An interesting outlook…

Last week I was priveledged enough to enjoy a seminar featuring music industry giants Don VanCleave (of the Independent Record Stores Coallition), Steve Ralbovsky (A&R for A&M), and Gary Gersh (manager for the Counting Crows, Foo Fighters, Matisyahu, etc). Of course, everyone in the room had their pre-conceived ideas of these speakers merely based on their resumes. For example, most of us are conditioned to believe that A&R people are evil and will bring about the downfall of the industry…although this may be a little harsh. As these speakers described their early careers in the music industry, it became increasingly evident that they were just regular guys trying to help out artists they liked, just like the rest of us. Unfortunately, not all of us are fortunate enough to have discovered the Talking Heads while we were in college, but I suppose these things aren’t entirely outside of the realm of possibility.

The point is, these people have very successful careers working with very successful artists. More importantly, they haven’t had to compromise themselves to achieve that…which is a success in itself. When asked about the state of the industry, all of us expected to hear the typical “doom and gloom” answers involving the words “corporate,” “major record labels,” “free downloads,” and the general loath of the song ‘Crank ‘Dat Soulja Boy.’ Shockingly, we heard all three guests speak up to their personal beliefs that the music industry is really doing pretty well. Gary Gersh quickly responded that the music industry is ripe for change, but one’s outlook on the direction of that change is what can take it in a better direction. He told the audience to stop thinking about the record industry and start thinking about the MUSIC: what a novel idea.

I think that it’s important to note that there are some very influential people in the industry with an overall positive outlook for the future of the music industry. There’s still great music floating around in the never-neverland that is your local record store…you just have to look for it. We’re going back to basics here, people..so turn off MTV, turn off the Clear Channel radio, and go find some music that YOU like. There’s more out there than they want you to think.

Fortune Cookie:

Pretend like you’re 16 again, and it’s time for your Friday afternoon paycheck. Go to the record store and spend some quality time with some physical product. It’s amazing what actually holding a CD in your hand and reading the liner notes can do for the morale.

Listening to:

“Underneath the Apple Tree” – Carmen McRae