From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V9 #163 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Monday, August 16 2004 Volume 09 : Number 163 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Record promotion ["Paxety Pages" ] Re: Matt's Mood on the radio ["K. S." ] RE: Record promotion ["Steve O'Hearn" ] Re: Record promotion ["Barry" ] Re: basia-digest V9 #161 ["Leslie O." ] Krystyna! ["Leslie O." ] Re: Record promotion ["Leslie O." ] Re: basia-digest V9 #161 ["Barry" ] Re: Record promotion ["Mike Nice" ] Mainstream music [PParm16424@aol.com] Re: Record promotion [Bill Roberts ] Re: Mainstream music ["Bill Couillard" ] Re: Mainstream music ["Paxety Pages" ] Re: Mainstream music ["Leslie O." ] Re: Record promotion ["Leslie O." ] Re: Mainstream music ["Barry" ] Fw: Mainstream music ["Steve Richardson" ] Re: Mainstream music ["Barry" ] Re: Mainstream music [PParm16424@aol.com] Re: Mainstream music ["Barry" ] Re: Mainstream music [Bill Roberts ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 06:29:53 -0700 From: "Paxety Pages" Subject: Record promotion The music industry is changing rapidly. Cheap Channel is in not only the radio station business, but also the concert promotion business. Rumor is that they play only their concert artists on their radio stations. I don't know if it's true. The internet is changing the way music is distributed. Looking solely at CD sales is the wrong way for a band to look at it. Apple had a million downloads in the first week - and that was only to Mac and Ipod users. Some artists are recognizing the promotional value of free downloads. Norah Jones, for instance, has a number songs from live performances available as mp3s on her web site. I know several people who bought her CD because they liked listening to those free mp3s. I think that's the future of record promotion for music that's not top of the chart Top-40, country or hip hop material. So, I'm saying the Matt Bianco stuff that's on line (OD radio edit and the remixes) should be available as free mp3 downloads. Maybe make the downloaders sign up for an email fan newsletter or something for further promotion. The record industry survives by getting out and making things happen. un abrazo, juan ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:00:36 +0000 From: "K. S." Subject: Re: Matt's Mood on the radio I have heard Ordinary Day many times on London's Jazz Radio - 102.2 Greetings Krystyna P.S. I am almost back. >From: basia@mailat.eml.cc >Reply-To: basia@smoe.org >To: basia@smoe.org >Subject: Re: Matt's Mood on the radio >Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 20:06:09 -0500 > > >I e-mailed SmoothJazz.com, and Sandy Shore replied and said basically >the same thing: they'd be glad to play it if someone will send them a >copy. She said she'd see if she cound get a copy through her channels. > >Really, why doesn't MB spend a few hundred dollars and send out promo >copies to a bunch of radio stations? It might make a big difference in >their popularity. > >On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 16:46:25 -0500, "Bill Roberts" > said: > > > > Radio stations many times only play CD's that have been sent > > promotionally by > > the label. The problem may be that Matt's Mood hasn't been sent to any > > U.S. > > radio stations. _________________________________________________________________ Take charge with a pop-up guard built on patented Microsoft. SmartScreen Technology. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN. Premium right now and get the first two months FREE*. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 12:38:12 -0400 From: "Steve O'Hearn" Subject: RE: Record promotion Cheap Channel (Clear Channel) - yes, they are promoting their own artists at concerts and restricting others, I've heard reports from some artists who were told in plain language that if they didn't (a) do concerts at CC venues and only interview on CC stations to support their CC venue, they wouldn't get either (a) or (b) at all. Media here in DC is aware that CC is turning into a monopolistic behemoth, but are at a loss as to what to do about it, I know journalists who are a bit fearful of them. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-basia@smoe.org [mailto:owner-basia@smoe.org]On Behalf Of Paxety Pages Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 9:30 AM To: basia@smoe.org Subject: Record promotion The music industry is changing rapidly. Cheap Channel is in not only the radio station business, but also the concert promotion business. Rumor is that they play only their concert artists on their radio stations. I don't know if it's true. The internet is changing the way music is distributed. Looking solely at CD sales is the wrong way for a band to look at it. Apple had a million downloads in the first week - and that was only to Mac and Ipod users. Some artists are recognizing the promotional value of free downloads. Norah Jones, for instance, has a number songs from live performances available as mp3s on her web site. I know several people who bought her CD because they liked listening to those free mp3s. I think that's the future of record promotion for music that's not top of the chart Top-40, country or hip hop material. So, I'm saying the Matt Bianco stuff that's on line (OD radio edit and the remixes) should be available as free mp3 downloads. Maybe make the downloaders sign up for an email fan newsletter or something for further promotion. The record industry survives by getting out and making things happen. un abrazo, juan ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 11:56:07 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: Record promotion > Media here in DC is aware that CC is turning into a monopolistic behemoth, > but are at a loss as to what to do about it, I know journalists who are a > bit fearful of them. That's one reason I got out of the radio business. Here in St. Louis, CC basically owns the market. Bonneville has the rest of the stations (as far as I know, there's no other ownership of the big stations here). I miss the days when 8 stations were owned by 7 or 8 companies, not 2. The stations all have cookie cutter layouts, both on and off the air. They've also moved a few of the stations into one building. The "good ol days" of radio are gone, and that IS sad. There's marketing, there's making money, but there's a line. It was crossed long ago and lost in the rubble left behind by the mighty giants. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 12:21:12 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Re: basia-digest V9 #161 Barry, very good post. Very well said. > I agree that it's sad that so much good music is > shot down because the > records don't sell by the truckload. The world is > missing out on some great > stuff, I'm sure I've missed out on a lot too. Purely anecdotal evidence tells me, though, that many if not most serious listeners of music aren't playing the traditional game. They are getting info from other serious music hounds, from the web, etc. It gives me hope. :-) But > if I were on the other > side of it, I'd be doing my best to promote the ones > that will sell big > before I go for the little guy who might sell a few > here and there. I > *would* try to give all good artists a shot, but if > I (or my company) isn't > making money, I can't help anyone. I don't know if it works this way with record labels, but in the mag biz there will often be a situation where the big titles will support the smaller titles in a company's stable. So the profits from Big Magazine X and Big Magazine Y give some wiggle room--and time to nurture and develop-- Good Small Magazine Q. - --Leslie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 12:26:04 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Krystyna! > I have heard Ordinary Day many times on London's > Jazz Radio - 102.2 Yay! > Greetings > Krystyna > > P.S. I am almost back. I am so glad! I've missed you here. :-) - --Leslie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 12:31:34 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Re: Record promotion > I miss the days when 8 stations were owned by 7 or 8 > companies, not 2. The > stations all have cookie cutter layouts, both on and > off the air. They've > also moved a few of the stations into one building. > The "good ol days" of > radio are gone, and that IS sad. There's marketing, > there's making money, > but there's a line. It was crossed long ago and > lost in the rubble left > behind by the mighty giants. I miss it too. I keep having people talk to me about this IRL, and online. I say that, and they say, "bah, I don't listen to radio anyway!" Neither do I, anymore, but there was a time when (Detroit filter) I would be able to tune into WJZZ or 102.9 or 992.3 and hear something that the DJ found, and out of their great love of music would share it. To keep this Basia related, there would be DJs that would not only go in deep on the albums but also play stuff from Brave New Hope, particularly the remixes! Now, I'd be lucky if the voicetracking system knew what day it was or what city it's in. The Internet has taken the place of the DJ in terms of turning on me to music, but I miss the human element. - --Leslie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 14:43:55 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: basia-digest V9 #161 > I don't know if it works this way with record labels, > but in the mag biz there will often be a situation > where the big titles will support the smaller titles > in a company's stable. So the profits from Big > Magazine X and Big Magazine Y give some wiggle > room--and time to nurture and develop-- Good Small > Magazine Q. If I were running a record label, that's how I'd want to do it to, and that's a part of what I was trying to say. I can see why they focus on the mega-stars who will bring in the big bucks. But they should use some of those big bucks then to fund some of the other artists who are doing quality work. Even if that means buying other smaller record companies and promoting them under that label to keep it separated. I doubt the record labels do work that way, many large corporations in many industries don't work that way, even though they could and should. Sadly, it's just turned into who can make the most money and screw everyone else. When that happens, the rest of us lose, or have to work harder to find the good stuff. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:02:08 -0400 From: "Mike Nice" Subject: Re: Record promotion In a sense XM Radio is more of the "good ol days" than the BlandChannel stuff. They play popular music, but also have some channels dedicated to the new, obscure, seldom heard, and no longer played stuff. But as previously noted, they are focused on the USA and cannot easily branch out into new foreign albums such as MB until the USA release. - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barry" To: Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 12:56 PM Subject: Re: Record promotion > I miss the days when 8 stations were owned by 7 or 8 companies, not 2. The > stations all have cookie cutter layouts, both on and off the air. They've > also moved a few of the stations into one building. The "good ol days" of > radio are gone, and that IS sad. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 17:34:11 EDT From: PParm16424@aol.com Subject: Mainstream music Hi gang! Don't know if that is the best subject heading, but someone was lamenting the music that has been coming out in past few years. I used to listen to the radio exclusively, that is until I decided to build my own cassette/CD collection. I got really tired of waiting and waiting for a song (any song) and then being disappointed by the selection. I used to scan from station to station looking for songs that I liked, but most often wasn't able to. So, I made the switch, and while I enjoy it tremendously, I find myself out of touch completely with what's come out in the last 8 years or so. From what I do hear (on TV, etc.) it seems to me that ANYONE can get a recording contract anymore, whether or not they are talented! So much of it is irritating to my ears. At times, I can't help wondering if the old "generation gap" has finally set in (I turned 50 last month), and maybe THAT is the real reason I cannot relate to today's music. Anyone else relate to all this? By the way, in a humorous vein, I think I have stumbled across the very beginning of rap music. For my birthday, I was given a couple of The Andy Griffith Show DVDs. On the episode "Mountain Wedding", old Ernest T. Bass is "serenading" Charlene Darling, "rapping" whilst banging on a gas can. WHO KNEW? :) Phil P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:34:55 -0500 From: Bill Roberts Subject: Re: Record promotion Quoting "Leslie O." : but there was a time when (Detroit filter) I > would be able to tune into WJZZ or 102.9 or 992.3 and > hear something that the DJ found, > --Leslie > > 992.3? What kind of radio do you have? Bill ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:29:31 -0700 From: "Bill Couillard" Subject: Re: Mainstream music Hi all ;-) I agree that it's tough to find new music that's listening to. And, that's one of the good things about interest lists. I try to check up on groups and artists that are mentioned. On that note, I'd like to plug the latest Bebel Gilberto (self titled) release. If you like Brazillian stylings, you will love this one. And, of course, you can't argue with the bloodline ;-) It's wonderful, and it will make you think of Basia, Jobim, Sergio Mendes and other great artists. Another great band that I always like to mention is October Project. Their first two releases featuring Mary Fahl as lead vocalist are classics. Jeff W. agreed me on that. Mary has split from OP and has a great solo recording out. She is one of the most powerful vocalists you will ever hear. OP is slowly producing a new release, producing it on their own. Like many others, they are fed up with the big record company paradigm. Ok, that's my post for this quarter ;-) Cheers, Bill - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 2:34 PM Subject: Mainstream music > > Hi gang! > > Don't know if that is the best subject heading, but someone was lamenting the > music that has been coming out in past few years. I used to listen to the > radio exclusively, that is until I decided to build my own cassette/CD > collection. I got really tired of waiting and waiting for a song (any song) and then > being disappointed by the selection. I used to scan from station to station > looking for songs that I liked, but most often wasn't able to. So, I made the > switch, and while I enjoy it tremendously, I find myself out of touch completely > with what's come out in the last 8 years or so. From what I do hear (on TV, > etc.) it seems to me that ANYONE can get a recording contract anymore, whether or > not they are talented! So much of it is irritating to my ears. At times, I > can't help wondering if the old "generation gap" has finally set in (I turned 50 > last month), and maybe THAT is the real reason I cannot relate to today's > music. Anyone else relate to all this? > > By the way, in a humorous vein, I think I have stumbled across the very > beginning of rap music. For my birthday, I was given a couple of The Andy Griffith > Show DVDs. On the episode "Mountain Wedding", old Ernest T. Bass is > "serenading" Charlene Darling, "rapping" whilst banging on a gas can. WHO KNEW? :) > > Phil P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:41:45 -0700 From: "Paxety Pages" Subject: Re: Mainstream music *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 8/15/04 at 5:34 PM PParm16424@aol.com wrote: From what I do hear (on >TV, >etc.) it seems to me that ANYONE can get a recording contract anymore, >whether or >not they are talented! I helped put on showcases for bands for in the late 90s and early naughts (or whatever they're called). I can assure you that there are many bands even less talented than what you hear on the radio. It will be interesting to watch how all of this shakes out. The Internet, relatively inexpensive home studios, and home CD burning have made getting stuff out there for people to hear much easier than ever before. un abrazo, juan ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 15:59:44 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Re: Mainstream music > to my ears. At times, I > can't help wondering if the old "generation gap" has > finally set in (I turned 50 > last month), and maybe THAT is the real reason I > cannot relate to today's > music. Anyone else relate to all this? I've been asking myself the same thing, even though I'm just this side of 30. But then I thought the music that was out when I was a teenager--during the age of grunge-- was crap too. With a few notable exceptions of course. Except for my formative years in the '80s, I've never really been one for the mainstream. Dunno why that is. I think there is a TON of great music out there, but it isn't out there on the super-visible level. And to me, that is okay. - --Leslie __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:01:11 -0700 (PDT) From: "Leslie O." Subject: Re: Record promotion > 992.3? What kind of radio do you have? It picks up Bajoran frequencies, as well! It's amazing! ;-D Darn spastic fingers! They've got me again. - --Leslie Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 19:19:13 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: Mainstream music I am replying to all sorts of stuff here, to save multiple posts. > radio exclusively, that is until I decided to build my own cassette/CD > collection. I got really tired of waiting and waiting for a song (any song) and then > being disappointed by the selection. I have been doing that for a long time. I do still listen to the radio in the car, but that's the only time. There's a decent jazz station here, a classical station I like, a big band station, and a Pop 40 station. I can usually get something decent out of one of them. I am not nearly as up on new stuff as I used to be, but I still try to keep an ear on what's coming out. Every now and then there's something worth hearing. > of course. Except for my formative years in the '80s, > I've never really been one for the mainstream. Dunno > why that is. Yeah, there was just something about the 80s that probably won't be duplicated in the near future. There was a lot more good music going around back then, in terms of mainstream music. That stuff is stuck in my veins and I'll always love it. As the nineties progressed, music started going downhill. I can't tell you how many artists or bands I could identify within the first few seconds of a song because all of their songs sounded the same. It just keeps getting worse as time goes by too, at least to me. > > 992.3? What kind of radio do you have? > > It picks up Bajoran frequencies, as well! It's > amazing! ;-D I had one of those for a while too, but I sold it on eBay. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:12:21 -0700 From: "Steve Richardson" Subject: Fw: Mainstream music > > of course. Except for my formative years in the '80s, > > I've never really been one for the mainstream. Dunno > > why that is. > > Yeah, there was just something about the 80s that probably won't be > duplicated in the near future. There was a lot more good music going around > back then, in terms of mainstream music. That stuff is stuck in my veins > and I'll always love it. As the nineties progressed, music started going > downhill. I can't tell you how many artists or bands I could identify > within the first few seconds of a song because all of their songs sounded > the same. It just keeps getting worse as time goes by too, at least to me. > I guess both of you are in your 30's. I could have written exactly the same words - except change the decade to the 60's! I imagine if we look in on the 30-somethings 20 years from now they'll be depressed that music isn't nearly as great as it was in 2004. I think that music has really suffered from overexposure since roughly the time MTV came into being. When I think back on the great artists of the 60's and early 70's...I listened constantly to the music of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, etc., but I almost never saw any of my favorites on TV. I think I saw Neil Young onscreen twice - Joni once, before the video era began. It created a sort of mystery, an excitement that I can't imagine is still felt by the music lovers of today, who can keep up with their favorite artist's every move through MTV and dozens of web sites, official or otherwise. Steve R. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 21:34:58 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: Mainstream music > I guess both of you are in your 30's. I could have written exactly the same > words - except change the decade to the 60's! I imagine if we look in on > the 30-somethings 20 years from now they'll be depressed that music isn't > nearly as great as it was in 2004. I'm sure that most people think that some of the greatest music ever was the music from their teen years. I think that every decade has produced some great music. Some decades more than others, and I think as far as mainstream music goes it skips a decade. The 60s had some really good stuff, the 70s not so much so. There was good stuff, just not as much mainstream. The 80s had good stuff, the 90s not so much. I can't say that there's been a lot this decade either, but the decade is still young, so I'm hopeful. But there's always good music out there, you just have to know where to go digging to get it. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:45:40 EDT From: PParm16424@aol.com Subject: Re: Mainstream music Barry, I guess our perspectives are about the same. I started listening to radio in '63 (age 9!), just before the Beatles arrived. The late 60's through the mid-90's are the years I "click" with the most. Earlier 60's music (to me) is good for a memory, but most sound too shallow and "sing-songy" to me. But where are all the "greats" that we had through all those years? Seems to be too many mediocre (or worse) artists now, lacking palatable creativity. Phil P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:30:59 -0500 From: "Barry" Subject: Re: Mainstream music > But where are > all the "greats" that we had through all those years? Seems to be too many > mediocre (or worse) artists now, lacking palatable creativity. I guess that's just proof that the record industry isn't any different now than it was then. The greats are gone because they no longer sell the records, at least not as many as the 19 year old who will show as much skin as possible as often as possible. The teenagers have always been the target demographic for the record companies, so whatever they like will be what gets the most/best marketing. Once the greats stop selling 10,000,000 copies of their latest CD, they're pushed aside for the new "talent". The greats tour as much as they can, put out new music when they can, and keep doing what they've always done. I've noticed lately that some of the older artists/bands are apparently doing it all on their own now. I see commercials on TV now and then for new CDs by old artists, and you have to go to a website to buy it, or maybe one chain of stores might have it too. As long as there's good music out there, and it's not so obscure that it takes an Indiana Jones adventure to find it, they can keep their Brittina Spearguilara teeny-bop music and I'll keep adding real music to my collection. Barry "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 23:42:01 -0500 From: Bill Roberts Subject: Re: Mainstream music Quoting Barry : > The 60s had some really good > stuff, the 70s not so much so. There was good stuff, just not as much > mainstream it. > I loved the 70s because of ELP, Yes, and Gentle Giant. Bill ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V9 #163 ***************************