Steven Schwartz wrote:

>If the cover showed Rembrandt's "Bathsheba" instead, would that cheapen as
>well? If not, why not? No fair invoking the signature at the bottom of the
>canvas.

I see it's a woman again.  I would just wonder why they chose that painting
and how it related to the work on the album.

>>I ask again, what you might think of the people behind a cd if male
>>artists struck suggestive poses.  . . .
>
>The problem is that I'm at a disadvantage.  I'm not attracted sexually
>to males, so I don't have a clue as to what's enticing.

Women are not usually sexually attracted to women and they certainly know
what's intended to be sexually 'enticing' as you put it.  It's not merely
a photo of the person as you seem to think when men's names are involved,
merely being 'handsome' -- that's not equivalent.  See below.

>>You also say, "hot babe" so this seems reserved for the female musicians.
>
>That's because females attract me.  I don't rule it out for men.  I just
>don't know what would constitute a sexually enticing photograph.  Bare
>torso? Maxim Vengerov in tight jeans and no shirt?

Certain poses.  You'll see them on magazine covers for male gays.  Bare
torsos would be one, while lounging around in what some men might think are
seductive poses while other men, seeing these on a CD cover, might at least
hesitate when going to see the contents, as it would seem so inappropriate.

>Why? You keep saying that you don't know anyone who believes that
>attractive people can't be talented and then apparently suspect those very
>people of little talent.

I said one would wonder "how secure the -marketers- were about the talent."
There's a difference there.  It's not at all because a person is attractive
(since most of them are), it's because some marketers rely on what they
consider the sexual allure.  I ask you to think about using men that way on
covers so you can see what might be operating there if they did use this
approach with male artists.  And why don't they?

>>What would 'sexual attractiveness' in a male artist involve (as opposed to
>>plain old attractiveness? And if you can imagine the 'sexual' side used,
>>what would you think when you upon seeing this on a new CD in the bin.
>
>Depends on the CD.  One of Fritz Reiner's albums (IIRC, a collection of
>Spanish music) featured a gorgeous woman in a very low-cut blouse shot
>from above.  It was a great album.  Most of George Szell's Epic LPs had
>really crappy covers, in my opinion.  Every one of them was wonderful
>music-making.  In short, I've learned over the years never to judge a
>recording by its cover.

I left in this entire q & a because you managed to avoid the very questions
I was asking re stressing sexual attractiveness of a male over the natural
attractiveness and about how you would react if you saw a new CD with a
male artist on the cover in this way.  I ask these for a reason.  What's
operating there when they don't feel they need to do it for the male
artists?

>Why wonder? I'd be very much surprised if it hasn't been done already.
>"Out Classics?" "Dance Mix?" Dance Mix was one of my favorite classical
>albums of the 90s.  Zinman and the Baltimore, both terrific.

Steve, these were not pictures of the male solo artist performing.
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