11.08
Basement Belewbeloid, Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
It appears that I have become an interviewee-to-be-acquired for a variety of programmes, audio & visual, to comment on music of a period that, formerly, dare not speak its name; and, presently, documentary & programme makers would rather not have its name spoken either. This name is used only with hesitation, or in brackets, and euphemisms are preferred: for example, classic rock (with the difficulty of being confused with proper classic rock that boldly speaks its name) or even 1970s rock.
Such enquiries are accompanied by descriptions of programme-aims, such as entertaining, light hearted, having fun, informative. Perhaps my comments would fall within one of these categories, although which is not made clear. None of the invitations, elicitations & solicitations for my valued & important reminiscences is accompanied by an offer of payment. The assumption is – interviews are free. This was always the way. The contemporary assumption is, music is also free. Content-providers provide content gratis while content-distributors generate advertising revenue and/or sell their valuable distribution companies once they are well established & successful (without including content-providers as beneficiaries). The degree to which these assumptions, fundamental to music & entertainment, have become entrenched continues to astonish me.
Why these assumptions? Perhaps three main reasons:
1. Promotion. Interviews are undertaken when there is something to promote - album / film / book / tour / event / artefact – and are contractually enforced. The Virgin promotion-clause, in their standard contract of 1994, I refused to sign.
2. Profile. Visibility in the workplace leads to more work.
3. Attention. I have known management who look down on artists, even the artist whose interests they nominally represent, as insecure. And, emotionally secure or otherwise, it is difficult to exagerrate the desire to seek attention (cf kick psychology in Transactional Analysis).
My hunch is that programme makers rely more on No. 3: artist insecurity.
Returning to my own interview requests: what attention do I need? The quick answer is, not this.
There have been times when I felt particular information needed to go into the public domain, and a partial-price of this was to endure the witlessness (often well-meaning) of interviewers; the transmission of necessary information accompanied by triviality & the mundane. The quality of attention I have received from this has been, mostly, not high (cf Elephant Talk). Similarly, a high public profile attracts a quality of attention that adds little to my life, and mainstream media are not reliable & accurate ways of disseminating information. Nevertheless, sometimes necessary information is being directed towards a small number, and feedback may take decades.
Occasionally, and recently, there are mentions of an award, mostly for many years of work: of the lifetime achievement type, to be presented with the sounding of trumpets. There have been times when, in the face of managerial & industry exploitation, press hostility, the demand for fan & consumer rights, long travelling to modest accommodations in uncomfortable forms of tranting, an “award” or form of acknowledgement would have provided encouragement; would have made an impossible life more possible. Now, acknowledgement by industry and media has little relevance to my concerns & the music is out there, available, and may be liked / not, accepted / not.
But I would like to be paid by Virgin EMI & BMG Publishing the large sum of currently under-accounted & underpaid royalties for the music that is out there, available & having generated income for the content distributors. This is a form of attention & acknowledgement for work already done that would be happily received (although not gratefully accepted). I asked my Sister Patricia: do you get paid for your work? She replied, yes, although if it’s a big corporation you may have to wait 60 days. In the music industry there is no guarantee of accurate & prompt accounting & payment from corporations of any size. Doesn’t this strike anyone in a position of authority / responsibility as unacceptable & indefensible?
The unethical, exploitative, inequitable practices & Standard Operating Procedure of the industry to yet to be widely acknowledged by the industry; even where, as in the case of a particular out-of-court settlement that I know well, legal liability for all & any errors know or that may be discovered is waived: simple transparency.
But this is not a subject I have found popular with interviewers. Informative, certainly. Entertaining, light hearted & having fun – not.
11.23 Pulled from the guitar case…
Strings used on the G3 South American tour of Autumn 2004, the final tour where live performance was the centre of my musical life.
11.28 The sun is shining, I am re-learning Level Five & Ade has descended the stairs to help…
19.31 Day Four in the Crimson Rehearsal Zone I…
II…
III…
IV…
V…
VI…
VII…
Moving forward. Plexiglass shields have been added to protect Ade from the Erupting Terror of Drummer Fury. Level Five has been slightly remodelled, although details of parts remain to be learnt. But not tonight.
Dribble. Dribble maximus.
"We also learn by osmosis."
