Record companies are not inherently evil. If it were not for them, we would not have many of the albums that are considered classics now (Nick Drake is one example that comes to mind). How many orchestras would have recorded the music of Arvo Part or Harry Partch were it not for somebody at a record company. Would we have recordings of Charlie Parker? Musicians are not necessarily good business people, or they would never sign bad contracts. Many of them would never even make it to the studio if it were not for a producer and a record company budget. The main problem is that the way recordings have been distributed has become less efficient. Most record stores/shops need to sell four to ten CDs to support each CD they have in stock. So you have Brittney supporting Captain Beefhart or John Zorn, in a way. I want to go into a store and buy a CD that was exactly what I wanted. If I want a comp of throwaway hits, make one for me (even if the artists are on different labels). Nothing would be "out of print" or "not in stock." I could print the artwork any size I wanted, or not at all. I could get lyrics if I wanted. In other words, give me service like no one else, not even pirates. Set up a patronage system whereby we can designate a foundation to bestow grants on new artists to record the next best thing. The old distribution system is dead. Use your energy to create a new model, not in keeping the old one alive.
Agencies *did* sue the makers of almost every recording device at some time or another. Disney sued Sony over the VCR. There have been *many* proposals to add a tax to blank media to compensate for the loss of revenue due to "pirate" recordings. Yes, Phillips has a CDR deck, but why does it cost so much more than the equivalent CDR for a personal computer? Why do they have separate "music" CDRs? Minidisc was almost always touted as a data storage medium (oh yeah, and it can do music, too!). This is nothing new, but the last dying gasps of an industry trying to save itself from the empowerment of the artist. Good riddance!
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Record companies are not inherently evil. If it were not for them, we would not have many of the albums that are considered classics now (Nick Drake is one example that comes to mind). How many orchestras would have recorded the music of Arvo Part or Harry Partch were it not for somebody at a record company. Would we have recordings of Charlie Parker?
Musicians are not necessarily good business people, or they would never sign bad contracts. Many of them would never even make it to the studio if it were not for a producer and a record company budget. The main problem is that the way recordings have been distributed has become less efficient. Most record stores/shops need to sell four to ten CDs to support each CD they have in stock. So you have Brittney supporting Captain Beefhart or John Zorn, in a way.
I want to go into a store and buy a CD that was exactly what I wanted. If I want a comp of throwaway hits, make one for me (even if the artists are on different labels). Nothing would be "out of print" or "not in stock." I could print the artwork any size I wanted, or not at all. I could get lyrics if I wanted. In other words, give me service like no one else, not even pirates. Set up a patronage system whereby we can designate a foundation to bestow grants on new artists to record the next best thing. The old distribution system is dead. Use your energy to create a new model, not in keeping the old one alive.
Agencies *did* sue the makers of almost every recording device at some time or another. Disney sued Sony over the VCR. There have been *many* proposals to add a tax to blank media to compensate for the loss of revenue due to "pirate" recordings. Yes, Phillips has a CDR deck, but why does it cost so much more than the equivalent CDR for a personal computer? Why do they have separate "music" CDRs? Minidisc was almost always touted as a data storage medium (oh yeah, and it can do music, too!). This is nothing new, but the last dying gasps of an industry trying to save itself from the empowerment of the artist. Good riddance!
As a resident of the much maligned state of Kansas...Yes it is "KS."
Cody in Lawrence (Birthplace of Lynx)Er..."Grammar" does matter.