Blue Note SUCKS!!!!!

[Daniel A]

Great link, Claude!

Yes, thanks for posting this, Claude!

[couw]

It bothers me that the rationale seems to be that as soon as stuff goes PD, it becomes worthless. It doesn't obviously and I am not talking monetary value (only) here. Instead of having the companies pay for storing their "wortless" tapes, let society pay for it as it is society that still places value on it.

It strikes me that many if not all of the discussions here are about money and why anyone would pay for something that doesn't make him any. Seeing jazz merely as a tool to make money instead of as an artform is a big part of the problem IMHO.

[Daniel A]

Seeing jazz merely as a tool to make money instead of as an artform is a big part of the problem IMHO.

But then most jazz labels are currently owned by media companies which are more or less obliged to offer their shareholders maximum profit.

One thing I'm curious about though: are there any reissues at all of 50+ year old albums from the original rightgholders? There appears to be at least some, which would speak against the claim that the recorded material would be completely worthless.

Edited August 4, 2004 by Daniel A

[wolff]

It bothers me that the rationale seems to be that as soon as stuff goes PD, it becomes worthless.

The PD labels do not think it's worthless, but then again they have not paid anything for the material or have not been it's caretaker for 50 years. That took money.

I am the one that keeps using the word 'worthless'. Maybe I should say, 'no longer viable'.

It strikes me that many if not all of the discussions here are about money and why anyone would pay for something that doesn't make him any. Seeing jazz merely as a tool to make money instead of as an artform is a big part of the problem IMHO.

For starters, you go broke that way. I'm afraid, not much is free. Someone has to pay for it. Someone has got to be resposible for it.

Instead of having the companies pay for storing their "wortless" tapes, let society pay for it as it is society that still places value on it.

By society, do you mean us? In what form? I am as idealistic as anyone here and I see jazz as an artform, but it would/will cost lots of money to care for the art.

To think that the PD labels are doing anyone a favor or helping the art is short sighted. They are taking zero responsibility for the care of the art or the artist.

Sure, it would be great if 'society' took care of the art, but society is made up of individuals who will have to "pay' for the care.

[couw]

the point is about the PD labels taking away the main incentive for the labels to care for their tapes: money. That is the real concern right? So put the tapes in a public archive or library, thereby leveling the comany's expenses to some extent by taking away the costs for storage and care. No costs, no need for money.

That this costs society money is an open door. That no one would pay for that if asked individually is a bit besides the point as I can imagine many not willing to pay for a lot of the stuff that can be found hanging off museum walls either.

The concern is of course not so much of the rekkid companies, but of us, the fans. And I can imagine that the companies would rather have it both ways, i.e. save the storage costs and make money on the releases anyhow.

This is not a solution, these are just some stray thought bullets to address the problem of the original recordings. We haven't even mentioned where the artist gets into all this...

[neveronfriday]

the point is about the PD labels taking away the main incentive for the labels to care for their tapes: money. That is the real concern right? So put the tapes in a public archive or library, thereby leveling the comany's expenses to some extent by taking away the costs for storage and care. No costs, no need for money.

Good idea, John, but if you ever worked in a (public) library, you would NOT dare to place important recordings there. With budget cuts all over the scene, things are falling apart in many libraries, and getting the public to care about anything that is stored in there is a fruitless exercise.

Private funding might be the way to go then, but if that can handle the demand out there for storage and preservation I sincerely doubt. What we would get are highly specialized collections, well-preserved, and the rest flying around mouldy in some backyard barns.

Cheers!

[Daniel A]

What we would get are highly specialized collections, well-preserved, and the rest flying around mouldy in some backyard barns.

I think there will always be some private collector willing to pay a fortune for every session reel. If the master tapes for just about any jazz session were put up on eBay I can imagine some collector with deep pockets (probably from Japan) would spend considerable money. Then the tapes would most probably be stored in a suitable manner.

The result would unfortunately be the same: almost noone would ever see those ttapes again.

Regarding "major" or "important" artists, I don't think the record companies would dream of letting go of the tapes.

Improbable headline: "Concord trashes Miles Davis' legendary Prestige sessions, 'They just take up too much space' says comapny spokesman"...

[RDK]

Besides that, what is this statement implying? Music and it's distribution should not be a commercial enterprise? What is cultural heritage? Is Miles Davis' KOB cultural heritage? I'm drowning here.

"You got your Cultural Heritage in my Commercial Enterprise"

"No, you got your Commercial Enterprise in my Cultural Heritage."

Mmmm...