Dirty Little Secrets of the Record Business: Why So Much Music You Hear Sucks

353 Pages·2007·2.97 MB·English

by  Hank Bordowitz

BUSINESS/MUSIC
DD
$24.95 (CAN $33.95)
II
RR
“An accurate and well-researched exposé of the surreptitious, undisclosed, TT What happened to the record business?
and covert activities of the music industry. Hank Bordowitz spares no YY It used to be wildly successful, selling
one while exposing every aspect of the business.” LL DDIIRRTTYY outstanding music that showcased the
—Tony Bongiovi, producer of Talking Heads, ITIT LLIITTTTLLEE performer’s creativity and individuality.
Aerosmith, and the Ramones TT Now it’s in rapid decline, and the best
LL music lies buried under the swill.
EE
“This is the book that any one of us who once did time in the music
business for more than fifteen minutes and are now out of the life wish SS This unprecedented book answers this
we had written. We who lie awake at nights mentally washing our hands EE SSEECCRREETTSS question with a detailed examination
CC
as assiduously yet with as much success as Lady Macbeth have a voice RR of how the record business fouled its
in Hank Bordowitz. . . . Now I have a big book that I can throw at the EE own livelihood—through shortsighted-
liars, the cheats, and the bastards who have fooled me twice.” TT ness, stubbornness, power plays, sloth,
ooff tthhee
SS
and outright greed. Dirty Little Secrets
—Hugo Burnham, drummer for Gang of Four,
oo of the Record Business takes you on a
former manager and major-label A&R executive
f f RREECCOORRDD hard-headed tour through the corridors
tt of the major labels and rides the waves
“Nobody should ever even think about signing any kind of music industry hh
contract without reading this book. Reading it may not save lives but it ee of corporate radio to explain just why
so much of the music you hear sucks.
will certainly save some careers.” RR
EE
—Dave Marsh, author of Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts CC Here is a close look at just how the
OO BBUUSSIINNEESSSS machinery behind the popular song
“Through my decades as an artist and producer working with both major RR broke down, including:
and indie labels, I have never read as comprehensive a history of how DD
the recorded music and broadcast worlds arrived at their sorry artistic B B ΩThe corporatization of the record
state. I’ve lived the quicksand economics and conflicting intra-industry
Hank Bordowitz is a veteran music UU business
motivations that Hank Bordowitz so succinctly explains. If you want to
journalist, former recording artist, music SS ΩWhy stockholders play an important
understand how and why we got here, this is the book to read.” II
business consultant, adjunct professor of NN role in what you hear
the music business, and the author of —Larry Fast, keyboardist for Peter Gabriel and Foreigner EE ΩHow radio went from an art to a
SS
seven critically hailed books, including Bad SSuucckkss science, and what was lost in the
“Brilliantly written, insightful, a good history, and a great read.” SS
Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of WWhhyy SSoo MMuucchh MMuussiicc YYoouu HHeeaarr change
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Every Little —Jack Ponti, songwriter, producer, manager, and
Thing Gonna Be Alright: The Bob Marley record company president BB ΩHow the record companies alienated
OO their core audience
Reader, Turning Points of Rock and Roll, RR
and Billy Joel: The Life & Times of an $24.95 (CAN $33.95) DODO ΩWhy file sharing may not be the bogey-
$24.95 (CAN $33.95) WW man the record industry would have
Angry Young Man. He lives in the exurbs
II
TT you think it is
of New York City with his wife of 25 years ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-643-5 ZZ
and three children. ISBN-10: 1-55652-643-1 ΩTechnology’s effect on what you hear
and how you hear it
Jacket design: Rattray Design
Front jacket photo: Getty Images ΩAnd dozens of other reasons that all
Author photo: Gene Gaus HHAANNKK BBOORRDDOOWWIITTZZ add up to the record industry’s current
financial and artistic woes
Printed in the United States of America
DIRTY
LITTLE
SECRETS
of the
RECORD
BUSINESS
HANK BORDOWITZ
An A Cappella Book
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bordowitz, Hank.
Dirty little secrets of the record business : why so much music you hear
sucks / Hank Bordowitz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-643-5
ISBN-10: 1-55652-643-1
1. Sound recording industry—History. 2. Music trade—History. 3. Music
and technology. I. Title.
ML3790.B678 2006
338.4′7781640973—dc22
2006023253
Cover and interior design: Rattray Design
Front cover image: Getty Images
© 2007 by Hank Bordowitz
All rights reserved
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-643-5
ISBN-10: 1-55652-643-1
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to:
Dick Thompson, who opened my impressionable eyes to the
wider world of music out there
Steve Julty and my cousin Harold, for exposing me to cool
stuff early on
all the people who attempted to teach me the guitar, Ron
Andriuli and Tom Conners in particular
Kenny Barron, Dan Goode, Joe Zitt, and the Opium Den
Mothers, who refined and redefined music for me
John Swenson, Dave Marsh, Dave Sprague, and all my other
colleagues who turned me on to so much good music
Marc Jaffee, a music teacher in the mold of Dick Thompson
my wife, Caren, who once accused Ornette Coleman of playing
“that cat-swinging music” to his face, in public (I guess
you had to be there)
my son Mike, who keeps bringing home these arcane Japanese
bands
my son Larry, who has the potential to be a real keyboard
prodigy
my son Bill, who, at seven years old, wants to write songs
my late Grandma Goldie, who always wanted to hear me
practice
my folks, who always encouraged my music, even though they
couldn’t stand it
anyone who has ever told me, “Man, you’ve got to hear this.”
As long as there are people like this in the world, music will
not suck.

“The music business has always had the nurturing instinct of a
great white shark.”
—Paul Taylor, Manchester Evening News
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men
die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
—Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
“That’s not a dirty little secret. It’s a fact. Take away the incentive
for major or minor financial reward and you dilute the pool of
musicians.”
—Courtney Love
“When a forest catches fire, you have death, but there’s also birth
that comes from it. I think that’s what we’re seeing.”
—Sharon Corbitt, Ocean Way Recording
—Studio, Nashville

Contents
Acknowledgments.......................................................................xi
Introduction..............................................................................xiii
Part I | Playback and Payback: How the Record Business Drowned in Its
Own Success
1 Who’s in Charge Here? You’re Kidding!..............................3
2 Answering to the Stockholders, Not the Audience............10
3 Who Does What to Whom: A Brief Tour of a Fictitious
Record Company.............................................................18
4 Q: How Many A&R Guys Does It Take to Screw in a
Lightbulb? A: We Can’t Screw Anymore—They Cut Off
Our Balls!.........................................................................28
5 Charting the Course: How Changes in the Charts
Changed the Biz...............................................................34
6 Control Issues: Did Home Taping Kill Music?................41
7 Panic in the Suites: Napster, Grokster, and the
Last Kazaa.......................................................................47
8 150 Records = 50 Percent of Revenue...............................66
9 The Fable of the Elephant and the Rabbit: How the
Indies Are Eating the Majors’ Lunch..............................72
Part II | The Messy Suicide of Commercial Radio
10 Airwaves of the People, for the People . . . Yeah, Sure......83
11 Regulations? We Don’t Need No Steenking Regulations.....87
12 The Death of the DJ: The Curse of Selector....................92
13 The Process: How Songs Really Get on the Radio.........98
14 Payola Isn’t Dead. It Always Smelled Like That...............105
15 We Don’t Do Payola. We Let the Independent Promotion
Companies Handle It......................................................119
16 Arbitron Rated #1 in Symphonic-Punk-Country-Disco:
Fragging the Format......................................................129
17 Are You Sirius? Can Satellite Radio, Webcasting,
and Podcasting Save Broadcasting (or Even
Themselves)?..................................................................134
Part III | Retailing Records
18 Rock and the Hard Place: Records Become a Commodity
and Face Real Estate Prices and Profit Margins...........145
19 Censorship: Wal-Mart Tippers the Scales......................158
20 A Voyage Down the Amazon.com...................................165
Part IV | Technology
21 We Recorded This in Only Three Months! From One
Mic to 128 Tracks ..........................................................173
22 The Internet: Friend, Foe, or Just a Tool?.....................185
23 Hardware and Software: On Demand and on
Your Hip........................................................................197
Part V | We, the Audience
24 A Touch of Grey: Boomers Grow Up and Grow Old...211
25 The Lost Audience: How the Music Business Broke Faith
with Its Main Supporters..............................................216
26 An Embarrassment of Riches: Entertainment Options
Today—“Hey, Kid, Wanna Buy a Record or a Video
Game?”..........................................................................223
Part VI | Money
27 Music Education: Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?........231
28 The Orlando Phenomenon: Boy Bands and Bad Girls
Made to Order...............................................................237
29 Breaking the Star = Breaking the Bank............................245
30 The Video Revolution: Looks Aren’t Everything; They’re
the Only Thing..............................................................251
31 Contacts and Contracts: Why an Artist Can Go Gold
One Day and Be Flipping Burgers the Next................259
Conclusion: The Bilious Stew of the Music Business
at the Turn of the Millennium—and Hope for
Deliverance....................................................................271
Source Notes...................................................................285
Bibliography....................................................................303
Original Sources.............................................................319
Index...............................................................................321