In an article for the Telegraph, Ivan Hewett, claims that many labels are heading in the wrong direction by concentrating their marketing on beauty and overt sexiness. For starters, Hewett believes, Classical Music is already full of sex or eroticism. He interprets the constant switches from dissonance into consonance as the "basic erotic pattern of arousal and relief" - especially when these are presented in "ascending sequences, each repetition more intense than the last". Also, many phrases used in Operas hide their true meaning behind a euphemism - "I die upon your breast" being a popular one. Secondly, Hewett insists that up-front eroticism and Classical Music just don't belong together. The reason for this being that by its nature, Classical Music is striving for something higher, something earnest and sublime.
The author closes by mentioning that good looks, anyway, never really mattered: Franz Lizt was (arguably) the biggest erotic star this genre ever produced, which could hardly be attributed to his looks.

While we agree on quite a few of the points, we disagree with the basic notion of the article that these thoughts apply solely for Classical Music. Those who have listened to bands like Radiohead and Dream Theater or artists like David Bowie and Scott Walker know exactly that pop and rock do not only stand for cheap entertainment. The pattern of arousal and relief, also, is not a Classic exclusive - but applies for almost all kinds of music (in pop, the tension of the verse dissolving into the chorus). And it is a sad prejudice that the pop scene relies on sex and sexiness only. The public is well capable of distinguishing between fabricated stars and "real ones". Vanessa Mae, for example, could never have established a long-term career in pop (coming to think of it, she didn't!).

And now decide for yourself.

Source: Telegraph