Play Meter

GUEST EDITORIAL
Aoyalty greed hurts the little man
There certainly Seems to be a lot of
it lately. Waiting, I mean. Waiting by
the so-called Superstars of today's
music "scene''. Fir,;;t of all, let me say
the scene ha~ changed. It used to be
that the record buying public would
be completely contented to sit
around and wait for their favorities to
release a new singl~ or album. These
were the favorities of a vast majority,
mind you, and it seemed the longer
an artist would haggle, the more
records he, she or they would end up
selling.
Oh, the excuses for the delays ran
the gamut from wording in a contrac,t
to the title of the lp to the cover of the
d amn thing. I wasn't born
yesterday-and it's my belief ·that
back in those days release dates
were forever pushed back in order to
create an air of controversy. And it
ally worked. Now I know there
are many who would disagree with
me, but I've seen it happen too many
times.
ell, here we are in 1981 and
e's a new twist. The Royalty
ibunal has decreed in their infinite
wisdom that the percentage an
artist gets on the sale of his records
will be increased as of July One this
-year. Hey, I'm basically for more
money and increases in percentages
of an' already established purchase
price. The Tribunal obviously feels
since the record companies
increased the suggested retail prices
of their singles and lp within the past
year, the artist should receive his
share of the bonanza. I'll go along
with that. But, don't you think
another retail price increase will be
just around the corner, so to speak? I
mean, you don't believe for one
minute that the record company
magnates increased the prices so
that the "talent" would prosper. If
you do, your head is in a record
jacket!
So it wo~ld seem that the artists
and the company execs are playing a
little game now. And it's at the
expense (figuratively and literally) of
the consum~r-you and me. Of
course it will never be proven, but it
has been whispered in social circles
and has appeared in print that some
big time acts are delaying their next
releases to later in the summer.
Now, isn't that a coincidence?
Why are they waiting? They're all
millionaires or most" of them are.
Certainly it's keeping everyone
involved from reaping any financial
benefits until the release date. It
seems stupid and greedy to this
writer.
However, once again, the little
people, the new artists, the singers
who've been plugging away for years
to have their records heard, and the
oldtimers returning for another go-
around are the direct beneficiaries
of these somewhat political
shenanigans. Them and us-since a
little fresh air has never hurt
anybody.
But remember: those little people
sometimes become Superstars.
·
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Ed. note: The writer, Patrick
Mat1hews, is music programming
director of a major radio station and
is Play Meter's jukebox music
reviewer.
UDo you believe tor one minute that the record company magnates
increased the prices so that the ~talent' would prosper?
~ If you do, your head is in a record jacket?"
PLAY METER, july 1,1 981