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ELECTRONIC KILLED THE CATS…
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Nu Groove, R&S, Nuphonic, Tribal, Strictly Rhythm (before being resurrected with the help of Defected)… And the list goes on in regards to those defunct ventures highly associated with the merging of the said electronic culture. Megalomania as shown by the likes of a few CEO, malevolence from others, misunderstanding of the market’s expectations, inexistence of mass media support, not to mention the ongoing transformation of the consumption uses with, as a direct result, the death of the media (CD…vinyl) and its replacement by the downloading process and the growing perspective of the transfer of prerogatives which, til now, were those of the record industry to the benefit of the technology manufacturers! Thereafter, a few elements of response based on observations made here and there…
Times are hard a living, said at his time French singer Leo Ferré. Nothing’s been left, sung Mouloudji. It’s not all was it was, could we hear from a conversation from another. In other words, nothing but the sign of a society left to its own devices while fronting an ever accelerating mutation, then coming to wonder (following the example of those authors of investigation scenari) who, between the man and the machine, will finally be left with the last word!
How happy we’ve been welcoming the arrival of the electronic (the technology) on our environnement because of liberating its conceptor – the man – from a whole bunch of tasks nowadays remaining as a far souvenir of his daily environment back then. This said, was he (the man) fundamentally prepared to this ; at least did he (or was he it the position to) have a clear view of such a change and its consequence on his daily life ? Here’s probably a far different sotry with elements of response varying from one individual to another, in regards to its age (meaning its experience) but also its activities (meaning the SPC he’s a part of).
I am machine (Andy Warhol)
As far as it has allowed people who til then didn’t have the opportunity to do music, the recourse to technology – without whom the said electronic music wouldn’t exist – has drastically changed the context, establishing new kinds of relations between the latest, but also new ways of working within the record industry. As a reminder, let’s not forget how the production costs of a record have been reduced to proportions reachin’… 6500% on occasions, right after the programmed death of the disco era and the progressive replacement of the musicians by an ever more sophisticated technology along the years. Then as on each revolution, we’ll be left with the good, the less good but also the frankly bad ; not necessarily in terms of quality, the appreciation of which being left to anyone in regards to its own tastes and expectations, but far more in terms of consequences in regards to a generation whose spontaneity can’t anymore hide the lack of vista as far as some of us are concerned. The obsession of the short term profit havin’ led to the disappearence of any form of middle/long term consideration…
Many are those, and not the least, showing a certain perplexity. The opportunity to get back to what Kevin Hedge (of Blaze) said on these pages a while ago, stating – and how could we ever disagree? – that talent is not anymore the pledge of success. The words of François K a few years ago according to who technology while helping the democratisation process in terms of access to creation, has in the meantime been the cause of a real down levelling as far as the tatest is concerned. Those of Kerri Chandler, considering that the artist has been put to a secondary ground as opposed to the producers then the DJ’s who, in order to be booked (alone) in the clubs, never cease producing, like some labels – mostly independant – on their wish to find that way monthly means to exist. And, should some of them still be around, how many are those which have ceased their activities in the mean time??? This doesn’t help talent from being within the dance music circuit, pursues Chandler. We’ve got top quality singers, real authors/composers, but it’s as if no one didn’t want to give them the means to exist, to express themselves…
Nervous Records CEO Mike Weiss would make constant efforts on that direction, releasing albums by the likes of former Ten-City member Byron Stingily and Kim English, before droppin’ projects both more instantaneous but in the mean time less complete supposedly more respond to the expectations of the market. And however he was far from being a beginner, following the path of his father (who gave birth to the reputed Sam Records label in the 70’s), this hasn’t helped his company from havin’ its name added to the long list of the then missing subscribers. Til its recent reactivation most likely while reediting stuff from the Sam Records repertoire…
Electronic remains in the wait of its Stevie Wonder…(Jeff Mills)
However, the artistic deficit which has been around for years isn’t enuff to explain on its own the crisis of the record industry. One good example bein’ given by Nuphonic, among the most respected UK labels at the time which had to cease its activities, not for that reason but because of havin’ launched too many album projects simultaneously then bein’ f****d by fake ributors. As a matter of fact, it’s far more the existence of the media itself which is condamned since the appearence of the digital. One had to spend quite a lot of money on the will to put out an unreleased project and be in the postion to have it reknown by people, said to me David Morales one day, bringing us back to the souvenir of the famous acetate that was used some 20 years ago. Then the digital would come, synonymous with new format such as the DAT, then the CD-R and the divix. Not to mention the digital compression systems like the mp3 allowing the circultation of a work without format. Added to this, the ever growing manufacturing costs of the said formats and the increase of the shipping costs. Also the VAT rate, much too high in France notoriously. Then the multiplication of the sollicitations which has occured within those last 15 years (video games, mobile phone, harware, software, etc)… And if ever we can still talk about the existence of a fetichist aspect (in other words, the possession of the object and most likely the vinyl) in regards to a bunch of consummers, the upcoming generations, being customised with the so called virtual, don’t obviously give a damn about this kind of preoccupations…
Should there be a problem, there’s a solution… (Coluche *)
Record killed by the technology? A quite ironical probability at the end of the day, even though the paper media which would has been seen under the threat of disapperence with the arrival of Internet is still alive and kicking. Even though, we can be sad about the publishing end of the paper version of UK mag Straight No Chaser which happened to be a true artwork in terms of conception itself.
Starting from that, the solution looks set to be found nowhere else but on Internet. At least, will we have to work on a worldwide harmonization in regards to the specific matter of copyrights, far more than the recent purposals which have been done nationally, due to the end of the notion of territoriality being the proper of Internet. On our way towards the bannishment of the so called peer to peer sites? Or to the generalization of a payment system when downloading, on which conditions and following which calendar? No doubt that the sooner will be the best, even though it looks obvious that it’s the interest of those having the necessary finances to wait in order to see a bit more of their rivals dying in the current mess around. MFSB
(*) a famous late French humourist
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