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Article: Lies, More Lies, and Music History…And Streaming
History is about what happened, Science is about what is, Spirituality is about what should be, and the music industry is about selling product.
Historians generally take about a hundred years to sort out the data to develop a balanced view. It's a democratic process where a particular idea can become fact if the preponderance of the evidence is that a majority of opinion says it's so. The process is even more flawed because most people only know what they've read or heard.
Needless to say, in any Democracy, what the truth is will always be in dispute, and fortunately, like in the case of professional sports or rock music, the multitude of conflicting, insightful, or immature opinions rarely cause any real harm to society and the impassioned debates are a good way to blow off steam or give insecure egos a much-needed boost.
A good example is the American Civil War, a subject still causing heated debates of varying accuracy between people who earned the full range of A to F grades on the subject in school. Of course, we could also include the suspect level of scholarship by those who cheat in exams and utilize A.I. Bots to write term papers, but this essay isn't an attack on the American Way.
Back to the example...The Civil War was initially viewed as a crusade to end slavery by one side and a defense of slavery and states rights by the other. There was no Internet, so the thousands of supporting or dissenting opinions were known only to Historians with access to the source documents.
Thanks to the Internet, we now know that most agree it was a Civil War between the North and South, but also that the latter region had its own brand of rock and roll, complete with fans who desecrate their flag by using it as sweatbands, patches to cover holes in pants, and beach towels to sit on just like Northerners do with Old Glory.
Note: I just gave a single example to represent universal truth.
In other words, history hasn't changed much. It's just that all of the true, weird, suspect, and silly stuff is accessible to all, and that's the way it should be.
Disclaimer: The above example is an oversimplification due to the constraints of creating content without the use of A.I., and the mission of The Delta Snake Review is to entertain modern attention spans with only the pertinent facts before the writer himself loses interest.
Music history is the same intricate web of truth, mythology, trivia, and B.S.; a good example is the rise and fall of 60s rock.
As said in previous blogs, the single was the favored vehicle for popular commercial Music. The problem was that the emphasis on songs left too much money in the consumer's pockets, which filled American Capitalists with longing and concern for the detrimental effect unspent cash has on yacht makers and the caviar industry.
The obvious solution, the sale of long-playing records, was a hard sell because it forced the consumer to buy a set of songs to get the one they wanted. That was money better spent on station wagons, color T.V.s, and trips to amusement parks. The 60s saw the rise of the longer format, which continued through the CD era until the advent of digital streaming.
In the decades since that turbulent and profitable time, the body of data has grown bigger than a hippo's butt in an economy-class seat, and it would take an expert to sift through the murky river of facts. That's a thankless task that the Delta Snake Review can handle by assigning its expert who has easily met the Internet requirement of having a free email address to qualify as a Historian.
The reason that the Music Industry was able to make L.P.s the main product was simple; they got consumers to regard those as the new single, much as age 60 is the new 40, or avocado toast is the new hot dog. Rock artists quickly came on board once they realized that the change would make them rich and express themselves without the fascist restrictions of Top 40 singles. The idea of passive income without having to tour was as compelling as poop to hungry flies.
The L.P.s were marketed as "Concept Albums," "Personal Statements," "Monumental Works," "Song Cycles," "Heavy Trip, Man," and other means of simplifying the melancholy drudgery of choice.
To be fair, these milestones of commercial success were created by artists with a variety of motives that ranged from integrity, artistic vision, personal conviction, passion, educating the public, ending the war, getting B.J.s from young women, free coke, insulation from criminal charges, sweating a lot, wearing makeup, being cool, and so on.
In other words, people were persuaded to buy the more expensive product without complaint, and no rock star would kick a wad of C Notes out of his bed, man.
That Golden Age ended with streaming, giving consumers the power to pick and choose individual songs again and create playlists that aren't influenced by business considerations.
The Vinyl Revival has helped carry on the old-school aesthetic of buying in bulk at premium prices, and that's good also. Anything that adds to choice is good, even if Record Execs and some Artists might resent having to buy their drugs and drive themselves.
However, while acknowledging the process is brutal to artists who put their hearts and soul into it, it's not anymore so than competition within the industry. The critical thing to remember is that music was there before the industry and will be there after. It's said in sports that no one is bigger than the game, and it's valid for music. If there were no recordings, people would still create it. After streaming, music will still be there.
Devil’s Advocate View: The artists and industry Execs who don't like what streaming is doing to their livelihood brought it on themselves by ignoring the complaints of consumers. When listeners got a chance to take music back, they did. They're not just thieves or people who don't care about artists.
It's the industry's job to make customers want and respect the product. Music is itself. It's not just a product to buy or sell.
If the Beatles catalog disappeared, it would be a loss, but people would just make more Music. As far as quality, tell parents watching their child playing at a recital that its inferior entertainment. They're watching Music being made, and that's always the real joy.
Whether such music is good or bad is a different subject and is only relevant if money is involved.
Al Handa
Jan 29, 2023
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