This whole Owsley thread reminds me of something I heard Kurt Vonnegut say
years ago when asked what advice he had for young aspiring writers.  He
said, basically, get a job, because you can't expect to make a living from
the craft anymore.

Save for a few megastars, who are generally less musicians than
personalities/celebrities, the "music business" is anything but.  Jill
Sobule, a personal fave, says she never made a dime off "I Kissed a Girl"
(She even has a song about people assuming she must be fabulously wealthy,
called "I Live Like a Freshman."

And I don't buy the mp3 argument either.  Properly deployed, mp3s are part
of modern music guerrilla marketing-- in a sense mp3s are the new radio.

So for all of you out there who keep making music anyway, thanks.  I'm sorry
that Owsley is giving up the good fight.  But I guess a fella's got to eat.

----- Original Message -----
From: "russell hayward" <spiltmilk_2000@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 5:19 AM
Subject: Re: the end of Owsley


> 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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