Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I've seen studies that nibble around the edges, but I've never read a comprehensive narrative about the economics of recorded popular music-- from the early days, when labels were created to make records so that the furniture stores that sold Victrolas would have software to today, when the ubiquity of downloadable files has made touring essential in a way it hadn't been for probably the last 75 years. There was a lot on the topic in the Coleman Hawkins biography Captain X lent me a while back, and that was excellent, but there is a lot more material to be mined in that vein. Chances are that the reason a lot of bands don't play together is because their business structure screwed some people over-- count on it, that's why a Kinks reunion isn't in the cards. This study sounds like it would be an interesting resource for someone who wanted to make a start at writing something that would be accessible for the sort of fan who wants to know just how you go about firing Brian Jones from his own band.
// posted by Bill @ 8:12 AM 
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