“Hey Bob Howdy!” (That’s what cowboys yell to each other whilst riding on the lone prairie.)
“Hail Fellow, well met!” (That’s how Eton alumni greet each other every time they meet.)
“S’up?” (Tis I!)
For the longest time, the recording industry, (i.e. the big record labels), determined the winners and losers in the Pop, Rock and Country genres. If you didn’t have a recording contract, your music career never really amounted to much. It was their way, or the stair way. Adios. Don’t let the screen door hit you on the butt on your way out.
And now? Well, now the entire recording industry has been conglomerated and whittled down to one, (or maybe two), mega-corporations that control everything. Literally, if you happen to off-piss or otherwise un-impress the one guy at the very top, (Of course it’s a guy. It’s always a guy.), you get bupkis. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Maybe worse.
Except for that one, little thing called the Internet; the majordomo of the world. No more must aspiring anythings wait breathlessly for some old, rich, white guy to nod in their direction. Today, they can have successful careers without corporate involvement.
I mention this because the Art world seems to be somewhat stuck in the old mode; meaning, old, very rich white guys are still determining winners and losers. Maybe that will never go away completely, but it sure seems like it’s time for other types of artists to create their own, level playing field via the Internet, and do an end run around the gatekeeping assh . . . folks . . . who’ve forever bottled the creative genies for their own uses.
I know; I’m an idealist. And maybe I daydream too much and make too many wishes upon unproductive stars.
But if the recording artists’ industry can change the way it has changed, anything’s possible, eh?
