The Friday (Monday) Rant: Music Industry Crybabies Should Look Within

(Apologies for the late arrival of this (last) week's rant. This was held this until we had our filesharing figured out. I'll be back with my next rant on Friday.)

Over the past few years, it has been impossible to go very long without hearing record industry aficionados wailing and gnashing their teeth as they blame illegal music piracy for the decline of their sales, reduction in stock values, the hole in the ozone layer and for causing cancer. Starting in 2003, the recording industry has filed numerous lawsuits in an ill-fated attempt to curb file-sharing piracy. As someone who has purchased approximately 1000 CDs and who has downloaded his share of music, I would like to know when someone is going to counter-sue the recording industry for allowing today’s popular music culture to deteriorate into what is today – a directionless mess devoid of almost anything captivating, original or worth buying. I have spoken to lawyer friends about a potential suit against the recording industry for not providing me with anything really worth pirating - but they say I probably wouldn’t win. I wonder why I still find myself so tempted...

Today’s recording industry is in serious danger of being left behind by ever-evolving and ever-more-accessible technology, and a consumer base that has grown tired of the industry's limitations and short-sightedness. Technology has forced many industries to change the way they do business. The recording industry appears to be failing miserably at keeping up with the times. The filing of lawsuits against peer-to-peer networks, college students as well as Joannie and Chachie Q. Public does very little to curb the sharing of music online. It may scare some into downloading the music legitimately, and it may shut down the occasional host site, but for every successful shutdown there will always be scores in reserve ready and eager to take their places. Does online file sharing eat into record company profits? Yes. But so did the advent of blank cassette tapes.

Of the hundreds of CDs I own, I can count on my fingers how many I value for every track appearing on the “album”. With astronomical retail prices for CDs hovering in the $18.99 range, consumers are rightfully demanding more bang for their buck. Unless you are a diehard fan of an artist, are you going to shell out almost $20 to check out an album? Me neither. Record companies have premium priced their products well out of the range of those of us who would roll the dice to check out a new band. Heck, $18.99 almost buys you a half tank of gas!

Perhaps the recording industry should have its constituents take a good hard look at their respective catalogues. Maybe I am getting old, but the relentless spewing of mindless pap upon the American music consumer just might be another element contributing to declining music sales. Everything in popular music is about packaging. Content went out the window sometime during the mid-90’s. When is the last time you have seen an ugly pop star, or a heavy one that did not win a televised talent search? Some of the world’s best singers have historically been heavier, sturdier types. Are you trying to tell me that there are no big ugly artists out there with recording potential? How many great songs have been kept from the world by the recording industry because the artist couldn’t fit into a size 3? If today’s standards for what passes for a pop star were in place in the 60’s, we’d have never heard of the Mamas and the Mama Cass, Janis Joplin and the plethora of great artists from that era that didn’t fit the little nymph profile. Great music stands on its own against the test of time, regardless of what the artist looks like.


Where is the originality in today’s popular music, or pop culture in general? Has everything already been done? Is there such a thing as an original idea? Maybe we’ve exhausted all possibilities over the past 40 to 50 years. How else to explain the tidal wave of cover songs that have hit the airwaves like an audible plague? The movie industry is even worse than the recording industry as far as a lack of originality. Both entertainment generators apparently believe that the American public will sop up whatever mindless drivel they throw out there for us to consume. Movie remakes have been the rage, and forgive me for saying that most of them suck and should never have been made. Movie adaptations of TV shows, current adaptations of movies that aren’t even all that old and in no real need of redressing and sequels that producers pull out of their collective asses when the original unexpectedly does well (see The Matrix)...it is shameless and sad. The same goes for the bulk of today’s popular music covers.

It used to be a nice novelty. A current popular artist records an older song to either pay homage to the original artist or as a hidden-track bonus for their loyal album buyers. Now, it is the covers that are being presented as the flagship singles for scores of albums. I personally blame the band Smash Mouth for this phenomenon. Smash Mouth had a pretty decent debut, 1997’s Fush You Mang. There was some nice original material on the record, and the band appeared to have promise. However it was the cover of War’s "Why Can’t We Be Friends" that made its way onto movie soundtracks and set the table for the emergence of cover hell. I have always appreciated covers by bands that made changes to a given song to make it their own. In fact, some of my favorite covers have been done by punk and ska bands that have taken an old pop song and re-made it in a completely different format. Today’s artists are simply regurgitating great old songs and doing nothing original with them. One particularly homogenous send up is Uncle Kracker’s cover of the timeless Dobie Gray song, Drift Away. It is truly sickening. Hopefully the artists of the originals (or their estates) are being compensated enough to keep them from spinning like tops in their graves every time a radio station plays the new version of their classics. To paraphrase from the legendary punk outfit The Dead Milkmen’s Bad Party: if there is a God in heaven, I’m sure these bands will burn in hell. Hopefully there is a special place in pop star hell for the likes of Sheryl Crow (Sweet Child O' Mine), Jessica Simpson (These Boots Are Made For Walking) and Clay Aiken (his entire new album). Speaking of Clay Aiken, what ever happened to the system where a pop star actually had to establish themselves as an artist before pumping out covers? Clay Aiken has one, count ‘em – ONE, album of original material. Last month RCA released A Thousand Different Ways, the newest Clay Aiken album – featuring nothing but covers. Who in the hell does RCA think they have on their hands, Frank Sinatra? Clay Aiken can sing, but shouldn’t he be focusing on his own music at this early stage in his career, or has it already been deemed a lost cause? I heard Fergie's London Bridge on the radio a couple of weeks ago and thought it was pretty catchy. Then it dawned on me that if I were Fergie I'd avoid Missy Elliott at all costs, as she might be wanting to punch me in the face for shamelessly copying her style. Immitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but in a lot of pop music cases, it should simply be called tired.

People buy music because they feel a connection with it. Fans support artists because of the bond that forms between performer and listener. Teen infatuation with their idols drives some record sales, but the bulk of American music fans are not going to shell out for a CD because the artist has great abs. Today’s pop music machine is celebrity-driven, not talent driven. Paris Hilton has a record contract. PARIS HILTON! Jennifer Lopez, a talented actress to be sure, but someone whose singing would drive me to slit my own wrists if I was subjected to it for more than five minutes, has put out multiple albums. Aren’t there ANY singer/songwriters out there that are more deserving of a record company’s attention and resources than this?

Traditional radio doesn’t help the popular music landscape at all. Payola continues to be the rage. Ever wonder why it always seemed that you heard the same songs over and over again whenever the radio was on? It is because of payola. Payola is simply a record company paying radio conglomerates to play their artists. Radio stations are no longer a place where one might hear anything interesting. Traditional radio has gone the way of the American politician – their air time and resources are available to the highest bidders. This practice has made traditional American radio as stagnant as the political system. What the people want no longer matters. All that matters is that the cash continues to flow in to the radio magnates from the record company “lobbyists”. Payola is not a new thing by any means. Examples have been well-documented as far back as the 1950s, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach.


The music industry needs to look within to find what truly ails it. The world has changed and the industry must change with it, or be left by the wayside. Artists need to put the effort in to producing a better overall product, or people will not buy their albums. Record companies should be looking for the next great recording artist rather than the next hot body. The domination of American airwaves by mega-corporations such as Clear Channel has stunted the growth and diversity of pop music. We hear what they want us to hear, and nothing more. This overbearing control of the airwaves will make traditional radio a dead medium sooner rather than later. Thankfully there is web “radio” to save the day. I believe record companies would see a resurgence in sales if they would make the rights and royalty fees more palatable for independent broadcasters. Instead of using litigation on their own customer bases, record companies should look at their business models and make the appropriate changes to keep up with the times. We are a short attention span culture, and the music industry today is singles-driven. Artists that can create a truly great album (System of a Down, Tool) are becoming rare. Record companies survived the generation dominated by “45’s”, and they can survive this swing as well. And lastly, we need to support the artists that are producing great new original music. We need to go to shows, buy their records and keep them going through this music industry rut. There is great music to be made out there, and to be heard. It just seems we have to work a lot harder than we should have to in order to find it. Thankfully, true music lovers (like Joe and Mike) are doing their best to make this happen.

Dead Milkmen - Life is Shit
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes - Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver cover)
Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walking