He Who Pays The Piper Calls The Tune . . . Or Does He?

He who pays the Piper Calls The tune - or does he?

Morning All and thanks for tuning in!

So, interesting times lie ahead for the music business I see. According to the New York Times, there are potentially troubled waters in wait for the record companies. The article highlights the fact that the more older artistes stand a chance to win back the rights to songs of theirs from 35 years ago.

Basically, if you put out an album in 1978 you are now in a position, thanks to Federal Law, to file papers to win back the rights to music you released by the year 2013. It got me thinking, to use an old phrase, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

I'm going to nail my colours to the mast. I'm going to lean towards the side of the artist in this occasion. I'll tell you why.

The artist comes up with the idea for a song. He writes the song. If the song is a success for the record company that releases it, history has shown us that until recently, the performer that wrote the song doesn't do as well financially because of the way the deal was negotiated. I tend to get the impression that although the artist does okay, it could be better. How is it that the Rolling Stones were so successful in the 1960's and yet had to leave Great Britain as tax exiles? They owed more money than they earned!!!! If you read Ian McLagan's book "All The Rage" you'll find him feeling very aggrieved about the situation The Small Faces were faced with financially.
In more recent years, there's been celebrated cases featuring George Michael and Prince where contractual differences have been aired..

This is flat out wrong. I've heard it referred to as slavery but to me that has to be an exaggeration. What it is is gross exploitation. It is symbolic of the "get what you can at the expense of whoever you can" mentality that has besieged our society in recent times.

I always remember seeing an interview with Keith Richards on television. He lamented the fact that the first time he saw one of his blues heroes, namely Muddy Waters in Chicago at Chess Studios, he was, and I quote, "painting the goddamn ceiling".  The situation in the USA may have had something to do with the fact that some radio stations weren't to keen on playing music performed by black men.

It's time for the record companies to realise that yes they do provide a platform for a singer or a band but they have to be more, well, truthful with them. It is time for them to be more fair in how the money, of which there is plenty, is shared. It needs to be done in a more equitable fashion. While I think about it, it's time for companies to clean up their act with regards to the way they market their female stars.

Let's take Mariah Carey and Beyonce as our subject matter. Two very talented singers in my opinion. Two attractive females if I may say so. They are at the stage in their careers where they in a position to have a greater control over how they are marketed. Yet for some reason they both feel that they have to perform on stage in clothes that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Mariah Carey - natural beauty

As you can see she doesn't really need to appear on stage with barely anything on. I say this as a confirmed red blooded heterosexual male! It seems to be the same all over the shop! I saw an advertisement on the Fox Soccer Channel for one of the many organizations selling replica shirts. The company felt it necessary to have a commercial featuring a well developed female wearing a football shirt promoting the company. If I want to buy a football shirt I don't need a woman wearing a shirt that appears to be a size too small to promote it, I promise you!

Then there's Beyonce. The girl can sing for certain. She's another really attractive woman. I remember when she performed during President Obama's inauguration night. She sang Etta James' "At Last" She had played Etta James in the film "Cadillac Records", which was loosely based on Chess Records if you remember. She, along with the first couple, looked radiant as you can see from the picture below.

An elegant couple serenaded by an elegant woman

The flip side of Miss Knowles, originally from Texas (not the most liberal of places in my book if the current governor is anything to go by!), is someone who goes out of her way, or so it seems , to exploit her sexuality to sell music.

Really Beyonce, is it necessary?

Ladies, neither of you will see 30 again. Mariah has become a Mother. There's being confident about your body and dressing in a way to accentuate your femininity and there's dressing like a prostitute. The old adage "everything in moderation" is very true. I'm a red blooded heterosexual male. I make no apologies for it. I like females. I shouldn't be made to feel guilty about my sexuality. Living in the Northampton area does make that a little difficult at times! However, I like my females to have a bit of class and dignity - that's why I married my wife!

Female singers (and male singers for that matter) do have an obligation to think about what they're doing in order to protect the waning morality that appears evident in society.. There's always going to be some impressionable young girl out there wanting to copy their latest move, their latest dance style or how they dress. You don't have to copy stars from yesteryear either (a recent picture of Lady Ga Ga was crying out Madonna circa 1985 "Desperately Seeking Susan") and in yesterday's New York Times Beyonce seemed to trying to pull off a Tina Turner look.

Be yourself and be true to yourself. I enjoy writing. I wish I had had the conviction to pursue writing in more depth. Oh well, who knows what's going to happen!

Enjoy your music wherever and however you listen,

Ed