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| From | beth2459@groupiegear.com |
| Subject | Here's the Low Down on Owsley |
| Date | Mon, 17 Feb 2003 18:11:10 -0500 |
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Hey folks - thought I would pass this along.
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 06:22:37 -0000
From: "irhythm <bud@boozerbeam.com>" <bud@boozerbeam.com>
Subject: 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 be doing), and
doing guitar and vocal session work. To tell you the truth, I'll tell
you what he'd really like to be doing right now: And that would be
making solo records, touring the country to support them, and meeting
all of you after the shows. Unfortunately, sometimes life doesn't
always turn out that way you wanted it to. Not so much as a result of
a lack of ability or determination, but more to do with things that
are way beyond your control. As some of you may know, it's very
frustrating to have to live with that reality. Anyway, that's where
Will is right now. And, if you've got something to say to him, feel
free to drop him a note (info@owsleymusic.com). It might actually give
him a chance to thank each of you personally for all of your loyal
support for him and his music over the years. Take care.
Regards,
Bud
=======
beth
I'm your biggest fan!
http://www.groupiegear.com
because everybody is somebody's groupie!
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