Dennis,
Ignoring something, does not make it go away.
But jumping to conclusions and defining enemies is the wrong way to do
anything constructive. Ford is _giving_ us money to have our festival.
yes, they are doing that to advertise their product, but who would supply
the money if they weren't there???? Everything costs money, and I beleive
that Carl Craig and Co. have devised a way to tap into that resource with
hardly any discourse.
I think a lot of the
people writing about this issue with the demf and corporate sponsors, are
directly involved and are making these decisions. If you live in Detroit
and know any of the artists involved, you should realize this.
If you are just a fan and not really involved, you should realize that a
relativly small group of very talented Detroit people make this festival
happen.
And so many more that are behind the scenes will never get the notoriaty or
credit. Some want it that way, but others work a lifetime to bring these
things for us (creativity and open mindedness), and get squashed by opinions
that are unfounded and speculative.
I think it is wrong to label anything (even a corporate giant) destructive
and relentless. Remember, after death comes rebirth.
You can sulk about how bad our society is, and how overrun we are with
advertising monopolies, but until you understand and co-exist with them, you
will never make any ground.
Just because Ford (probably not even Ford, probably just their marketing
department or agency!) wants to market to us, does not mean they are an
"evil" company. They produce a product that is (in relevence to - say -
computers) very dangerous. You can't be upset that a certain percentage of
their product fails if you don't applaud them for the opposite percentage
that holds true. To try and make a correlation between their product
failing, and their marketing strategy of giving money for a festival, is a
bit of an overkill. We should all be enthused that they are pitching in to
fund this thing.
To take this a step further, where do you draw the line???
If someone who is heavily involved in the promotion, production, or
expansion of our music, and our feelings, decides to buy a product from a
sponsor of one of "our" events, should they be chastised for it???
Especially, if they were going to buy that product anyways???
Laura - you said that if this trend of letting corporate america fund and
advertise through our music, we are letting "our" souls and "our" music be
stolen from us. I really respect the things that you have to say , and feel
your heart is in the right place, but there are two things in that statement
that should be clarified:
First of all, its not "our" music. It's Derrick's, Carl's, Kevin's, ect.
They should be the ones who decide what should be done with it.
Second, corporate america can't "steal" things that you don't allow them to.
They can fund whatever they want to, as long as the quality and message of
the music doesn't change. And even if some try to imitate the music
offering a compromised product, it will be figured out.
John - As far as working "as a number" in a large conglomerate or
corporation goes, things like that must be done. I am ever greatful for the
work that my father and his father did, in that same role, in order to
provide me with a choice. You can't say that the corporations "suck the
life" out of you, because it is truly in the perception. If you let it do
that, then it will. If you hold strong, and do your job, and follow the
rules, you will benifit. The importance, is (again) to not compromise your
intent for that of the corporation.
Sorry for the winded reply. I feel this topic is slowly shifting off-topic,
and would encourage any replies from now on to be sent privately.
Cheers.
Dennis Donohue
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