I suspect that until Jimmy Page personally saws his gold top LP up live on TV Gibson won't have that much of a PR issue. Page is mostly occupied with disputes with Robbie Williams, so I wouldn't hold my breath. Slash could probably saw his in half to a chorus of 'who?' from everyone under 40.
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Gibson's PR Damage Control
- Thread starter nomaj
- Start date
I suspect that until Jimmy Page personally saws his gold top LP up live on TV Gibson won't have that much of a PR issue. Page is mostly occupied with disputes with Robbie Williams, so I wouldn't hold my breath. Slash could probably saw his in half to a chorus of 'who?' from everyone under 40.
This may not save Gibson, of course, as similar instruments are available for relative pennies and for those not saying Gibson fraudulently on the headstock there is probably not much that can be done legally. In other words I'm not convinced Gibson will survive as a mass market brand due to compensation unless it rebrands Epiphone, but it might survive as a niche lifestyle brand like Harley Davidson. HD should probably buy the Gibson name and spin Epiphone off.
You replied to yourself exactly as I would have done. In 2019, Jimmy Page doing much of anything isn’t what should worry Gibson.
The under-forties would be a wise target for Gibson to pursue. Now THAT is the kind of vision that a new management team should be able to get behind. But they’d probably mess that up, too.
To get the under 40s market would need some good marketing and endorsements. There's are Mike Dirnt Squier, and although I have no idea who he is, I understand he's from a popular beat combo with some interest from under 40s. Relying on Jimmy Page is a bit like relying on ragtime to sell pianos at the height of Zep. Saying that, trad jazz may have sold a few banjos.
How many Gibson style guitars could be sold to twenty somethings that also have the money to drop $2000 on something? That's why I suspect the money is in Epiphones for $500 and a lifestyle brand at $2000, plus some sales to pros. That's why I think harley Davidson might do well to pick up Gibson for the classic Born To Be Wild ethic (although Stepprnwolf didn't use Gibsons AFAIK).
Does anybody get a creepy Adam Curry vibe from this dou...whoops I mean dude? ???!?!?!???!!!????!?!?!??!!
Remember when Adam Curry was on MTV back in the day with his shoulder pads and coiffed 'do but 5 minutes later when Headbanger's Ball would start all he would do was put on a cheezy leather jacket to somehow seem "cool" yet it looked completely out of place and...dare I say...INAUTHENTIC???????
"Up next, it's Frankie Goes To Hollywood!"
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"Up next, it's War Ensemble from Slayer!!"
"Up next, Dad bought a Hot Topic jacket!!"
Adam Curry is pretty cool. He has a podcast called 'No Agenda.'
I'd rather hear from Tim Curry or Billy Currie.
It's never stopped anyone (in the UK) painting Disney(R)(TM)(C) characters all over their ice cream vans or fairground rides!
I'm not anti-Gibson, really, but I'm not pro-Gibson either. Nor am I pro-Dean.
But if the two companies were ever to seek donations to their legal funds, Dean's the one I'd send money to.
I'm not a fan of either Gibson or Dean myself, but I can't see how you could proceed with a lawsuit and harrassment of other dealers knowing that Fender lost on the Tele and Stat designs which are every bit as iconic as anything else. If my neighbor loses his #ss in a lawsuit I'm sure not going to file one like it. Maybe that's an oversimplification, but from a layman's perspective it looks foolish.
It's a win-win. Not necessarily for Gibson employees or customers, but for venture capitalists who now control the company.
If they win - or get any $$$ from licensing fees - no explanation needed. Not everyone will be willing - or able - to fight back the way Armadillo is.
If they lose in court, it will become a write-off of some kind, and they'll move on to whatever the next strategy may be..
What is beyond dispute IMO is that the result of these lawsuits will re-shape the guitar industry one way or another.
IF they did this correctly it might save them in the eyes of a lot of musicians. Granted based on their current track record, they would probably find some way to blow it...
That's nice, but I'm not buying another Gibson product ever again. There are many builders who make better instruments and who don't play scorched earth games with the music industry.
We at Gibson want our customers to know we have heard you. Now, we aren’t going to produce a diode-equipped EB-3 bass, and we’ll sue you if you make such a modification. Wouldn’t be authentic. But in answer to your requests, we’ve sent letters of counterfeit notification to hundreds of small electronics manufacturers who use diodes listing each company’s assessment and where to send the quarterly checks. We want to work with you, to help you produce your diode-equipped equipment authentically.
That’s a nice little, uh, gadget you got there. Be a real shame if anything happened to it.
Just to dispel a few myths:
The controversy regarding the trademarks is not about money or squeezing every last penny out of a failed company. Rather, it’s about maintaining the legacy. Gibson is lobbying for inclusion of Gibson instruments in the next time capsule to be launched into space, and aliens could be confused by “Gibson”, “Epiphone by Gibson” and knock-off Gibson.
Also, Gibson neck dive is not a result of poor instrument design. Neck dive actually results from user scoliosis and can be corrected by placing a 1 1/2” riser in your left shoe.
The controversy regarding the trademarks is not about money or squeezing every last penny out of a failed company. Rather, it’s about maintaining the legacy. Gibson is lobbying for inclusion of Gibson instruments in the next time capsule to be launched into space, and aliens could be confused by “Gibson”, “Epiphone by Gibson” and knock-off Gibson.
Also, Gibson neck dive is not a result of poor instrument design. Neck dive actually results from user scoliosis and can be corrected by placing a 1 1/2” riser in your left shoe.
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