Clive Davis Rides Again
Four years after being kicked to the curb by the label he founded-- Arista Records, superstud Clive Davis finds himself back in the saddle as head of the North American music operation of BMG, owner of Arista. His erstwhile successor, L.A. Reid, has been ousted by the accountants due to an inability to make money off multiplatinum acts such as Pink.
(How do you not make money off of Pink's second album? That shit was everywhere, and I guarantee you her contract is not that favorable to her own interests. L.A. screwed up bad.)
Look at my last post about Tower Records, then read the story about Davis and see if you can spot the trouble. Back? Ok.
What seems like good news for Clive now could turn out to be not so good for anyone else. The major labels are in the same trouble the major retailers are, which is why BMG and Sony are in talks to merge their music operations. Obviously Davis has been brought on board to guide the music unit through the merger, and about the time the whole thing comes crashing down he'll semi-retire with millions of dollars and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
"What", you say? I say this: Sony and BMG are merging their music wings out of desperation because recorded music has ended its fifty-year run of profitability. Sooner or later there will be one or two major labels releasing 90% of the high-charting albums in the US and all the interesting stuff will happen around the giants' feet. The majors will still put out Britney and No Doubt and P.Diddy, but the interesting stuff, the good music for music's sake will happen even more exclusively in basements and garages, shabby offices, and out of the trunks of cars. Music will become local, and scenes will communicate via the inter-web. The transition will be ugly: radio will suck worse, the RIAA will kick like a mule with the DT's, mainstream distribution channels will become closed to smaller-name labels and bands, and great artists will be dropped like a sack of hammers. But the outcome will be great: awesome music, there for the taking for cheap or free, if only you know where to find it.
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Yep, with the tools for state
Yep, with the tools for state-of-the-art digital recording within the economic reach of so many today, the only advantage the labels had was their distribution and marketing power; but the Net's power for accomplishing those ends is only now beginning to be realized. I rarely buy music these days that I can't simply download and burn at my convenience. The reign of the majors is over.
Dude, radio can't possibly
Dude, radio can't possibly suck worse.
But if this Musikerdammerung should come to pass as you describe, it sounds like a very cool thing.
I remember in olden tymes, when there was no way in hell you could bebop down to the Strawberries and expect to pick up a Black Flag or Descendents record. Shit, I first heard ST on a 3d, 4th generation tape from a friend, who got it because his brother spent time in Venice Beach.
We all have similar stories, and I dunno... color me nostalgic but I think a modern equivalent of "tapes of tapes" would be just the puppy's nuts.
And not to get too "Road to Ithaca" about it, but isn't the search for that extra special track oftentimes more fulfilling than the track itself?
Phil: Exactly. The one
Phil: Exactly. The one comparative advantage the majors have, that they will always have, is that sometimes they put someone with an incredible ear in a position of power with a sizable budget. Davis, through his own talent, persistence, and toughness, is one of those people.
Ditto Michael Alago, who once upon a time discovered Metallica.
Ditto David Geffen.
Ditto, I shrink to say, Simon from American Idol.
But that is only half the story. These men had time and resources at their disposal to hone their talents that most people lack, and their numbers will shrink as the music industry changes.
Back in the day, A&R dudes were left to their own devices because the suits had NO IDEA what good music was about. Nowadays, tight control of expenditures is more important, and A&R guys are second-guessed at every turn by the Accounting & Control people, the Marketing Managers, and the mostly talentless hacks in Radio Promotion.
The future is going to feature many more small labels like Burnside, Bloodshot, Lookout!, Epitaph!, North of January, K, Kill Rock Stars, Fenway, and Arena Rock, staffed by people in it for the love (because the money ain't coming), in existence because of their connections to a wider scene than a band can muster on their own. Their rolodexes will matter more than anything else, and the music industry will become more client-based and less chattel-based.
And it will fucking ROCK.
GeekLethal, radio most certainly CAN get worse. Trust me.
And you are too right: the search for the chase is sometimes more important than the catch. But not always.
"Music is everything."