I hear what Ben is saying and I agree somewhat on the Meat Loaf issue. But the resurgence of the great bands of the 70 and 80s is a pure lack of new talent in contemprary Rock N Roll. The record companies are not totally dumb. People buy the records of these groups,as oppose to the free downloads.To me that speaks volumes. One is worth buying,the other is not. Why the record companies didn't really go after the Napster sytle of business is still a mystery to me. Just another form of piracy and when at CBS we went after the pirates with an intensity that is hard to describe today. Although Columbia is no longer a CBS property. Not only Columbia but RCA as well. We were not always successful,but the determination was there and in the end severly crippled the piracy movement. In another vain todays business relies far to much on agents to bring in the talent. The days of a group submitting a demo to a label appear to have vanished. Just no way to get in today unless one has an agent. If Santana,Aerosmith,Peter Gabriel and others just starting out submitted a demo to a label,it would never see the light of day. There is just not any personal contact between label and artist. The only possible exception is Clive Davis with Arista. Now there is an Icon of the music business. But I see no one to take over from Clive Davis at the moment.
Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman - Overview
Category: Music
Was at CBS during the genesis of Meat Loaf. They were having a hard time getting Bat of Hell into production. I will forever remember the show they put on for the CBS brass in New Orleans. That performance sealed the deal forever for Meat Loaf and JS. In fact Bat out of Hell keeps selling some 25 years after it was first released. Love him or hate him,he really doesn't care. Michael is now an icon and legendary performer be it music or movies. One thing for sure there is no mistaking his signature and has survived all the fads,and continues as a major force in the record business. The music industry needs to stop this cookie cutter boy band crap and I for one have had enough of the Brittany Spears genre. In todays market if Meat Loaf,Santana and Boston,etc., were just starting,they would never see the light of day. There is no mistaking the impact that ML and JS has had on Rock n Roll. Let's hope we will have new Rock icons coming our way. Ok - Audiogon members your turn - lets have your thoughts. Record companies will listen, after all it decides their bottom line.
Was at CBS during the genesis of Meat Loaf. They were having a hard time getting Bat of Hell into production. I will forever remember the show they put on for the CBS brass in New Orleans. That performance sealed the deal forever for Meat Loaf and JS. In fact Bat out of Hell keeps selling some 25 years after it was first released. Love him or hate him,he really doesn't care. Michael is now an icon and legendary performer be it music or movies. One thing for sure there is no mistaking his signature and has survived all the fads,and continues as a major force in the record business. The music industry needs to stop this cookie cutter boy band crap and I for one have had enough of the Brittany Spears genre. In todays market if Meat Loaf,Santana and Boston,etc., were just starting,they would never see the light of day. There is no mistaking the impact that ML and JS has had on Rock n Roll. Let's hope we will have new Rock icons coming our way. Ok - Audiogon members your turn - lets have your thoughts. Record companies will listen, after all it decides their bottom line.