A chat….one Wednesday…

Fresh: Roney
Roney: Good morning! How are you doing on Hump Day?
Fresh doing just that
great news on the NEW The Time CD
Roney: I hear ya!
The Time news is cool.
Fresh ORIGINAL MEMBERS
Roney: Any release date projected?
The original line up makes it newsworthy.
Fresh dunno…gotta check the usually haunts..this is all new news to me
Roney: Keep us informed!
Fresh I knew they were on tour last year in Vegas…but didnt know they were in the studio
I will post what I find out.
Roney: Hopefully real music can make a bigger comeback with radio play too.
Fresh i think the first part might be more feasible from a buyers standpoint, industry will drag it’s feet.
Roney: True. Too bad most of the old school did not pick up or test drive web2.0 like Prince did. But I guess it is easier to do one thing at a time.
Fresh the radio listening/CD buying public (in that age range) will have to be introduced to the concept of real music…a reality only folks of our generation really can relate to
Roney: Right. I thought of buying the digital version of some old school purchases lately
Fresh Prince is one of the more forward thinking musicians from the old skool (urban, that is)
digital version vs vinyl/CD u mean…
Roney: Either the analog version is misplaced or I don’t want to do the digitizing myself:)
Fresh ok got u
Roney: Very few artists these days separate me from my money:)
Fresh ditto
heard an interesting statement last week during a podcast
Roney: Oh yeah?
Fresh “…most of today’s generation and beyond have no concept of what buying physical music (CDs, etc) is like because they download (legally and illegally) music
the podcast topic was pirated music downloads
Roney: So true. I hate it even when people tell me how they got over.
But it is always the people who are not creating anything of their own that feel this way.
Fresh That is sadly not connected just to music downloads…sigh
exactly!!
Roney: If they spent money on the copyright fees just once, then they would think differently.
Fresh free free free ….self consumption without compensation
Roney: Then don’t get me started with payola since it creates the space between the rock and hard place:(
Fresh precisely
Roney…the thing is…the whole idea of copyright infringement or protection…both have issues because of where the technology is today
with apps like Audio Hijack for the Mac…DRM means nothing!
Roney: Congress is dragging its feet on the issues too.
Wow! I am not sure if I knew about Audio Hijack:)
Fresh AHJ, there are a few others
on the Mac side
Roney: Will it record Skype calls too?
Fresh AHJ allows u to record anything coming from your Mac or into your Mac
Skype, record from the web
Roney: That is strong!
Fresh record from iTunes library
Roney: I am on the site now.
Fresh it is a swiss army knife
Roney: Thanks for turning me onto it.
Fresh 100% defeat of DRM
so, I dont see what the fuss is
Roney: I see that now.
Fresh the apps defeat it
Roney: True again.
Fresh the only thing that is left is to exercise integrity and SUPPORT THE ARTIST!
Roney: Cheaper than what Apple wants to charge to free earlier purchases too.
I once read that the music has to be the entry point to other stuff like merchandise etc.
It is becoming true right or wrong it seems.
Fresh How so? I dont see the correlation…
music—> merchandise, etc
Roney: People will want a deeper connection with the artist supposedly to buy their logos, clothes, & other stuff.
Everything becomes a 24-7 infomercial:(
The sadder part is seeing less talented people play the game and make a killing, so what do you do?
Fresh i see
i think a great deal is this…young A&R cats who ONLY know street marketing/or even good marketing skills…but dont really know JACK about musical talent
Take Mint Condition
Roney: Good point.
Fresh they are the ONLY band left in R&B
Roney: ok
keep going:)
Fresh why are groups in other genres (u follow me): The Stones, Motley Crue, Anthrax
still selling out concerts and we have bands that have been in the game just as long
at best doing cruise ships or concerts that only attract the old schoolers?
Roney: hmmmm…Does the Essence Music Festival pretty much keep the same lineup year after year you think? It may be simply generational after all.
Fresh similar but still
Roney: The values of young cats today male and female are simply warped at best:)
Fresh those same groups, they dont do world tours that sell out like Crue, Stones, etc…in other words what is the rock genre doing to be generational that R&B bands have failed to do
i tend to think it is the technology that is prominent in making today’s R&B…
Roney: You have me thinking and scratching my head at the same time)
Fresh verses standard rock bands that rely mainly on musician ship!
Roney: I agree with the technology part too. When we were growing up, we knew that we could recreate what we heard on the radio or saw on Soul Train.
Today, I don’t feel that way pretty much about anyone.
Fresh true…exactly . With the real sounding samples and loops today.the artists have skills and technology that it can make them sound like bands, but live…cant replicate.
Roney: Right.
Fresh here’s an analogy of late
that I have been using
Roney: Then staying home or waiting for the cruise ship makes everyone suckers in the process:)
Fresh yep…
Fresh Take EWF
back in the day
Roney: ok
Fresh MULTI-member band right?
Roney: right
Fresh elaborate theatrics, pyrotechnics during the concert, correct?
Roney: right
Fresh add to the annual tours
plus paying the band members
Roney: ok
Fresh plus multiyear recording contracts
all amounts to big $$ right?
Roney: right
Fresh FF to late mid 90s to now
Roney: ok
Fresh Janet Jackson concert, Usher concert, whatever
one singer
non singer live in many cases
hordes of dancers
etc
Roney: yep
Fresh u pay the same amount of money for a ticket…if not more
yet
u get less real talent
if i want to pay money to see dancers for the most part
I will go to the theatre, u follow?
Roney: Yes! rofl:)
Fresh industry STILL has to pay for all that
but I believe the consumer gets the shaft talent wise
of course, I am a musician, and from the old skool, but I believe my point cant be argued
i just dont think A&R folk these days really know talent
Roney: The situation creates & promotes less talent since there is less diversity of thought in the music making process.
Fresh and the industry machine can careless about it, as long as they make a buck on the latest hotness.
Roney: Exactly! T-Pain is a prime poster boy for your argument & throw in Ray J too! Can I? would never have received air play back in the day.
Fresh EXACTLY as LONG as Usher has been around dude should be MEGA bigi will give it to him that he obviously has staying powerbut back in the dayif he was around equally as longhe’d be bigger..
Roney: It does make me think what some of these artists would sound like within a group vs being solo. Beyonce broke the mold both ways though.
Fresh I will give B that
Roney: Or showed the true colors.
Fresh Another good point i was discussing with my recording partner last week
….
Roney: The group stage is just a platform to go solo & supposedly collect a bigger check.
Fresh yep
Roney: But the creativity is capped in the process.
Fresh big time…Consider this….as MEGA as En Vogue was
and I mean mega, why was there last release…. a flop?
Roney: Yes, the behind the scenes is where the money is at.
Fresh bottom line, Roney…that’s it
Roney: Dawn from En Vogue seems to be struggling unnecessarily with all her talent:(
Fresh the evolution is for the worst, talent wise
EXACTLY and why??
Roney: Everyone wants a face, imagery, & visuals just to program us:(
Fresh the mechanism is totally wack, these days with respect to talent
Roney: 50 is a classic example too.
Fresh yep
but see
Roney: Jay-Z is not immune either.
Fresh tech can give u the visuals, the face and imagery easy
but it is not a sub for true talent
Roney: Kanye has to overcompensate just to stay in the game)
Fresh never was a Kanye fan from jumpstreet
Roney: I think Mary J is in the sweet spot but she has to release something annually.
Fresh and somebody PLEASE tell me why there is even the slightest hype about Lil Wayne??
i’ll give Mary J props for staying power as well
but still
Roney: LW just graduated from Cash Money. He was the best in that crew & had to pay his dues or allow time for the others to fall out of the race.
Fresh ok, with that latter statement
that can mean that only by others falling off, could he achieve rec and stardom
Roney: Mannie Fresh is MIA these days unless he is on Myspace strong:)
Fresh doesnt say much for talent
true
Roney: True, my point exactly.
Fresh Mannie had a bigger name once
Busta Rhymes is back
with who?
Grandmaster Flash?
Roney: Busta is reaching for straws too.
Maybe a mega group like an all star line up is needed.
Fresh you remember back in ’00 when he blew up with Flipmode, on Elektra
Roney: But even Wu Tang had its theory tested and dissected.
Fresh i dont think he has had that much hype since
Roney: yes
Fresh as far as Diddy? Stop right there.
it’s been over
Roney: But to flip the script, the intl artists who are in pairs at the max seem to being ok.
Fresh elaborate
Roney: The numbers in the band have been severely cut for us though.
Fresh they are gone
commercially
Roney: Most in the dance music genre have no more than a duo.
Fresh there is no R&B band remotely out there save MC
Roney: Pop likes a quartet.
Fresh true
but still
urban contemporary
not happening
Roney: The overhead is too high between projects.
Fresh it is straight flash in the pan
Roney: Maze & Frankie Beverly make more touring than selling records.
Fresh but look from whence they came
old skool
Roney: Even MJ makes more touring than selling these days:(
Fresh as he should
Roney: I saw Rodney Jerkins mention it on a video on Facebook for MJ.
Fresh MJ could not put anything out to garner major radio play with out it sounding like what’s beenon the radio
Roney: True. Invincible was still a great album for him IMO.
Fresh I agree
TR, Jerkins
they had a hand in it
Roney: But it had the technology that prevented it from playing in computers
Fresh but RJ was hot then
TR was on the outs
yep
another BRILLIANT move from RIAA
Roney: Any solutions you see?
Fresh AHJ
could have solved that
if it was around
for example
if I d/l a track from iTunes
Roney: AHJ?
Fresh i had to use Audio HiJack to remove the DRM before putting it in a podcast
from what I remember, GB wouldnt allow it
Roney: I am now beginning to think podcast mixes are a possible solution if the industry supported it.
Ok.
Fresh they are!!
Roney: I forgot already
Fresh @darrenkeith3 and I have been having this discussion since last year
Roney: I saw a documentary on mixtapes via Netflix and it gave me an icky feeling for the RIAA to be the bull dog when the labels are supplying the music directly.
Fresh thank u…my point exactly
Roney: I made mixtapes with a cassette recorder back in the day & everyone had to be quiet or not come in the room talking
Fresh same here
i recorded off the radio
the only thing different then is i had to try to catch the pause button before the commercials came etc
lol
Roney: Vinyl to cassettes
Roney: Same here on the radio:)
Roney: I sat in with a local dj while I was in high school & he even knew people were recording his show!
Fresh yep
my thing is
as long as a mechanism was developed to record shows
Roney: He said once that he would play promos at weird times just to make people mad. I was furious inside for hearing him tell me that.
Fresh the protection was pretty much gone
and that was ANALOG
Roney: True.
Fresh now that we are in the digital world
u might was well forget it
DRM means nothing
Roney: Prince’s paid access had to be profitable but ego probably wanted greater visibility & recognition.
Fresh yep

Fresh hey, this has been good, u mind if I turn this diatribe into a blog post? LOL!
Roney: No problem, go ahead:)
Fresh i think it may draw some interesting comments!
Roney: I think so as well
Post the URL to FlyteTyme too!
Fresh good idea…let me see if I can post the blog now
Roney: Cool. Catch you later!
Fresh peace!