For The Good Times

For the longest time, I tried not to become one of those people who went constantly digging into their stack of old records, or in this case CDs. But, as fate would have it, several years ago, music shifted from being very melodic to being overly rhythmic, and a good song that stayed on my mind could only mostly be found amongst my oldies.

So, what do you do when your favorite band or artist has fallen from the mainstream market place. Brick and mortar, mostly your mom and pop (if there are any left) have always been a good source for new releases from independents and lesser know acts, as well as releases from big name artists whose sound no longer fits into the mainstream.

Of, course the internet has become an almost invaluable resource for finding just about anything that's ever been recorded. In fact, I recently discovered while online, that one of my favorite bands, Earth Wind & Fire released a new single called, Guiding Lights from their soon to be released album "Now, Then, and Forever." The album is a single disc retrospective that features selections by some of the bands more famous fans.

They've been making music for about 40 years and are just one example of what can be found that is no longer considered as "mainstream." There are many artists who release new music from time to time and haven't been on a major label for some time. The question is why. Why can't those artist get the attention of a major label anymore? What is it about the mainstream? Why does it change? Why can't there be a place for everyone with a viable product?

I'm sure I've said this or something like this before, and I could say this till I'm blue in the face, but I think that it's worth repeating. Popular music is marketed to a specific demographic. That demographic is age 14 to 24 years and possibly female. The idea is that this segment of the population has a lot of what is known as disposable cash. This is said to be money that a family has after everything has been taken care of. For the target market demographic, this could be money from their allowances, savings, babysitting or grass cutting jobs, maybe even snow shoveling and/or car washing jobs. Any money that's not needed to take care of necessities. That, I think would also include working part time at McDonald's.

That takes care of the money part. The other part, is appealing to those who are between the ages of 14 to 24. Style and appearance are right at the top, right along with anything that is already a trend. And, if there isn't a trend, then one is created. Sometimes a touch of androgyny is used, not to blur any lines, but to create a subtle or almost subliminal or psychological appeal. People in this demographic, especially at the younger end, are believed to be more impressionable and susceptible to sexually suggestive images.

Add to that the need to appear, or be perceived as hip or cool, and an artist coming on the scene with the right combination of the above, coupled with a lot of major label promotion muscle, and "ta dow," you've got yourself an overnight sensation. If you've noticed, I didn't say very much about the music.

It's just my opinion, but it would seem that music is or has become the last and least important part of the whole equation. Music, in my opinion, has become something that, maybe only someone who is 25 and over would care about. And, after you've fallen from the market demographic, the majors aren't selling to you anymore.

So it would seem, that at some point, the majors stop selling to you, and what you hear on the radio is not what you want to hear. Then, sooner or later, you find yourself digging through that sack of old CDs or Mp3s, trying to find that certain something that the mainstream sound just doesn't seem to offer. But, if that happens to you, don't worry. It doesn't mean that you're getting old or that you're becoming your parents. You're just longing for the good times.

When Will It Be?

The world is still waiting for it's first internet music superstar. The only question is, when will it ever happen?

The internet, while being created in the early 1960s, only gave birth to the World Wide Web a mere twenty years ago. While the technology continues to grow at a very rapid pace, the more traditional communications mediums, such a Radio and Television have been around for far longer and still hold sway with consumers in the mainstream market place.

The first band to post a million downloads was the band, Fisher back in 2000. This got the attention of a major label and landed the band a record deal. However, the success that they had online didn't translate to brick and mortar, as the size of there fan base came from a wide and varied, global audience.

While 2011 was indeed the year that digital music began to make an impact, still the artist whose music contributed to it's greater success launched their careers through the use of those more traditional forms of media. In fact all major artists enjoy the promotion power that signing with a major label can bring.

The success of Adele and Lady Gaga, as well as last year's first million selling album by Lady Antebellum was the product of major label promotional muscle. It is true, if you are an independent artist able to travel the world touring, that it is possible to build huge fan base. But, by so doing, your audience will have been built from thousands of miles of travel and countless numbers of live performances, and not by anything more than maybe a few days of advance notice either from Radio, Television, or the Internet. And, while you may gain a great deal of notoriety, stardom or super stardom may not necessarily come along for the ride.

Maybe, the concept of star, or super star actually negates ones efforts as a musician, or singer/songwriter and plays host to something that is obviously more fleeting, like fame. Most music legends endured a certain amount of struggle on their journey to the top, while most of today's stars seemed to come forth, ready made, complete with their own image and fan base already in place.

The internet gives all artist a greater chance at a larger audience. But, most Web surfers tend to do just that. They roam the internet in search of something that they have yet to experience or maybe have been wondering about. And how important is it to become a star on the internet anyway? What most independent artist long for is the freedom to create what they envision. Maybe all any artist hopes to do on the internet is build a following that really and truly enjoys their music. Sure, as an independent, you're always hoping that you can reach a level of attention that can earn you enough money so that can do just music for a living. Having said that, then maybe it is also true that no one coming onto the internet that isn't already famous or a star, is looking to actually become one. But, if such a thing should happen, I could see how no artist would be able to turn away from it, including yours truly.

All in all, for most independent artists at least, the internet is about getting the word out to those who love music, that you have music for sale. If we as a species survives long enough, I could see the day when good music triumphs over all, even if only in my dreams.

A Fine Mess

I was listening to the radio again. Got a couple of nice surprises too. The first one was the return of the region's only smooth Jazz station. It's format changed about two or so years ago, but now it's back with a new twist. It's playing some of today's pop radio hit makers. While this is not the worst that could happen to the station, I personally am hoping that this won't be a permanent change, as this has been done at a cost to a wealth of music that would better fit within the format.

The other surprise came as I was listening to a few of the Rock stations in my area. Wow. The music was really tight. Gone was much of that weepy, dreary sound that had begun to take over the genre. In fact, I actually spent as much or more time listening to the Rock stations then I did any of the others.

The local R&B station still has very little to draw from, since R&B has given itself over to Rap and Hip Hop. There's the quiet storm in the evenings, which features a lot of Romantic oldies sprinkled with today's lifeless imitation of the real thing. Through day however, there isn't much that is new that is uptempo unless it's Rap or Hip Hop, or something from the past. The rhythms of the new stuff are usually tight but the melodies, in my opinion, are still lacking and the lyrics are usually less than imaginative.

As I roamed around the dial, I found that the oldies station was now playing, "everything that was good." Which I might add, was very good actually. It takes a bit of skill to do it, but they played a set list that weaved music from every genre and time period into a seamless progression of some of the most popular music ever to air on the radio. I guess that's a third surprise.

What's most intriguing about my experience is that none of these stations that I listened to are considered as top 40 stations. And, from the sounds of it, I think that none of them care. Alright! I don't know what this means or if it means anything, but it was refreshing.

I think that it's too soon to tell though. Something's got to happen with R&B before I could say personally that, maybe real music is making a come back. But, I think that it's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

The BIg Three

Maybe you've already heard, or maybe you're just finding out, or maybe, you don't really care, but there are now only three Major record companies on the planet Earth. That's right. Three record companies now control all of the major record labels.

This past November, Citibank, which owned EMI sold it's holdings to both Sony and Universal. Universal bought the recorded music section while Sony bought the music publishing arm. There has been some concern as to how the sale of EMI while fair in the financial realm, but as there is considerable back catalog that continues to do well, as well as new up and coming artist whose music is making en roads in the mainstream market, their appears to be no real worry about whether there be loss as opposed to profit.

Obviously, the sale is not going to be a losing venture, financially. But, what about the music? Most of the radio stations in this country are already owned by major corporations, which has, in my opinion, given rise to a lot of what we hear in most markets, as a sound alike phenomenon. Now with only three record companies, there's bound to be an increase in the similarity of sound between the artist already in the mainstream and those whose music is yet, but will soon be released.

From time to time, complaints are posted by music fans who are increasingly disappointed that the music that they love is continuing to be harder and harder to find. What music it that? Music with more melody and words that you're not ashamed to sing in front of your family and friends.

I know that I've posted about the increase in rhythm and special effects in top 40 music. And, how Disco has come back, triumphantly to the top of the charts, as Dance music. But, this music is having it's greatest success with it's target audience of 14 to 24yrs of age. With music sales trending up in 2011, there's no reason that I can see for the Big Three to abandon what clearly is working for them.

Fear not. The internet is an amazing place. The DIY movement is growing. While sites like Myspace still embrace the major label artists, there is a tremendous number of unsigned bands and artists whose music has to be heard to be believed.

I create and record music, but I am and have always been a music fan. I see the loss of yet one more record company as a decrease in competition, and a loss of reason for those at the top to care about the quality of what they sell, as long as as the product is professionally made, packaged, and yields huge monetary gains. There is no longer an incentive to seek out or present anything that remotely represent variety or diversity. But, whenever I find something thing that I think is good, I think that from now on, I will try to share it with as many others as I possibly can.

Up From The Ashes

Ever heard of Myspace! Sure you have. But, since the rise of Twitter, YouTube, and the mighty Facebook, Myspace kind of lost in the shuffle. Fear not. After the exit of News Corp which sold the site for 35 million dollars to Specific media, the sites new owners have vowed to put the music back onto Myspace, as it relaunched in October.

The new Myspace is not attempting to compete with Facebook. Instead, they are returning the sites focus to music. A lot of the advertising once spent on Myspace has move on to YouTube. The site's user interface has been, and is still in a state of flux. Many users who abandoned Myspace in protest over News Corps heavy commercialization, have been slowly trickling back, as the site continues to become more user friendly again.

Many of the Myspace users who never left have continued to network and meet new friends, bands, or artists amongst it's 120 million users. They have been enjoying the new cleaner, leaner look and some added features that make reaching out much easier than it was in it's early days.

The new Myspace will continue to cater to the so called "premium" artists, those whose music is promoted by the four major record companies. However, much of the music and music profiles from countless independent bands and artist still remain. Scores of music files containing some of the most obscure DIY artists still abound. If your looking for that hard to find song, band, or artist it is most likely that you will find it on Myspace.

Many of the returning Myspace users no doubt have been pleasantly surprised at just how much easier the site has become to use. Perhaps, if you were a Myspace user who moved on to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, you might consider coming back to Myspace. If you do, you'll find that it is slowing returning back to "My Space," instead of "Their Space." Personally, I find myself spending more time at Myspace rather than Facebook, but being a DIY artist, I think that that only makes sense. After all, Myspace is where the music lives.

There And Back (Part V)

The year was 1989. Two very important events in music would happen in that year. The first took place early in the year as the first ever Rap Grammy was given to DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Just two years earlier, a rumor had circulated that an independent Rapper had grossed more than $750,000 selling homemade tapes from the trunk of his car. I'm just speculating, but it is quite possible that industry bigwigs, realizing the potential for big dollar success may have done a little finagling in order to get the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences or NARAS to bestow it's highest honor on Rap music in recognition of it's success at the cash register.

The second event was the release of the hugely successful album, "Back On The Block" by Quincy Jones. The album was a veritable whose who of music and featured a melding of various genres. Everyone from Ray Charles to Steve Lukather and Jeff Procaro to Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, David Paich, Chaka Khan, Kool Moe D, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, and many many more were present. The album was the first of it's kind by a major figure in the music industry to embrace Rap music and included it, woven into the fabric of various other genres. Only Quincy Jones, the man who produced, "We Are The World," could have brought together so many talented artists, representing so may different musical styles, into a single project and successfully make it all sound right.

These two events helped to set the stage for the current state of affairs in today's popular music. With Grammy success and a big name producer/artist such as Quincy Jones endorsing it, Rap and the artists who performed it appeared to be heading for the stratosphere. However, music in general would never be the same. The following year, in 1990, Rap artists began to pop up on everything from R&B to Rock, Pop, Jazz, and even Country. Even Earth Wind & Fire recruited the likes of the Boys and MC Hammer on their release, Heritage.

MC Hammer quickly became an international success with his Rick James inspired, "You Can't Touch This." Both Rock and Jazz had flirted with Rap in the early 80s, but the early 90s saw groups such as Diggable Planets have success fusing Jazz and Rap. And while Rap had been used in films since the early 80s, the Grammy success now made Rap more appealing as a legitimate source of film content. Producers and directors began to seek out Rappers, not only for their music, but also as actors in their films, as a way of giving their movies, "street," credibility.

By 1992, R&B artists such as Babyface, Janet Jackson, and Boys II Men, began to see an erosion of their audiences as the spotlight began to shift towards the likes of Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. And though it had been around since the late 80s, and made most notable by NWA, Gangsta Rap found it's biggest success in the guise of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. These two artist would come to embody the so called, "east coast, west coast feud," which many have said never really existed. It's was alleged to be just media hype designed to lift the Gangsta Rap style into the mainstream music consciousness.

One thing is certain, Rap music produced the first ever generation gap within the Black community, as many Blacks over the age of 35 never embraced the music. Consequently, they rejected the music and deemed it as inferior and degrading to Blacks on the whole. Many people from all walks of life believed that the music was only about big corporate interests exploiting many of Raps biggest successes in order to make monster profits. There were those who believed that just as with Disco some twelve to fifteen years earlier, the sound of the market place, once again was being manipulated by those at the top of the music industry. However, this time around, "keeping it real," led to presenting the most street creditable product possible. And, by so doing, the public is and has been none the wiser and continues to "pony," up at the cash register.

Young would-be Rap superstars would come in off the street and be given a one or two record deal, with possibly a scene or two in a movie, and a boutique label to sweeten the deal. It's interesting how the boutique label actually served as a way for each Rapper to literally recruit his/her own replacement. A Rap career seemed to only last from about one to three years which has created a "revolving door," that keeps new faces before the public, while serving up a sound that has been showing signs of fatigue since it earliest days.

But, there was more going on then who would provide the most drama in the Rap music scene. As the 90s rolled on, and after the deaths of both Tupac and Bigg, a new product was making it's way into the spotlight, as the "made for play," put together, boy and girl bands were about to become the next big thing.

Go With A Pro

Back in May, I mentioned the three major Performing Rights Organization, also known as PROs. They are, ASCAP or American Society of Composers, Artist, and Publishers. BMI or Broadcast Music Incorporated. And SESAC or Society of European Stage Authors and Composers. If you are an artist and you write your own songs, it's a good idea to join one of these.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or ASCAP was founded on February 14th in New York City. The organization was formed by a group of prominent music visionaries at the Claridge Hotel. Their first office was in the Fulton Theater Building. Dues were $10 dollars for writers and $50 dollars for publishers. Some of ASCAP's earliest members were, Irving Berlin, John Philip Sousa, Jerome Kern, and Weldon Johnson. ASCAP was and continues to be 100% member own. ASCAP licenses Radio, TV and Film on behalf of it's members, whose music is uses as content. Radio is ASCAP most important source of income.

BMI or Broadcast Music Incorporated began in 1939 in Chicago when a group of radio industry leaders got together to charter a new non profit organization, as a recent ASCAP license agreement was about to expire. BMI was to be a less expensive alternative to ASCAP. Under BMI's charter with Radio, members agreed to pay the new entities operating and capital expenses with amounts of half to equal the amounts that were paid to ASCAP. Broadcasters quickly began to shift to BMI. By 1940 650 broadcasters and several music publishers had joined. BMI is credited with introducing the concept of logging, first with sheet music and live performances and then with on air personalities keeping track of music that is played on the air.

Formed in New York in 1930, SESAC or Society of European Stage Authors and Composers helped European publishers with collection of their American royalties. It also helped broadcasters meet their FCC requirements by supplying them with Gospel music from the ample catalog. The company didn't sign a songwriter agreement till 1970, but it's continuing growth allowed the company to establish itself as a force in the Nashville scene. The SESAC catalog now includes music from all genres. In the 1990s, SESAC began using cutting edge technology to detect performances and here in the 21st century, they have turned their focus toward music in film and television.

These organizations work on behave of their members to insure that they are rightfully compensated for their efforts. Joining one them is strongly recommended, especially if you write and/or record your own music. And, they can provide you with useful services and give you a higher profile, depending on how hard you work your catalog.