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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "josh chasin" <jchasin@nyc.rr.com> |
| Subject | Re: Here's the Low Down on Owsley |
| Date | Tue, 18 Feb 2003 09:31:08 -0500 |
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You know, I suspect that the widely held belief that CD sales are down may
be a myth. Rather, I wonder if it is possible that CD sales through
traditional, measured channels are down, as labels drop artists who then
sell CDs through alternative channels. (Including sales at shows.)
The industry source for tracking sales is Soundscan. I'm curious. If I buy
a CD from Not Lame or Parasol, does Soundscan ever know about it? Recently
I bought 2 CDs each directly from Joe Jackson and Rikki Lee Jones, in each
case from their websites. Does Soundscan know about these?
I am not asking rhetorical questions; I honestly don't know if these kinds
of sales are tracked. But there is no question that over the past several
years, my music buying behavior, and that of people I know who buy a lot of
music, has been such that it is decidedly shifting away from major labels
and traditional retail channels. So I can't help wondering whether what is
really going on is a shift away from sales that are tracked as the industry
fragments.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harris, Will" <wharris1@bcharrispub.com>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 8:48 AM
Subject: Re: Here's the Low Down on Owsley
> 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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