From September, 2003:How Many Pieces Can You Slice From A Pie?
The music industry is finally starting to change. Very slowly, but it is changing. In the last decade, we basically saw the industry trying to make money without any effort. Release old catalog stuff on CDs, do a lot of "Best Of ..." albums, and play "me too" as far as artists go. Britiney begat a lot more Britineys. "Play it safe and don't take chances" became the mantra of most record companies.
Buy up smaller labels and release "Best Of" albums from existing masters. Far safer than trying to figure out who has a chance to succeed among new artists looking for a deal. If the record company thinks you have a chance, they might sign you to a 1 record deal and "we'll talk" if you have a hit.
Well, they finally ran out of "Best Of ..." albums; there are no more smaller big name labels, and they're up to their ass in Britineys. They've cut up that pie about as small as it can get. So what's left for them?
New artists - with talent, and something to say? Oh God, let's not go there, but that's all that's left for them. And it's starting to happen, even at our local level. Groups (that don't sound like a dozen other groups) are starting to show up, in clubs, and in recording studios. There's a new breed of musicians who are forging their own way in the world. Sooner or later, the major record companies are going to hafta take them seriously, cuz that's where the music is heading.
Now, record companies change at about the same rate as say, "continental drift". V e r r r r y s l o o o w l y, but they're gonna hafta change if they want to survive. So, the good news is that they ARE changing, and sooner or later, they're gonna be interested in some of the new stuff coming out. The bad news is that this change may not occur in the average group's lifetime. I'm talking about the death of a particular group, where a lot of groups die off, or reform, within a couple of years of forming. So the "big" change may still be a few years off, and some of the pioneers may never get their chance at stardom, but their "children" will.
So how can we help? As much as I love the established stars, don't go to the record stores and buy every album. Find a new group around town and get behind them. Send the record companies a message that you're tired of rehashed material and you want something new, not just another group doing the same old shit. In the last year, we've had some fantastic groups come thru our studio, but it's up to you whether they succeed or not. Get out to the clubs, not just to hear your "favorite group", but take a listen to some of the new groups whose names might be less familiar to you - you may really be surprised.
Whether the record companies realize it or not, there's a whole new pie in the oven. And it's way better than the stale pieces the record companies are serving up.
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Topic: How Many Pieces Can You Slice From A Pie? (Read 2028 times)