A question for older guys in cover bands:

[BlueStrat]

 

SO you can cite 3 other "big" labels. Wow, yeah: that proves that there is no monopolization.

 

Actually, yes, it does. Just the same way Chrysler, Ford, Honda and Toyota prove that GM isn't a monopoly.

 

 

churning out {censored} that no one really wants to buy, like NickelBack.

 

 

Last I heard Nickelback was selling a butt ton of records and playing major arenas. From Wiki:

 

 

Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold 30 million records worldwide.[2] Nickelback ranks as the 11th best selling music act of the 2000s, and is the 2nd best selling foreign act in the US behind The Beatles for the 2000s.[3] In December 2009, Nickelback were ranked 7th on Billboard Magazine's list of "Artists of the Decade" - both the highest-ranked band and the highest-ranked rock artist in the list.[4] Billboard Magazine also named Nickelback as the Adult Pop Artist of the decade.[5] The band has sold 21,000,000 album copies in the U.S.[6]

 

You and I might not like them, but tha's a lot different than saying noboby want to buy their stuff. Clearly, lots of people do.

[New Trail]

 

....We don't personally like the stuff, and our band motto is "Life is too short to play music that sucks....

 

 

I see your point, it's great to play music that you as a band loves...however, one could also say "Life is too short to play gigs that suck". I would rather play songs for the audience than for myself. I can do that at home.

[Dega500]

I'm 48 AND I like alot of the newer stuff. Music radio in Birmingham sucks though and it's really hard to stay current with the local formats.

[lespaul1964]

I can enjoy stuff up to the early 90

[Vito Corleone]

Believe what you want to believe. Sony and Phillips hold all of the patents on CD technology. All CD duplicating and creating machines are built under license from Sony. That is fact. You do understand how tech patents work, right? My source is the US patent office.

 

 

Bugs me when I don't know the answer to something, so I usually bother to take the time to look it up. In this case, I realized I know next-to-nothing about patent law. And apparently you know even less. So next time instead of just CLAIMING your source is the US Patent Office (or someplace else), you might want to actually CHECK it first. Will save you all the resulting embarrassment that will occur when you so matter-of-factly insist something that you don't really understand is a "fact".

 

I got to thinking: "wow---they invented the CD DECADES ago. How long are patents good for anyway?" The truth is that patents issued prior to 1995 expire after 17 years. (20 years for stuff after 1995) And design patents expire after 14 years. It takes a special act of Congress (literally) to get them extended. While Sony and Phillips do still hold some patents to inventions relating to the compact disc that are more recent (mostly relating to CD-Rs and burners) any original patents they held for the invention of the CD and/or any manufacturing/replication equipment would have expired years ago.

 

Here's a link to a really boring list of all the related patents that Sony and Phillips hold/held and when they expire/expired.

 

https://www.ip.philips.com/licensing/licensingprogramshistory/history_cddisc_joint.html

[TrickyBoy]

I see your point, it's great to play music that you as a band loves...however, one could also say "Life is too short to play gigs that suck". I would rather play songs for the audience than for myself. I can do that at home.

:thu: But in truth, I'm lucky. I really like the stuff we play. It's a lot of fun.

[Nijyo]

 

Bugs me when I don't know the answer to something, so I usually bother to take the time to look it up. In this case, I realized I know next-to-nothing about patent law. And apparently you know even less. So next time instead of just CLAIMING your source is the US Patent Office (or someplace else), you might want to actually CHECK it first. Will save you all the resulting embarrassment that will occur when you so matter-of-factly insist something that you don't really understand is a "fact". I got to thinking: "wow---they invented the CD DECADES ago. How long are patents good for anyway?" The truth is that patents issued prior to 1995 expire after 17 years. (20 years for stuff after 1995) And design patents expire after 14 years. It takes a special act of Congress (literally) to get them extended. While Sony and Phillips do still hold some patents to inventions relating to the compact disc that are more recent (mostly relating to CD-Rs and burners) any original patents they held for the invention of the CD and/or any manufacturing/replication equipment would have expired years ago. Here's a link to a really boring list of all the related patents that Sony and Phillips hold/held and when they expire/expired. https://www.ip.philips.com/licensing/licensingprogramshistory/history_cddisc_joint.html

 

 

Yeah, many of the CD patents have expired. It was somewhat noteworthy this year, as well, as Philips (who was the other half of the combo that invented the things along with Sony) was expected to take a significant hit with regard to revenue due to that patent expiration in 2010 in many markets.

[Vito Corleone]

:thu: But in truth, I'm lucky. I really like the stuff we play. It's a lot of fun.

Same here. I don't know if there's a single song we do that I don't like. A few I'm a bit TIRED of playing because we've done them for so long, but it doesn't really change if I actually LIKE the song or not. And usually the tired ones manage to find their way to the "extras" list and only get played on request.

[b1ackie]

Do you listen to current music? Do you listen to Top 40? If so, do you listen just to keep current or do you actually LIKE it?

 

 

No We just go see other bands and pick off the songs the audience likes best ( ie. Wooly Bully)

[wades_keys]

Actually, yes, it does. Just the same way Chrysler, Ford, Honda and Toyota prove that GM isn't a monopoly.

 

Okay.

 

So I used the wrong term.

 

But you can't tell me that THIS is healthy competition:

 

 

Music Sony BMG Music Entertainment (50% with Bertelsmann) Labels include: Arista Records, BNA Records, Burgundy Records, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, RCA Records, RCA Victor Group, RLG - Nashville, Sony Classical, Sony Music International, Sony Music Nashville, Sony Wonder, So So Def Records, Sony BMG Masterworks, Sony BMG US Latin, Verity Records Sony/ATV Music Publishing (joint venture with Michael Jackson) Music Choice (venture with Time Warner, EMI, Motorola, Microsoft, and several cable companies: Cox, Comcast, Time Warner Cable)

 

Sign with any of these labels, and be prepared to kiss the ass of SONY.

 

If you'll look at my previous posts instead of being so legalistic like Guido, you'll see that I was lamenting the loss of CHOICE for artists - the loss of independently owned labels that once existed.

 

Internet arguments tend to get legalistic, with the guy who does the most "research" "winning". Obviously facts are important, but look beyond the legalism and see what's really going on.

 

Let's use your automotive analogy: how many automotive companies should Ford be allowed to consume? Clearly, when it comes to media, there is no limit. As long as there is a "big four", then we have no monopoly so it's "all good". So then we sit back as these megacorporations {censored}ing CONSUME independently owned labels, BY THE DOZEN.

 

But hey, as long as there is more than one company doing this, it's all good?

[Scafeets]

 

I see your point, it's great to play music that you as a band loves...however, one could also say "Life is too short to play gigs that suck". I would rather play songs for the audience than for myself. I can do that at home.

 

I should have done a better job explaining what I meant. My cover band plays nothing but bona fide hits. There are enough of them to pick from without resorting to stuff that either turns our collective stomachs or make us look like idiots. We play for the audience, and we actually LIKE to play a lot of the songs that get reviled in this forum on a regular basis.

[MikeyParent]

 

We play for the audience, and we actually LIKE to play a lot of the songs that get reviled in this forum on a regular basis.

 

I fully endorse this mantra :-)

[TrickyBoy]

I should have done a better job explaining what I meant. My cover band plays nothing but bona fide hits. There are enough of them to pick from without resorting to stuff that either turns our collective stomachs or make us look like idiots. We play for the audience, and we actually LIKE to play a lot of the songs that get reviled in this forum on a regular basis.

 

We're in the same boat, for the most part. We do have a dozen or so "outside the box" type songs, but for the most part, we play EXTREMELY popular songs. And like you said, we regularly shoot down songs that we're pretty sure would be popular but we just don't like. As I said earlier, I'm lucky. I like cheesy party music and that's what we play. I can honestly say there is 1 song in our regular rotation of tunes that I don't like (Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet), but I make that fun to play and the rest of the band likes it. Otherwise, playing "Jesse's Girl" and "My Own Worst Enemy" is a blast for me.

[jeff42]

:thu: But in truth, I'm lucky. I really like the stuff we play. It's a lot of fun.

Same here. Even the stuff I didn't like at first I have grown to like. Especially our rocked up versions of pop/dance tunes. Once Flo Rida gets stuck in my head he is there all day! hehe.

[Vito Corleone]

If you'll look at my previous posts instead of being so legalistic like Guido, you'll see that I was lamenting the loss of CHOICE for artists - the loss of independently owned labels that once existed.

 

 

You'd have to show when and how it was ever significantly different. Throughout most of the 70s, 80s and 90s there were six major labels. Now there are four. Independents still comprise 18% of the industry, according to the stats I gave you earlier. And considering all the avenues for getting your music out there via the internet that NEVER existed previously, I don't know how you can say there's less "choice". Based on what? Compared to when? I think you've imagined some previous golden age that never actually existed.

[Vito Corleone]

Same here. Even the stuff I didn't like at first I have grown to like. Especially our rocked up versions of pop/dance tunes. Once Flo Rida gets stuck in my head he is there all day! hehe.

Same here. Heck, some stuff we DON'T play I end up really liking. One thing I will do is get the names of a bunch of potential song choices (off the Billboard charts and songs I see people in here mentioning) that I'm not that familiar with and put 'em all on CD. Then I listen to them when I'm driving around in my car to get a better sense of what might work for us and how. One of these I had on CD a few weeks ago was "Tik Tok". I've since become worried that the song is already past its expiration date so I don't know if we'll ever learn it or not, but goddamn it if that isn't a helluva catchy tune that I love cranking up and singing along to in the car. I can only imagine how absolutely ridiculous it must be to look over and see this 49-year old white guy bouncing around and singing along to Ke$ha at the top of his lungs at the stop light.

[JohnHKart]

I have fired the radio. I keep up with new songs via reading Rolling Stone, periodicals and just being out and about and hearing what is being played wherever I am. I'm doing several newer songs, and I'm doing them because I like them. There's some new artists out there I'm digging, like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz. I'm doing Poker Face, Dynamite, and Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. This doesn't mean I'm driving around in my car listening to these artists, or going on their websites, or going to their concerts. I dig the tunes, but that's as far as I'll go. If the song's not too high, I'm not too proud to sing a song by a female artist. If I don't dig a new song that's current, or if it is rap, then I aint doing it.

 

When I'm listening to music, it's in my car and it's a lot of newer albums by people like Steve Lukather, Glenn Hughes, John Fogerty, Winger, usually hard rock stuff and it's on my ipod.

 

My band is starting to get a lot of compliments as we add some newer stuff. Instead of going to the gig and doing Brown Eyed Girl, we are doing some newer tunes, and some other classic rock we haven't done before. It's a lot of fun right now. It's not like we are never ever going to play Brown Eyed again, it's just going to be once every 4-5 gigs, instead of every gig, every night. That one still packs the dance floor, only veteran musicians recoil in horror at the song, not the club patrons. I guess I'm wierd, because the stuff I truely hate is Chain Chain Chain, Pink Cadillac, and Wonderful Tonight. I still like Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl and I love Freebird.

[Paul Jenkins]

There isn't quality music nowadays anyway. Where's the simple yet genius guitar compositions from the 70's? Guitarists like Clapton or Hendrix. Where's the psychedelic music gone to? Whoever said they listened to radio. Guy, stop that. You'll brainwash yourself with today's so called "music". And the thing about cover bands, it gets old really fast if all you do is just flawlessly cover song after song with no improvisations or made up solo's on the spot. Michael Libow's Rod Lightning and the Thunderbolts of Love are a very good example of a cover band that I'd like to listen to. They add a jazzy rhythm to their covers that makes you wanna jump up and dance. That's the way to cover songs. Of course, this is also about each person's specific tastes in music. If you don't like jazz, you probably won't like these guys but still, they're not just another mindless cover band that play songs without any touch of creativity.

[jwlussow]

Seriously? All that to plug a California real estate agent. Damn, must be a slow day...

[StratGuy22]

I don't listen to top 40 much at all. I do sound for a lot of original bands that come through the area, and a lot of them have some great stuff, so I actually mostly listen to their stuff. I have my personal favorites, foo fighters, STP, weezer, collective soul, etc. We play a bit of that.

I'm 41, and our audience is around the same age. We are more of a country rock/rock band, depending on the crowd. I don't listen to country, so all the songs could be new or old, I just don't know.


Beer in Mexico
Dust in the bottle (on?)
Fishin in the dark
18 wheels

Then we do stuff like CCR, stones, etc etc. If we were to bust out something brand new like lady gaga, most of the people in the crowd wouldn't have a clue. But hey, it works for me. I don't listen to much of anything we play, except to learn it.


I do have fun playing it though.

[jbviper4]

I listen to new music all the time. Got to if you want to play current hits in a cover band. In my area, there are at least 10 "classic rock" cover bands (who tend to play in front of cougars and the hunters who chase them) and only 3 good top 40 bands (who tend to play in front of younger and hotter women and the boys who chase them). I like the scenery better in the Top 40 band.

Right now, we rock a lot of Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, The Script etc...

[Aunt Flo]

I''m 42, and we play a mix of 80s-today staples and a bunch of the newer dance stuff. It grows on you after a while, even though it's not my thing. The dance stuff rotates with the Top 20 (if it's on XM 20 on 20, we play it), but the staples hang around (and usually get the best reaction).

[boomboomdrums]

If my band decided to do anything newer than what we do it would have to have been composed after 1932!

 

I listen to some new stuff, but just not top 40 pop baloney. I do not listen to radio except for when in the car with the wife and then she always puts it on Classic Rock. Some new albums I've gotten recently: "Them Crooked Vultures", "Keith Emerson Band" (which is excellent by the way), "Chickenfoot", Big Bad VooDoo Daddy's Cab Calloway Tribute CD, George Canyon, Maroon 5's latest, and Chris Young. I also listen to a lot of Jazz, Classical, and C&W.

 

And Aunt Flo, I'm with you on the dog thing.