If anybody wonders what’s the real problem with the music industry, read this note from NYTimes’ Winter Miller. It’s a review of the new album of Rachael Yamagata, a New York singer-songwriter who recently published a wonderful double CD and is currently on tour in Japan and Europe:
What I love about “Elephants … Teeth Sinking Into Heart” is you know for a fact that there was not a single A&R or P.R. or marketing person that was in the process remotely, because there’s not a single up-tempo song on the whole album. They’re all completely self-indulgent, in the best possible sense of the word, indulging in the beauty of the sadness.
I’m so thrilled when I hear that. There might be slight danger that a label would be trying to say “Let’s make sure there’s a radio song.” It’s a really healthy thing in this younger generation of artists…
No A&R, no PR and marketing remotely makes good music. Just think about it.