From: Mark Turner (nugroove_at_pacbell.net)
Date: 2004-07-11 05:45:29
This morning I was reading an article on New Orleans funk pioneer Eddie Bo
in the latest issue of Waxpoetics. Towards the end of the article there's a
pretty concise summary of what musicians like Eddie have had to deal with,
being part of the music "business" --
"The multi-layered sagas of record label and artist have played out over and
over again since music began to be put on wax cylinders over one hundred
years ago. Unfortunately, this history of recorded music is too often a
history of labels and distributors making money and artists and songwriters
living and dying broke. Much of the time, an artist's voice is silenced by
complicated legal contracts and a culture of record production that
encourages musicians and writers to take quick money on the front end by
giving up rights to what may or may not end up to be serious money later on.
Reissue labels can be speculators, buying stock from artists and label
owners cheaply in the hopes that they will turn into a goldmine later on.
While by no means are all reissue labels of this type, some of the more
nefarious of these imprints take the quick money route at the expense of
proper and equitable artist relationships, quality artwork, well researched
and intelligent liner notes, and real promotion. Eddie Bo knows this as much
as anyone, and continues to deal with its repercussions to this day."
- Brice White, "In the Pocket with Eddie Bo" from Waxpoetics #8
So this, in my opinion, is part of the real legacy of capitalism for many
musicians. :-(
-- Mark Turner/DJ Rocky Rococo nugroove_at_pacbell.net www.jazzadelica.com