Billy Corgan Talks About Record Industry
Billy Corgan has always been an idealist and I love him for that. He is also a talented songwriter (Smashing Pumpkins, Courtney Love), which affords him to be an idealist.
Corgan had an epiphany and broke away from his record label (Warner Bros) and decided to release his music on his own and under his own time frame/constraints. He claims to have written 52 new songs and will place them up on his site(for free) as he records them. The songs will be part of the new Smashing Pumpkins album entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
He had this to say about the record industry, which I found interesting.
Can Corgan, who parted ways with Warner Bros. last year, afford to give music away for free? “I can’t afford it!!” he says. “But I would rather be free than rich. The [major] labels are dead ghosts walking, and they know it. They never should have left this mystic free, because I am way more of a pied piper than they could ever fathom.”
While I don't agree with him being the pied pier of new and innovative ways to promote music, I do agree that the current music philosophy is dead.More artists are finding worldwide fame just by using the internet andt heir own creativity. An industry so dominated by large record companies is finding it hard to turn a profit on just album sales alone.
Yes, there are advantages of big record labels (wider exposure, touring funds, official music gear), but there are significant downsides (you hardly own your music, your forced to curtail your current sound to be more generic and edible for the masses).
A raw, dangerous sounding band like Diemonds, would be tamed by some fucking suit or some button pushing producer. This couch music reporter would commit suicide if Diemonds signed and compromised their sound. They are too good to curb their sound so some hick in Alabama can buy their album.
Again, this is a call to arms. If you are an upstart rock n' roll band, send your shit to us to be reviewed. I don't care if you sing in Chinese or German - I have Google Translate. I can figure it out. We will give you full exposure on the site and hopefully our ten readers will buy your album. Act now as my album plate is virtually empty.
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Corgan had an epiphany and broke away from his record label (Warner Bros) and decided to release his music on his own and under his own time frame/constraints. He claims to have written 52 new songs and will place them up on his site(for free) as he records them. The songs will be part of the new Smashing Pumpkins album entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
He had this to say about the record industry, which I found interesting.
Can Corgan, who parted ways with Warner Bros. last year, afford to give music away for free? “I can’t afford it!!” he says. “But I would rather be free than rich. The [major] labels are dead ghosts walking, and they know it. They never should have left this mystic free, because I am way more of a pied piper than they could ever fathom.”
While I don't agree with him being the pied pier of new and innovative ways to promote music, I do agree that the current music philosophy is dead.More artists are finding worldwide fame just by using the internet andt heir own creativity. An industry so dominated by large record companies is finding it hard to turn a profit on just album sales alone.
Yes, there are advantages of big record labels (wider exposure, touring funds, official music gear), but there are significant downsides (you hardly own your music, your forced to curtail your current sound to be more generic and edible for the masses).
A raw, dangerous sounding band like Diemonds, would be tamed by some fucking suit or some button pushing producer. This couch music reporter would commit suicide if Diemonds signed and compromised their sound. They are too good to curb their sound so some hick in Alabama can buy their album.
Again, this is a call to arms. If you are an upstart rock n' roll band, send your shit to us to be reviewed. I don't care if you sing in Chinese or German - I have Google Translate. I can figure it out. We will give you full exposure on the site and hopefully our ten readers will buy your album. Act now as my album plate is virtually empty.
Source
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1/14/2010 4:54 PM
Blogs N' Roses wrote:
I heard the trollop of cloven footsteps outside my front window this morning. I looked outside and saw a black cloaked figure with a scythe. I opened the window a crack and asked, "Already?" Knowing that this Ring Wraith fellow had to be one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. His dusty cloak shook as he slowly revealed his white skull. He laughed and said, "No, but it is almost time. Warn the masses." I said, "But we haven't any signs yet." To which this horsemen asked, "Don't you check the news? ...
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