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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | =?iso-8859-1?q?russell=20hayward?= <spiltmilk_2000@yahoo.co.uk> |
| Subject | Re: the end of Owsley |
| Date | Tue, 18 Feb 2003 10:19:46 +0000 (GMT) |
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I am so saddened by this news. I am going to boycott
this label from now on... yes... even the backstreet
boys!!!
I blame the greed of the label. Maybe an owsley
release would not be as profitable as they would like
it to be (or as some of the labels other artists) but
it could easily still be profitable. Seeing as the
tracks are recorded, a new album could be released on
a minimum budget and still be profitable.
I work for V2 and I would liken Owsleys following to
that of Brendan Benson (pre-lapalco). Brendans album
has hardly set the world alight (sales-wise) but is
still doing well enough to make it worthwhile and
ensure some profits for label and artist. Its easy to
market and gain press on because of the obvious
quality of the music. Most music critics listen to so
much drivel on a daily basis that when something like
Lapalco or Owsley comes along it recieves great press
and this cant fail to generate some sales. It may not
appear in the top twenty of the charts but that
doesn't mean the label and the artist cant profit from
it.
Owsley, cut your losses... forget your thirty songs
and start afresh at a new label! cos we NEED more
owsley tracks!!!
--- eric@ashman.com wrote: > Blaming MP3s for the
demise of the record industry
> is the biggest cop-out.
> The industry is broken, Will is just a victim.
>
>
> >
> > The following email is from his brother, posted to
> the Owsley list.
> > Here are my comments on it first, follwed by the
> msg.
> >
> > Personally, the whole mp3s have killed him as a
> powerpop artist really
> > rubs me the wrong way. Its a convenient excuse
> that the labels use, but
> >
> > I don't believe it. I believe the fact that the
> industry charges
> > outrage $$
> > for CD's that may only have one or two good songs
> on it is what's forced
> >
> > people to the mp3 trading. The always promised
> "CD's will be cheaper
> > than tapes" just never happened because of the
> greed of the industry.
> > Also, the whole "country fans buy CD's" is another
> statement I take
> > issue with. I believe thats making a very broad
> (and inaccurate)
> > generalization about certain groups/markets in our
> society.
> >
> > That being said, I *do* believe that Owsley has
> gotten a truly raw deal
> > and
> > I feel very bad for him. Will was one of the
> nicest artists i've ever
> > met.
> > I simply approached him before a show one time and
> he had such a passion
> > for his music and fans, it was a blast just to sit
> and chat with him all
> > night
> > about the industry.
> >
> > Perhaps Will could look into pulling an Aimee.
> Buy back his rights
> > from the label and go indie, or go to NotLame.
> >
> > I'd love to post my thoughts on the Owsley list,
> but unfortunately its
> > run
> > like a communist regime. Any negative thoughts or
> comments are
> > dealt with harshley, most of the time never making
> it to the actual list
> > and/or deleted from the archives.
> >
> > Anyway, I hope for nothing but the best for Will
> and his family, and
> > maybe
> > by way of his future Country work for his wife,
> it'll spark interest in
> > him
> > again as a solo artist. Or maybe he could return
> to his roots and form
> > a band once more....maybe a Millard Powers/Ben
> Folds/Owsley/Ross Rice
> > super group again. wouldn't that be something?
> >
> > burried in 3ft of snow,
> >
> > -kev
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: irhythm <bud@boozerbeam.com>
> [mailto:bud@boozerbeam.com]
> > Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 1:23 AM
> > To: OWSLEY@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [OWSLEY] Here's the Low Down on Owsley
> >
> >
> > Hey Everybody,
> >
> > I know it's been a year or so since I've posted
> anything on Will, his
> > upcoming record and his career, but here's why:
> >
> > Will Owsley's career as a solo artist has been in
> limbo for several
> > years now and may, for all intents and purposes,
> be over. The reasons?
> > There are several of them. Here goes:
> >
> > 1) For the most part, the whole popular music
> industry is in the tank.
> > Most record labels are loosing money and very few
> musical acts are
> > making any money either, for that matter. Why?
> It's called MP3.
> > Nobody's buying CD's. Everyone's file-swapping
> instead. When no one
> > buys recordings, record labels can't afford to
> make too many records.
> > Will Owsley is not a Dave Mathews or a Beck, who
> can be considered by
> > a major label as a viable, bankable artist. It's
> very sad to say that,
> > but it's true. I'd like to be as optimistic as
> possible, but at this
> > point, Will's career as a power pop artist may be
> over.
> >
> > 2) Will was signed by Warner Bros to their Giant
> label. When Giant
> > merged back to WB, Owsley never was unpopular
> enough to be dropped
> > from their roster, but was not popular enough with
> the powers-that-be
> > to have his record budget opened up, so he could
> finish his follow-up
> > record, and put a CD in the stores. I reported a
> number of times of
> > all the 30-something songs he wrote and produced
> in anticipation of
> > having 10 or 11 of them selected by his label to
> make a record, but it
> > really never got past that stage with WB. He's
> just been hanging in
> > limbo. It's a shame, too, because the music is
> really good.
> >
> > 3) To a lesser extent, the pop music market has
> changed a bit since
> > his Grammy nominated debut. Obviously, the
> popularity of boy bands and
> > former Mousekateer girl artists have dominated
> MTV, considered to be
> > the industry leader for popular music trends. So,
> it's hard to imagine
> > Owsley bumping the Backstreet Boys for playing
> time on MTV.
> >
> > I'm sure that there are several of you who may not
> agree with some of
> > my opinions. However, most of what I've shared is
> right from Will's
> > mouth. An speaking of Will; he's obviously very
> unhappy about all of
> > this. He's also very sorry for his extremely loyal
> fans, many of whom
> > are members of this list and have gotten to know
> Will at his shows,
> > over the years. He's been so touched by the
> encouraging emails
> > (info@owsleymusic.com) he's received from a lot of
> you. He's wanted to
> > create something for you to enjoy, but hasn't been
> able to come fourth
> > with anything (for the aforementioned reasons),
> and he feels terrible
> > about it. Tonight, he and I talked by phone and he
> asked me to make
> > this post and explain things to you, to tell you
> how disappointed he
> > is the way things turned out and to express how
> profoundly honored he
> > has been to have had so many loyal and supportive
> fans.
> >
> > So what's Will been doing lately? For the most
> part, he's been writing
> > and producing record-quality demos for his wife,
> Rebecca Walker, who's
> > currently shopping a country music deal. Will told
> me that he recently
> > corresponded with a fan of his and explained this
> to him. He said that
> > the fan told him that he didn't like country music
> - probably
> > something that most of you can resonate with.
> However, if you're a
> > talented songwriter, producer,
> multi-instrumentalist, who's married to
> > a lovely girl who sings like an absolute bird -
> and you wanted to feed
> > your family (they've now got 2 boys), you might
> strongly consider that
> > option. But, one thing that's really important to
> think about: Country
> > music fans don't swap MP3 files. Country music
> fans buy CD's. So,it
> > entirely possible that with some success, they
> should be able to make
> > a living sharing his songs with a market made up
> of people who don't
> > mind paying for their music.
> >
> > Beyond that, he's been writing songs for other
> artists, doing some
> > production work (not nearly as much as he'd like
> to
=== message truncated ===
=====
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