22 replies to this topic

[Jacquie]

I'm really beginning to get confused with this huge Warner Bros. label, CD, advertisement, promotion thing. When I was at a signing, Michael would not sign Totally Blonde nor Totally Buble. I'm thinking that for some reason there is some legal/money issue going on here. I overheard bits and pieces of a conversation with Michael's assistant, but it still doesn't make that much sense to me. I hope I am not being too nosy by asking this, but I am just really confused nonetheless.


[ Jacqueline ]

[Jacquie]

I'm really beginning to get confused with this huge Warner Bros. label, CD, advertisement, promotion thing. When I was at a signing, Michael would not sign Totally Blonde nor Totally Buble. I'm thinking that for some reason there is some legal/money issue going on here. I overheard bits and pieces of a conversation with Michael's assistant, but it still doesn't make that much sense to me. I hope I am not being too nosy by asking this, but I am just really confused nonetheless.


[ Jacqueline ]

[Jeanine]

No, it's an excellent question. For instance, I have "Totally Bublé" and it's a lovely collection of songs, but if the artist is somehow being screwed around or not receiving the royalties due, then I don't want to support that by purchasing the product. Too late for me ... I've already made the purchase, but certainly if it is indeed the case that MB isn't being properly compensated, then I think that's an important thing for his fans to know. I don't understand the intricacies or implications of it, either, but it's always better to be able to make an informed choice when purchasing a product.

[Avison]

You are absolutely right. They (Totally Blonde movie owners) are just trying to take advantage of Michael's name. Michael doesn't get anything from the cd and is disappointed that they decided to use it the way they have - especially entitling it "Totally Bublé" just to ride on his success. If it was released as a soundtrack from 'Totally Blonde' I guess it wouldn't be such an obvious attempt to cash in..... So this release is certainly not endorsed by Michael or his Warner Bros. label.
If you notice "movieman" has disappeared....

Avi

[Swingtime22 (jeane)]

Hi Avison,
Do you think "Movieman" was connected to the "Totally Buble/Blond" studio? Hmmm..I'm starting to wonder. If Michael didn't sign those two CDs he probably had a good reason. I'm thinking maybe he was told not to because he's with Warners and/or there was bad blood between them. If Michael is not getting his due royalties for these releases then poo-poo, ca-ca, on that other studio for taking advantage of Michael...

My two cents...jeaneh

"Without a song, the day would never end"

[socalmovieman]

Hey Movieman here! just so you know, Michael signed the Totally Blonde deal before Warner. I think the only reason why Warners may be upset is because it's not their album. There's no conspiracy to cash in on Michaels fame. The reality is the film and CD were produced well before the Warner deal. All the producer of the film is trying to do is recoupe the money they spent on the film and the CD. The bottom line is it's a good CD with great original songs. I hope you all buy it just for the music!

Hope this helped.

Movieman

[grobanite227]

Anyone have any insight on the "Totally Buble" DVD that I've seen on Ebay? Is it legit or bootleg? Is it just the parts of the Totally Blonde movie that Michael was in?

Karen aka grobanite227

[Avison]

I'm not sure about that DVD, so I couldn't say.

As for the movie owners taking advantage of Michael's name, I don't think theres any doubt. Why not release a 'Totally Blonde' soundtrack "featuring" Michael instead of releasing one entitled 'Totally Buble'? The timing and name choice of it's release sure made it seem like it to me.

Truth is I watched the movie and enjoyed it, and Michael always sounds so good.

Avi

[Nikkibel]

My guess why Michael didn't want to sign those CD's were probably because the point of the signing is to promote his new one and to get you to buy it...

Just a guess!

[Jacquie]

I agree with Avison... it does seem like an awfully "coincidental" time for Totally Buble to be released. It does seem strange to me that they hadn't released it here in the U.S. sooner... after all, the movie had been out for a while. I think that they could be using Michael's name simply at a time of great success for him in order to make some money of their own. I certainly hope that this is not the case. It does seem strange as well that they simply did not release the "Totally Blonde" soundtrack instead of compiling one simply containing Michael's songs. I'm hoping that Michael is getting his fair share, but things still feel a little bit fishy to me. I had talked to a huge fan of Michael's at Mohegan Sun, and she had mentioned that she tried to get him to sign both "Totally Blonde" and "Totally Buble"... but when he saw "Totally Blonde", he looked a little pained as in where did you get that? I really hope that we as the fans are informed about this at some point later on. For the time being, however, I'll still continue to enjoy both "Totally Blonde" and "Totally Buble". Even if there is a chance that Michael is not being compensated for these, it's the other company's loss. People are going to find out about and fall in love with Michael more through the DVD and CD, thus resulting in more fans for him. And that's all that should really matter in the long run, right??


[ Jacqueline ]

[Liliana]

that's why when i went to his concert a week ago i only had my "totally buble" cd because my other one (self-titled CD) was really worn out, and that one was newer. I asked for his autograpgh and he told me that he never signed those, and i told him he really didn't have to. I didn't understand it at the time, because i wasn't really sure why it was he couldn't sign it, and the only think he told me was that he never signed those, so i had no idea as to what was going on.
but eventually he did sign it. He told me if i kept it long enough that i could probably sell it for a lot of money of course that's not my intention though, i just wanted an autograph. I did think he was kidding me at first but i was really confused when he said that he was really serious. Now i know he had his reasons but i feel somewhat, guilty because he signed it and he's getting no profit for it.
Thank you everyone for clearing that up for me!

Love
Liliana

"Fame will go by and, and so long, I've had you
fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle. So at least it's something I experienced, but that's not where I live."
Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962

[LishaZ]

There are so many agreements and negotiations behind the scenes regarding merchandising and personal appearances we just don't see. The biggest most disguting problem that still bugs me beyond words is the exploitation of a person's image for greed with no regard for a person as a - person.

People are not commodities to be bought and sold - they're souls. The tabloids are a perfect example. Every image has millions of dollars of advertising and publicizing behind it, then when a celebrity is hot, hot, hot suddenly everyone wants a piece of his or her @ss no matter how much a human being gets dragged through the mud. It's humanity at its most disgusting. *hurling*

Sorry - I just hate this stuff...... I honestly couldn't love music more - but I just hate the way the entertainment/music industry works. bluck.

[Liliana]

I completly agree with you Lisha.

Love
Liliana

"Fame will go by and, and so long, I've had you
fame. If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle. So at least it's something I experienced, but that's not where I live."
Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962

[OkieDoky]

*holds up hand*

I AGREE WITH LISHA!

*puts down hand*

Sheryl 8^)

[Josieb]

How did I miss this thread!! If I'd seen it before today I wouldn’t have bought the Totally Buble CD, but I received it yesterday and now I feel so guilty!

Sorry Michael!

Joleen

[JanieAngel]

Now this is one CD fans shouldn't feel guilty about copying I think!!
Since he doesn't touch a dime of these sales, that he and his record company have been blamed by reviews for the not so good quality of the disc and saying that he is taking advantage of his fans... this is OUTRAGEOUS!

I hope I don't get in trouble for this... but I think we could support Michael by not buying this CD (even if it's too late for some of us) and have copies sent to whoever wants it from now on...

This may look weird (support an artist by NOT buying the disc) but at least it would make a statement... Please note that I don't want this to be taken the wrong way... I just want to support Michael in any way I can...

-Angel

[Nikkibel]

I agree.. I think it's wrong for whomever to be selling these without giving any of the proceeds to Michael. Personally I think it's a great cd, can't get enough of "Love at first sight". But it sucks that they're doing this to him. How long ago was that movie made anyway? Guaranteed they saw how big he's getting now and were like 'we can make some money off this kid'..

Anyway, my Aunt actually downloaded the entire cd off the internet, that's how I got a copy. I'll have to find out what site she got it from and let you guys know.

[Liliana]

Downloading the CD won't do anything. I utterly disagree with downloading music. Next time Michael has another release, lets ALL be careful and see who is releasing the CD. When the album was on amazon.com people were a bit skeptical about it and some thought that it wasn't legitimate, and I guess those who thought that were right. I have bought the CD and even though Michael does not get any profit from it I love the CD, and don't forget it's still Michael singing. However, had I known then what I know now, I probably would not have paid $12.99 for a CD he did not support (my sister was appalled at the price with only 7 songs, and she could not believe that I had paid that much for only seven songs, but I dismissed her comments because it was Michael after all) but now that I have purchased, so be it. It’s a lesson learned, next time I’ll look closer at where the CD is coming from. What can we do.... it's the way of Hollywood.

Love
Liliana

"What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course. "
Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962

[Jacquie]

Yup... good thinking guys.

There is a DVD "Totally Buble" on sale at Amazon talked about on another thread... and I strongly believe that Michael is not getting his share for that either. So my advice to all of you is DON'T BUY IT!!!! Not until we know which company is selling it. Chances are, it's not Warner Bros.

And Michael shouldn't be embarrassed about the CD not being "top quality". Sure, it's kinda short, but let's not forget that whatever he's singing, he never lets us down!!! It sounds to me like he put his all into it when he made it. I mean, I can understand why he's upset, because they're completely exploiting him.

- j - a - r -

[Nikkibel]

to clarify.. by downloading the cd I meant that this would be a good way for people to hear the cd, rather than spending their hard earned cash on something that Michael's not even getting profits from...