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Posted by Loco Jones on 10/07/05 20:48
"FatKat" <robynari@juno.com> wrote in message
news:1128615426.464876.74400@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Loco Jones wrote:
> > (Now Playing: Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas)
>
> Rather ominous choice.
Alas, I fear these are rather ominous times.
I never thought I'd be branded a criminal just for enjoying, collecting and
sharing my love of music. As a consumer, I used to be courted by those who
wished my patronage, now I'm threatened with court action. Say what?
When did things shift and fans become equated with "for profit pirates",
not to mention potential terrorists or a concern for Homeland Security (in
the U.S.)? These fans are the same ones who will bid high for a limited
release (say, 5,000 copies only) of an album, but surely other people
shouldn't be prevented from hearing this? Who knows, enough demand could
result to warrant a re-issue, this time at 10x (or more) the initial run.
Accountants (bean counters) in the entertainment industry have always had a
certain formidable influence, but it appears they are now firmly and
completely in control. Short term, immediate gains appear to be the
bottom-line order of the day.
Once upon a time, back in the days of wine and vinyl*, Warner Brothers
(newly morphed into the WEA conglomerate of associated labels) put out a
series of "loss leader" promotional albums, which a fan could get for $1.00
by sending in an order form found on the paper liner of any other WEA
record.
Your dollar would get you a double disc compilation, complete with
extensive liner notes on each artist (and given the irreverence of the
"hipsters" at the Burbank Offices responsible for this series, they didn't
sound at all like a smarmy press release), along with pics and discography,
etc. These artists might have had one song getting radio airplay, or none,
and more than a few have long since faded into the obscurity of being "no
longer available".
It was an ambitious undertaking, and a great promotional tool (being as how
I discovered many artists whose catalogue I later sought and bought), but I
can't recall the last time I saw a low-priced (near free) sampler album
offered by any of the major labels. Of course, I may just not be looking in
the right place. For some reason, "word of mouth" appears to have lost
whatever currency it once enjoyed - at least in the eyes of
number-crunchers in ivory towers.
- Loco -
(Now Playing: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles)
* Days Of Wine And Vinyl - the actual title of one of the WEA loss leaders,
along with The Whole Burbank Catalogue, Merrie Melodies & Lonney Tunes,
Peaches and many more. If anyone knows the series I'm referring to, feel
free to add your comments. Time for me to google again and see if there are
any stray copies floating around.
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