mutantman

This is an interesting discussion but like any discussion about the music business there is always an underlying hatred felt by those who make music as a pastime for those who make a living out of it.

Being good at making music isn't something you are just born with - even the greatest acts anyone loves have had to work their asses off to reach the heights of their art.

What is the difference between a great chef who cooks you a superb meal and a great musician who provides you with a soundtrack to your life? They both put in the years to develop their talent to a point where they could make something magical happen apparently effortlessly.

Simple answer is that unless you do a runner from the restaurant you have to cough up the dough because you can't download it for free on bit torrent. In one case you risk getting nicked by the police or at best twatted by the waiters; in the other, you are a freedom fighter against the capitalist system.

Ah rationalisation, I wonder where we would be without it.

And just expressing the general view of bands, music industry, etc. which is part myth created by the bands and industry themselves and in part a creation of the music lover who likes to imagine their favourite artists as being somehow beyond the grubby world of commerce that the rest of us live in.

The fact is that bands ARE being massively effected by this and yes the majority of the industry types are also losing their jobs/businesses. They just don't advertise it publicly. Bands always cite other reasons for them leaving labels or splitting up - to say you've been dropped or that you can't afford to be in a band anymore is equivalent in the public eye as saying "we are shit" so it rarely gets said.

The people who are squawking about the end of the world for music are simply the canaries down the mine shaft who can see the long term implications for music. It's not that anyone gives two shits if Madonna or Elton John lose a few million in the next few years in record sales; no-one cares about Simon Cowell and his protegees of evil. We can just see the knock on effect actually happening right now with bands at all levels being dropped and finding it hard to make a living.

People talk about the live scene being the saviour but even that has had a nightmare in 2008 with only the very big shows and small regularly attended venues actually doing well. The mid range shows with ticket prices around £8-10 are not selling out as they used to because a) people are going out less because of the general shitty economic situation and b) less new and interesting bands are being promoted to a level where they can sell 600+ tickets a night across the country for a tour. Promoters are offering less money to play as a result and tours are just not being planned because, hey, they cost a fortune even if you do it all in a van and sleep on floors.

Yes there will be exceptions, no-ones saying there aren't, and I for one hope that a DIY punk ethic will take hold and a workable model for create, release, tour and survive will appear for bands and small labels/businesses such as happened in the late 1970s. The worrying difference between then and now is that back in the 70s/80s/90s the DIY labels were offering a 'choice' to a consumer between the corporate releases of the majors and themselves; people would still buy records and you could sit down and say "If we sell x number of albums we can cover costs". Back then you knew there were people out there willing to support you and pay some money for a copy of your album - nowadays, can we be certain anyone will pay for recorded music?

So if you can't make money from your recordings and touring is also becoming less and less the magical cash cow for bands, I think its fair to say that the sound of the canaries squawking is becoming deafening to those who can hear them.

I mean fer fooks sake - Iggy Pop is selling car insurance! What more signs of the impending apocalypse do we need (joke, I think).

So whats the answer? Maybe there is no simple all encompassing answer. Maybe it is going to be shit for a few years at least but on the bright side if it means that the Brit Schools and their like close down and stop perpetuating hoards of crap careerist no-marks (Adele, yes I mean you!) into the world then maybe its a good thing. Maybe a cull is needed?

Yes, the hardware manufacturers and suppliers of multimedia phones also need the quality content to drive their businesses. I was being unfair to point the finger purely at the ISPs earlier.

It's a complex multi-threaded new technology driven world and simplistic business models won't work anymore for media that is tranferred and utilised via that technology.

Maybe it will even be a fairer world for musicians and music lovers alike? Ah... I can but dream!

Everyone's really happy to attack everyone in the music industry for being greedy evil scum (as always) but do any of you out there really think you would be spending £500+ a year with Virgin or BT or whoever you use, if it wasn't for all the 'free' content out there? You don't need 50 meg broadband for anything other than media files - streaming or otherwise - and yet no-one ever has a go at the ISPs for profiteering?

The answer seems to be not prohibition and certainly not persecution of the downloaders; it seems right that a form of royalty arrangement similar to PPL and PRS/MCPS that provides income for songwriters should be levied upon ISPs for the 'provision' of this free content which, basically, completely drives their business.

It's like they've broken open the toy shop and charged all the local kids a fiver to take anything they want. Would you blame the kids for 'stealing' or would you blame the guy on the door taking their money?

One thing is certain and that is something will have to be done or we can all look forward to a world of ZERO new releases and endless versions of "Chocolate Rain" and "LOL kittens" as defining pop culture of the 21st Century.

... can anyone remember a band more desperate to please everyone. Why not call the album "Desperate to be a succesful pop band" or is that too honest for these cyncial times.

Yep guilty as charged. It does work for an article on one of a hundred current celeb tossers though.

Check out:

http://jamiesrunoutgroove.blogspot.com/2006/07/greatest-youtubes-ever-smiths-are.html

I fucking love The Smiths and don't think any less for them for being part of such a cynical marketing ploy to convince small children to buy their records.

Although Morrissey looks like he's enjoying himself too much - hmmmm...

Cat the Dog who are really talentless cunts signed to The Kooks label, look like the Kooks and can't even play their own songs - worse than Doherty on a crack binge but nowhere near as amusing. Saw them in Bristol show.

Switches however were cool and should have been main support

its not plugged in. its a hired dummy. no orange amps were killed in this debacle.

and the little shouty one is shagging Fearne Cotton apparently according to the News of the World.

Personally I think the band are okay but then I guess I don't usually read DIS or waste time passionately slagging off bands anymore. But seeing as I'm here, fer fooks sake can't people focus on the real evil the land - Razorshite !!! I mean, I thought they'd go away if we all closed out eyes but no, I open my eyes everyday and that ngngngnnng git is still here.

Now thats a corporate creation of some record label !