Music Business and Trend-Mongering

It’s only September, but my money is on LA Reid for the “most out of touch quote from a music industry executive” award. Check out this winner from the Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman in yesterday’s NY POST.

“Market conditions certainly have changed in the last few years, but the decay we are seeing has more to do with the lack of quality in music.”

I’d like to suggest something like “if LA Reid spent more money on artist development and less on tailored suits, he’d be able to fix this ‘decay’ in the quality of music himself,” but that would come off as callous and uninformed. His quote tells me a couple of things, one of which is that his A&R staff is failing him. It’s true that with the rise of affordable home recording gear more folks are spending time creating demos when they should be touring. Perhaps LA Reid’s A&R staff are intimidated by the quantity of music out there, and losing sight of what is important: artists and bands that have spent their time building up a community and creating an emotional connection with their fans. Nevertheless, even if the A&R staff at Island Def Jam is not presenting “quality” music to Reid, it’s a bit reckless for him to suggest that the music itself is the problem, and not the dozens of backwards practices the major labels have been implementing over the years that continue to alienate music fans.