......yes Clive, Nigel and Simon, it's a pity you white-suit music 'professionals' couldn't see the musical genius of YOUR Season 5 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks - you remember, the musician, the one playing that little blues harp, in the following video?
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3 comments:
griz, did you see the Rollingstone article...
Music Biz Laments "Worst Year Ever"
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/st...orst_year_ever/
Of all the labels, Sony BMG -- which merged in 2004 -- had the toughest year: The company's market share shrunk three percent, it paid $10 million to settle a payola investigation (Warner eventually settled for $5 million) and had to recall 4.7 million CDs that included invasive copy-protection software. "How does a record label self-destruct?" says Darryl Pitt, manager of the Bad Plus, whose CD was recalled. "This is a pretty good way."
It looks like they had to clean house because of their tough year...some of their other artists better watch their backs...
but then it also had a good tidbit about indies.
The Indie Scene
As the majors stumbled, independent labels gained market share, accounting for eighteen percent of CD sales in '05. Indie labels proved especially adept at Internet marketing via outlets like MySpace; the emo label Victory Records sold 558,000 copies of Hawthorne Heights' album The Silence in Black and White without radio play. And several hip indie acts -- the Arcade Fire, Interpol and Bright Eyes -- sold more than 250,000 copies each. The indie model of earning profits on a broad range of small-scale releases, rather than focusing on blockbusters, may offer a new direction for the majors. "The major labels want to say the glass is half full," says Gwen Stefani's manager Jim Guerinot. "I think everybody's getting the message: You better get a fucking smaller glass. The music business is a different game."
Taylor will be fine..
Despite what Nigel says: TH has a lot of "grannies from Omaha" willing to buy albums, plane tickets, concert tickets and hotel reservations to satisfy their addiction.
People love to see people get knocked off their pedestal ... they love it even more when they beat the odds after it happens. TH is a curious case because he elicits so much positive and negative passion. We are never going to convert the hatahs. How they re-connect with the middle ground ... more extensive touring, lower ticket costs, will determine where his career goes from here.
Great write up...I agree totally.
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