"The CD as it is right now is dead." Alain Levy Chairman/CEO EMI Music.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the walls are crumbling around us.

When the dust settles, a new world will appear: One driven by the artist and his/her desire to connect with an audience.

It's up to you now more than ever to take control of your music. Get it out there in any manner you choose. I won't get into whether there are too many records out there (that's up to the consumer to decide) but one thing is sure: the CD format is dead and this former piece of art is now nothing more than landfill waiting to happen.

Record companies are becoming more and more concerned with buying up catalogues and owning old music that they don't seem to want to develop new acts. This year has seen CD sales drop by 15% while some industry folk hide their heads in the sand (ass??) pretending like everything is ok and just worrying about their jobs. 60% of all music listeners now rip music and store it on computers/Ipods. Tower Records closed due to bankruptcy. A couple of local record stores I talked to are selling more used vinyl than CDs.

If you are in a band and sell 1000+ records off the stage/Itunes/your website, you are in better shape than tons of major label bands. We have come to a crossroads and the industry is having a hard time adapting to the new rules: The people's rules. Consumers
are demanding better packaging and perks (bonus material, DVD) or they want it for free. We as music lovers need access to the music we want, whenever we want. You should be able to find whatever song you need and buy it when the mood strikes.

Old catalogues need to be looked over and re-released. Most of these records are already losers in the re-coup department and this would give them a new lease on life as well as righting the wrongs of selective CD reissues. Entire careers have been deleted although it?s true that some have been given a new lease on life. Tons of regional music has disappeared and now is the time to correct this.

Musicians are robots who use computers to correct shortcomings that the audience might love. You know: the human element; the thing the heart relates to instead of fake songs by fake bands in a fake world propped up by bullshit and lies?ie: Sony, EMI, CBS and UMG (who paid a 12 million dollar fine) all caught using payola.

As a source of info that'll freak your shit, may I suggest The Lefsetz Report, a weekly analysis of the music industry written by Bob Lefsetz, a 30-year veteran of the industry (he headed up Sanctuary/etc) at www.encore@celebrityaccess.com. He does come off a little old-fashioned sometimes (he did a long-winded piece on Steely Dan...barf.) but he is still a voice of reason (to me) in an unreasonable business.

He's caustic: "Audioslave is no better than Asia,? truthful/mean: (On Tony Bennett's Duets/American Classics): "This fucking record is what's wrong with our industry. Does anyone care what this fucking thing sounds like?? This is a record made on paper, not to be listened to."

He?s smart: "This business is so rotten, it's unbelievable. All the established players who gained their beachhead in the late-?60s and ?70s are so sold-out, so only in it for the money, with such contempt for the younger audience, ALL music fans, is it a wonder that people have tuned out??"

Lefsetz makes you realize having a good publicist isn't the key to sell-outs and backs it up with numbers and words. The first time I read most of these numbers, I couldn't believe how low they were versus how much we have to put up with them. Black Eyed Peas selling 5,985 tickets in a venue that holds 16,400? Says Lefsetz: "The mainstream press isn't only out of touch re: Iraq, it's out of touch regarding what kind of entertainment people want too."

Some other venue numbers in seats sold-to-available: The Strokes and Muse: 3,415/6,284 ("has-beens"). Gigantour featuring Megadeth, Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, etc.: 1,899/10,322. Sammy Hagar 4,579/ 17,401 ("Can he just hang it up?? Can we pass the hat, take a collection, and remove this obnoxious guy from the boards FOREVER??").

And my recent fav: Ashlee Simpson: 1,297/4,000 and less than 50% sold in Oklahoma
City/Baton Rouge/Texas ("An utter fucking disaster. Nobody cares. Nobody thinks she has any talent. But we knew Ashlee was worthless. Then WHY do we have to continue to hear about her?? That's how out of touch the media is.").

I'll end with this so you don't think he's always totally negative: Slayer in Bogota 3,755/3,755. ("Real music translates; can be sold worldwide. And the fact that far from center music like Slayer can do this well gives you an idea why AC/DC does such phenomenal live business.")
Amen.

As usual, if anyone has any questions they want probed or gear they want to know about, just fire off an email to Gasoline and I'll get on it pronto.