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Grex > Music2 > #112: Changes in the Music Business | |
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| 25 new of 189 responses total. |
mcnally
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response 103 of 189:
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Nov 2 22:52 UTC 1999 |
re #101: Wow.. You *ARE* missing the point.
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krj
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response 104 of 189:
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Nov 2 23:35 UTC 1999 |
Today's news is that Real has issued a patch which will disable
their reporting function.
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orinoco
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response 105 of 189:
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Nov 2 23:42 UTC 1999 |
Yes, Mike, we've established that. Would someone care to fill me in, or
should I just go on feeling dense?
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lumen
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response 106 of 189:
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Nov 4 00:05 UTC 1999 |
resp:101 resp:102 resp:103 There are some people for whom privacy
is a BIG issue. For others, it's not quite that big a deal. I take it that
it is important for those who wish to protect their privacy be offered the
means to do so.
Sheesh. Remind me that I should add the topic of privacy to the list
of things I should avoid bringing up in discussion.
(no, of course I didn't bring it up, but I hate seeing people get so
touchy.. reminds me of the sadism people like to inflict on some
solicitors who are trying hard to earn a living in a polite and honest
way)
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lumen
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response 107 of 189:
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Nov 4 00:06 UTC 1999 |
(and no, I'm not suggesting this topic of discussion is something
polite and honest Real is using for marketing)
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krj
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response 108 of 189:
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Dec 16 23:23 UTC 1999 |
Item: A Royal Oak CD store was busted for bootleg CDs yesterday,
according to WWJ news radio. I can't be certain I remember the name of
the store precisely, so I'm leaving it out. In your followups, it
would probably be better not to accuse stores of criminal behavior
by name.
WWJ said that investigators had bought bootleg CDs at the store
for a three month period.
Item: Wall Street Journal says that the FTC is investigating
if major labels are breaking price-fixing rules on CDs. The investigation
grows out of the review of the acquisition of CD Now by Sony and
Time/Warner. The practice in question is where the label sets a
minimum price for a CD and will not supply the usual advertising
subsidy if the ad lists a price below that minimum. According to the
WSJ story, suggested retail prices are not illegal, but collusion or
solo practices to enforce them may be.
In another WSJ story today, they report that the Justice Department
is reviewing the dominance of MTV in the distribution of music videos.
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mcnally
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response 109 of 189:
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Dec 17 05:15 UTC 1999 |
What I read about the Justice Department MTV investigation is that
Viacom (parent company of MTV, VH-1, and the MTV spin-off channel
(M2?)) is accused of demanding exclusivity agreements for videos.
If true, that sounds like flat-out restraint of trade:
a) Viacom holds an overwhelmingly dominant position in the market,
b) the alleged practices are clearly deleterious for competitors,
c) they arguably harm consumers by preventing competitors to Viacom
from entering the market and actually *showing* music videos.
It's a little tough at this point to remember what MTV used to be like
and even tougher to remember a time shortly before MTV when there wasn't
a 24-hour music network but there were competing network television
shows playing music videos in late-night Friday and Saturday time slots.
In this day and age, though, Viacom holds an amazing amount of power in
the music business and they clearly like to use it for their own benefit..
I have no idea whether the allegations about demanding exclusive rights
to show the videos they air are true or not but if they are true I hope
Viacom gets nailed. I think increased competition would be very good for
popular music.
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orinoco
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response 110 of 189:
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Dec 18 00:21 UTC 1999 |
Interesting. I didn't even realize that MTV and VH1 were the same
company....explains a lot, actually.
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tpryan
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response 111 of 189:
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Dec 18 01:09 UTC 1999 |
When does MTV play videos these days?
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mcnally
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response 112 of 189:
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Dec 18 03:11 UTC 1999 |
Alternate prime-numbered Sunday mornings between 4:30 and 4:35 AM.
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orinoco
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response 113 of 189:
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Dec 18 15:53 UTC 1999 |
Both MTV and VH1 tend to play videos late at night now, making both stations
useful as an alternative to insomnia, but not good for much else.
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goose
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response 114 of 189:
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Dec 20 05:02 UTC 1999 |
Any news on which store? Was it bootleg CD's or pirate CD's?
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lumen
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response 115 of 189:
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Dec 23 20:51 UTC 1999 |
resp:110 I always figured they were the same company, originally. I
have no idea when MTV Networks passed into the hands of Viacom, but I do
remember it starting out as a Canadian company that also included
Nickelodeon. The Canadian markings were more apparent on Nickelodeon
during the early '80s: a majority of the programming was produced and
filmed in Canada.
I'm not sure whether or not competition would be a good thing. MTV
itself has explained that the market as it has existed didn't and
couldn't support the wall-to-wall music video programming that it
started with. I think this was the reason for the creation of M2
(which does show a lot more videos), but most people can only get it by
satellite.
Anyone remember The Box? The concept was pay-per-view based, except it
wasn't pay-per-view-- it was more pay-per-request. I don't remember it
lasting for very long.
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mcnally
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response 116 of 189:
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Dec 23 22:22 UTC 1999 |
Viacom also owns Nickolodeon, I believe..
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lumen
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response 117 of 189:
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Dec 24 00:31 UTC 1999 |
Of course it would. Nickelodeon is part of the old MTV Networks, as I
said, so I'm sure the company had no trouble acquiring it.
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bmoran
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response 118 of 189:
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Dec 24 13:49 UTC 1999 |
In the late 80's (I think) USA network had a very late night weekend show
called Night Flight, that would show jazz videos, including Chuck
Mangione(?), the trumpet player, Miles Davis from the TUTU era, etc. I
haven't been plugged into cable for quite a while. Is there any sign of
these still available on tv? Or is it all just mainstream pop on mtv and
country on nashville?
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bruin
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response 119 of 189:
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Dec 24 15:00 UTC 1999 |
What about VH-1 and BET, bmoran?
I do remember that NBC had a show in the 1980's called "Friday Night Videos."
and CBC in Canada (Windsor Channel 9) has "Video Hits" and "Good Rocking
Tonight."
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bmoran
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response 120 of 189:
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Dec 30 13:15 UTC 1999 |
CBC also had 'Night Music' hosted by David Sanborn. Usually live music,
But when he had Miles on, he showed the studio recording of So What from
1959(?). I don't have cable, so VH-1 and BET are unknown to me.
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lumen
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response 121 of 189:
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Jan 11 03:12 UTC 2000 |
VH-1 is more geared to adult contemporary, which has been running
heavily into general pop lately. No, they don't do jazz vids, and I
doubt serious players buy into that thing anyway. BET generally shows
stuff that feels more like being at a nightclub than watching some
overproduced video.
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bmoran
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response 122 of 189:
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Jan 11 21:09 UTC 2000 |
The ones I saw were'nt 'overproduced', just classy. When Miles did TUTU,
it was just Miles, holding his hands in trumpet position, black and white
film stock, and little colored musical notes coming out of his fingers.
There were others I can't remember, but I mostly remember the overall
quality being much better than what was on MTV, until Michael showed up.
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lumen
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response 123 of 189:
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Jan 12 01:25 UTC 2000 |
Michael Jackson?
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bmoran
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response 124 of 189:
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Jan 12 13:29 UTC 2000 |
Yes! Some of the videos were ok, but Michael raised the bar, opening up
the whole scene for some very creatice people to 'try anything', with
admittedly mixed results.
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lumen
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response 125 of 189:
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Jan 12 17:55 UTC 2000 |
Right-- I did find it interesting that MTV chose "Thriller" as the #1
greatest video of all time. The director had worked on the film _An
American Werewolf in London_, and he was chosen because of his
reputation stemming from that film.
I don't think horror had been used in a music video before.
I also thought it was fantastic that Michael worked with a
choreographer-- the documentary said he was quite a natural who had
acheived a lot of talent relatively quickly, compared to the other
extras who were skilled and highly trained dance professionals.
I think the video looked a little bit more like a film. I'm assuming
it was shot on 35mm, and a lot of the storyline constructs were more
like that of a film. That may have been the difference. Of course,
the budget was comparable, too.
A pretty impressive feat. Most precursors to video *were* films,
especially in the '50s and '60s (Elvis and Beatles movies, for
example), but Michael appears to have taken the genre and integrated
the song more fully into such a video. I still enjoy watching it-- the
craftmanship is fantastic.
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orinoco
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response 126 of 189:
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Jan 12 18:21 UTC 2000 |
It also helped that Michael Jackson had something visually interesting to do:
he could _dance._ That right there made his videos worth watching in a way
that most other bands' videos aren't.
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krj
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response 127 of 189:
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Jan 17 18:32 UTC 2000 |
Radio news report: The BMG conglomerate, one of the Big Five music
companies, is seeking to make itself even bigger; it wants to buy
either Sony Music, or EMI.
This would take us down to four major music companies.
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