It's funny you bring up Bieber. He and Lady Gaga are both talented - both are OK looking (Lady Gaga goes out of her way to avoid clear shots, she's not that stunning), good singers, good dancers, and reasonably good song writers. They are good, but I wouldn't call them great. You couldn't seriously compare them to Madonna and Michael Jackson.
What they are absolute geniuses at is PR, which should be the label's job. Michael Jackson got a similar amount of media attention to Lady Gaga, but it tended to be negative.
The musicians are already starting to do the label's core business (promotions) for them.
I'd say Lady Gaga is clearly at a much higher level than Madonna musically. Hear her sing with Tony Bennett. Madonna is good at marketing, but did she write her own music or plays the piano? Behind all the provocation, Gaga is a talented musician.
Indeed, and Madonna's greatest genius was in marketing. Her singing and dancing were both technically mediocre, but she made listening to Madonna music something cool and fun in young people's minds.
What they are absolute geniuses at is PR, which should be the label's job. Michael Jackson got a similar amount of media attention to Lady Gaga, but it tended to be negative.
The musicians are already starting to do the label's core business (promotions) for them.