Artiste Endorsement

TidesOfBlood

TidesOfBlood

New member
i dislike endorsements. i shall not assume that everyone here knows the impact of endorsements, so i will just put it briefly in a nutshell.

Established guitar manufacturer ABC chooses to endorse established guitarist XYZ. XYZ's face appears in ABC's publicity posters, catalouges.. basically EVERYWHERE. and where does the cost for XYZ's endorsement go to?

us. the consumers.

it's just extremely sickening. the following link makes me sick in the stomach. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...ny-Winter-Firebird-Electric-Guitar?sku=516128

for the record, i'm no sour grapes. i am the proud owner of a decent workhorse axe which is built to last. i can't be arsed that i don't own boutique items, or that none of the gear i own have a value of more than four figures.

it's all just really evil.
 
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alamak, ben chill man!
ahahah.

I kinda agree that signature series guitars can be abit more expensive.
But I think the reason why the prices are higher because it's supposed to be of higher quality and stuff. (aint sure how true that is though.)

But if it's made of high quality parts and the artist is worth to be endorsed.
I believe fans of the artist will still buy it and not complain of the price.

but that's purely my own opinion. (:
 
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we're talking about a difference of at least USD$5000 between that above firebird and the next most expensive Gibson firebird in production =/ the disparity is just disgusting!
 
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They are trying to get the baby boomer market. Professional 50+ mid life crisis guys wanting to relive the youth they never had.

Personally I prefer that crazy headless guitar he plays.

johnnywinter_web.jpg
 
Firebirds don't cost 5k or anything above that , thats just the list price i guess . Not even the customshop models hahaha . And endorsements are how companies make money i guess , the same way shampoo companies advertise . Artist models cost more because The company pay's them to design a guitar . If you don't like it then don't purchase it , to be fair it is quite a ridiculous sum to pay for such a guitar but if you like that artist and money is not an option i'm sure you'd get it . To each his own . Just like how i would never touch an Ibanez no matter who endorses it .
 
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i am not aiming for that guitar. die die also don't want. but urgh.. i find it sad that such business ethics exist. and Zac, i didn't say that firebirds cost USD$5k. that was the difference in price.
 
the product/business does not endorse the artist- the artist endorses the product. also, that link was a custom shop guitar, not one off-the shelf. not just a signature model, either. if you want to look at it another way, the cost isn't exactly going to you because you aren't buying that particular model.

many times the artist takes up the endorsement because it is something they will actually use. another reason is that they get world-wide support wherever they play. if a bass or amp breaks, some companies send them a new one as a replacement. if warwick offered you an endorsement deal like that, would you take it? at the professional touring level things like these matter.

take a brand like sadowsky or lakland- they have artist endorsements, yes, but every single guitarist on their roster PAID for their instruments. they might get a free guitar or bass if they ordered 6+ over a period of time as a gesture of thanks but NOBODY gets a free ride.

i buy aguilar equipment because i like aguilar, not because some famous artist like paul turner uses it. purchases should be that way too, not because of product placement or any marketing strategy- and i'm sure yours are, as you've mentioned already.

most endorsers do not get a signature model, and most do pay for their gear- just a reduced price. stanley clarke paid for every single one of his alembics. full price. and they aren't cheap!

advertising will happen anyway, artist endorsement or not :)
 
Alembic = role model, nothing short of that. i just detest how luthiers make use of a name to earn disgusting amounts of money. and yes the cost isn't going to me, but i'm not speaking for me. it's about consumers as a whole. i don't really care about artistes getting free gear, but certainly the money for funding the free gear has to come from somewhere, no?

important EDIT: Alembic and endorsements.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alembic_Inc#No_endorsements
it's unfortunate that there's that "citation needed" for what the CEo allegedly said, but the world would be prettier if every CEO could say that.
 
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i didn't know prices of guitars went up because of endorsements. maybe u can enlighten us

but i think we are missing the point

the point of endorsement is to make some spectacular, overpriced product and attach the name of some musician so famous, that even the deaf have heard of him, sell

for example, if they endorsed the standard stratocaster, would it boost sales of that model? obviously not. but if they changed some specs, and comissioned the "mas selamat signature stratocaster", they would definitely milk the niche market

this is a signal to tell noobs what brands to buy

that doesn't deter real musicians though, and in fact gives us even more excuse to buy CUSTOM and BOUTIQUE equipment
 
its a totally different story if YOU are the one being endorsed. haha

addy cradle is endorsed fully by ibanez. go check it out. huhu.

7K+?? go see eddie van halen's signature strat at swee lee bras basah. a wooping 58,888! in the forbidden room of course.
 
theunknown said:
its a totally different story if YOU are the one being endorsed. haha

addy cradle is endorsed fully by ibanez. go check it out. huhu.

7K+?? go see eddie van halen's signature strat at swee lee bras basah. a wooping 58,888! in the forbidden room of course.
Click to expand...
wow 58,888. nice price tag. i didn't know guitars could cost that much :D
 
In the first place the prices for Gibsons and Fenders have gone mad in the last few years so signature models will cost more for sure...don't even talk about custom shop.

It is a sad fact that the biggest companies are doing all the signature thing to boost their sales, it's all about money. Gibson has a Joan Jett signature. I like Joan Jett but in terms of guitarists out there? Or how about SRV? There was never a signature model until he died from what I know.

When fender bought Jackson, they closed the factory and laid off staff and moved everything to their own factory. Sad fact, and I feel Jacksons are not the same anymore.
 
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