Billy Darnells Blog

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you all healthy and happy.

Ironically, this blog isn’t really about me, or my music. It is about a new law that representative Jim Cooper, in cooperation with the major recording labels, is sponsoring in the Tennessee legislature that would require all radio stations to pay a “Pay For Play” tax directly to the Major labels if they wanted to play their artists on the stations radio programs.

It seems that the labels feel they have  taken all that they can from the artists, and the publishers, and now have turned their sites onto the next victim of their ravenous greed.

Over the past 5 years many of us watching the current landscape of the music industry change, have heard the nay Sayers talking about the downfall of the music industry as we have known it. They have forecasted the demise of the Major labels but the reality always appeared to be the Major labels were a long way from a downfall. They held the clout, the financing, the contacts, and what most believed to be a  non written contractual relationship with Clear Channel broadcasting which controlled 98 % of the radio stations in the United States, and Canada,  because of this they were able to dictate to mainstream radio. The Clear Channel monopoly allowed the Majors the comfort of knowing they would no longer have to compete with the traditional music of the past, and increase the odds of  their artists songs being a hit.

Now the Major labels are watching their artists walk away from their contracts because  they have taken such a big slice of the pie, that the artist can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most of them have eliminated their middle management, and no longer seek out new talent to lose additional dollars on. (The word on the streets of Nashville is, if you want to be a star now a days, just bring your own management team, and 1.5 Million dollars with you to the majors, and you’ll get your 15 minutes of fame. They do not however guarantee fortune.) CD sales have diminished greatly over the past 5 years, and they have priced themselves out of the concert market, and even the concept of combining several marque acts into one show hasn’t helped. Most of the majors have turned to licensing their catalogs as their main source of income, however, apparently the income from that source leaves much to be desired. Why else would you bite the hand that feeds you?

The question is , have they gone too far? Will this be the final straw that breaks the camels back? It may very well be. Radio stations are asking” Did they really forget that if we don’t play their artists, they don’t get heard, and consequently they don’t become big stars?” Even Clear Channel’s management has questioned the concept and publicly stated they are not in favor of that action. Many broadcasting associations have said this will force smaller market stations to stop playing music and turn to a talk radio format.

There is another alternative. Thanks to the computer, the internet, and  great software, their are many independent artists recording great songs, of radio broadcast quality. Why not turn to them for your music needs? They are eager, willing, and ready to go from internet streaming to mainstream. You would still have to pay the standard royalty fees but you would be partnering with a subject that would truly appreciate your support, and your efforts.

Could this be the big opening that many internet artists have been waiting for? Will this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and brings down a reign of anarchy that has stifled diversity, and creativity, in the  Country Music industry for years?  If your involved in the industry we sure would like to hear your thoughts on this proposal. If your a small market, or for that matter, any station, a radio programmer, a DJ, an artist,  or a fan, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section.

I personally feel that this action by the major labels may be compared to the shot that was heard around the world. There is a good chance that many radio stations, and DJ’s, will revolt by refusing to play the Major Label artists any more, and if Clear Channel takes that attitude, the majors will become minors in a heart beat. This could really backfire in a big way.

Billy Darnell

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 10:43 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.