I couldn’t have said it better… Pink Floyd, NIN, Nirvana, David Bowie, U2… all above the lowest common denominator, all wrote great songs, all sold tonnage. AND THE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED THEM CARED ABOUT ART.

If the formula of the britneys and boy bands work, then shouldn’t the new Spice Girls album be selling millions of copies? It comes down to songs this is why Nickleback can still sell 6 million albums. It is not just about the sound or a pretty face, Chad isn’t a super model we all know that. There are thousands of bands that sound like them but don’t have nearly as much success.

I’m not saying that Majors need to sign all these artsy bands, what I’m trying to say is that the labels need to have some courage they need to have no fear…take risks..sign bands that push it and aren’t afraid to be different. If we played it safe would we have Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, U2…some of the best artists of all time in my opinion.

I’m happy that over the last few days Dean posted some new artists a little left of center. Crystal Castles is not meant for the mainstream but there is a huge market for what they do. Electronic music does alright i don’t think Daft Punk or the Chemical Brothers complain. The band Hello Operator has some great songs can you imagine hooking them up with some veteran writers, someone who can guide and develop them into something super special. Even this girl lights..good looking girl, great tone to her voice…doing all this on her own in her bedroom. These artists need to be developed..Majors need to operate the way they did in the 70’s when they actually developed bands.

Not saying this is the type of music I like, but the average American person likes a nice person to look at, who’s singing a catchy melody.

It’s the music BUSINESS. Nobody cares about art. Not even the successful indies. You sign something if you think it can resonate with a lot of people. That’s the bottom line, and most people want what I described above. If you cant deal with that, start a local indie label, and release coffee table records. Do I wish it would be different? Yes. But it’s not! I live in the real world, and unfortunately there is no room for wishful thinking here.

If major labels are filled with people who think like this then yes I cant wait for the day that they are done with. Things have changed, changed in a big way….you need to figure it out. Obviously Crystal Castles are doing well, they are touring the world playing large venues on there own and are impressing almost every critic out there and most importantly the kids. Check out Lights myspace numbers and comments, it’s pretty obvious the kids are responding. It’s sad that no A&R has any balls anymore to put themselves out there and take a risk. Man if you want it to be cookie cutter go get a job making cookies.

We need to fill the industry with people who want to sign innovative bands, great bands that kids want to listen to not the crap you labels have been putting out these days. Let the kids respond with what they want….stop forcing stuff on us all.

I’m so happy that the internet has changed things, at least now everyone is on the same playing field….the great bands will survive

thats my 2 cents about this

Maybe the Black Kids hype means that they’re moving towards survival. Maybe eventually they will build careers again & artists will have longevity.

Either way, that’s the future.

I was laughing my butt off when I saw that Black Kids were THE buzz act at CMJ. Major Label A&Rs dont need to sign some hipster band, they need to find a new Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne or Nickelback.

Maybe niche is the future, but definitely not for the majors. If the paradigm of the superstar act dies, the majors will also go down. This goes hand in hand with the decline of album sales. P2P is only one of the problems. There’s too much clutter, no gatekeeper, and the majors somehow cant turn their acts into superstars anymore. Nobody’s paying attention. That’s the real problem.

I’m not saying that the death of the majors would be a bad thing, but if they want to survive they have to find and develop new superstars. Make a lot of people pay attention to one single act. That’s the major label game, it’s what they’re best at. If they cant play it anymore, or figure out how to play, they will go doooowwwwn. They wont be needed anymore. If you cant make me somebody a superstar, why should they sign with you? They may as well go with an indie label, that will allow them to build from the ground up, and have some longevity.

Because of what John said. Because of the Niche. Activity. could show promise. - Dean