Before The Music Dies

[Remoteness]

My friend sent me this awesome link to a documentary about today's pop music industry.

Please consider checking this out "Before the Music Dies"

IMHO, it's a must see!

Information from the website:
Narrated by Academy Award® Winner Forest Whitaker, BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES is an unsettling and inspiring look at today’s popular music industry featuring interviews and performances by Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Branford Marsalis, ?uestlove and a wide variety of others. The documentary film has built a passionate following as “the most important film a music fan will ever see” (XM Radio) by providing “a balanced overview of the state of the rock scene of America” (The Wall Street Journal) and adding “passion to the eternal debate about the industry” (The New York Times). Last year, BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen walked away from traditional Hollywood distribution to instead pursue a large-scale grassroots release with B-Side Entertainment. Since its release in November 2006, the film has screened over 200 times in over 130 North American markets with hundreds of additional events anticipated worldwide during 2007.

[pro]

I think there needs to be some division between the Music industry and the Entertainment industry

[Martin Kantola]

Thanks,

just bought the hires download!

Martin

[FeatheredSerpent]

Great vid, thanks.

[boojum]

Steve, thank you! Great flick.

Too f**king bloody true!

Thankfully I live in an isolated coastal community that has a community radio station with ever-changing programmers. It has a wide spectrum of music and if I do not like what is playing I turn it off. Sooner or later they play something I like; the rest of the time they play stuff other folks like. Mostly, I like it.

I record local artists who are good, not great, who are not marketed but play for the love of it. And most have done it for years. They are mostly broke, pulling one or two "real" jobs to eat, and to play music. None are pretty or handsome but they all are talented musicians. They are real. I am very lucky.

Thank God I am not in a major market

[JoeyM]

Originally Posted by pro

I think there needs to be some division between the Music industry and the Entertainment industry

That avatar and that quote: Priceless

[dualflip]

Thats an old movie, its very very good, i thought at the time that the impact was going to be greater, but it wasnt (sadly)

[NorseHorse]

"Momma's Not Comin' Home" was amazing.

I think this video is very nostalgic. Hard to know how much said about the past is accurate and how much is mythic. But I suppose the feeling is still there nonetheless.

The analysis of radio was spot on. "If all you've got is a radio, you're hearing the same shit". It's true. That why I stopped listening. Later she says, "We're mentally killing the next generation by not giving them the options that we had." I'd say this is less true. The "next" generation has access to way more music than anyone EVER BEFORE IN HISTORY. Among college age students, most of the artists that people listen to (outside of hip-hop) are artists that get very little - if any - radio play. Dave Matthews said "That energy [of radio] will go somewhere else." That's already happened. It's called mySpace, home studios, Pandora, Napster, iTunes, PureVolume, and CD/mp3 swapping. It can be great when a big name gets behind an artist(s) - like Dell with the Discovered Series, or AOL, MTV, Yahoo, VH1, and many more small companies have done with similar programs - but those artists are there either way. And people are listening to them either way.

The music world is thriving and the fact that the "industry" is failing doesn't make me sweat. It's been cramping style for a long time. If I remember correctly, even Stevie Wonder had to fight hard for creative and financial control (unlike the video implies about some golden era - mention of Phil Spector is noticably absent). The ATO exec wisely says: "I got out of the record business and into the music business." Awesome.

There's so much amazing music out there, it blows my mind. The video doesn't give enough credit to the current music scene.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by dualflip

Thats an old movie, its very very good, i thought at the time that the impact was going to be greater, but it wasnt (sadly)

Yeah, I believe the documentary came out in 2006.

It has come around again.
IMO, it is as important of a message as it was back in 2006.
May be even more important today.

[Nu-tra]

Thanks!

[antoniosolo]

Musicians still rock, technology made some things easier than riding faders by hand and change is good. I cannot say that I am displeased with the current market as more artist will not have to perform favors to get heard. You can now go to market with whatever you have as you the artists sees fit. The big guys have to make chages to stay competitive. Go lobby Congress like ervyone else who seeks to control what is supposed to be a free market. Oh well, can't sit on your a** and ride the wave forever. Find a solution, pay an MBA to make you profitable again, something. Lower your overhead and find a new market. Quite whining and applaud the performers who still rock out. You try and perform their set, whether programmed or not, thats a technological choice. Easier is considered better. Give me the facts and I will make my own decision. I don't need you trying to get me to feel like you feel. Pick up your instrument and be happy. Thats what it was for in the first place. Happiness. Blues was from oppressed people and thats why it sounded the way it did. If this is your mealticket I have no right to speak against your gripes but its great we can record at home now. I hated wishing I could record something and bouncing between cassettes. It used to be easier to tour and live off little but life is harder now, we have to be a nation of achievers if we want to maintain an edge and from the latest news we sold our soul (famous rock quote)..... Just rock on for the sake of rockin on.....WE appreciate/applaud you and sometimes, at some jam, that has to suffice until your next big gig....

[Batchainpuller78]

Thanks for posting that nice docu.

YouTube - Frank Zappa explains the decline of the music business

[Reptil]

nice, watching it right now
thanks for posting

[Empire Prod]

Really enjoyed the film. Thanks for the post.

[decibike]

thanks for posting!

I agree it is a sad thing that mainstream media and labels are very boring music wise.

however...

* I don't think this is a new trend, as long as I can remember listening to the radio (the end of the 1980s in my case) mainstream radio and tv had virtually NO interesting music going on at prime time. You just had (and still have) to look/listen at the right places (smaller labels, small clubs, internet-radio. NOT mainstream TV or radio .)

* I don't agree on the idea that there were more excellent bands 60s and 70s , on the contrary, IMHO the 90s and the current decade had more interesting music than ever. It's just not happening on major labels anymore. The 60s and 70s had a lot of awful music as well. All we like the remember are the highlights (Stones, Beatles, Stevie wonder etc) and forget about all the crap music inbetween them.

* Music evolves and expands; of course there not as much Clapton style blues bands nowadays. But does it really matter? The 70s didnt have dj shadow, sonic youth, Bjork, gorrillaz or NIN. Even in the "classic" rock or pop department there's a lot of amazing bands ( Drive by truckers! Fleet Foxes! )

* I guess it has always been hard to get a good record deal, fortune and fame. There are just a few that make it all the way to the top, there are even fewer that stay there.

* There have always been bedroom geniuses that never got the sales they deserved based on the quality of their music.

* There have always dumb songs for teenagers (Cliff Richard anyone?)

* There has always been a mainstream audience that is perfectly happy
with "boring, predictable" music and that couldn't care less about your "arty, depressing" band X.

* There have always been people complaining about the current state of music. It's called jazz phase; You suddenly enjoy listening to
Miles Davis and get annoyed by the amount of young kids at concerts.

I do think that here's less money for expensive sgt Pepper like epic album productions. But in my opinion the music industry or commercial radio are not the source of all evil. Illegal downloading is. There are a lot of (smaller) labels that put a lot of love into music. Expensive productions and long term band investment by labels will suffer because of "fans" ripping the music for free. (Without feeling guilty, because of the myth that all labels and artists are already filthy stinking rich. )

Maybe the "lock me up in Abbey Road for a year-days" are over, but the people who really care about music will play and the people who really want to hear it will find them. The music will never die.

[locosoundman]

It's probably me just being cynical, but that film seems to be little more than a commercial for ATO records. I hate to say this, but music existed long before there was a "record industry."

Most of what makes up the "popular music" genres of today would have been considered "folk music" in centuries past. People did not make this sort of music with the expectation of getting paid for it, but someone figured out a way to make money off of mass producing it and so we have the "music industry." "Music" is not going to "die" just because the record industry goes away or because people stop subscribing to the idea of becoming a superstar and just make music for the sheer joy of it.

An interesting comment is made at the beginning of the film by Branford Marsalis about how it's bad that "everything has to be within 1 mile of everyone nowadays" (paraphrasing) but that is really how music is supposed to be - an interaction between a musician and an audience; a shared experience in real time. So in that respect that it is ironic that many mourn about losing the regional slant and development of real culture between a group of humans who live together in a shared environment to mass culture, while still aspiring to become a part of that mass culture. In the show "DIRT," Courtney Cox makes a great statement that applies here: "You didn't just want to be an actor, you wanted to be famous."

Sousa made some interesting comments in 1906 about how he thought the mass production of recorded music was going to effect how humans make music. While many of his ideas are wrong, he does make some fantastic points, and he shows a bit of shrewd foresight.

Whatever anyone says about some sort of "Golden Age", the record industry has ALWAYS existed with the sole purpose of MAKING MONEY. Now that the industry is crumbling, the only way to make money is to ACTUALLY GO OUT AND PLAY in front of an audience. Many of the best musicians I know are happy to make $20 for the privilege of sharing their art with a live audience.

All that being said, the real way to raise the bar for future generations is not to push records at them, but to educate them about music in a way that is truly relevant and engaging. But it's hard to put that in a box and make money off it.

Sorry for this meandering diatribe, but there is so much more to music than just the industry, but yet the industry is all anyone talks about.

[boojum]

I grew up listening to 78's of Fats Waller and the opera. LP's followed with jazz, Fats Waller and opera. Then nights at Birdland in NYC and the Five Spot. Once the Village Vanguard, but it was way out of my price range as a kid. This was in the late 50's. Great acts came through town on tours and played to live audiences in saloons.

I did not bother driving to Woodstock because I thought the traffic and crowds would be a pain in the ass. Friends who did go did not enjoy the experience until after the move came out. I missed the whole rock show thing. I did catch Hendrix live once. He was stoned and awful. Jazz festivals are a little different.

Now I hang out in saloons where local talent gets together for the "$20" and a chance to play their music. Some are pretty good. It is a pleasure to hear music played live, acoustic and with the occasional clinker. I do love listening to a good recording of a great group getting their groove, but tonight I am driving down the coast with a pair of mics and a recorder to catch a bluegrass jam. Music up close and personal. Life is good.

[audiothings]

you make some great points locosoundman

[PlugHead]

I recently saw this film.

IMO, it's a good commentary - says a lot of the things I often like to express, esp. re: radio and it's total lack of originality/diversity.

However, I failed to see mention of ANY type of subversive music (a la 'punk' or 'noise-rock/jazz etc.) and in my opinion, this is where RADIO should EXCEL - that is it's roots and heritage - totally lost in (as they well mentioned) 'units' mentality.

The world needs at least SOME outlets for the "less than popular" styles of music. It is a good thing most people "have" the internet: it is the ONLY method of receiving ANY music out of the mainstream...

Good message within the flick tho! thumbsup

[MikeTSH]

I agree completely with their point of turn up on the day, look pretty; job done. I've been saying that for years, and it's nice to know even Clapton agrees with the exact same thing

[audio ergo sum]

Originally Posted by pro

I think there needs to be some division between the Music industry and the Entertainment industry

Correct. And on the level above there needs to be a division between Music and it's red headed step child, the music industry.

The music only dies, when no mother sings a lullaby to her child anymore, no farmer sings a song on the field anymore, no lover sings in the shower anymore.

The music industry is rather irrelevant for music in the bigger picture...
Every song you sing yourself instead of having someone else singing for you is actually a gain for music but a loss for the music industry

[dualflip]

Originally Posted by audio ergo sum

Correct. And on the level above there needs to be a division between Music and it's red headed step child, the music industry.

I think that division already exists, one sells the other doesnt..., a lot of great projects i love are from bands that nobody knows, and you dont have some guy telling you "Turn the vocals up +40dB"..., but the other side of the coin is rewarding too, ive worked in big projects, and they are also awesome, it depends on how you look at it.

[audiothings]

whats the jazzy 6/8 tune with harmonica and trumpet which plays over the opening credits?

thanks,

[Thomas W. Bethe]

To me music is all about communication. It is the communication between the artist and my inner self. If it is done well it sends shivers up and down my spine if it is not well done it leaves me somewhat unfulfilled and wishing that I had better spent my time doing something else.

I remember when the film fist came out and all the hype around it.

It does make you pause and think about where music has been and where it might be going.

It is worth time time to watch it.

One thing that is painfully evident today is that the music "business" is dying a slow death. Music itself is not dying and may actually be more fun than when it was closely tied to the business side. There are a lot more artist today, there is a great range of genres and music has become a lot more personal.

I hope that in the next few year that the music business as we all knew it dies off and is replaced by something that is more in keeping with the times and with people's listening and buying habits.

Good topic.

[jaydeluca]

anyone know what song dave mathews is playing during the clip of his show?

[ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

.....
Please consider checking this out "Before the Music Dies"

IMHO, it's a must see!...

+1

thanks for posting thumbsup

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Many of the radio stations in this geographical area are not broadcasters but are re-broadcasters meaning that they receive a signal from a satellite and rebroadcast it locally. The actual DJ is in California or somewhere far from here. The local stations have a small audio console for local insertions and local weather and the satellite feed goes in one end of the console and the output feeds a land line or microwave to their transmitter. There is nothing "local" about the station. This is NOT IMHO a good trend but one that seems to be rampant in this area. You hear the same songs over and over again and it all sounds slick but it is not my music it is being programmed by someone that has probably never been to Cleveland and knows nothing about the local music scene or about the local population. I use to listen, in my youth, to WIXY 1260 AM where the jocks all were from this area and all the in jokes and the things they said had relevance to me. Now I don't even listen to AM radio since most of it is Sports and Talk Radio and even the FM station are either re-broadcasters or they have a play list that the jocks have to follow and playing local new music is NOT part of their plan. If it were not for a few college stations I would never get to hear local talent unless I went bar hoping on a Saturday night. Radio use to be very personal but now it is all so homogenized and sanitized it really is NOT my music any more.

I went to a seminar held in Cleveland a number of years ago. The seminar was hosted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There were a number of record execs there and they had some very interesting things to say. One of them had a MBA from Harvard and was telling the audience that he could sell anything and if the record company was not to his liking he could sell any other widgets and would still make money. His point was that the MUSIC BUSINESS was a BUSINESS just like any other business and there was supply and demand and it was all how you managed your assets that determined what kind of profit you made. A member of the audience stood up and asked him what instrument he played and if he had ever been in a band. The record exec said he did not play any instruments and never was in a band. Then someone asked him what was his favorite music and he replied "my favorite music is the the music that is making me the most money". Some one else asked him what was his favorite band and he repeated his mantra that it was the one making him the most money. After a while you got the idea that this person's whole life was consumed with making money he was making decisions day to day at the record company that were based solely on the premise that what made him money was good. It would be interesting to have that same conversation with him today and see what he is doing or not doing and how well his day to day decisions back then influenced where the record company was headed and how well they were doing today. I personally think his priories were misplaced but maybe he is now a millionaire and I am not.

The music business is dying. The music is not. Long live music.

[Studiodawg]

+1 ...Long Live Music!

[justpushplay]

Originally Posted by Thomas W. Bethe

Many of the radio stations in this geographical area are not broadcasters but are re-broadcasters meaning that they receive a signal from a satellite and rebroadcast it locally. The actual DJ is in California or somewhere far from here. T

Well, this article makes me hopeful that at least someone in radio is understanding what has gone wrong. This is from Radio World magazine back in January:

Radio, the State of the Ship, by Bill Parris

I don't mean to go off topic, but I think the problems with radio right now are a subset of the problems facing music.

[dbssound1]

Ordered the film today.

Radio plays a huge part in the issue, but engineers and producers (yes us) are the real magicians that allows this charade to propagate itself.

Antares should be held in criminal court for accessory to commit fraud! So should the engineers that "fix it in the mix".

Digital editing has made the musicians soft in the classical world.

I am tired of rewarding mediocrity!

We all have blood on our hands!!!

Out Damn Spot!

Steps to save the music industry:

1. Write a good song
2. Band learns said song
3. Band records said song - 1 or 2 full takes (this means musicians have to be able to play their instruments and sing!)
4. Band goes home
5. Engineer mixes (not performing sonic surgery, but creating art with the tracks)
6. Mastering
7. Packaging
8. Promotional tour where the band truly performs their music
9. Radio spins more than the "playlist"
10. public decides.


Just my thought!