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Termyn8or -> RE: The decline of the record industry (6/22/2007 1:45:58 AM)
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A very large can of worms.
Artists deserve to be paid, but there is a swarm of people between them and their money. Now these agencies, recording studios, promoters and pressers of new CDs or whatever medium, do indeed provide a service. But then it is they who have hyped it all up to the point where kids have to steal $40 instead of $3 to get the tunes they are told they need. Where do you think the extra $37 goes ?
Those who started their game are starting to lose. I have no sympathy. They made billions, and shaped this country as well as others by influencing the youth. By represseing certain artists and promoting others they took on an ominously powerful position in society, I would dare to say dangerous. And then they used it to their own ends, and in some cases even to further their own political agenda.
These media moguls have lived out their heyday, and I am waiting for it to happen to the motion picture industry. It probably is happening to them but is not yet significant. Not enough M-O-N-E-Y to get up about. Wait until it is.
Back to music, I am reminded of The Buddy Holly Story. Race gets into this, but I DID NOT DO IT, it is from before I was born.
Charled Hardin Holly was born in Texas, lived well apparently and had a guitar, most likely since he was a kid. His childhood sweety was probably following her Parent's wishes when she disapproved of their daughter's boyfriend's ambition. They had been practicing in the garage, but had put up some like chicken wire or something, like XXX across the rafters and then put chicken feathers into the space between for sound insulation.
He had his tape recorder down there and they are listening to the playback, and there is a cricket chirping, thus giving the band the name of "The Crickets", but it was always Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Three guys sounded great, but think about ZZ Top.
Buddy (Charles Hardin that is) mailed a tape to a local DJ. This is where it gets racist, but goddammit I didn't do it ok ?
That local DJ mailed a copy of the tape to a more bigtime DJ in NYC, and that guy forwarded it to a record company. They had started selling the record, I think on 45, before they ever got a release. They did this because, because of his music, they thought he was Black. When he walked into their office they were shocked.
The guy was telling them that they were going to meet the araringer, producer, all that, to which Holly replied "We've been through all that, we are three piece band, we make a sound, if your producers could do that you would owe them $70,000".
You see, the "suits" thought they were Black, and a $70,000 check would thrill them so much that they would have nothing to worry about. Oops. Everybody thought they were Black. They were booked at the Apollo Theater. I guess that was one hell of a life experience for Holly, and I got a little piece of him in me over this.
The owner of the Appollo was White, and sent a telegraph to Holly, and the wording of the last one was "be here........thousand(s)" and when they showed up the guy didn't want to put them on. Buddy Holly and The Crickets was the first White band to ever appear there. Holly told the guy straight out "OK, pay us and we'll go". The guy balked at first, but after reading the telegraph that he had sent, he saw that it did indeed say they get paid just to show up. So he let them go on.
The dude probably thought his place was going to get wrecked, and maybe it did bit. There was no trouble, but there was alot of dancing in the aisles etc. But it is an historic event. They were sure there was going to be trouble, but there was not. And this is only a scant few years after Blacks weren't allowed on stage at White theaters !
My respect for Charles Hardin Holly goes beyond the music. He was a shrewd businessman. He could fix the suits. They thought they had it all over him and he showed them. And it boiled down to 'you need my signature right now, really bad'. He knew. The fucking idiot told him.
Come on, I think anyone here would figure out to get him signed and THEN give him the $70,000. Geez, how hard is that to figure out ? Whaddya put a suit and tie on a guy he loses his brain or something ?
Maybe I should go work in that business. Hell I could.............
No.
Actually the RIAA lost support after all the backdoor lobbying that took away public domain. I got at least 1,000 songs that are 20 years old. I AM PART OF THE PUBLIC, WHERE IS MY CHECK FOR THIS ?
They took, and now they are getting a taste of their own medicine.
What goes around, comes around.
T
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