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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Harris, Will" <wharris1@bcharrispub.com> |
| Subject | Re: Here's the Low Down on Owsley |
| Date | Tue, 18 Feb 2003 08:48:16 -0500 |
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Why I'm terribly disappointed with this E-mail:
>For the most part, the whole popular music industry is in the tank.
>Most record labels are losing 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.
Hyperbole never gets any less annoying, no matter how many times you see it
in action. Some people ARE buying CDs, and not EVERYone is 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.
Dave Matthews and Beck weren't always Dave Matthews and Beck, either; they
had to build a reputation. Owsley's only put out one album; maybe he can't
be considered by a major label as a viable, bankable artist, but that
doesn't mean that his career as a power pop artist is over. I don't fall
into this category, but I'd think that every single power pop artist
currently recording for an independent label must be tempted to go punch him
in the face over that suggestion...
>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.
Of course, it IS a shame...and this isn't the first time it's happened to an
artist, either. It's highly unfortunate, but surely Owsley's heard the sob
stories of folks who spent time on a major label and ended up with war
wounds to show for it...and not much else.
>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.
If nothing else, we can definitely confirm that Owsley has his sights set
really, really, really high...apparently solely so that he can be really,
really, really disappointed. Seriously, does anyone really get into music
anyone with the belief that they're going to be competing for time on MTV
with Britney and Christina? I mean, unless they're a boy band or
something...
Anyway, I just wanted to tackle those 3 items on the E-mail. I realize it's
not Owsley himself who wrote the E-mail, but, rather, his bud Bud...but,
still, I think most of the mail's content is Bud alienating a lot of
Owsley's existing fans...
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