Two days ago, a friend called me. He asked “Weti man fit do with this Tina girl ehh?” - Like I had not already thought about that two times over.
I have known Tina before Na So. I found her talent to be rare but also (like one PoiseSocial follower described) ’WEIRD.’ Not weird as in bad but weird as in totally out of out of the box and this is going to take some getting used to. I never wanted to talk to my friend on phone because there was just so much to say so I pulled up to his place. I shared with him what I thought was the best strategy moving forward which boiled down to repackaging her old content to keep people busy and buy time to prepare a good single to follow up her verse on “Na So.”
Merch is one way for artists to make some real money no doubt. But like many, I do not think trying to cash out on merch is the right move for Tina, not the way she did it this time. I have seen one or two people who have tried to make excuses for her; people I consider to be part of the #fakesupportyourown movement. Why do I call them that? Because they are deceiving her. One actually declared he is not buying but it is a good move. For me, if you want to claim it is a good move, start by buying yourself. Not only are some of the products overpriced, there is no reason for them to be and there is nothing special about them - which makes it seem like she is counting on a brand and following which she actually does not have - hence my statement about ‘milking a baby cow.’
Any-Ha!
The biggest problem is not even in the fact that she released some merch that is overpriced. The problem is in the tactics or basically, the communication surrounding the release added to the fact that T-shirts, pullovers, and caps are overdone and scream “I’m not that creative” which is far from what the verse that got her famous portrays. People will definitely buy for almost any price if you give them reason and approach them correctly.
I gather the merch was already available before the new found fame with “Na So.” I am sure we have all seen her wearing one of those pullovers or T- shirts in the past but that graphic with prices looks very very new.
Someone wrote to me “ Please Tell Tina that she is better off crowdfunding her next releases than she is with those teeshirts. WFT?” And I totally agree. The love people have for her could have been converted to cash in many other more creative ways. What I see is a problem in the communications department more than anything else.
But then again - What do I know?
- Tino Foy