Download CBC Radio 3 podcast #46 (Did Ju'no) (2006-04-07) for further clarification of Kevin Drew's comments.

Podcast feed below.

http://www.cbcradio3.com/podcast/standard/

Thanks Brennan, I'll check it out.

So I checked out the CBC Radio 3 podcast. They called up Kevin Drew to ask for clarification about his remarks.

Kevin says he's really concerned about the kids going through the "system" of Canadian Idol (and presumably the Canadian recording industry). He says Canada's market is too small for these kids to survive after their 15 minutes and they will be quickly forgotten. He has a point there.

He's wondering how to change the "system", saying there's a "quota". Of course there is: the music business is a business, and businesses have sales to worry about.

Drew says he was just trying to "insult the system". I'm not buying it. I'm not sure why he cares because he's not on a major label. Maybe he wants to be on a major someday so he wants them to change before he gets there? Seems a bit backwards.

Drew would be better served concentrating on his own music, helping to make Arts and Crafts a stronger independent label that can challenge the majors in Canada. Then A&C can get the majors to change because of positive competition, not negative criticism. That's what indie means to me.

So my original point remains: why care at all?

As for the fact that The Junos were on CTV, the same network as Canadian Idol, Drew says "he forgot". :)

I think the bigger concern here is not so much the Canadian Idol or American Idol shows, but how we are moving back towards a singles based market as supposed to an lp/record based market.

Back in the 50s and 60s, before the technology really existed to make "long playing records" we had a singles based pop music market. A band would put out a 45 single with their big song on side A and usually some filler on side B and move on to their next single.

Once LPs became technologically doable we saw this move to artists crafting full albums. Sure there would be a couple of singles on that album, but many artists out there really got off on this idea of putting together an albums worth of material. Great care went into not only the songwritting by the choosing of songs and song placement.

In the 70s we got AOR stations (Album Oriented Rock). Here in Ottawa CHEZ 106 started as an AOR station. You didn't have nationally or internationally created playlists, you had DJs play their favourite tracks from an album.

The singles market didn't die away, that's for sure, but it did wane as people got into buying full albums and sitting down to listen to the full thing in one go.

Now with the MP3 revolution (and don't get me wrong, I'm all over the MP3 revolution), we have a return to this singles based musical environment. Places like iTunes give the consumer the ability to easily purchase one song and move on.

The pop machine (and here I define pop music as "popular music" and not necessarily a specific sound or genre) knows that the best way to make money right now is to spit out a catchy song and move on. They no longer develop artists like we saw back in the day. They no longer give the artists time to sit in a studio and craft a full album.

That's my biggest lament, the fact that we aren't seeing major labels truely developming artists anymore. What we are seeing now though, are indie labels using the internet and the mp3 revolution to develop artists with more power than ever before. The internet has somewhat leveled the playing field with the major labels and have allowed indie labels and artists reach a significantly larger audience.

So.. I guess I'm willing to take the good with the bad.

On a completely seperate note, I love the idea you got for that fanconcert site. I even created a user there.. can't wait to see it grow. Maybe we can talk about it some more at barcamp this saturday, I'll be there!

Pat, some great comments there. I look forward to talking with you at BarCamp!

I agree that the major labels aren't taking enough time to develop artists. That's something I'm sure they are aware of, since like you say they do it in the name of profit. I don't discount this business model works -- obviously the major labels are still making money.

That's their "system" and it works for them. Like you said, other smaller labels are using different means to develop artists while still making money and exist alongside the more traditional major label business. It's good that they both exist, since they seem to have differing aims.

Having said that, the major label "system" is so entrenched I don't believe they will change on their own without significant external pressures. By that I mean external pressures that cost them money.

These pressures could come from very talented artists signed with non-major labels that choose to buck the entrenched major-label system. It's not an easy road for these labels but they do provide certain music afficionados with the quality of music they are looking for.

There will be paying customers but they are just more particular and fickle. This only increases quality, in my opinion, because artists feel a good kind of pressure to make very good music, not just make a buck to keep their label happy.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm thinking the indie labels will start to gain steam in the future because of the Internet and eventually (in 10-15 years) topple the traditional music business. It will just take a few business visionaries and a few talented artists willing to make sacrifices, especially financially, to make it happen.

Radio is a large part of the problem as well. The Internet (and probably satellite radio) will get around that extrenched business as well until they start feeling external pressures.

yeah man.. lots to talk about at barcamp I'm sure..

plus I want to pick your brain on the fanconcert site you are putting together. looks pretty cool man.