Band as franchise

Following on a musical vein, I was a little shocked last week to see that the Sugababes, a fairly big band in the UK, have lost their last remaining original member but are carrying on to make a new album.  You could argue that this is merely the natural conclusion of how the music industry has treated brands as entertainment franchises.  I rather prefer the thought someone left on their wikipedia entry: "a hollow, machine-like representation of the music industry's deconstruction of music as an art form".  Maybe this is all OK if we believe bands are brands but when the product's fundamentally different surely the brand should be as well?

Comments

[nic]

hey, don't forgot the Velevt Undergroud...

[Rob @ Cynic]

I absolutely know what you are saying, you almost feel ripped off or their good name is being dragged through the mud - but out of interest, do you think bands are the only category where our emotions have such a hold on us in this way ... afterall we still support sports teams and - to a lesser extent - brands, when they change their personnel.