No music biz? Don't tell the Monkees

[4stringer77]

Just thought this would be good fodder for discussion here. I'm glad the Monkees are still sharing the good times. Suite yourself Roger.
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/roger-daltrey-the-who-new-music/
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/monkees-good-times/

[Dave W]

CBS Sunday Morning had a very nice feature on the Monkees last Sunday.
Hey, hey, The Monkees are back!

As for Daltrey, it's no secret where I stand: if it's a business to you, you're playing for the wrong reason. And if you're selling music, as with anything else, it's worth exactly what people are willing to pay. I just read a summary of an EU-funded study which concluded that "infringement" accounted for 5.2% of music industry revenues. Even that's a gross exaggeration, since it automatically assumes that a pirated mp3 would have been bought otherwise, which is absurd. As usual, it's the record labels who are screwing the artists.

[66Atlas]

Even though what Daltrey says has a ring of truth to it, I think its sad when artists give up an resolve themselves to being strictly a nostalgia act.  Odds are they wont live up to the expectations people have with the new stuff but sometimes these groups pull off something really good.


It's cheesy and all but I heard this one a few weeks ago. It was good enough to get stuck in my head for hours and I bought the record

[OldManC]

I don't mean this to start a political discussion at all so please forgive the use of hackneyed terms, but it has struck me for years (since the mp3 era began) that most successful artists (and execs) in the music business (no matter what their politics are in other areas) are conservative to the point of parody in that they seem really to be crying that the racket that made them millionaires is changing the rules on them. They don't consider for one minute that industries and business models are constantly changing and true innovators will seek to make things work in any new paradigm, rather than complain and tilt at windmills they can't control. Daltrey's fans don't owe him anything. If he wants to sell new music or concert tickets, he needs to offer up a quality product they'll be willing to buy.

And this isn't a statement about quality or songwriting ability, but Taylor Swift, Adele, and a few others don't seem to have any problem moving units like they did in "our day."

[nofi]

if you or your band hit it big and suddenly have more money than you could imagine, music becomes a business like it or not.

[Dave W]

if you or your band hit it big and suddenly have more money than you could imagine, music becomes a business like it or not.

That happens to 1/100th of one percent of artists, if that. And the record label will still use every accounting trick in the book to cheat them.

[dadagoboi]

...They don't consider for one minute that industries and business models are constantly changing and true innovators will seek to make things work in any new paradigm, rather than complain and tilt at windmills they can't control...

Completely agree, George.  Plenty of twenty somethings are doing whatever it takes to play what they want and scratch out a living.  They're not complaining unlike a bunch of rich, entitled has beens.

In defense of Daltrey he did say a few months ago, "Rock will be fine as soon as old farts like us die and get out of the way."  Or something to that effect.   

[Dave W]

I don't mean this to start a political discussion at all so please forgive the use of hackneyed terms, but it has struck me for years (since the mp3 era began) that most successful artists (and execs) in the music business (no matter what their politics are in other areas) are conservative to the point of parody in that they seem really to be crying that the racket that made them millionaires is changing the rules on them. They don't consider for one minute that industries and business models are constantly changing and true innovators will seek to make things work in any new paradigm, rather than complain and tilt at windmills they can't control. Daltrey's fans don't owe him anything. If he wants to sell new music or concert tickets, he needs to offer up a quality product they'll be willing to buy.

And this isn't a statement about quality or songwriting ability, but Taylor Swift, Adele, and a few others don't seem to have any problem moving units like they did in "our day."

This is true in most businesses -- e.g. the taxi racket fighting Uber and Lyft -- but the entertainment business has been especially bad about it, dating back to at least 1906, when none other than John Philip Sousa complained to Congress about record players. From A History Of Hyperbolic Overreaction To Copyright Issues: The Entertainment Industry And Technology:

These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy...in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape.

[westen44]

Speaking of Sousa, he is mentioned in this highly speculative article about how rock music may be remembered hundreds of years from now.  Some interesting points, but no real revelations, IMO. 


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/which-rock-star-will-historians-of-the-future-remember.html?_r=0

[4stringer77]

I've discovered the entirety of the latest Monkees is on YouTube. Perhaps this reinforces Daltrey's point. I'm not sure how much profit the album is generating but I have to say it's a fantastic album with very well written songs. The tour's headed back to the Northeast and I think I'll be getting tickets.

[OldManC]

Dave, that is hilarious! I guess protecting the racket is as much in the music gene as is making ridiculous hyperbolic statements.

Carlo, I like hearing that quote from Roger. It shows that maybe there's a bit of the old, smart ass rocker left in there.

[4stringer77]

Saw the show on Saturday night at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The band was top notch and Micky and Peter were in fine form. Micky played drums and guitar and Peter played guitar, keyboards and lots of banjo too. They were hamming it up with the spritely energy of much younger men than they are. If anyone has a chance to catch it, you won't be disappointed.