comment got posted or if its awaiting moderation - feel free to delete this post
ReplyDeleteNina, we've already talked about this in person so I won't write too much here, but I think this topic is looking good. As Alex notes, it's a focused case study that could potentially shed light on much bigger issues (promotion, distribution, taste networks, virtual fan communities, etc.). I would recommend that you start trying to get in touch with specific individuals ASAP so you'll be able to set up interviews; this can take a while, especially when you can't access people in face-to-face settings. If you start early enough you might conceivably even be able to talk to a member of the band (though this won't be a make-or-break issue for the project). Also, since you're dealing with a dispersed/online fan community, you should be giving people the link to your blog when you contact them. This way you may develop a readership who will comment on your posts, and if they're interested in your project they'll also forward it along to other people.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea. I have also never heard of Orson before I read this blog post, but it seems like they are another band, among bands like the killers, that are American and become popular in the UK before the US. I personally think the reason for this is the difference in the popular music scenes in the US and UK. British pop has a lot of indie rock, so indie rock bands often go to the UK where it is easier to become popular. I am interested to see what you come up with.
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