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From Carl Pultz: "...I find it hard to separate the effects of
corporatization on music from the similar effect of those institutions on so
much else of life, especially in the US, where capitalism is so unfettered.
I'm reading a history of Henry Ford and his company, and pondering what we
now see as the deeply mixed blessing of that one-time miracle of personal
liberation. Through its business-enabled ubiquity, is music a victim of its
success?..."
You have a good point, in many ways I think we have been the canary in the
coal mine!
The problem with corporatization is that investors tend to be cowards or
else they'd probably be starting their own businesses. They really want to
believe a well-run corporation will be able to manufacture entertainment
stars. The very fundamental problem with this is that the entertainment
industry is far more like growing produce than it is like manufacturing
widgets!
Most truly original great music has been a product of someone getting up on
a stage, being booed off that stage, refining what they do, bravely taking
the stage again and repeating this humiliating process until they
consistently receive applause. Today we mostly have glorified "cover bands"
that just alter the lyrics and string endless musical clichés from the past
together. It's little wonder music has degenerated into focus-group-tested
muzak that is a safe "product" for people to identify with! Wall Street
loves feeling safe while potential music fans are mostly yawning and doing
other stuff.
I can't buy the idea that American music has run its course. They've just
paved over the garden where it once grew behind the false belief that it is
a widget one can manufacture!
Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
615.562.4346 http://www.bobolhsson.com http://audiomastery.com
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