The Occasional Rant: Frank Black has a point

Sometimes the truth does hurt when a performer speaks about the state of the art.

Charles Thompson, a.k.a. Frank Black (alias Black Francis), leader of the Pixies, states the following:

"(Record labels) are more concerned with their own survival than they are with the distribution of music and, of course, the irony of that is that if they would just concern themselves more with the distribution of music, a lot of their problems would solve themselves, I think."

Given the current trends involving the increasingly easy availability of computer technology, internet bandwidth and talent, the record companies and mainstream terrestrial radio stations are in danger of becoming irrelevant unless they recognise these changes.

In other words, anyone can be a star. The 15-minutes-of-fame can now be perpetuated and distributed amongst those who possess these technologies. Regardless of payoff, those who succeed may one day override the limits placed by traditional media. Forget “American Idol”: check YouTube or MySpace instead.

Frank Black Says Record Labels Aren't 'Vital, Creative or Interesting' - Spinner Canada