Old school rocker talks about how music execs use to be willing to take chance on new and unknown music artists.
I can’t say that I’ve ever been a big Frank Zappa fan, but he certainly makes some good points in an in interview he did on “The Cutting Edge.”
He talks about how record execs used to be “cigar chomping old guys” who didn’t have a clue about what music sounded good or not and so simply decided to take a chance on “unusual and experimental music” to see if it would sell or not.
It wasn’t the most noblest of efforts on their part, it was essentially still all about the money he argues, but they at least allowed artists to explore their trade and for the masses to experience a wide and eclectic variety of new sounds.
What happened in his opinion, is that a wave of “hip young guys” then took over at the music labels and then basically began to be the arbiters of what sounded good or not. It was only the music that was worthy by their definition, of being produced and distributed.
Music fans then lost the chance to hear music that had probably slipped by the “discerning ears” of music label execs. Where previously it had all been about profits, the business had morphed into both profits and musical taste. Unfortunately for music fans, record exces have suffered from a lack of taste for a very, very long time.
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pretty interesting how an interview with a guy whose been dead for 15 years or so is “news”
At least he had a handle on WHY the music industry in so in decline today and it holds TRUE.
Music execs today are not willing to give anything a shot but what “their” idea is of music. Of course the results speak for themselves.
We get some stupid reproduced copies of hits from the 60’s and 70’s sung by a new singer today that has absolutely no talent because that is “their” idea of a good song!
So now you see an industry that is dying and blaming all of it’s ill’s on p2p when the music industry executives themselves are the reason for their OWN demise!
Fucking lame sounding mainstream shit…..Poop in a bucket and throw it over your head that feels better trust me.
Pis on a biscuit and suck it dry that feels good man. (trust me i know)
@notbob
Notice how what he said is still true.
As far as I know Frank Zappa (RIP) never went to college yet he remains one of the most intelligent articulate musicians I’ve ever heard speak in public. I was lucky enough to attend two Frank Zappa concerts before he died and both were excellent. They guy was a brilliant musician and insisted on near perfection from himself and his band members. Frank’s perspective on the music industry is very insightful. He was fucked over by Warner Bros. as he would often let audiences know. Many of his songs (as opposed to instrumentals — he was arguably the world’s best guitar player for years) simply could not get airplay because the lyrics ran afoul of the moronic nanny known as the FCC. There are quite a few spoken word recordings of Frank Zappa especially when he was defending the rights of artists against the attack by the PMRC. Those interested in such events in history might want to obtain the US (not the European) release of “Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention”. It is a somewhat dated album but it includes enough good music that it will withstand the test of time. The parts where the battle against the PMRC (AlGore’s demented wife was a leader of that brain damaged organization) unfold are quite pertinent to this thread.
The music industry has gone to the dogs and with each passing year it gets worse. Musically visually lyrically… No-one with talent or balls breaks through nowadays and to a large extent it’s the record company’s fault. The “MySpace revolution” bullshit is just another buzzword false dawn also. Has anything worthwhile come out of the ‘Net and made it to the mainstream? Nope. All acts that go mainstream are still cherry picked and promoted relentlessly by radio/labels/MTV until they make it. Only whatever fits their mould will make it big.
MySpace is just another part of the corporate regime too and the phrase “MySpace music revolution” is simply an advertisement for one of Rupert Murdoch’s products.
MTV: Where pop music and slut culture converge. It’s just going to go further and further down that road folks.