2 edits | reply to Scatcatpdx
Re: He has a Good point. said by Scatcatpdx:I am glad I can read the article instead of your entitlement minded bias. The problem is unless you are a headliner band like U2 that can pull in a crowd at a concert venue, a career in music is next impossible. Thanks to illegal downloading, the album is now worthless, which means less profit that can be turned around to promote new talent. Has anybody noticed that we do not any superstars of the bit torrent age; where are today’s U2, Rolling Stones, Janet Jacksons; all I see are American Idol and Hanna Montana. Furthermore, illegal downloading had devastated the independent record store. Today it is either ITunes or Best Buy for recordings and if you are lucky as in here in Portland Oregon, we have a single Independent and the only store selling classical music. I don't think the lack of superstar bands today has much to do with piracy. I think a better reason is the way the music business operates these days. Back in the day, many bands started off touring clubs, bars, and other small venues. They often did this for years before they managed to cut a deal for an album released on a label of a decent size. I won't call them a "major label" because, a few decades ago, there were many more record companies out there, before they got gobbled up or forced out by the music conglomerates. And once a band had something out there, it often got played on local radio stations as DJ's discovered it. That was back when stations weren't owned by huge chains, and local personnel had a say in the music a station played. Now, it's all dictated by corporate headquarters so that radio sounds exactly the same no matter where you are. So, if you're a local band, say, in Chicago, good luck getting your local Clear Channel station to play you. The people there may want to throw your self-produced disc on, but their playlists are sent to them, so if you aren't known by the consultants who tell the people at Clear Channel's HQ what should be played in Chicago, then you'd have a better chance of getting on the air if you broke into the studio and did it yourself.
Now, everything has changed. Artists often aren't discovered after they've toured locally and regionally for several years; they're manufactured by the media companies. Do you think Britney Spears was found by some agent after playing small venues for a few years? Hardly. She was groomed for the part from an early age. Ashlee Simpson? Would anyone with...um..."talent" like hers stand a chance if it weren't for her sister? Jennifer Lopez? She only got a record deal because she looks good and because she was already known, so she was moved into music as a way to expand her "brand" into another area. And I won't even mention all the "boy-bands" that were creations of record company execs. All of these so-called artists are creations of the record companies, and the companies like it that way. First, it makes these "musicians" beholden to the corporations that created them, which is good for the companies' bottom lines. Second, they're totally disposable. Once their stardom starts to wane, they can be easily cast aside and replaced with the new flavor of the week. The side effect of all this is that there are very few superstars anymore. Music these days is tightly focused on hitting target demographics, so if you're a record exec wanting to constantly reach the teen demographic, then you don't want bands your listeners will grow up with; you want to constantly change your focus to keep hitting kids as they reach your chosen age range. I remember when MTV turned 25, and there was almost no mention of it on-air and no musical trip down memory lane. In an article, an exec was asked about this, and he said that it was because the channel is focused on its current viewers and has no reason to want to tell them how old it is, since its history would mean nothing to them. And you mentioned American Idol. That show is the music industry's dream come true. Not only do the record companies not have to find new artists, but they get to see what the public likes, then sign the winners and runners-up to record deals. And if those artists don't stand the test of time, it's no big deal, since a new season will be on the air soon enough with new artists to promote.
Just my opinion, but I think the lack of superstars these days has much more to do with the music industry's business decisions than anything else. |
