INDIES STAND TALL AND KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE
There's great music today, as in every era, but why were the '60s and '70s such a fertile era? Why did we get the British Invasion, the San Francisco Sound, Motown and the great acts of FM radio? Today people listen to the radio and watch "X-Factor" and "American Idol." But most musicians have no desire to imitate these performers, at least not the ones I know.
They say MTV saved the music business. One could argue quite strongly it killed it, me for one. Everyone in the game knew you could get rich if you had a hit. Now you just can't get that rich playing music. It seems the record execs no longer care about music, they just want money. The acts are disposable and music devolves into formula. By time MTV stopped playing music and the execs squeeze all the cash out of both new and old acts, via overpriced CDs and concert tickets, the music, most notably the jazz scene is all but dead. And I don't know when it's going to come back.
Many mainstream acts of today have no soul, no backbone and no individuality (we call it 'the formula' sound). They want the money and their handlers are imploring them to do this, because they want their commission. Everybody's chasing an ever-shrinking piece of the pie. What did one composer say recently, "I'd kill myself if I got into the music industry now." Today it seems there's a definite ceiling in music. The radio stations were rolled up when Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners took Clear Channel private and squeezed out billions of stations. Now stations have innumerable commercials and they all sound the same. What's more they'll only play what's on the major labels. The rich are getting richer and the musicians are being left out. And yes, piracy contributes to income deprivation, but it's more complicated than that. The industry no longer can just recognize genius and nurture it. Paying your dues, doing it because you love it, very few are willing to play that game. We won't have another heyday for music until we're all in it together. No one is speaking truth, they're just speaking money, and it hurts us all. I must say, this is heartbreaking because there is such a wealth of fresh, new, talented artists that deserve to have their voices heard !
All for one and one for all ~ Indies its time to Stand Tall !! I'm just sayin !!~~~~ 2012 The Year of The Indies !!
Musically Yours ~ Gino ~~~
