It's not for me to proffer an opinion on the person behind the product known as 'Adele' but it is definitely my duty to advocate the creation, consumption and expression of music in the UK. In that context, it might be helpful to note that monetising the product called 'Adele' has been claimed to be one of the industry's best achievements last year:
PRS for Music said:
Recorded music revenues still in flux
Recorded music revenues1 dropped to £1.1bn in 2011, which was three percent lower than 2010. The value of physical albums fell by 13 percent in 2011 to £685m, but digital music grew by 20% to reach £379m.
Adele’s 21 proved to be a huge hit with record buyers and passed the three million sales mark by year-end, an achievement not seen since Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black in 2006. 68 percent of Adele’s sales were physical but alone this could not reverse the decline in this once dominant musical format. During 2011 physical formats generated £955m less than the £1.6bn seen at the last high point of 2005 in a trend which looks set to continue. However, Adele’s success in selling music across all formats reminded us that a large market remains as long as strong titles are available.
[Source:
http://prsformusic.com/aboutus/corporateresources/reportsandpublications/addinguptheindustry2011/Documents/Economic%20Insight%2011%20Dec.pdf]
I'm not at all concerned that the OP, or anyone else, wants to think of Adele as a creator of music or having a personality - I'm sure she is both of these, but let's not confuse the person with the product. A product which includes a raft of established producers, musicians, stylists, writers, visualisers, arrangers, publicists, promoters, marketeers and a manager whose creative talent and accumulated knowledge, experience and qualification will put the front-person's position in some sort of context.
What I do find interesting is that the recording industry's prime and most influential representative body in the UK, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), has frequently been criticised for not supporting the grass-roots and development of the musicians, singers, studios and other which develop and sustain the Record Companies' rosters of talent. Their riposte to that challenge, for the last decade, has been '
we do. We fund the BRIT School' and of course Adele is, significantly and exceptionally, an alumni of their BRIT School. A self-generated product if ever there was one.
So all's well within the music industry then. Self-funded investment generates the highest returns.
Musical integrity doesn't appear on anyone's Balance Sheets. And the product is not the person.
But if all you want is an opinion of the tunes, then I can say that I quite like them. Though I forget them very quickly.
