OK-Since I do love most things Idol and country music-had to put this out there-apparently people are ENRAGED that Kristy Lee Cook, who finished, oh, 7th or 8th I think on Idol this season, is the 3rd contestant to sign a deal (aside from the #1 and #2 Davids). I say good for her, I think others will get signed too-but we have to remember that 19 Management/All the SONY/BMG labels (Arista, Sony, Jive, to name a few in the group) have 3 months to decide who to sign after the show-basically until the tour is over. They have "1st dibs" basically to OFFER to sign any of the Idols. I may be wrong, but I dn't think the Idol necessarily has to accept their deal (unless they are the winner of course-that is part of the deal!). SOOOOO....lets not get our panties in a wad about how more "talented" (after all, that's subjective!) guys and gals are not signed yet-they may not WANT a deal with 19E/Sony, and they may very well be working with other labels but won't be able to officially sign/announce until the tour is completed in the fall.
The other thing I find funny is the comments section on this particular blog-there seems to be a misconception that country music is "easier" to break into than other fields-i.e., the standard is lower, expectations not as high. Um, hello! Country fans expect a good product-no matter who you are! I would actually think pop/hip hop is EASIEST to break into-I mean, when songs about lip gloss poppin', laffy taffy, and peanut butter and jelly become insta-hits in that genre, country is usually a little more profound (I said generally-for every laffy taffy there is a honky-tonk badonkadonk around the corner as well). You may not have LASTING success with that kind of gimmick, but you'll make a bit of money for it.
Plus, I live in Nashville, and there's ALWAYS a story about record labels folding, deals going under, and there are plenty of folks playing Fan Fair, dives around town, airing videos on CMT, that will never have commercial success-despite being talented. So much of it is industry politics, and the fact that it IS hard to break in, no matter how good you are. I mean, Tim McGraw had a dud of an album out before he released Indian Outlaw and Kenny Chesney also released a debut that lacked hits initially-it took quite a bit of time and a couple of albums for them to achieve major superstardom, and now record labels usually drop you if your first album is a stinker in sales. So, for people that get exposure on Idol, they already have some recognition, and record labels know that they won't have to invest as much to get the name out there. Its still no guarantee you'll be successful, but you have a leg up on the other guy.
So, I'm sure most of the top 8 or so will get signed, we just may not hear about it right away if they are going to go with a label and management co. outside of the Idol family.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/06/kristy-lee-sign.html#uslPageReturn
Monday, June 30, 2008
More Music Thoughts...What Else?
So, its been awhile since I blogged, mostly because we had a major office move AND I'm going to be starting a new position shortly, so I've actually had to WORK instead of play online. So sad. Anyway, Hopefully I'll do better...so here is another installment of my thoughts on music.
The Tennessean had a big front-page article in the Sunday paper this week about the Changing Face of the Music Industry-or something like that. Links below to the particular article and the special section on the paper's website.
Anyway, the article bugged me quite a bit, as a lot of it centered on digital music sales, and who makes money off of what. The songwriters, etc. claim to not be complaining about digital sales as it has positives and negatives for them, but in essence they are complaining. Really, what they should be complaining about, is the way the industry works, not digital sales. They cite this example:
It goes like this: By law, a songwriter is entitled to 9.1 cents for every song sold, giving him a starting point of $91,000 if an album sells a million copies. A publishing contract eats up half of that, reducing the figure to $45,500. That sum is typically split in half again because many artists won't cut a track on their album unless they receive a co-writing credit. That money is often used to pay back the initial investment made by a record company. That now leaves the songwriter with $22,750. But included in most standard record deals is a clause that pays co-writers only 75 percent of their congressionally mandated royalties, leaving a grand total of about $17,000 in a songwriter's pocket.
So basically to me, I think that the songwriter should be complaining (if they must complain....more on that in a minute) about their publishing contracts, the artist who is ALREADY MAKING ENOUGH MONEY to sing and perform and record insisting on eating up half their profit, the record company-geez, there are a hundred "middle men" in this process getting paid for the work that the writer did. Why can't songwriters just sell their songs straight to an artist? And what the heck is that 75% clause about? I mean, all this makes no sense to me. I mean, no hate to the songwriters, but even with all that, 17,000 for one song is not chump change-that's half of what I make in a year for sitting down and writing ONE SONG. If you write ten songs that get recorded in one year (selling a million copies each of course), you've made 170,000, and you're not curing cancer or solving the energy crisis, so I think that is MORE than fair. I go to work every day and I will never make that much. Plus, if your song sells as an individual download, that's more money in your pocket all the time.
A couple weeks ago Kid Rock made a You Tube video encouraging us folks to steal everything-and while I can't condone that, he makes the point that he'd rather have his fans burn his CDs and share them but pay to see him in concert, because he loves to perform and he's rich enough already. (which begs the question-why not have free shows too? But drugs are not so cheap I guess. Or perhaps he gives all that money to the band and the road crew.)
So I know, if we do that then we are cheating all of his writers out of their 9.1 cents. I mean, there is always going to be controversy-but I think the music insustry should just be glad that we are still dowloading, still going to see live music, when milk and gas are nearing $5 a gallon. Cause eventually, music might be a luxury, and that is quite a sad thought indeed.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/BUSINESS11/806290410/-1/TUNEIN0701
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=TUNEIN0701
The Tennessean had a big front-page article in the Sunday paper this week about the Changing Face of the Music Industry-or something like that. Links below to the particular article and the special section on the paper's website.
Anyway, the article bugged me quite a bit, as a lot of it centered on digital music sales, and who makes money off of what. The songwriters, etc. claim to not be complaining about digital sales as it has positives and negatives for them, but in essence they are complaining. Really, what they should be complaining about, is the way the industry works, not digital sales. They cite this example:
It goes like this: By law, a songwriter is entitled to 9.1 cents for every song sold, giving him a starting point of $91,000 if an album sells a million copies. A publishing contract eats up half of that, reducing the figure to $45,500. That sum is typically split in half again because many artists won't cut a track on their album unless they receive a co-writing credit. That money is often used to pay back the initial investment made by a record company. That now leaves the songwriter with $22,750. But included in most standard record deals is a clause that pays co-writers only 75 percent of their congressionally mandated royalties, leaving a grand total of about $17,000 in a songwriter's pocket.
So basically to me, I think that the songwriter should be complaining (if they must complain....more on that in a minute) about their publishing contracts, the artist who is ALREADY MAKING ENOUGH MONEY to sing and perform and record insisting on eating up half their profit, the record company-geez, there are a hundred "middle men" in this process getting paid for the work that the writer did. Why can't songwriters just sell their songs straight to an artist? And what the heck is that 75% clause about? I mean, all this makes no sense to me. I mean, no hate to the songwriters, but even with all that, 17,000 for one song is not chump change-that's half of what I make in a year for sitting down and writing ONE SONG. If you write ten songs that get recorded in one year (selling a million copies each of course), you've made 170,000, and you're not curing cancer or solving the energy crisis, so I think that is MORE than fair. I go to work every day and I will never make that much. Plus, if your song sells as an individual download, that's more money in your pocket all the time.
A couple weeks ago Kid Rock made a You Tube video encouraging us folks to steal everything-and while I can't condone that, he makes the point that he'd rather have his fans burn his CDs and share them but pay to see him in concert, because he loves to perform and he's rich enough already. (which begs the question-why not have free shows too? But drugs are not so cheap I guess. Or perhaps he gives all that money to the band and the road crew.)
So I know, if we do that then we are cheating all of his writers out of their 9.1 cents. I mean, there is always going to be controversy-but I think the music insustry should just be glad that we are still dowloading, still going to see live music, when milk and gas are nearing $5 a gallon. Cause eventually, music might be a luxury, and that is quite a sad thought indeed.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/BUSINESS11/806290410/-1/TUNEIN0701
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=TUNEIN0701
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
So...as I am still having American Idol withdrawals (actually, TV withdrawals in general-no more Lost, The Office, or any of my other favorite shows!) I was happy for the hometown Idol-wannabe show, Nashville Star, to arrive on my TV screen. My happiness was quickly replaced by disappointment. For myriad reasons. Let me give you a list.
1. The show is NASHVILLE STAR. Ya know, country music capital of the world and all. But half the songs the contestants chose were not even country! Now I would have been totally open to a country version of a pop song, but that is not what happened. Not that I did not enjoy some of the performances (most notable-the last woman, Melissa, blew everyone else away singing Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About") but I just felt like they should have been a little truer to the genre if they truly want to be COUNTRY singers-don't make it look like American Idol: Rejects or something.
2. The judges! Oh my gosh-so annoying. Blondie (not sure who the heck he is-apparently he is a singer/songwriter/musician but I seriously question his taste level based on some of his critiques) was too full of himself and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. John Rich-well, I've never been able to stand him, he's so arrogant and again, why? Can't sing, hokey songwriter, and needs a serious makeover. Porn 'stache-EW!
(see http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/john-rich-on-why-nashville-star-is-better-than-idol/) The only one I like is Jewel-for reasons previously discussed in this blog; I loved her calling out Rich when he told her she had pitch problems and she told him at least she had more than a one note range-LOL! (On a side note-finding out that Rich helped produce her album explains why I am not happy with that first single.) Also loved her trying not to "mock" pageant queen Alyson's awful faces and crazy eyes but still show her what she did wrong.
3. Charley getting sent home. I could not even watch Alyson and her crazy eyes, I don't think she will last much longer-but I think Charley could have done much better with a second chance. He sounded fine in the pre-taped "getting to know you" segment but came out trying to be an entertainer before a singer, and picked the wrong song. But he seemed like a genuine guy. What were the judges thinking? They all admitted Alyson had gone backwards-so clearly, they told her what to fix and she ignored them or let nerves get the best of her. John Rich's big thing on this show being superior is how they mentor and develop the contestants, but if they are not teachable, we're all wasting our time-and I think Alyson may not be able to change.
So the good? Well, its filmed in Nashville and tickets are free. I bet going to a taping would be fun, and I haven't been to the Roy Acuff Theater in years! I liked Coffey (and one of my coworkers met him on an airplane and said he was SUPER nice), Gabe, Melissa (see video of her performance here: http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/), and the Navy guy-hope he chills out a bit but he had a nice voice. The two young girl groups (duo and a trio) were decent but they are young and need a LOT of help with stage presence and polish.
So, we'll see what happens. Its better than nothing I guess!
http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/
1. The show is NASHVILLE STAR. Ya know, country music capital of the world and all. But half the songs the contestants chose were not even country! Now I would have been totally open to a country version of a pop song, but that is not what happened. Not that I did not enjoy some of the performances (most notable-the last woman, Melissa, blew everyone else away singing Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About") but I just felt like they should have been a little truer to the genre if they truly want to be COUNTRY singers-don't make it look like American Idol: Rejects or something.
2. The judges! Oh my gosh-so annoying. Blondie (not sure who the heck he is-apparently he is a singer/songwriter/musician but I seriously question his taste level based on some of his critiques) was too full of himself and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. John Rich-well, I've never been able to stand him, he's so arrogant and again, why? Can't sing, hokey songwriter, and needs a serious makeover. Porn 'stache-EW!
(see http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/john-rich-on-why-nashville-star-is-better-than-idol/) The only one I like is Jewel-for reasons previously discussed in this blog; I loved her calling out Rich when he told her she had pitch problems and she told him at least she had more than a one note range-LOL! (On a side note-finding out that Rich helped produce her album explains why I am not happy with that first single.) Also loved her trying not to "mock" pageant queen Alyson's awful faces and crazy eyes but still show her what she did wrong.
3. Charley getting sent home. I could not even watch Alyson and her crazy eyes, I don't think she will last much longer-but I think Charley could have done much better with a second chance. He sounded fine in the pre-taped "getting to know you" segment but came out trying to be an entertainer before a singer, and picked the wrong song. But he seemed like a genuine guy. What were the judges thinking? They all admitted Alyson had gone backwards-so clearly, they told her what to fix and she ignored them or let nerves get the best of her. John Rich's big thing on this show being superior is how they mentor and develop the contestants, but if they are not teachable, we're all wasting our time-and I think Alyson may not be able to change.
So the good? Well, its filmed in Nashville and tickets are free. I bet going to a taping would be fun, and I haven't been to the Roy Acuff Theater in years! I liked Coffey (and one of my coworkers met him on an airplane and said he was SUPER nice), Gabe, Melissa (see video of her performance here: http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/), and the Navy guy-hope he chills out a bit but he had a nice voice. The two young girl groups (duo and a trio) were decent but they are young and need a LOT of help with stage presence and polish.
So, we'll see what happens. Its better than nothing I guess!
http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/10/nashville-star-premiere-melissa-lawson-brings-down-the-house/
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