Re: [ARSCLIST] at this rate, won't be much to archive soon enough

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I can't post the Wall St. Journal article due to copyright and it's not publicly available, 
unfortunately. There was an interesting paragraph where the manager of several rappers was quoted as 
saying he looks on CD's as profitless or even loss-leader marketing tool and the real money is in 
live shows and T-shirt and apparel sales at the live shows. I'm not sure this is true in all genres 
of music, but apparently in the urban genres, live performance is alive and well and highly 
profitable.

Bob, wouldn't it work that a genuinely talented band with decent management would be able to hustle 
enough live work that a buzz would start? Think of the Van Halen model in the 70's -- they were 
selling out very large venues before they had a recording contract. What is probably lost forever is 
a music-oriented A&R man at a record label finding and nurturing talented young musicians. So the 
musician is more on their own, which may be good or bad. On the good side, no beholden to big record 
companies so more artistic and career-direction control, and easier marketing from scratch due to 
venues like YouTube, iTunes, etc. On the bad side, less professionalism is evident, very hard to use 
new marketing tools to build a mass audience (although a profitable niche is very possible), perhaps 
greater investment of personal funds required.

I'm not convinced it's all bleak but it's definitely not what it was back when music that I like was 
being made in large quantities regularly. One might argue that the decline of music education and 
the homoginizing of the radio dial are the biggest causes of low-grade new music. Billy Taylor was 
the "person of the week" at the end of the broadcast on Fox News Sunday week before last. He made a 
bold but true statement -- "American Idol" is a cattle call of people who can't sing and who are 
badly singing vapid "music" and it is no replacement for professional A&R and music education. Now, 
some would call that a very elitist view, but not me. I have enough musical training and enough 
listening experience to know what pitch, rhythm and dynamics are -- not to mention a viable or 
original melody -- and far too much music made in the last decade or so lacks any of it.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Olhsson" <olh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 6:44 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] at this rate, won't be much to archive soon enough


> >From Tom Fine: "I don't think "piracy" is the whole story by a long shot. I
> think putting out utter crap and badly
> marketing that tends to kill a business."
>
> Unfortunately few people look at the root causes which are the collapse of
> the majority of our local live venues and Madison Avenue having taken
> iron-fisted control over most broadcasting and large venues. You can't blame
> record labels for not investing in artists who they can't possibly get
> exposed no matter how much they spend.
>
> I fear it's music and not just the recording industry that's in big trouble.
>
> Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
> Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
> Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
> 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com