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Is this the greatest Luke rant of all time or what!

Agileguy_101

Agileguy_101

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I don't see how it's that different from any other industry.

I saw a picture making fun of Kanye West for saying that rappers are today what rock gods were yesterday. It's not that far from the truth - when was the last time a hard rock band that got famous within the last 5-10 years could play arenas (not counting festivals)? That's the reason you don't get backing from record labels - rock isn't in now. No point lamenting it or condemning it. You can't change popular opinion like that.
 
mesavox

mesavox

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Everything goes in cycles. The rock star is dead thing is partially true yes, but is it? Lady Ga Ga might be today's rock star, but who is to say that (for lack of any national but not yet famous act coming to my head I'll name my band) Bipolar Echo isn't tomorrows rockstars? Who would have dreamed that Metallica would be legends in 2013 back in 1984? That means they went from struggling cult following act to mega rockstardom at some point along the way in their career, and even maintained it for years.

Even in rap... someone mentioned Kanye... yeah, but he's not a rock star to very many people within the current top selling genre in the US... country fans. Keith Urban... he's a rock star. No way around it. Celebrity babe wife, sold out arena shows, heavy distorted guitars, arena rock anthem type choruses... just add some fiddle and steel guitar and viola... Country Rock Star. LOL

Music's place in the modern culture has also shifted back and forth throughout time. The 1920s were really devoid of any particular stars of music. Stravinsky was slipping into his little known neo-classical period, and jazz was kind of the music of the people... the greats like Duke Ellington were more "Rock Star" in the 30s as jazz began to develop nostalgic qualities through the passing of time.

The 40s Rock Stars were created out of the war, and the 50s didn't give us what we REALLY think of as a Rock Star (girls screaming, peeing, and fainting) until Elvis in the late 50s. Before that it would have to be Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra. But even that kind of "Star" was more glamorous than the idea of a rebel rock star changing the world with his/her music.

The real key to the next generation of rock stars is... what do they have to say? Michael Jackson was musically relevant, but he was culturally relevant. Not like today where people try to insist that they have something important to say, and never say anything meaningful. Michael didn't have to say anything... just by moving forward, he made waves. MTV wouldn't play his videos because he was black... he goes on the Motown Awards and changes the world by walking backwards and forwards at the same time and by being a fierce performer and world class musician.

Luke is right, and the answer is not the kids changing. The answer is people of character and integrity not being afraid to be real and honest giving the kids something to look up to. The whole "look at me, I'm a bleeding heart liberal and I vote Democrat" thing doesn't carry any weight in the "entitlement generation" like being a liberal did when people like JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." JFK's politics were up and down, but he inspired people to strive and shoot for the stars, not simply be what is more popular on TV. People like JFK appreciated a Conservative who lived his ideals more than he appreciated a Liberal who just talked it because of the cool rhetoric it got when flowing out of the mouths of the then rock stars. The minute ideals becomes too popular, they risk being taken in vain. The "I'm gonna get an Obama phone..." attitude is no different than the "everyone on welfare is a bum" attitude. Neither reflect the spirit of those who truly believe in a safety net, AND building a platform so that anyone in any safety net can get out of it and know they had dignity while in it, and can cary that dignity to any entrepreneurial success. We think that being a moderate means cooperation. A true moderate is someone who is very much full on their side of the fence, but understands how that other side of the fence works together with their side. Some people need to focus their lives on perfecting the methods of providing for those who fall into the net. But, if no one else has the call to help keep the pathway to wealth open, then we'll all fall into that net and stay there.

That is music today. We were lulled into thinking that the national endowment for the arts would take care of us. But, even those who created it only did so to satisfy the more influential constituent lobbyists. So we fund people who are more interested in offending for the sake of offending than they are interested in creating art simply because they know how to quote a good liberal. All the while, the real liberals (free men/women) are being told by record labels that they don't work hard enough, and they don't really really WANT it bad enough because they actually hope that they can make their house payments that year. (I have read more A&R BS like that than I can ever stand to see again.) Our industry has seen the failing of both great ideals... American liberalism and conservativism. The government safety net for our industry failed years ago, and now the private sector is failing because those who run it insist on sticking their heads in the sand, not adapting, and only funding those who can sell 10 thousand cds that sound like Nickelback on their own. Then they whine that they can't find any original sounding artists. WHAH. Why is it that the soundman and monitor guy at The Whisky, AND Beau Hill, AND Neil Kernon, AND EVEN Luke himself, AND... I could go on, can tell us that we sound fresh, have quality songs, production, killer singer, muso's muso guitarist, bass player, and drummer, etc. etc. etc. and the managers and labels etc. all say "that's awesome, but you don't have enough traction."? Who is the short sighted here? And, we're not the only band... I hear awesome bands every day.... most of them will never make it. Most of them are ten times more fresh, original sounding, genuine, and hard working than the last 10 bands to get signed this year. There are exceptions, but... it is the norm.

The rock star is dead because the industry is sitting on its hands hoping something great will happen, instead of taking chances, and actually giving people incentive to actually take their own chance on this as a career.

That WILL change. A couple of forward minded managers will take some chances, and a couple of label peeps... and a handful of determined bands will bust through on their own and force the labels to decide if they really do want to go the way of the DODO Bird. That may be the next generation's rebellion and cultural relevance right there. I know that I for one am not giving up. The more those idiot A&R people tell me that my band doesn't really want it because our singer had a baby 5 years ago, there more I intend to shove every level of success we can muster up their noses along with the middle fingers of everyone who believed and will believe in us. Its no coincidence that people who believe in us also believe things can change. The people who always say, "I won't even talk to you a second longer than it takes to tell you that I will not even try to help you until you have what I think is traction going" are always the ones griping, and yet doing the very thing they gripe about. Yes, there are those who have told us "man it sucks right now, no one wants to work with anyone who doesn't have traction, and those who would be willing, don't have the clout in that particular area." It seems like the people doing interviews on the so called future of the business, are the ones not listening to their own cautions. They say in an interview "the industry needs to take more chances and treat the artists better..." then they tell everyone the same thing they've been telling them since the 360 deal became the excuse to not sign anyone anymore.

I always hear people make fun of Lady Ga Ga... but she is out there pushing down doors, writing the craziest music, mixing everything all up like some post modern rock and roll influenced(Queen, Beatles) Shoenberg(not his serial works lol) in a dance club, and, like it or not, creating her own fashion along the way. On one hand, we gripe that Brittany Spears has no real musical ability, then we gripe about a classically trained alternative in Lady Ga Ga because she is "too influenced by Madonna." Sheesh man.. what do we want? LOL Oh right... it can only be my kind of rock n roll. Punk died as a movement because it was too self important... too self righteous. Punk only lived on through the merits of the music itself, and through those within the movement who learned that they can love their kind of music, and others can love their kind of music, and woah... we can actually love each other's kind of music. Imagine that.

I very much feel Luke's pain in that article... and he has taken some beatings he should never have had to take through the years with the label milking them that way. But my reply to Luke would be (and perhaps I should send him a copy of this), "Man, trust me, you're more loved that those idiots have made it seem at times, and your own persistence at getting healthy, and getting the band back on the map lately is the very sparks of inspiration a lot of us haven't even almost made it yet artists are clinging to."

I do know this... if ALL of us would network like this means as much to us as we always say it does... we could change the world in a week. The only thing keeping us from that is just finding some people who are good at organizing, and who won't mess it up by turning all the efforts into some sort of fake "submissions to the big time" type of website. LOL
 
uOpt

uOpt

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Aug 2, 2008
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Boston, MA, USA
It really wasn't that much better in the elder days.

Luke might have gotten more royalties but fraud around them were very commonplace. There was no accounting not done by the record company, so unless it was a famous artist who could verify his reach in the charts you got screwed the same way as today. Add to that contracts that were clearly unethical and ruined careers but people had no choice since there was no alternative, all record companies doing the same.

Self-publishing is possible today so why don't people do it?
 
kestrou

kestrou

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Danville, IL
uOpt said:
It really wasn't that much better in the elder days.

Luke might have gotten more royalties but fraud around them were very commonplace. There was no accounting not done by the record company, so unless it was a famous artist who could verify his reach in the charts you got screwed the same way as today. Add to that contracts that were clearly unethical and ruined careers but people had no choice since there was no alternative, all record companies doing the same.
Click to expand...

There's *numerous* examples to cite on this topic - if you're not familiar with the life story of Johnny Winter, then read it and weep... :(

kestrou
 
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