They'll always be #2 in my heart.

Well, to be fair, if it weren't for the support and marketing of record companies, we wouldn't know about classic recoding artists, from Sinatra to the Beatles to U2 to Coldplay.

I agree that music downloading has killed the record industry, which doesn't make me mourn, because they ripped off the artists for so many years. Almost every major artist will tell you that they never paid off the $20,000.00 advance that the record company gave them, even after selling millions of records or CDs. The record campaniles had a strategy where they'd pay the artist just enough to keep them from asking too many questions about how much money their work was actually generating.

But the record companies were good for separating the wheat from the chaff when it came to finding popular music. Sure, we all have certain artists we love that never got big recognition, but for the most part, the best music got shoved down our throats through radio payola and TV appearances.

The only real record company success I see are artists brought up through the American/British Idol franchise. Their success is a conglomerate marketing machine where they make money off the TV show, the few CDs they actually sell, and the concerts (Idol contestants are paid a salary and don't make an extra dime for touring, T-shirt sales, or anything).

Now that such marketing is fizzling out, all bands are becoming "indie" and having a hard time finding traction on a global scale that was enjoyed by Pink Floyd and, oh, Cheap Trick. So outside of Idol - which typically brings us high-level amateur singers - where will the next truly remarkable artists come from?

Even the reference to calling them 'record' companies is as outdated as their business model. The people that still own a working record player, you know, those black vinyl discs, is a minority. Compare with the number of people loading their mp3 players and phones with digital music downloaded on-line. The record stores are pretty much all closed except those clinging-on to the 70's. Haven't seen a cassette tape in quite a few years. CD's are in the coffin but not quite nailed down yet. No point using DVD's/BlueRay/etc, it's overkill for an album. I stopped buying from music stores years ago. Stopped downloading and going to concerts as well, mostly because the farking RIAA has shutdown many of the sites that allowed me to discover new bands and albums. The old Napster was especially good at this due to the community aspect to find people with similar music tastes to point you to local indie bands. Let the farking industry die, let the musicians sell their own tracks without bureaucratic overhead, play venues without TicketMaster gouging on prices and merch. This is why the people with talent are no longer heard, instead we're inundated with Nickleback and Britney Spears, which is why I no longer listen to radio, that and the advertising. Rant off, resume your day, smell a flower or two, I hear they're in season.

How will we find the next generation of Cap'n Geech & the Shrimp Shack Shooters?

Earguy: where will the next truly remarkable artists come from?

Did you mean "remarkable" or "marketable"?

Really, if the worst things that happen are that the most talented singers/musicians make a modest heap of money instead of a mountain the size of Everest of money; and the incentive for companies to manufacture celebrities out of mediocre but easily-packaged talents is undermined -- is that really a bad thing?

The next great talent will come from the same place all the previous ones came from: hard work, performing, building up their name... but instead of the next step being "sign exploitative record contract", the next step will be "reach critical mass on the Internet". Different, yes. Worse? No.

/Will stop making sense now.

Shut your trap, Bono. It's not our fault that shiat outsells good music and that bands are learning how to go into business for themselves, taking full advantage of digital distribution and self-production. If you want to continue being raped by the labels, Mr. United Nations Sunglasses Guy, you go right ahead. It's time for the labels to be raped, and it's been a very long time coming.

Earguy:
But the record companies were good for separating the wheat from the chaff when it came to finding popular music. Sure, we all have certain artists we love that never got big recognition, but for the most part, the best music got shoved down our throats through radio payola and TV appearances.

this hasn't been true for 35 years.

EXACTLY, that's what labels do. they make stars. they don't produce quality music or encourage art or innovate in any way. they commoditize.

I download lots of music. I buy lots of music. I don't care to see them become stars - hey, I'd rather see 'em in a small venue.

But I wouldn't download the U2 album even if you were giving me free ratio.

As far as that quote goes, he's right. But I'm not sure if that's a bad thing... maybe

Zombie Eater: Shut your trap, Bono.

Bono never said anything.

Earguy: Well, to be fair, if it weren't for the support and marketing of record companies, we wouldn't know about classic recoding artists, from Sinatra to the Beatles to U2 to Coldplay.

I agree that music downloading has killed the record industry, which doesn't make me mourn, because they ripped off the artists for so many years. Almost every major artist will tell you that they never paid off the $20,000.00 advance that the record company gave them, even after selling millions of records or CDs. The record campaniles had a strategy where they'd pay the artist just enough to keep them from asking too many questions about how much money their work was actually generating.

But the record companies were good for separating the wheat from the chaff when it came to finding popular music. Sure, we all have certain artists we love that never got big recognition, but for the most part, the best music got shoved down our throats through radio payola and TV appearances.

The only real record company success I see are artists brought up through the American/British Idol franchise. Their success is a conglomerate marketing machine where they make money off the TV show, the few CDs they actually sell, and the concerts (Idol contestants are paid a salary and don't make an extra dime for touring, T-shirt sales, or anything).

Now that such marketing is fizzling out, all bands are becoming "indie" and having a hard time finding traction on a global scale that was enjoyed by Pink Floyd and, oh, Cheap Trick. So outside of Idol - which typically brings us high-level amateur singers - where will the next truly remarkable artists come from?

1/10

♫ "No, no worldwide star-making function on the horizon, no worldwide star-making function..." ♫

Earguy: Well, to be fair, if it weren't for the support and marketing of record companies, we wouldn't know about classic recoding artists, from Sinatra to the Beatles to U2 to Coldplay.

You say that like it's a good thing.

I say, good riddance. Good music will always be there for you to find.

Oh dear, whatever will we do without musicians to worship? Please. I think you'll somehow find a way to separate the consumer from their money.

I used to sell sheet music and player piano rolls, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Your worldwide star-making network blows.

So a business model that relied on contracts that stripped the rights of the talent, paid them a token amount as an advance on royalties, then made sure there was never any profit so royalties were never paid, leaving the musicians perpetually in debt is now in danger?

So where's the problem?

The Icelander: Your worldwide star-making network blows.

EG: New Kids on the Block. 'N Sync. The assorted escapees from American Idol.

Tradition should be valued, but only so long as it works better than the alternatives, and only to the extent that it works.

I get better music recommendations these days from web comics. The record labels can all go DIAF.

Lumber Jack Off: 1/10

Erm, okay. I think that you're troll score comment is the actual troll. The poster and even the known crybaby from tfa is correct - DLing killed or is killing the traditional industry honchos, and part of their role was in producing stars with their immense war chests for promotion.

I believe that we'll simply continue seeing a music industry wherein more names than ever experience modest success, as opposed to a few making it REALLY big while the rest get zilch. I can rattle off 20 artists just from memory who I would never have thought to support had I not learned about them via the intarnets. Terrestrial radio, MTV, or whatever have literally zero impact on my music selection. In fact, the only way 'old media' still makes an impact on me is if, say, I hear a cool song on an episode of my favorite show.

I much, much prefer being out of touch with traditional media and being a fan (and usually a supporter in one way or another) or artists that traditional outlets may have left for dead barely a decade ago. I believe that we all win this way. The companies will still fabricate tripe, and the bands that do get huge without the labels' help (for example, Death Cab), will have risen on the merits of their output, appeal to fans, and not because some douchebag in a ponytail and suit spent months devising ways to shove it down our throats.

Record companies did not kill the music industry.

File-sharing did not kill the music industry.

What killed the music industry is that culture spread and history as we know it are both complete. At the touch of a finger, people in nearly every locale on earth (much of Africa and North Korea excluded) have access to 100 years of the sounds of every other culture. There really is nothing new under the sun.

Think about it: metal barely sounds different than it did 20 years ago, country sounds like rock and roll with a twang, rap sounds like it did 20 years ago, pop music the same.

The last innovation in musical instruments was the computer - and that can barely be called an instrument, more like a production technique.

So, if we discount the computer, what was the last major innovation in instruments? The synthesizer - and you all remember what that brought: jazz-rock fusion of the 70's quickly giving way to the synth-pop of the 80's. Yeah, synths got a little better as computer processing got cheaper and faster, but they were the last major innovation in sound.

What was it before that? The electric guitar, and Jesus what that wrought. That was the last Real Big Thing.

But at this point we've heard it all, and there are a billion Myspace pages out there with bands that are saying pretty much nothing if you want proof. However, even in this new internet paradigm, the most successful bands are going to be the ones 13-year old girs like - same as it's been for the last 40 years, only in the last 20, this effect has nothing to do with the quality of their music.

But let's go ahead and do the decentralized system - that ought to change things.

/sigh
//it's not the problem, folks

Every wrong decision the recording industry could have made over the last 30-50 years, they made. And because of their bad business acumen, it's your fault, your ISP's fault, and everyone else's fault but their own.

Listen up, executive sluts:

You promoted a pump-and-dump mentality, choosing to capitalize on new artists and dump them when they stopped being a fresh face.

You helped fund deregulation that allowed monopolies like Clear Channel to thrive, resulting in The Hype Machine dictating your selling strategies. Never mind that you ended up with fewer avenues to sell your wares. After all, what's the point of searching for the next Madonna when you can hype Lady GaGa into a reasonable facsimile?

You produced and promoted cookie-cutter artists from circa 1975-2000, confident that trending and sales would tell you what the people wanted. Never mind you missed out on trends that went under your radar until it was too late... after all, there's still just as much money to be made on late grunge as early grunge, right?

You set the price point for CDs at $15-$18, despite the facts that A) cassettes were traditionally sold at $10-$12, and B) CDs were infinitely less expensive to produce. When asked why you did this, you went on 20/20 to tell John Stossel that, in a nutshell, "because the market will bear it." Amusing at the time, wasn't it?

You turned the other way when Ticketmaster began its process of raping the consumer for service charges, despite the fact that this practice immediately impacted the artist's bottom line, and resulted in a backlash against live shows that brokered their ticketing through Ticketmaster. After all, the live shows aren't any of your business, and as long as Ticketmaster kicked back to you a fair amount... why would you stand up for those in your employ?

You paid your artists a pittance and locked them into untenable contracts that made you tons of money in the short term. At the same time, you also dumped hundreds of millons of dollars into "proven deals" with artists whose popularity would NEVER EVER FADE. You know, like the deals you gave Whitney Houston, Prince and Luther Vandross. All of whom are still selling millions of records today, right?*

You ignored the fledgling digital movement of Napster back in the early 2000s, choosing instead of put your head in the sand. And after it became apparent that the horse was out of the barn, you in conjunction with the RIAA chose to sue your way into the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of millions. Never mind that some of those suits ended up being filed against innocent victims. After all, they owed you easily thousands per song, right?

I would end this by saying that I hope you assholes are all the first ones against the wall when the revolution comes... but the fact is the revolution is already here. You idiots won't be the first against the walls, because we've already decided... you are too irrelevant to waste bullets on.

Best of luck to you. I hope you don't end up in charge of another industry that you'll inevitably drive into the ground, but something tells me you will. Just remember... there will always be a place in corporate America for someone like you. A savvy businessman that keeps his or her elbow firmly resting on the pulse of America.


Love always,

~The Consuming Public

Chastain86: Every wrong decision the recording industry could have made over the last 30-50 years, they made. And because of their bad business acumen, it's your fault, your ISP's fault, and everyone else's fault but their own.

Listen up, executive sluts:...

The first thing this makes me think of is, "Hey this sounds like Detroit (and I don't mean Motown). They're gonna ask for a bailout!"

Kyro: Zombie Eater: Shut your trap, Bono.

Bono never said anything.

Still, it's not like that's a bad suggestion.

Nothing on the horizon to replace the traditional worldwide star-making functions?

Really?

Susan Boyle and Keyboard Cat would like a word with you.

I get better music recommendations these days from web comics.

I discovered Malajube through Perry Bible Fellowship. Does that make me a part of the star-murder?

Charlie Freak is exactly right.

fark you bono

These guys are from England and who gives a s***?

chascarrillo: These guys are from England and who gives a s***?

Snuggles.

It's important to remember the traditional worldwide star-making functions of the big record companies. There's nothing on the horizon to replace that

Um... good.

Zombie Eater: Shut your trap, Bono.
Kyro Bono never said anything.

McGuiness is their business manager(who came out of the movie biz, another broken business model), it's a safe bet he speaks for him. I sat in the audience a few months ago in a small college theatre watching Bono's lecture...I've spent thousands on U2, flown to see them in other states...and all I could think while Bono was sketching out his African economic model is, there's a very good reason he's not giving this speech in China. Africa doesn't fit into the modern global economic paradigm-even if he were 110% successful, those OTHER pirates would still f it up. No business likes uncertainty, if the Big 3 isn't safe why should the Music Industry be?

Read up on the hookers & blow-hards in "Hit Men" by Frederic Dannen & remember this was the SAME INDUSTRY that was using all their political influence to install a tariff of .50 per blank cassette tape & $50(in 1980's money!) on each stereo sold in this country that would be kicked back to them to combat "piracy"
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chascarrillo: These guys are from England and who gives a s***?

Ireland, actually. Unless you're from Mexico.

danduran Ireland, actually. Unless you're from Mexico.

didn't get the meme, eh? NSFW lang;
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Remember when an artist would take his music down to a radio station, sit with a DJ (usually the overnight guy) or a PD, and do what he could to convince the guy to play it on the radio? Then the radio stations in surrounding towns would catch the buzz, and suddenly a phenomenon would occur?

I think the radio station (or even conglomerate of radio stations) that adopts the format of focusing on new, independent music...that actively seeks out new talent in their area and promotes it, even to a point of maybe offering it for sale/downloading from the station website...not only wins back some listening time from people that abandoned radio for mp3 players, but also finds a business model that works for the future of music.

/knows nothing about the music or radio industries
//I know I would listen to the radio if I thought there was a chance they'd turn me on to something new