Alex:
When I owned a "subversive" CD/Music store a few years ago,
many of the BIG record chains complained about the sale of
"used" CDs and tried like crazy to ban others (read:
"independents") from selling them. I even had the
easy-"jazz" guitarist Jonathan Butler (thereafter known as
"Butthole") come into the store and throw a FIT about my
selling promos. Now, the BIG GUYS have joined in and sell
them as well.
The record companies have covered their butts on these
promos (and to a certain extent have offered a financial
"padding" to the artists - for whatever THAT'S worth).
Promos by the dozens would come during the week. I would
tell the industry reps. that I have no use for them because
that's not the type of music that we sold, but they would
send them anyway because that's a "built-in" to their job
description. Any requests for anything "outside the
mainstream" ("world music"; "jazz"; "classical") would be
personally acknowledged, but forgotten as soon as the rep.
left the store.
Record behemoths don't want to hear about practicality. I
suggested to them a few times that instead of signing 20
bands to your label and sending 20 CDs out with the hope
that at least ONE will catch on; why don't you have the 20
bands offer their "best" song and you can put out ONE
20-track CD and see what the response is.
Nope.
Rod
> On Wed, 17 May 2000, Alex Cook wrote:
>
> > With all the strong opinions being bandied about artist
> profits and so
> > forth, is there anyone here who doesn't buy used CD's,
> especially ones that
> > are labeled as promo cd's not for sale. I had never
> really thought about it
> > before until I picked up a used Vic Chesnutt CD
> yesterday, trading in some
> > stuff, most of which was also bought used. I mean,
> neither Vic Chesnutt nor
> > Capitol records are seeing any profits from this
> transaction. The CD was a
> > radio station promo, stamped that it is not for sale and
> can be recalled by
> > the record company at any time, they didn't even see a
> profit from it being
> > sold the first time around.
>
>
=====
http://rostasi.8m.com
http://members.aol.com/huntjerry/index.htm
http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/bremsstrahlung.html
"I own only ten records. 2 Mozarts, 1 Chopin, 1 Schumann, 1 Ravi Shankar, 1 Beethoven
and 2 Blotzman (sic) and Brotzmann's records stand up very well among those
masterpieces." - Nam June Paik, 69 May.
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