Creativity and Money

Early in the month I received Katie Melua’s new album for review and was obliged to award it 1/5. I could hardly believe how bad it was and was even more surprised to read that Melua was very pleased with it. In fact, we were scathing about her last two albums and suggested that the creative partnership with Mike Batt wasn’t working in her best artistic interests. However, it must be hellishly difficult to think about an alternative route when your boss has succeeded in making a fortune for you, and you’re still only twenty-three. Later in the month The Daily Telegraph’s Review section led with a Melua interview where she took the opportunity to announce that the creative partnership with Batt was at an end. Last year Alex Parks was unceremoniously dumped by her record company because, allegedly, she wouldn’t play the ‘pop princess’ game. I remember seeing the post-Fame Academy documentary on TV and cringing at the facile questions she was being asked by numerous media interviewers. She didn’t look happy.

Before she won the contest I concluded that it would be creatively better for her to lose the final and be carefully nurtured by people who recognised her distinctive vocal talent and song writing capability. Her second album was actually very good but its release was delayed and sank without trace in the absence a strong campaign to support it. I witnessed her final live, sell-out show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire where she gave the performance of her life, and the best I’ve ever seen from a young artist. Parks then disappeared from view, demoralised and upset at what had happened. People close to her were concerned that she would walk away from music and for a many months she did, eventually going to Australia for an extended holiday. I was concerned that we would be losing such a skilled and distinctive British artist, but the good news is she is back working with song writing collaborators.

Last week I attended an excellent gig put on by a new Liverpool based record company who showcased most of its fresh, new roster. As I sat waiting to take photos I could hear a beautiful female voice and sound of an acoustic guitar coming from the next booth. A little later Jade Gallagher took to the stage and gave a spellbinding short performance. I spoke briefly to her afterwards and during the conversation asked if she liked Ani DiFranco. She looked at me blankly. A few days later I went to her MySpace page where she had listed her favourite artists. The list included just about every mainstream British pop act and excluded the true, great singer/songwriters like Dylan, DiFranco, Mitchell, Drake, Springsteen, etc.. I read the list despairingly and wondered where this talented young lady was headed… Back in 2001/2 I witnessed a performance by Carina Round and was blown away. I was impressed enough to think that we had found our very own British version of DiFranco, and subsequently interviewed her. Like DiFranco, she is fiercely independent, uncompromising with a deeply personal, distinctive song writing and vocal style. For a while we exchanged lists of our favourite artists and each discovered some wonderful talent in the process. But she struggled to commercially further her career here despite rave reviews for her music, and last year travelled to the USA where she remains.

As nd editor and reviewer I have the luxury of watching from the sidelines in deciding who we feel deserves our attention, encouragement and praise. At the same time we have to ignore the hype, sales numbers and make judgements solely on what we see and hear. All the above British artists have potentially something special to offer, from the more mainstream Melua to the fierce passion and poetry of Round. In the case of Gallagher the musical journey is just beginning, and with Parks the journey was interrupted and a somewhat different route is now being mapped out. For any artist to survive and grow creatively requires that sufficient money is made through shows and record sales. It’s a delicate balance and sometimes requires a process of trial and error to establish the most viable route to adopt, in addition to artist management fully tuned-in to their artists’ real needs. Many would say that the Internet now provides a cheap and easy route to success, but I believe dependence on it is mistaken.

And there is one shining example of an artist who has influenced independent record labels and other artists. Her name is Ani DiFranco. In a career spanning over seventeen years, she has sold millions of records (and is now selling more records than ever) on her own terms. With a solid belief in her own talents and music, she travelled across the USA as a young singer/songwriter performing anywhere that would have her; selling self-recorded tapes out of the back of her car. She resisted the temptation of big-money record company deals and eventually started her own record label (Righteous Babe). DiFranco has produced no less than nineteen albums and has participated/collaborated in many more. And all this was achieved without the help of the Internet or huge marketing budgets. She’s a prime example that the combination of independence, talent, hard work and self-belief can and does work, with the power of the Internet now an additional, but not critical, marketing tool.

All the above mentioned British artists could take a similar independent route or sign up with an enlightened, independent record label. British label Bella Union is a prime example of a successful small company that encourages artistic freedom while pushing its artists through excellent PR, performance tours, media access and a strong Internet presence. British folk artist Kate Rusby works and records independently and very profitably. I attended one of her concerts here in Wrexham where her family company hired the venue, sold-out the show and then shifted lots of high-priced product from a well-organised stand (during a cunningly planned break and after-show). By my reckoning she’s making more money than most British recording artists with record deals, while she fully controls her creative output and invaluable fan data base. Increasingly, acts are recording their live shows and selling the recordings straight after the show, or offering them a few days later. And fans can’t get enough of them!

Technology and the Internet are there to help but the overriding necessity for latent and distinguishing talent remains the key to unlocking the creative growth door. Jade Gallagher should look and learn from the best (and be encouraged to do so by her management), and not rely solely on what the market is force feeding us all. I informed her that DiFranco was performing up the road in Manchester this week. I wonder if she’ll go… Katie Melua may have shifted millions of units but creatively and artistically she still has to convince me that she has what it takes to plough a successful independent furrow. Mike Batt can’t lose as he’ll find another pretty young artist who wants fame and fortune through singing his feather-weight, BBC radio-friendly tunes. Alex Parks has what it takes but needs a sound strategy firmly in place to make a new solo career happen. Her initial move in making a fan website her official one is a mistake and is not a good start. We shall see… Carina Round’s move to the States is a clever one as that market is more open to her enormous and distinctive talents. We have asked for some feedback on her USA experience. We’ll keep you posted…

Music To Live By

Oh how I love the concept of broadcasting songs I truly like! For the first time in several years I’m actually playing a lot of the music I love to listen to, in order to finalise play-lists. And have I re-discovered some neglected beauties… I should explain. I listen to everything that’s sent by record and PR companies for review which leaves little time to consistently play music that truly inspires and moves me. Well now I’m forced to play lots of that great music for our forthcoming radio shows, and it’s been wonderful. A few examples: The Crusaders featuring Joe Cocker performing a most moving song called ‘I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today’, Barbra Streisand’s overlooked and very great album JE M’APPELLE BARBRA featuring French songs, including one written specially for Edith Piaf who died before she could perform or record it. Then there’s Phil Campbell’s 1997 debut solo album FRESH NEW LIFE that’s been buried by EMI and is as rare as hens’ teeth. The album is one of my top ten all-time favourites and includes the heartbreaking and intensely emotional ‘Hope, Faith And You’ that stops me in my tracks every time I hear it. Going way back in time when I was a knee-high to a grasshopper I used to lock myself away in our council house lounge and sing along to Gigli, Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, and Frankie Lane on 78rpm records. And two songs that stands out for me are original ‘That Lucky Old Sun’ performed by Frankie Lane and Bizet’s ‘Agnus Dei as performed by Beniamino Gigli. The latter I’m still trying to find on the CANTI SACRI CD which was deleted some time ago (anyone?). Then of course there’s contemporary songs like ‘I See A Darkness’ by Will Oldham (which I found myself playing after 9/11), Natalie Merchant’s ‘Ophelia’, and‘Breaking Point’ by The Earlies. I have many live recordings of which the acoustic Neil Young’s LIVE AT MASSEY HALL 1971 is pure inspiration, while Laurie Anderson’s UNTIED STATES marathon performance still blows me away. Folks, I’m having a ball!

The Nationwide Mercury Prize

The Nationwide Mercury Prize is rightly regarded as the most genuine, quality UK music award. But for me in more recent years it’s been losing its shine and credibility. In fact the last award that I agreed with was way back in 1998 when Roni Size/Reprazent won it with NEW FORMS. It seems to have become a prize with short-term memory problem as most (if not all) of the final short-list were released in 2007, missing out 2006 releases. This year’s award went to the Klaxons and I can’t for the life of me understand why. I saw the band perform early in the year and came away thinking, ‘they’re just okay.’ What does it say about British music when a new band that got together for fun and received substantial airplay for one very mainstream, ordinary song wins the prize for Britain’s best album of the year? When I look at the jury panel I’m hardly surprised – what on earth does a failed musician like Lauren Laverne know about music? If the prize is to restore its credibility then it must make the award more accessible for artists and record companies (only 250 albums were submitted from the UK and Ireland) and select a jury panel made up of really independent-minded people with a bit of musical savvy. And wouldn’t we all like to know precisely what was submitted for consideration?

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Where Are The Monks?

Extract From The Australian Herald Sun Report

“A SENIOR Burmese intelligence official claims thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle. After defecting from the military junta and fleeing to the Thai border, Hla Win told a reporter from London’s Daily Mail: “Many more people have been killed in recent days than you’ve heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand.” The horrific details emerged as Burma’s top general continued to snub the UN’s peace envoy, who is in Rangoon on a mission to convey the world’s outrage to the junta. With protests quashed and many monasteries empty, fears are growing for those who have disappeared into Burma’s grim jails. Observers say many detainees have been taken to the city’s notorious Insein prison, the Government Technological Institute, the police battalion number seven compound, the Kyaikkasan racetrack and possibly elsewhere. Mr Win said he fled when he was ordered to help massacre holy men. Other exiles along the frontier confirmed that hundreds of monks had simply “disappeared”.”

And all we can do is send along an polite, diplomatic United Nations representative… Russian and Chinese leaders have much to answer for so Fuck ‘em… and God bless Damien Rice.

Canon Can Or Cannot

We, like most serious photographers, jumped at the new Canon 1D MKIII when it became available earlier this year. It’s an expensive £3,000 beast that was touted as the finest digital photographic tool ever released. There was no reason to disbelieve Canon whose past products have ruled virtually unchallenged for professional photographers and agencies. The company even issued a detailed ‘white paper’ describing its many new features and technology. But soon after release automatic focusing and other problems began to emerge with one authoritative website undergoing extensive tests to prove that things were seriously amiss. It appeared that some customers were delighted while others (including ourselves) sent theirs back for replacement. Camera deliveries began in June/July and it’s now October and still no definitive statement from Canon about the problem or fix. There were rumours that even Reuters was considering moving over to Nikon if solutions were not forthcoming. You see, it’s all about trust and honesty – both seem to be becoming extremely rare commodities in this day and age…