Madonna signed with a booking agency, abandoning her record label. Are the record labels facing extinction?
They’re really bad at reinventing themselves. I think that they’re destined for the scrap heap. That’s kinda too bad, but mostly good riddance. See, the record companies don’t make music. They make fame. They find somebody talented enough and attractive enough (but not necessarily most talented or most attractive) and make them famous by spending a LOT of money on them. They produce the album to make it sound appealing to the largest possible audience (much of what you hear is the producer’s work, not the artists). Then they put it on every radio station and in every record store. People love to insist that they’re not moved by advertising, but the fact is that you own record albums by famous artists because they put a huge amount of effort into making sure you’ve heard of them. Politicians work the same way, and it’s just as effective: very few people are even considering the “second tier” candidates even when they’re better matches for your personal views. It’s much more about how ma
