Adele Focuses On The Music And Here's What It Could Mean For Her Earnings
“I don’t want to be the face of anything,” Adele told the New York Times in a profile that debuted yesterday. Television spots, beauty products, design gigs, perhaps an acting career — none of it is on the table for Adele, who still manages, after four years spent in near-hiatus, to be one of the most visible pop stars around. As of 2013, her sophomore record 21 had sold upwards of 23 million copies; her most recent single “Hello,” a teaser of the long-awaited third album 25, debuted at number one and stayed there. And all of this without the additional boost of a product endorsement, a side hustle. Her sole artistic endeavor in the interim was recording the theme forSkyfall three years ago.
Back in 2013, she reportedly turned down a massive deal with L’Oreal, for which she would have succeeded Cheryl Cole as the face of the brand. “I want to do one thing. I want to make something,” she now explains, according to the New York Times. She could benefit from this single-minded focus on her artistic career. By refusing to act as the face of anyone else’s brand, Adele ensures that her own brand remains undiluted. If you want Adele, her music is the only way you’re going to get it. As Debra Rathwell, senior vp of AEG Live, told Billboard of Adele’s touring potential, “It’s totally about pent-up demand.”
Adele hinted that she plans to emphasize live performance more than she has in support of previous records, and focusing on her music rather than the frills of celebrity could work to her advantage. Billboard reported in the same story that she grossed just shy of $3 million over 31 tour dates from 2008 to 2011, a pretty meager sum for a singer of her stature. “When I’ve sat down and thought, ‘What can I do to bring something new to the table?’ It was just like, ‘Tour,’” she told Rolling Stone in a profile earlier this month. “Because I haven’t done it properly.” Her 21 tour was beset with cancellations and was cut short when she underwent surgery for a vocal cord hemorrhage.
This makes her future touring potential something of an unknown quantity, but her team has an answer for that, too. In the same story, Billboard reported that Adele’s team will coordinate live appearances with individual markets, rather than with a big promoter like Live Nation. It’s a more hands-on process, but also one intended to ensure she receives the best deal at each venue.
If successful, the tactic could work to her advantage, as touring is one of the largest income streams for musicians — it propelled Katy Perry to the third spot on Forbes’ “Celebrity 100.” Musicians like Perry, performing date after date in a massive arena show, can gross seven figures per stop, and Perry made 124 stops in 27 countries. Much of her estimated pretax earnings of $135 million was the result of these huge appearances. While she’s not quite Katy Perry, if Adele’s previous — and prospective — album sales are any indicator of the market, she could stand to earn millions. That is, if her voice holds up — vocal cord hemorrhages are not uncommon for singers with big voices and bigger audiences. Meghan Trainor postponed and eventually cancelled the tail end of her summer tour this year for surgery, and Sam Smith cancelled his Australian tour dates to rest his voice after a minor hemorrhage.
In contrast, cosmetics endorsements often start around six figures, increasing into the low-seven figures for the most high-profile celebrities and biggest brands. (Perry’s endorsements with the likes of CoverGirl fall in the latter category.) So the impact of Adele’s streamlined approach is twofold: She keeps all eyes on her music (and all eyes are on her music), and she focuses more on the areas of her music career that, ultimately, could be the more lucrative options. Adele’s decision to emphasize performance and music in lieu of endorsements spares her being branded a sell-out and will likely rake in the bigger sums.
Adele performs during the Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
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