So one of the many blogs I follow (I really need to add a blog roll to this site) is Music • Technology • Policy by Chris Caste. A recent part of Chris’s post got me thinking:
I have learned that the very best person to ask about what to do with a record is the artist. They may not know all the answers, but they usually have some pretty good ideas. And it is, after all—their record.
I wouldn’t ask someone in the email business what they think about selling records, and I wouldn’t expect them to ask me about the email business. I’d be more likely to ask them what they think about giving email away for free, and they’d probably tell me.
Is the best person to ask about what to do with a record the artist? I would argue no. Artists’ expertise is making music not necessarily selling albums. Record executives, marketers, A&R representatives, agents, and others know more about what to do with a record than the artist.
Need proof? The following musicians have all declared bankruptcy: Tom Petty, Isaac Hayes, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Marvin Gaye, TLC, Mich Fleetwood, and MC Hammer. While this may prove more about their inability to manage finances than their knowledge of what to do with a record, the two are related. Selling records is a business; making music is an art.
While Lilly Allen may have important things to say about the music business as an artist, the fact that she is an artist does not make her an expert on what to do with a record.
