Us and Them?

I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how many copies of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” I’ve bought in my life. I know I’ve owned it at least three times on vinyl an then either worn it out, lost it or lent it to someone never to be seen again. When it comes to CD copies it’s probably even more especially since the band, or actually their record label, like to re-master and re-issue it every fifteen minutes.

Take the latest incarnation. Three different editions - “discovery”, “experience” and “immersion” - have been released, the first being a pointless re-master, (yes ANOTHER one), of the album without any extra tracks, the second featuring an extra disc with a really interesting live performance from 1974 and the third being a multi-disc behemoth with surround sound, DVD, quad and stereo versions plus more extra tracks and some other bits of tat. The re-master is of value only to people with bionic ears as far as I can tell, certainly compared to the previous one. The sound quality is excellent but then it always was so why buy it? I don’t have the gear to play quad or 5.1 surround mixes and I’m unlikely to be getting it anytime soon so that stuff is of no interest to me but there are some tantalising demos and stuff from the aborted “Household Objects” project which I’d love to hear… but not enough to pay eighty quid!

Now Pink Floyd can’t possibly need more money, (although I’m sure they won’t say “no” when the royalty cheque arrives – I wouldn’t), but EMI clearly find themselves in rather more straitened circumstances because it’s the company which is behind the reissue campaign. Or should I say “campaigns”? These days they start as soon as an album is released and go on long beyond the working or even natural life of the artist. The way I heard it EMI’s attitude can no longer be described as “so happy we can hardly count” as an increasingly bloated and moribund record industry struggles to appease it’s shareholders and struggles with a massive change in how we procure and consume music.

So what do they do? They get round their boardroom table and tut and shake their heads and then they come up with the brilliant idea of selling stuff they’ve already sold to people who have already bought it. “Which are the products that have kept us in fat bonuses in the past?” they ask. “Why can’t they do more stuff? Or, even better, why don’t we just save money on all those expensive production costs and punt the stuff they’ve already done and call it a ‘heritage’ or ‘anniversary’ or ‘collectors’ edition? The credulous public has always fallen for that gag, especially when we dress it up in pretty packaging!”

And this is the point of this rant. I’m tired of it and I would like them to stop. Perhaps it’s time that these big companies faced up to the fact that the WELL HAS RUN DRY and it’s time to take some risks and invest in new talent or simply give up. In this day and age I don’t believe that death of the majors would be a huge problem. Artists are already finding new ways to gain exposure and sell their music and small independent companies manage to make a living whilst also treating their artists with significantly more fairness and respect. It seems to me that the only thing we stand to lose is vast sea of mediocre drivel which has always been the stock in trade of popular music.

Of course artists would have to rethink their expectations as well. I have no problem at all with the death of the whole culture of “stardom” because this is where the artist allows the record company to screw over both themselves and the public. It may not be a universal attitude but a significant number of young musicians in particular don’t want to make a living they want to be “Famous” they want to be “Stars”. They don’t just rehearse their songs they rehearse their acceptance speeches and interviews. They don’t just work on honing their performance skills and song craft, it has to be media skills and public profile and to some these fame-management skills are more important than the real business of being creative.

Although I’m no great fan of their music, I’ll take Radiohead and their wilful adherence and commitment to creativity at the expense of super-stardom over the self-satisfied self-regard of tired old acts like U2 any day of the week. I hope Thom Yorke and his pals never succumb to the temptation to give us endless re-mastered reissues and if they find interesting archive material I sincerely hope they put it out as such on its own merits, not as some add-on to an old album in new packaging. I’m not especially keen on latter-day pot-Fish Marillion but I have total admiration for the way they’ve kept the band growing and thriving by rejecting the old music business model and pioneering a new one of their own. They maintain a career and they have their artistic self-respect and credibility. Acts like these are craftsmen and women, not stars.

So, here’s to the collapse of the music industry, an end to stars and the re-emergence of the musician as a craftsperson.