Re: Sampler questions

Edie Gale Hays (edghays@umr.edu)
Sat, 25 Apr 1998 02:29:19 -0400 (EDT)

Joann Murdock <jmurdock@mcs.com> asked:
>Do many of the people on this list actually go out and buy a CD by a new
>artist, just from hearing one or two songs on a sampler CD? Would it be
>enough to intrigue someone to attend a concert of someone they haven't
>>heard of except for the sampler cut?
>
>I guess the question is, is one or two good songs enough to do that?

One or two GOOD songs is enough to do that. There are artists I have loved
on record but I found weak in live performance. There are artists I have
loved in live performance whose records have been uninspiring.

Record reviews are usually of no help to me since so few of them tell me
anything useful. "Great Lyrics. Sings from the heart" tells me nothing. A
sampler, on the other hand gives me a chance to preview multiple artists at
once. Considering someone's very best song is what usually ends up on the
samplers, if I find an artist on a sampler not to my taste, I know that
it's unlikely that anything else on a record of theirs would appeal to me.
Then again, just because one song appeals to me doesn't mean the rest of
that arists songs will. But they might. It is a bit of a gamble, but that's
life.

Edie Gale Hays
edghays@umr.edu