It takes people with veteran histories in the music industry to put everything in perspective and yesterday's interview with the last, living Ramone - Tommy - and Sire founder Seymour Stein did exactly that. Amid constant talk about the "terrible state of the industry," here were two guys - true renegades who believe in the power of music and the spirit of rock 'n' roll who proved, to Mongrel's mind, that this is what the business really lacks these days and because of its demise, we will continue to despair at the sorry state of what was once a thrilling, world-changing, fascinating, energising industry. Stein remarked that he was able to stick with the Ramones - despite them being pretty unsuccessful to begin with - because the industry allowed it. There was no chasing the quick buck back then. You remained loyal to the artists you believed in. Mongrel was close to tears at one point: when Stein talked about Joey he did so with tears in his eyes, a frog in his throat: it still chokes them up to recall a man they called 'a true humanitarian in the music business, if there can be such a thing.' They talked about so many illuminating things that the fact Bob Lefsetz attracted a bigger crowd, in the same room the day before, made Mongrel feel slightly despondent. Mongrel was only one month old when the band released their self-titled debut (which included songs like 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue'!), but they have become part of my musical fabric...I still listen to 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' once a month - no lie. Many of their stories were new to Mongrel: how, when the band played their first London show, The Clash, Pistols, Chryssie Hynde, Damned, Buzzcocks and Stranglers were all in the audience; how Road To Ruin was their attempt at mixing country music with pop - they were genuinely inspired by the Eagles. How too, the Ramones weren't accepted at first because people thought it would mean the end of bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. It just goes to show how even back in 1976 the music industry had false impressions of what music fans really want. Some things never change. We also discovered that lobbying by John Frusciante and Eddie Vedder meant that the band were inducted into the US Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and how this would have meant everything to Joey Ramone, who before he died told Tommy that it was the last thing he needed to accomplish. To be in the same room as these two men was a complete honour.On to more dry matters, Mongrel attended a royalties seminar in the afternoon where NRCC (almost equivalent of the UK's collection society PPL in Canada) general counsel Sundeep Chauhan revealed that his organisation does not bother collecting performance royalties for US artists because they are not entitled to them by US law. As you may know from reading RotD magazine over the past couple of weeks, this is not the case in the UK. We're wondering who is getting it right here....
Mongrel also popped into self-proclaimed 'music futurist' Gerd Leonard's talk about the future of music distribution. Gerd has a new book out called Web 2.0 - and was obviously promoting his new ideology. Trustworthy people we have met in recent times have told us to be very cautious of his musings and in a way, his latest idea seems a tad far-fetched: that we will pay for our music consumption with 'attention'. That is, advertising will become content and by watching small ads, we will be given music for free. Mongrel is a little suspicious of how this might work as a model going forward, but remains open to the idea. Leonard also revealed that OneHouseLLC (a digital music strategy firm) chief Jim Griffin is in talks with Warner Music about developing a 'flat fee p2p network'. Mongrel was aware that these conversations between digital players and labels have been ongoing, but thought it slightly naughty that Leonard would openly tell a room of delegates about it.
Mongrel tried to get out and see some music but Toronto is suffering with the worse snow storm of the winter. Many people (including yours truly) might not be able to fly out of the city tomorrow. Temperatures plunged to -20c last night and looking out the window now, there are cars on a main intersection which simply can't go anywhere. Mongrel's pelt isn't thick enough to brave the conditions, but has a suitably thick enough skin to brave another day of cries that our industry has been 'destroyed'! Hey Ho Let's Go!
ps - just remembered: Mongrel caught Canadian band Creature at a packed gig the night before last. Signed to Universal here, the pop-rap-funk outfit are seeking support in the UK. Check them out - they're lots of fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment