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#EpicFail: Jay-Z's TIDAL, Misguided Millionaires & Cocky Consumers

4/4/2015

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PictureMusic streaming service TIDAL launched March 30th
Somewhere between Sunday night (March 29) and early Monday afternoon, thousands of social media users changed their profile pictures to splashes of turquoise blue and trending #TIDALforALL simply because their music faves (like Beyonce`, Nicki Minaj and Kanye West) did it and/or told them to. People were literally talking of revolutions, movements and change, knowing nothing more than Jay-Z purchased a music streaming service from a Swedish company called Aspiro (which technically was underway back in January). Some didn't even know that much. That was the first eye-roll I had for this news; people are so quick to bandwagon. They knew nothing, but were on board. Groupthink, blind allegiance and stupid human behavior aside, I looked forward to hearing more because given the acquisition and who was involved, I assumed TIDAL would be an awesome, artist-friendly answer to similar services like Spotify, that have been criticized for giving a severely small financial return to the artists they feature (I was partially right, but more on that in a moment). Heightening the hype was this dramatic, star-studded trailer (a freaking trailer; one that seemed ridiculous after the so-called roll-out), building up to the March 30th press conference where all would be revealed and all questions would be answered. We were on the cusp of  "turning the tide and making music history;" it was "the beginning of the new world," as West touted on Twitter. We all know how Yeezy can exaggerate.

Then, a funny thing happened on the way to innovation. Funny as in weird, not funny haha. Jay-Z and his Justice League of recording artists (including Madonna and Rihanna) signed a declaration (that no one saw the text of), said little and then dipped. The conference was short and horribly bereft of information. The central additional thing we learned was that TIDAL is artist-owned (equity stake was offered) and "combines the best high fidelity sound quality, high definition music videos and expertly curated editorial" for $9.99 and $19.99 (for uncompressed CD quality sound) a month. So...does every subscription dime go to the artists? Is there a significant difference in audio between the subscription options? How large is TIDAL's catalog? Who shot J.R.? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop? Hardly anything was answered and based on what was told, TIDAL was a shockingly unremarkable, more expensive (a negative consumer buzz word) service. "The new world" was a duplicate of the old one, except artists (who so happened to be wealthy) benefitted more this time and consumers (who aren't wealthy) would have less money in their wallet should they break away from pirating and free streaming. Finance and technology blogs pointed out the unoriginal interface and what seemed to be a flawed business model (using  the word 'seemed' because, again, few details) where audience gains would be few and the company's bottom line is just as weak as its competitor's (Jay-Z's response to this is interesting; I'll be getting to it). Just as critical, but far more cutting was the reaction from consumers. Due to the piss-poor presentation of the conference, Jay-Z and crew came off like a bunch of elitist, arrogant, greedy millionaires begging for more money at the expense of fans. #TidalForAll quickly became #TidalForNoOne on social media; people were throwing tomatoes and the well-intentioned "movement" where artists get the income they deserve from their own work in the streaming world versus industry executives and suits, was massively misperceived. 


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Rock&Rant: Hip-Hop Killed R&B

7/10/2014

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Picture"Hoes Ain't Loyal" is R&B?
Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

In November 2012, I did a “Rock&Rant” marking my observation that the genre of R&B as we knew it had fallen into a dangerous, uninspired extinction ozone, merely hinting at potential causes. I left the article open because I wanted to hear everyone else’s thoughts, but after reading “Why Has R&B Become So Misogynistic?”  by Vibe’s Michael Arceneaux and listening to the R&B farce that was Trey Songz’s  new album, Trigga (see my review here), I’m ready to name the culprit: hip-hop. Hip-hop music (inadvertently) killed R&B.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, hip-hop was establishing itself as the pop music of America and began to leave its mark with other genres. Even country music had to get a taste (ex. Trace Adkins “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”). Once hip-hop emerged (originating in the 1980’s), it wasn’t long before R&B was synonymous with it, mainly because of color-coding and racism. In spite of this, R&B long maintained its own distinction, but on the way to Oz, it got lost. Other genres that trendily attached hip-hop sustained their genesis and foundation, but mainstream R&B eventually allowed theirs to nearly collapse. These days, you almost can’t tell the difference between an R&B and hip-hop hit: every other song has a rap verse and, increasingly, the harder-driven rhythms, abrasive language and content, misogyny and incensed detachment often heard in hip-hop are becoming common threads in R&B; a genre once characterized by seductively smooth, bluesy and soulful sensuality. The shift I’m describing is lucidly exemplified on the aforementioned Trey Songz record. By the end of it, I yelled “This is not R&B!!” The definitive “I love you more than life itself,” “haven’t been able to sleep since you left” and “close the door and let’s revel in our passion” statements were replaced with  “These hoes going to do what they want…F*** them all the time, but you know I never wife them…I swear these hoes trifling (that’s not an affronting double standard at all),” “If you ain’t the type of b**** talking about relationships, hit me up on that late night s***,” “All we do is f***, drink and sleep” and violent sexual analogies. I thought R&B was supposed to be enticing. I thought R&B was the home of baby-makers, begging pleas, broken moments and wedding playlist jams.

R&B has died and its fan support is wavering because it has isolated its audience and forfeited its personality, charm and quality and become a watered down sub-genus of hip-hop. It’s unrecognizable. It doesn’t know what it is anymore. How can you speak when you have no voice? Some might argue that like any other genre, R&B has various stylistic periods and this is just another phase. The concerning difference, however, is that this phase has too much likeness to an already existing base. Strip it down and the only thing that makes it R&B is that it’s sung. As a fan, it bothers (and surprises) me that I can’t get through even a Kelly Rowland album without hearing multiple expletives, and it’s not even from a featured rapper! Charting top 5 songs have f*** right in the chorus. The sexual representations are tacky, impulsive and lack craft and wit. Sex is now a means to an individually hedonistic end. Further signifying the identity crisis is that even the modern break-offs are fairly bereft of R&B. The burgeoning “Alternative R&B” (AKA PBR&B and Futuristic R&B; ex. Frank Ocean) has thoughtful and tender lyrics, but no musical traits of “rhythm and blues,” and computerized and electronic effects. It’s arguably only branded as R&B because the artists are predominately black, which goes back to color-coding.

Don’t get me wrong, hip-hop has its value and I’m all for genre-mixing: it brings communities together and exposes people to styles they may not have listened to before. This outcome is most likely to occur though when there’s a balance and each side stays true to its defining basis. These “Hoes Ain’t Loyal.”

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Why MTV Doesn't Play Videos Anymore

1/1/2013

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My brother showed this to me and I HAD to post it; it's ridiculous the amount of truth that lies within it, despite it being satire. For those of you born before 1995: I warn you....you WILL feel ancient and slightly ashamed after watching this. You'll also realize that even if MTV were to indeed be a music video station again, they wouldn't play the stuff we want to hear or see anyhow. I read a while back that part of the reason for the lack of video play on MTV is because research indicates people are more likely to watch commercials during reality programming than videos. Reality programming that everyone complains about, but still watches somehow. The commentary on budgets is also interesting. Music piracy has more of a murdering effect than I think most realize. Just check the clip out.
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What it Costs to Make a Hit

1/10/2012

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PictureHit Team: T. Stewart, Rihanna & The Dream
Many recording artists like Kelly Clarkson, Robin Thicke and Beyonce` have complained about record label executives dictating album material and emphasizing the importance of “making a hit” for their financial gain. This isn’t a new or unheard of concept, but what’s surprising is how much labels spend to increase their chances of having a “hit smash.” According to a report by NPR.org, record labels design “writing camps,” where the hottest writers and producers are recruited to gather and crank out songs over a given period. Producers show up with their arsenal of pre-made tracks, and the summoned writers either pen lyrics based on what they’ve heard right then or fit already-written material to the track. After the music and lyrics are married (in some cases via demo), record executives/or the recording artist choose what songs they like best. Once the songs are selected for studio recording, a vocal producer (or the song’s producer) meets with the artist to execute. Fast forward through a couple of board meetings, listening meetings, legalities, final mastering and album photo-shoots, and you have a finished product ready to go on shelves (that’s the abridged, nutshell version of the remaining process). Pulling from NPR’s estimates, a label is liable to shell out $35,000 per song to pay both writers and producers and then another $15,000 for a vocal producer. Studio costs per day can be up to $25,000 and final mixing and mastering costs around $10,000.

The next major step in “manufacturing a hit” is promotion and radio/music-video play, which can vary in cost. In regards to radio, payola, the illegal practice of offering payment for broadcasting, is still an active part of airwave promotion. To avoid getting busted by the law, money may not blatantly exchange direct hands, but insiders take advantage of having acquaintances in radio, if not for making some new “friends.” Most stations purport that playlists are now based on audience market research results, but some still question broadcast practices. Promotional costs (which can include the artist’s air fare, advertisement spots, etc.) can reach up to 1 million. With this type of expensive bill, I imagine record labels get testy when singles like Rihanna’s “Man Down,” which is anticipated to be a smash, under-perform. Artists generally don’t see a dime from their own record sales until the label has recouped all of their expenditures. In the event that the finances are not returned, an artist may be indebted to the record label, get released from their contract or dropped. Sometimes artists get bogusly blamed for under-performance, particularly if they’ve had artistic input. On one season of MTV’s “Making the Band,” P. Diddy implied to Donny Klang that his single at the time wasn’t taking off because he wasn’t promoting it enough himself. 

Picture
My beef with these camp systems is that they kill the existence of custom-made quality songs. The tracks aren’t built around the lyrics and the lyrics aren’t built around the artist. That sucks all the heart and soul out of the music. How can you expect for an artist to perform a song with feeling when all they did was come in and record what someone else molded together?  Artists who gain more creative control and input can add a personal touch, but even those with producing or writing prowess like Robin Thicke, get their neck stepped on by label associates who are only concerned with the financial end; as if quality music won’t bring in quality dollars (some make the argument that only shallow music garners the big bucks, but those who make quality music have longevity and generate dollars more consistently). Thicke stated in a magazine interview that exec Jimmy Iovine told him that they would have to hand out narcolepsy pills with “The Evolution of Robin Thicke” and wanted the singer to “make Billie Jean” and reshape the project. As it was, “The Evolution” ended up making Thicke a household name, despite Iovine’s predictions.

Camp systems also allow room for producers and writers to be lazy and not give their best. Heavily requested because they’re “the hottest producer (or writer) out there,” they try to meet the high demand, which can lead to the same tracks and lyrics being rearranged, matched and reused to save time. If two songs sound similar, it’s likely that the same person produced it. The record label just paid $35,000 for a song that’s essentially recycled. Hmph. Song recycling and recruitment of the same 5 popular hit-makers ultimately leads to redundancy in mainstream music and fatigued listeners, who feel that much less inspired to legally purchase music. If listeners don’t feel like a song or album is worth their dime and they don’t pull out their wallet, record label income reduces and the artists make even less. Writing camps are designed to make bank for record labels and save time, but one could argue they do anything but.
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Beat an Album Leak--Jay-z Style

8/11/2011

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Yearly CD purchases have decreased steadily over the last decade, due in part to internet piracy. Music piracy is now so rampant, albums are leaking online long before their official release dates, ultimately affecting sales. Jay-z & Kanye West’s collaborative record, “Watch the Throne,” successfully hit the market on the planned date of August 8th without any mishaps, however. How did they avoid the leak? Well, according to RollingStone Magazine, having an exclusive release deal with ITunes and department store Best Buy was the key. Industry insiders have concluded that leaks tend to happen because copies of the finished product are stolen from manufacturing plants during shipping. “Throne” was released on Itunes August 8th and will be available at Best Buy on August 12th. By making the album initially available on Itunes only, no shipping is involved. If sales improve as result of this type of release plan, record labels are likely to mass implement it. While this plan seems like a dream come true for the industry, some fans and independent retailers oppose the design. Fans are concerned they may not be able to purchase physical copies if a specific store isn’t available to them and independent retailers won’t be able to sell and profit from anticipated albums. As a consumer, what do you think of exclusive release deals?
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Divas Copying Divas

3/6/2011

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My latest Videoblog.
I said I would have an example of lazy music production, so here it is. The production team, StarGate, produced "With You" (Chris Brown) and "Irreplaceable" (Beyonce`). As you should be able to see in the following video, the tracks are VERY similar. Producers tweak a track JUST ENOUGH (i.e. speeding or slowing tempo, changing a chord, or adding an effect) to avoid complete duplication, but it's still obvious it's the same track. Also below is a comparison of the StarGate produced "Firework" (Katy Perry) and "Good Girl" (Alexis Jordan). SHAME.
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Professionals Sounding Like Newbies

6/7/2010

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So, I’m listening to the new Usher record, “Raymond vs. Raymond” and I get really irritated because almost every song sounds like a Chris Brown, Trey Songz, or Omarion throw away.  It was like whatever songs didn’t make the cut for their albums made it on Usher’s. Instead of sounding like the artist that influenced Chris Brown & etc, he’s sounding just like them. After 16 years in the industry, he’s sounding like someone who’s been in it for 6.

I saw Christina Aguilera’s video for “Not Myself Tonight.” While the sexual antics in the video were not surprising, the sound of the song was. “Futuristic” techno dance pop (ex. Lady Gaga) is currently popular, and “Not Myself Tonight” fits that mold. In Christina’s 12 years an artist, I’ve never seen her be such a conformist. Her albums (in their entirety) are always vastly different in some way from her counterparts’ projects. If “Tonight” is a reflection of how the “Bionic” album will sound, I will be disappointed; as it will be falling in line with not only Aguilera’s counterparts, but the newer generation of pop artists as well. “Rolling Stone” magazine hinted at this idea, saying that the “Tonight” single sounded like it could be from Gaga’s “The Fame Monster” or an outtake from Britney Spears’ “Blackout.”

Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland has out new material (her next album will be her first under a new record label/management) that also has a techno-pop feel to it. In Kelly’s case, it’s not so much that she’s doing dance music that’s the issue. The problem is that the songs “Smooches” and “Commander” (the officially released single) completely lack substance; the lyrics have no point. Again, if the singles are indicative of what the completed album will sound like, we won’t have an artistic or masterful product. The music is catchy and will probably get her some attention, but that’s what new artists do. Put out catchy, pointless songs to get attention and sell a couple of records.  An artist who has been in the industry for 13 years shouldn’t sound like a new artist.

I’m seeing a pattern in music where older, more established artists are musically conforming to whatever is currently popular, resembling the sound of newer artists. This is a problem to me.
You can’t become an icon going backwards. As you progress as an artist and have some years under your belt, you set the standard and the tone for those who come behind you. I’m not sure what the industry horizon is going to look like if artists keep regressing.
I also see this pattern as a problem because the fans who have been following the established artists are going to feel abandoned/or frustrated. They listen to these specific artists because they relate to and identify with them. They are the artists that they have matured with. If the artists have a regressive sound, the fans now have to go elsewhere to find music they can enjoy (if they can find it). If fans have to go elsewhere, the artist loses their primary fan base, and that can be detrimental to the artist’s future success.

Who’s to blame for this and why is this happening?
Well, this typically happens because an artist is trying to stay relevant or popular. As far as blame is concerned, it could be both the recording artist and their record label. The artist may feel it necessary to sound like a newer artist to stay afloat, or their record label may be requiring that of them. Either way, if this is about staying relevant, regressing is NOT the answer. Like I mentioned before, you run the risk of losing your primary fan base when you do that. Furthermore, it sometimes comes off desperate, gimmicky or like a cheap trick and the new sound or persona is just not believable.

A lot of these artists who came out during the 90’s are in an interesting position. They’re at a crossroads point in their careers. They’ll either take the path to greatness and become full-grown icons, or they’ll just be fairly relevant or dissipate. They’ve now been around long enough to where they have SOME respect and control of their careers, but they’re still young enough to have to play by the current industry rules and meet certain expectations. Cards have to be played right, and steps have to be taken carefully. All I know is that regression is definitely not the answer. Take the case of Madonna. In my opinion, it’s not a coincidence that in comparison to her previous, platinum albums, her latest album “Hard Candy” only went gold. “Hard Candy” featured the production stylings of Justin Timberlake and Timbaland; artists the generation BENEATH Madonna’s. The material on “Hard Candy” could have easily been on a Nelly Furtado or a Britney Spears record. Moral to the story, sounding like the kids under you doesn’t work.
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The State of The Music: Gimmicks, Aging, Marketing & Consumers

6/6/2010

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Yet another blog were I talk about multiple semi-related things and hope it makes sense LOL.
I was reading a XXL magazine (hip-hop music) feature on Jay-Z (if you don’t like him, don’t stop reading- this post is about the music industry in general), and he said several things during his interview in relation to hip-hop that I thought could be applied to the music industry in general.

Gimmicks, Patterns, Formulas and Trends.
Jay was making the point that hip-hop has taken over mainstream music and culture and it runs the risk of losing its position to other genres as things have been become rather predictable and generic in terms of style and sound. “When a trend becomes a gimmick, it’s time to get rid of it…I saw everyone, because it was successful, following one path…We’re going to open the door for another genre of music. Same way when rock was doing hair metal, it opened the door even wider for hip-hop to come through and put rock in trouble for 10 years or more. Right now, a lot of indie bands are coming out, making rock more interesting...You keep messing around, making generic music, people are going to start turning off one at a time.”
This idea can be applied to the whole industry. In the music industry, it has long been a practice to massively reproduce any one thing that’s a success (i.e. a particular sound or trend like extreme auto-tune or blonde hair). It’s considered a smart business practice, but in regards to art, it makes things redundant. Over the last ten years, the “practice” has turned into religion: EVERYTHING is being recycled and reproduced. This is the reason why so many new artists aren’t lasting; they’re designed to deliver a recycled gimmick, make some quick money for the recording label, then disappear. This is reason why the same “heavyweight” artists don’t have any competition and continue to dominate. We as consumers have to get smarter to improve music. The record labels count on us being stupid enough to buy the same thing over and over, and unfortunately, we often are. For example, we already know that everything with auto-tune sold like hotcake. Or take the songs “Irreplaceable” (Beyonce`), “With You” (Chris Brown) and “Tattoo” (Jordin Sparks). All 3 have a very similar drum and acoustic guitar pattern (It’s no coincidence; they were all produced by Stargate. They changed the same track just enough for them to not be identical). All 3 songs sold like hotcake. We bought the same song THREE times. This “smart” business practice to recycle/reproduce will no longer be smart if we stop buying into it.

Aging in the Industry and Marketing.
In regards to marketing and being criticized for being a nearly 40 year old rapper Jay said: “I think people should make music as long as their heart is in it….If the target market is 15 to 25, that’s too narrow. What am I going to listen to at 26 and beyond? That’s a quarter of my life…We have to expand the genre. I would love to listen to hip-hop all day...everyone is speaking to the kids, thinking that’s the key to success…it’s the lack of growth that will keep us in certain place…you have those guys who are 35 years old trying to make “LOL smiley face”, competing with Soulja Boy.”
Again, his ideas are relevant to the entire music industry. Whatever the genre, once you turn 40, people treat you like you should disappear and stop putting out music. Music is an art and a form of expression. So, what, if you’re 40, you’re too old to express yourself? And if music is who you are, I guess you should stop being who you are. It’s disgusting how we discard artists after years of great music just because we think they’re too old to love music. A couple of different crappy things happen to you when you get older in the industry. If the record label keeps you around, they try to “update” your sound and make you “current” to compete with Soulja Boy (which just makes you look stupid). OR, if they let you keep your old sound, they barely promote you. You lose either way, because the audience ends up not buying your record.

Furthermore, in regards to the target market ALWAYS being 15 to 25, Jay is so right. What do you listen to at 26 when nothing relates to you? Why focus on one target audience? Focusing on one target audience is another practice that’s considered “smart”, but to me, it’s really stupid. Why milk one cow, when you can milk two (In this case getting money from more than one fan base)? Is the music industry A.D.D.? It seems as if currently, there is a pattern of doing one thing at a time. An artist will explore one genre at a time, target one fan base type at a time, either have an “artistic” album or a “commercial” album, or be JUST a great dancer or JUST a great singer. Yet, ironically, in order to have longevity, an artist must be multifaceted, multitalented and multitask.
The “one at a time” approach to marketing may make QUICK dollars for music execs, but it does nothing for the artist. It cuts their longevity short. For example, with focusing on just one fan base at a time, you alienate whoever you’re not focusing on. This will keep an artist from building a fan base that follows them long term. An artist will NEVER have the complete package doing one thing at a time, and therefore will get lost in the dust. But the record execs don’t care whether the artist lasts or not, even though the longer an artist lasts (and is successful), the longer they’ll make money for them. And yet, the execs are supposed to be the smart ones….

Consumers.
MUSIC SUCKS RIGHT NOW. What the hell can we do about it? We can be smarter consumers. It may SEEM like the execs run everything, but the truth is, we DRIVE the industry. We DICTATE the market. We ARE the market. What we buy helps them decide what products to create. For example, if we all bought ONLY oranges, fruit sellers would stop selling apples and only oranges. In music, if we ONLY bought Mariah Carey albums, then they would fashion all artists after her to try to get us to buy it. When it comes to purchasing music, only buy what you want to see more of.
#2, stop falling for the record execs’ games and gimmicks. Don’t be so shallow as to fall for someone with great looks, but doesn’t have a great voice. Don’t play into publicity stunts, gossip and hype. Stop listening to music that you feel is “just ok.” Don’t tolerate “just ok.” Raise the bar. Only buy what you think is “amazing.” Own your power as a consumer.
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The State of Music Today and The 2009 BET Awards

6/29/2009

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The 2009 BET Awards dedicated their entire show to the memory of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with tribute performances, special segments and a closing statement by Michael’s youngest sister, Janet. The next morning, many in media and forum were criticizing the show, saying that the tribute was lackluster and insufficient, among other things. I thought that any criticism of their tribute was unwarranted and ridiculous, considering they had to REFORMAT an ENTIRE show in 3 days. Some stations might have cancelled their award show, or just “sprinkled” mentions of Michael in. Brava, BET for of course caring enough to try your hardest and working with what you had to try to do him justice. Not to mention that they showed more tribute programming than MTV did in these last several days following Michael’s untimely death.
Surprisingly enough, the show was not somber. Channeling New Orleans memorial tradition, the mood was upbeat and a tender celebration of the memories Michael left us with. Host Jamie Foxx did an AMAZING job of showing respect to the legacy of Michael, having enough comedic twist that was not satirical of Jackson, but kept people laughing. The mood swiftly changed, however, when Janet Jackson appeared. Seemingly holding back tears, taking breath by breath, Janet gave a brief statement: “My entire family wanted to be here tonight…but it was just too painful, so they elected me to speak with all of you and I’m going to keep it very short. I’d just like to say that to you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family, and he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love. Thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.” With her father in the audience and a childhood photo of herself and Michael in the background, Janet bravely addressed the audience and the fans watching across the country. When I heard that Michael was gone, one of the 1st things that I thought was “God help this family. Everyone else is in their own grief right now, but nothing we feel compares to what this family is feeling. We lost our star, but there are children without a father, siblings without a brother, and a mother without her baby right now. Who cares what I feel…” I was glad to see Janet somewhat echo that sentiment and reminds us all that Michael, amidst all the magic, was indeed human, with a human family who was really grieving and we all just needed to take a step back for a second and acknowledge that. Following Janet’s speech, and thus closing the show was a piano performance of “I’ll Be There” by Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo.
There were performances by…..let me see if I can remember…. Ciara, Jay-z, Ne-Yo, Keri Hilson, Maxwell, Beyonce`….Jamie Foxx (of course) …and……..yeah, I’m going to have to check out the performers list to remember the rest, which is telling. I watched this award show with several of my friends and family, and the talent, or lack thereof, started a really interesting conversation about the state of the music industry today. I was making the argument that in current mainstream pop and R&B there are TOO MANY MEDIOCRE artists. Artists that are “just ok”, lack versatility, lack substance, and are talented in only one or two areas instead of many. One of the women in the room said that today’s artists are not “masters of their craft” and you don’t get a sense from them that they are “striving for excellence or growth.” One of the people my age responded to that by saying “well, this person isn’t supposed to be a “singer”, they’re just a dancer.” They’re not supposed to be a GREAT performer.”  I sat back in awe of that comment. When in the heck did we just start ACCEPTING this ish?
Throughout the night, they defended poor live performances with statements like “His song DOES lack substance, but it’s not supposed to be deep. I mean, sure, it would be nice if her voice was stronger and his song had a real meaning. I would definitely like it better if we had more strong performers in music, but that’s just how it is right now.”
WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?? This is the music of OUR generation- the music they will DEFINE US by when we’re older. This is the stuff that will go on compilation albums in future decades. If you don’t really like it, and you know it could be better (hence the “better if we had more strong performers”) why are you buying it? The music industry is oversaturated with mediocrity because YOU (the consumer) keep supporting and buying it. Yes, the industry bigwigs and execs are the ones puttin’ the music out, but they’re only putting b.s. music out because people keep buying it.
With statements like “that’s just how it is”, my friends left me with the impression that they feel the market is something they have no influence over. We have more control as consumers than we think. With the recording industry, the power is split down the middle between the consumers and the bigwigs. If we stop buying this B.S. they’ll stop selling it. If we buy only from the Robin Thicke’s, the Alicia Keys’ , the Common’s, The Pink’s, the Paramore’s, the John Mayer’s, or whoever you like, the b.s. will reduce. B.S. will ALWAYS exist, but the key is to REDUCE it. It’s okay to have a Britney Spears type artist here and there, but there are way too many in the room right now. During our parents’ generation, EVERY OTHER artist was a consummate performer. It kinda went something like this: Beatles, then mediocre artist, The Jackson 5, then mediocre artist, Rolling Stones, mediocre artist, Tina Turner, mediocre artist, so forth and so on. Now, it’s like Alicia Keys, 7 mediocre artists, Coldplay, 7 mediocre artists, etc. NOT ACCEPTABLE. I’m encouraging and challenging you guys to care about the art of music (which you claim to care about) long enough to stop supporting the ringtone rap, the fruitless pop, and the soul-less R&B, so we can take back OUR music. I want something to pass on to my children, like my parents passed on Sam Cooke to me.
I’m tired of the b.s.
And don’t tell me to dig up neo-soul, Christian contemporary, or some other alternative genre. I’ve had people suggest that and say “well, you must not want to hear “real” music bad enough then, if you don’t want to get in to neo-soul.” BULL CRAP! Why should I have to change genres? I don’t like neo-soul (at least not all of it). I like pop and R&B (I’m pretty eclectic, but those are the genres I listen to the most) and I want good pop and R&B to listen to! I am determined to have the big wigs listen to me because after all, they don’t have an industry without money and they don’t have money without me (the consumer). It’s time you start catering to me, Clive Davis. TAKE BACK YOUR MUSIC CONSUMERS!
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