Hi "Folks"

This is a very important topic for anyone who hopes to make their living as an artist or songwriter. My perspective is shaped by nearly 40 years of involvement in commercial radio and playing/writing with bands.

My radio career began shortly after the days of the payola scandle so my early days as a station music director were not tainted by attempts on the part of label reps slipping a little incentive into the record sleeve for me to air their latest cut.

Major label control of the "marketing" is the danger here for the indy artist/writer. I left radio in the late 80's because of the coporate takeover of so much of the large and mid market radio capacity in America. Whether we like it or not, much of the audience is still acquired first by an artist, at the national level, through radio exposure. And the major labels still manage to control the commercial radio "marketing" tool.

If they gain control of the internet "spotlight" they control who and what the vast majority of new music seekers are exposed to. Not good. With resources like CD Baby we have a level playing field. With sites like JPF, Soundclick, MySpace, etc. we have a greater chance for our work being "discovered" by the fans we strive to reach.

Make no mistake. For the major labels it's all about controlling the "marketing" and that is the "spotlight" for the artist.

Wayne

Last edited by Penz2nz--Wayne Brown; 04/07/08 01:47 PM.
"Don't let it end like this; tell them I said something."
The final words of Poncho Villa

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