Look into the alternative music business In 1987 I applied to be a D.J.

on an
alternative radio station. I remember the person there telling me that the station
played only music that wasn't broadcasted on commercial radio stations which, he
added, accounted for about 95% of the music available. The variety of music one
now hears on alternative stations is indeed amazing. The music ranges from New Age
to a style similar to thrash metal and every conceivable combination in between.
So is that what alternative music is: music that is not commercial? If one were
to use that definition then classical music would be considered alternative. And
should we modify the definition to include every style of music that does not get
aired on a station like G-105 (top-40) or WCPE (classical)? Such a definition
reminds me of a scene from the Simpsons where Reverend Lovejoy, in explaining to
Homer all the different religions in the world, pointed to Nel Flanders saying he
was a Christian, then pointed to Crusty the Clown saying he was a Jew, and finally
pointed to Abu (a Hindu) as being miscellaneous. One would commit the same grave
error in saying that music of the Japanese No Theater, a style which has extremely
complex and rigid rules with a foundation much more solid than any style of
commercial rock, is alternative simply because it is not played on the radio in the
U.S. or anywhere else in the world including Japan.. Given the diverse nature of
alternative music, it is difficult to give any hard and fast definitions, precisely
since its creators are eager for it not to be catagorized. Nonetheless, there are
three (and maybe four) factors which can be used to determine how alternative a
piece of music is. One is to what extent the music has fallen into a certain
niche. The alternative artist generally borrows from several widely different
styles in order to come up with his own style. Since the listeners have not heard
anything significantly resembling this style until recently if at all, they cannot
put a label on it. The second factor involves the amount of fame the piece of
music has achieved. I would not go to the extreme of Rick Marin, a New York Times
columnist who says: "When an alternative movement goes mainstream, it relinquishes
its alternative credentials".1 Indeed the now famous Red Hot Chili Peppers are
still considered alternative.2 Nonetheless, the words 'alternative music'
themselves suggest a style or several styles of music that are not accepted by the
majority of people or at least by the people in power. In fact much of the charm
of alternative music is not only the lyrics which mock various aspects of
mainstream society, but also the people in that business who at least purport to
lead lives which are faithful to the underlying ideas of their music. In
particular, they claim to be practically indifferent to gaining material wealth.
(See discussion below) The third factor stresses that the music be as far
away as possible from any European classical or neo-classical influences. For
example, one would not call the music of William Bolcom alternative music even
though it neither fits into one category of music nor is it widely accepted. One
of the reasons for this factor is the paradox that although alternative music by
definition is not supposed to be for the masses, it derives itself from music of
the masses. Its characteristic is more revolutionary than elitist - an important
distinction. While one has to go through years of formal training even to begin to
be considered a classical music composer, many alternative musicians, like their
counterparts in more mainstream music, have not even had any lessons. Likewise,
one has to be either very trained or very familiar with classical music in order to
understand and appreciate various aspects of a classical piece which can often be
latent; whereas the message in both alternative and more mainstream music is much
more readily apparent. In fact, many alternative musicians want the message of
their music to be understood by the audience as quickly and directly as possible -
take Ice-T and his song "Cop Killer". On the other hand, a musician in the
classical world would be looked down upon if he tried to make every feature of his
piece obvious in a style where subtelty is extremely important. In other words,
classical music is not for the masses to understand completely whereas alternative
music is not for the masses to accept completely.3 There is a possible fourth
factor which focuses on the alternative nature of the words. Do the words express
a controversial idea such as Ice-T's song "cop killer" which talks about killing
police officers or Nirvana's song "Smells like Teen Spirit" which criticizes
corporate America? I do not include this among the major factors since there are
many bands which are considered alternative, such as Anthony's Back Porch
Revolution, whose songs contain no controversial lyrics.4 From this point on, when
I refer to aspects of the alternative music culture, I am specifically discussing
that culture in the U.S. as the title suggests unless I specify otherwise. I
should note as well that I will often be mentioning the culture in England as well.
This is not to say that alternative music originated in those two countries.
Indeed it would be difficult to determine where alternative music originated since,
notwithstanding the four factors I discussed above, it is next to impossible to say
exactly when a certain piece of music becomes alternative. One could even argue
that alternative music has existed whenever a few restless individuals decided to
make music that differed from the style currently accepted in their community.
Furthermore, even if one could draw say exactly when a piece becomes alternative,
the informal, underground and consequently disjunctive nature of such a culture
would prevent one from locating its source of origin. The reason why I have chosen
the U.S. and England as key countries is because not only are these the areas where
the public first became aware of alternative music, but, due to the already
powerful presence of mainstream music from these two countries, these are the areas
from which alternative music has been diffused throughout the world. Consequently
one could infer, though not necessarily conclude, that such music has had more
worldwide influence compared to any other music from any other country. The
problems faced by mainstream musicians in getting their music noticed are well
known, and such problems are magnified for alternative musicians. To give an idea
of such problems and how they are changing, I will discuss the three different
media of promotion individually and the state of the relation of each with
alternative bands. These media are (1) radio and television, (2) records, tapes,
and CDs, and (3) live performances. Until very recently, one heard alternative
music only on student radio stations. Many people believe that large commercial
radio stations began playing alternative music in response to the fear of smaller
independent radio stations taking their business. The history of Radio 1, the most
popular radio station among the youth in England, is a good example. Since about a
decade after Radio 1's creation by the BBC in 1967 as a progressive station, it
aired mainly top 40 tunes (with the exception of a few hours at night when more
progressive music was played) through the 1980s into the 1990s in spite of the
growth of the alternative music industry. The gap between this station and the
market demand got to the point where relatively famous "alternative" bands could go
their whole career without being played on daytime radio. For example the DJ's at
that station still saw Nirvana as "dangerous" programming in spite of the fact that
the group had already received three million dollars for their Nevermind album. In
response to such rigidity Xfm was created in the beginning of 1992. By April 1992
this station with a tiny ten-watt transmitter came in fourth place in a listeners'
survey ranking the most popular radio stations. The results of this survey sent a
shock to Radio 1 which consequently began to reserve many more hours for playing
alternative music.5 The actions taken by similar small and large radio stations
could well have influenced television stations such as MTV, in attempting to keep a
hip image, to begin showing alternative bands, even though the few bands they show
in that style tend to be ones that are already quite well known. There are two
types of record industries in the recording business: independents or indies and
majors.6 Majors are typified as being vertically integrated companies that own
their own production, manufacturing, promotion, and distribution. Their business
is characterized as being high-volume and owned by conglomerates involved in
enterprises other than music. Even though they manage a wide variety of artists
and genres7 their music has tended to be mainstream. The main reason for this is
that the high-volume nature of such a company discourages its owners from investing
in alternative bands where the sale of their music is less predictable.
Independents or indies are the types of record industries that generally deal
with alternative music groups. Unlike majors who focus almost exclusively on
profit and trade their record divisions and bands around "as if they were baseball
teams",8 indies tend to put more emphasis on the quality of the music in relation
to profit.9 Alternative bands traditionally have had a great deal of problems
with majors which many say destroy their creativity. An example of this is when
the group the Goo Goo Dolls signed with Warner Bros to produce a record album.
First of all, for the album, Warner Bros. made this group, despite their
objections, change their
longtime producer, Armand John Petri, in favor of a more famous producer named
Gavin MacKillop. Later when the album was complete, Petri found it difficult to
listen to: "I only played it once and I hated it. ... The band wrote great songs,
it was great material, but everything was changed. They took the character out of
the songs. It wasn't the Goo Goo Dolls."10 The company decided who would produce
the video as well. Nonetheless, the problems did not reach their climax until
Warner Bros. decided to put together an album of various alternative bands
including the Goo Goo Dolls. The first single promoting this album would be a slow
song loaded with social commentary. Warner Bros. chose such song since they wanted
the album to become a radio crossover hit and they felt that a slow song would be
more attractive to people not so familiar with alternative music. In spite of the
fact that they were a fan of Paul Westerberg, the song's writer, this song was out
of character for the "hard rocking" Goo Goo Dolls. Instead, to promote the album,
the Goo Goo Dolls "wanted to come out swinging and rocking" with the third single
(a death-metal song of the Goo Goo Dolls) which they though should have come out
first.11 Although the Goo Goo Dolls were adamant about promoting the album in this
way, Warner Bros. won. When the first single didn't sell, Warner Bros. stopped
promoting the album. As a close source to both the band and the recording company
says: "Now [the album] is dead, and that's a shame because it's a great album."12
Johnny Rzeznik's impressions of people at such large recording companies are a good
representation of the way many alternative musicians feel: "When you get to the
upper levels of a record company, they don't know what's happening down on the
street. The people who make these decisions are not artists; they're businessmen
trying to be artists. And I resent it."13 Jill Maxick, a woman who spent
eight years in the record industry mostly as a manager of alternative music
promotions with Chrysalis Records in New York City, shares Rzeznik's point of view:
"most of the music business has nothing to do with music. ... The record companies
think a lot about formula, demographics, videos and how to sell what they call a
product."14 She spoke about a duo from Scotland called The Proclaimers who
received mass appeal when they toured. When they recorded the song "I'm Gonna Be
(500 Miles)" the record company executives saw little potential in it. Ironically
it later became a smash hit when it appeared in the movie "Benny and Joon".15 An
artist, she continued, is dependant on labels not only with regards to the
production and recording of his music, but on its marketing and distribution as
well. She added that "there's a lot of politics in the music business. The
companies know they're dealing with kids when it comes to new bands. ... It's all a
game, and the record companies control the game."16 Although one encounters
similar problems with the music industry in other styles of music, they are more
aggravated in the alternative music scene due not only to the novelty and
heterogeneity of this style, but also to the probability that alternative artists
seem to put more emphasis on the quality of their material and less on how much it
can sell. (see discussion below) It would be outside the scope of this paper too
look to deeply into the question of whether the Goo Goo Dolls could change labels
on the grounds that Warner was restricting their creativity. Such a question
applies more to mainstream bands, since a band will generally want to change labels
only after it has become famous, and there are many more famous mainstream bands
(even proportionally) then alternative ones. Besides, there are no decided cases
where any artist wanted to leave a label solely on such grounds. Thus, the fact
that there are no cases on point would render an extremely lengthy analysis on a
potentially important yet hypothetical issue. The main reason for the artist
leaving his original label was almost always to sign on with a bigger label.17
Nonetheless, in giving an answer regarding the outcome of a potential litigation
between the Goo Goo Dolls and Warner Bros., one needs to note that such a situation
involves both contract law and intellectual property - namely moral rights. In
deciding such a case, courts would probably be caught between two principles. (1)
If the artist has too much freedom to leave a record company then the latter will
bear the loss of failing artists it signs without benefitting very much from those
who are successful. Consequently incentives to search and work with new talent
could be undermined. (66 Tulane Law Review 771, 818) (2) However, an artist may
be so tied to a contract that he is subject to opportunistic behavior by the record
company. 18 Nonetheless, courts have become more liberal in rendering
unenforceable various contract provisions19 such as ones that allow a contract to
extend beyond a seven-year period.20 Furthermore the courts have made significant
progress in respecting the rights of artists.21 Consequently, it would be safe to
assume that, in the near future if not already, courts will not enforce contract
provisions that allow a label to force a limitation on a successful band's
creativity such as that Warner Bros. placed the Goo Goo Dolls. In other words, if
and when the members of the Goo Goo Dolls are successful enough to become
attractive to other labels, they can refuse to have such a limitation put upon them
and leave if Warner Bros. persists without fearing any judgment against them.22
The reason why the Goo Goo Dolls could not be so assertive was not for legal
reasons but rather because they were not successful enough to survive without
Warner Bros. In order to cater to the growing market of alternative
musicians23 and their frustration with major record companies, many small
independent recording companies have recently been created, mostly by former
musicians who at least considered themselves to be alternative.24 One of these
companies is Dischord, a record label started by former members of the punk rock
band Fugazi.25 An insert from Dischord's punk compilation album titled "4 Old 7
inches" explains well the attidude of the employees: "We set up Dischord so we
could put out music we liked by people we liked, and put it out cheap. Our goal
was not to make a lot of money, but rather to help as many of our friends' bands as
we could. For at least two years the bands made no money off the records.
Instead, the profits from each record went right back into Dischord to help us put
out the next band's record. ..."26 Many people who are familiar with Dischord
agree that there is much less of an emphasis on profit in comparison with major
recording companies. Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, the founders of Dischord, charge
very low prices for both their recording products. For example, a standard CD and
LP sell at most for $8 and $7 respectively. Unlike major lables, Dischord works on
a straight profit share with its bands while allowing them complete artistic
freedom on both the music and the cover. MacKaye and Nelson don't use any
contracts but rather seal their deals with handshakes since they only work with
people they trust. They don't advertise in Spin magazine since it is almost
entirely supported by alcohol and tobacco money which they are against. According
to Charles Heller, director of the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the
University of Maryland, such businesses are not so unusual anymore.27
Interestingly enough, MacKaye and Nelson have a network of other entrepreneurs in
the area who were also former alternative musicians. The fact that some of these
people own CD stores and nightclubs makes it all the more easy to get the music of
new bands promoted. As Mouncey III Furguson of the Washington Times says:
"Instead of the good-ol'-boy network, this is the bad-boy network. ... Those who
once rejected and assaulted mainstream culture are forcing the business and
consumer communities to make room for their generation's alternative ways of doing
business."28 Some independent labels make a great deal of efforts to help
their alternative bands get wide attention. Such efforts seem to be more
calculated then those used by the owners of Dischord. Relativity Records is a good
example of such a label. One of its efforts consisted of making a sampler of songs
of various alternative bands that had signed with them and produced 30,000 copies.
9000 were given away with subscriptions to Raygun magazine, an internationally
distributed magazine which focuses on alternative music and lifestyles of people in
their twenties29 15,000 were distributed for customer giveaways to Tower Records,
a major retail store in New York City. The rest were distributed to key
independent retailers and small alternative-leaning chains. Each copy had some
sort of advertising for the artists on the sampler. Relativity is also providing
in-store play copies and in-store play video reels. The list price on the
recordings of Relativity's bands is relatively low. Marc Offenbach, the vice
president of sales explains: "I think that the more retail-friendly you are, the
better off you'll be as a label. ... So we're trying to keep prices low and give
retailers a lot of tools, like the sampler giveaway." He goes on to explain that
Relativity has to be retail intensive since their alternative bands get little or
no exposure on either the radio or MTV.30 The nature of independents has
changed over the past 20 years in that they now interact a great deal more with the
larger companies called majors which have traditionally dealt only with music
already popular. There are several reasons for this change with the independents:
(1) The rising
costs of international marketing and distribution31 ); (2) Expenses associated
with new technology.32; (3) the need to pay a large amount of money to important
bands to keep the majors away.33 and (4) The greater amount of concentration
within the music industry.34 The majors have an interest in working with
independents. In fact, they often now go so far as to buy them.35 Perhaps the
increased popularity of alternative music, is one factor that has stimulated more
interaction. Indeed such music, because of its diversity and abstract quality, is
risky for majors to deal with since it is difficult to know exactly what will sell.
Sharing some of that risk with independent labels takes a burden off the shoulders
of the majors. If they have already bought these independents, they will often
trust the latters' instincts in finding new talent. Consequently they will give
them autonomy in many decisions.36 Often majors will have reason to place such
trust. Independents such as Island Records, which was brought by Polygram, has
recorded currently famous bands such as U2 and Anthrax.37 In other words, the
separate modes of operation between majors and independants are quickly
disappearing.38 Another way in which Alternative bands are getting more exposure
is through live concerts. One may interpret that one of the reasons for the rise
in demand of live alternative music in comparison with live mainstream music39 lies
in personal characteristics of the listeners. In the past few years the latter,
who tend to be more sedentary are now diverted by new forms of entertainment: (1)
The explosion of cable TV offerings including MTV and (2) the debut of massive home
entertainment systems such as VCR's.40 Furthermore, many places have now begun
hiring less-expensive disk jockeys in place of live conventional bands.41 Such a
change, however, has not drastically hurt the alternative music bands since (1)
their listeners tend to prefer music as new as possible42 and it can be relatively
difficult to have a record collection that keeps up with everything alternative
coming out, and (2) alternative bands tend to charge less then conventional ones
do. Furthermore there are festivals which gather many different alternative
groups together to perform their music. Lollapalooza I and the even bigger
Lollapalooza II are good examples. In these festivals, which traveled through as
many as 27 cities,43 fans pay one low price to see a whole day's worth of
previously obscure bands. Such a festival brings each of these bands more
exposure, not only because each of them get heard by fans of the other bands there,
but also because guest MCs, record stores, and major labels such as MCA come to
seek new talent.44 The organizers of the festival accepted no corporate sponsors
in spite of the fact that they had several offers.45 One of the main reasons was
that they "wanted to keep the same alternative values and keep this thing as
alternative as possible" says Don Muller, a talent agent at Triad Artists which
helped organize the festival.46 "It was analogous to having a corporate sponsor at
Woodstock in 1969" says Jay Coleman, president and chief executive of Entertainment
Marketing and Communications International Ltd. in New York.47 One may easily
infer that the kinds of people playing a controversial style such as alternative
music would especially not be doing it for the money or fame. Indeed one finds
such a non-materialistic environment through festivals such as Lollapalooza and
through independent labels such as Dischord. Many alternative magazines such as
JAM Entertainment News are given away for free.48 Even people who have had success
by working in the alternative music business still remain relatively unconcerned
about material wealth - or at least try to convey that impression. Alan McGee, for
example, the boss of Creation Records, arguably the most innovative record label
today, insists that although he is a millionaire, most of the money he makes lies
in the bank. He states that he will never make a good businessman. He then adds
"I'll never make a great businessman, I know that. I've employed too many of my
friends who aren't up to their jobs, and I can't bring myself to sack them. That
just wouldn't be fair.49 On the other hand, there are people who seem to try
making money precisely by using the controversial nature of alternative music.
Take Ice-T, who Jim DeRogatis from the Texas Lawyer sees as "a smart, cynical
artist-provocateur and an astute student of the music business and American
politics".50 In his album "Body Count", which combines hip-hop, alternative rock,
and heavy metal, he praises misogyny, matricide, and senseless violence against
police officers and other citizens. When the album came out the sales were
relatively low until Dan Quayle and various police organizations began speaking out
against it on national television thereby giving it several million dollars worth
of free publicity. DeRogatis believes this is precisely what Ice-T and Warner
Bros. wanted for the sales of this album subsequently skyrocketed.51 One possible
explanation for the increased popularity of alternative music52 could be a reaction
to a widespread concern of worldwide cultural homogenization. Indeed, some
musicologists believe popular music to be the major rallying point of an
international youth culture which has similar tastes and values. Because of the
easy availability of this music which has largely been Anglo-American and because
of its attraction among youth, it may cause many people from countries outside the
U.S. and England to value their own culture less. Furthermore music from the U.S.
and England is becoming more and more available through the radio and recorded
material. Since alternative music assumes many vastly different forms (as opposed
to country, heavy metal, etc...), with increased worldwide communication (1) it is
easier for musical groups from countries outside of the U.S. and England to market
music which is different from mainstream popular music, and (2) it allows people
with backgrounds in Anglo-American music, in hearing tunes from other cultures, to
mix and match and come up with their own style. In the ways above alternative
music is a potential media of exposure various features of music from other
countries. (See the end of the paper for more details.) One may also point out
that the increased popularity of alternative music is a reflection of similar
occurrences both in other disciplines of art and in society. More than ever in the
past five years, in America at least, films such as "Do The Right Thing", "Sex,
Lies, and Videotape", "The Joy Luck Club", "The Wedding Banquet", and "The Crying
Game" which were previously relegated to art houses are now accessible and accepted
by a wide audience. With the greater number of channels, TV programmers are now
targeting specific segments of the public with programs ranging from "Rush
Limbaugh" to "Beavis and Butthead". Many stations themselves such as INSP (the
christian station) and Court TV also target such specific segments. Now with CNN
there is much more coverage than ever before on international issues. One sees
such segmentation among radio stations which are beginning to define their market
more specifically with slogans such as "We play rock without the heavy metal or
rap". Furthermore in the past five years there has been much more opposition to
discriminating on the basis of race, gender, creed, or sexual preference. Reed
Johnson, writer for Gannett News Service, summarizes the phenomenon beautifully:
"Where once art held up a mirror to live, modern life has become so fragmentary,
fleeting and impressionistic that the mirror has shattered into a thousand
pieces.53 Such a change will make room for alternative music not only to be heard
but also to become accepted and even popular. It seems also that with the advent
of 500 channels and easy access to one's audio-video-computer equipment in the near
future, the trend of alternative music will only continue.54 But what will
happen then? Will such music continue to be lumped together as alternative music
as Reverend Lovejoy calls non-Judeo-Christian religions miscellaneous, or will such
music be divided and catagorized into a myriad of different new styles? There are
two competing trends (which apply to other aspects of culture as well) which make
it be extremely difficult to forsee the future of alternative music. One is the
increasing cross-pollination of different musical styles.55 The other is the
segmentation of music towards a specific audience. In support of the second trend,
most (and arguably all) styles of music derive their origin from a combination of
other older styles. Rock-n-Roll, for example was a cross product of blues and
country music. Blues was a cross product of call and response and southern
Christian music; and so on and so forth. When such styles were known and accepted
only by a few people, one could argue that they were still alternative music
styles. Eventually they became mainstream. The main difference between then and
now, however, is that the first trend mentioned above, i.e. the dramatically
increased blending of different styles of music, has caused such a myriad of new
styles which will subsequently be mixed and matched to multiply into more styles.
It is, consequently, difficult to see how the second trend can compete even though
several different styles in alternative music have already been categorized such as
grunge, death metal, punk-funk, and gothic.56 Although the future of this music is
an interesting question, to speculate further on it would go outside the scope of
this paper. Because of its increased popularity, alternative music is being
used more and more by corporations such as Nike, Converse,
and Stolichnaya (a vodka producer) for marketing purposes in order to convey a
message that the product is hip.57 The group Nirvana had a song called "Smells
Like Teen Spirit", a name which was supposed to apply to Mennen deodorant as a
symbol of the crass commericalization of American culture. Ironically, Mennen used
that phrase in their subsequent advertisements. Anthony Kliedis, the lead singer
of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, now appears in advertisements to endorse various
products.58 The recognition that one can make money by playing alternative music
created an identity crisis for the alternative music world, a world which was
supposed to be defiant towards mainstream and corporate America and England.59
Stuart Elliott of the New York Times interprets such an event to be self-
destructive for both the companies and for the bands. Using such groups quickens
the process of pulling their music into the mainstream which erases its avant-guard
appeal. Such music consequently becomes unsuitable for the task that the marketers
hoped to accomplish.60 Micheal Levine, a composer and partner in Micheal Levine
Music which is a commerical-music production company, corroborates this impression:
"You can't actually have a mass-distributed revolutionary product. It's an
oxymoron."61 I am not so pessimistic about the mainstreaming of alternative
music. First of all, the mass distribution of a revolutionary product is not an
oxymoron. One may easily interpret that non-acceptance by the masses is one of the
necessary qualities of a revolutionary idea since usually a new idea is not readily
accepted by a large group of people. Such is human nature. Nonetheless, such a
broad interpretation is a mistake. One only needs to look at a historical event
such the Russian Revolution of 1917 where the idea of Communism was both a
revolutionary idea and an idea shared among the masses. Although conceived of by
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, this idea was revolutionary to the Russian
people in the early 20th century, not only because it was new to them, but because
it was contrary to many fundamental aspects of the political environment in which
they were living at the time. The fact that they happened to accept it did not
make it less revolutionary. The idea ceased to be revolutionary after it had been
accepted for a certain period of time by the masses (and by the government for that
matter) as the status quo. In other words, Communism wasn't new anymore. The
situation with alternative music can be distinguished from the advent of Communism
in that it neither expresses one idea nor does it even encompass one form of music.
For example, the songs off Ice-T's album "Body Count" are of a completely different
style then the slow and intense music of Paul Westerberg; just as "Do the Right
Thing" has almost nothing in common with "The Joy Luck Club" with the exception
that they both veer away from movies that were previously considered mainstream. I
therefore regard this mainstreaming of alternative music as positive since it makes
a greater variety of such music become both accessible and accepted by the masses.
Of course styles played by bands such as Nirvana, which has been popular for over
two years, may cease to be considered alternative, just as Communism ceased to be
considered a revolutionary idea. However, this makes way for other different forms
of alternative music to be created and exposed. Thus, the trend line between sub-
culture and mass-culture is accelerated by the following factors: (1) the increased
interaction between independents and majors, (2) the current media of exposure that
obscure bands now have (discussed above), (3) the ever increasing popular appeal of
alternative music, and (4) the increased heterogeneity of the music market.
Businesses of course also profit also from using alternative musicians in
their advertisements. Bob Chiappardi, president of Concrete Marketing Inc., a New
York-based company that specializes in promoting alternative bands, expresses his
delight in the fact that alternative music is entering in the mainstream while
noting the potential benefits from which corporations can profit: "I see nothing
wrong with [such a trend] ... Corporate America would be using alternative music as
much as alternative music would be using Corporate America."62 He goes on to say
that when a viewer sees a person they like wearing a particular article of
clothing, that article becomes more appealing to them. Nonetheless Irma Zandl,
president of a marketing reseqrch firm specializing in targeting the hip crowd,
stesses that corporations must remember that alternative music is often
controversial and that it looks very bad if they abandon using an alternative group
at the first sign of controversy.63 In spite of the increased success that
alternative music has had domestically as well as in Europe, it has not done well
in becoming accepted in non-Western countries. There are two factors which make
selling alternative music acts abroad especially difficult. One is the fact that,
outside of Western Europe, most people are not interested in American music that is
not mainstream. For example, rap was not played over radio stations in Thailand
until 1993. One must remember that it is difficult for a non-Westerners to
accustom the ear to the changing style of western popular music in comparison with
Westerners who have always had access to such music. The other major factor is
pirating, which is a problem especially in southeast Asia. In Thailand, for
example, pirates have enjoyed yearly up to 95% of the market share of recorded
Western music which they can sell for a great deal less since it is stolen.64
Nonetheless, the alternative music scene from abroad is just beginning to
make itself known in the U.S. MTV Latino, for example, has expanded its
programming menu to cover this scene in Central America, Mexico, and South
America.65 Alternative musicians from Mexico such as Abel Gomez and Antonio
Christopher are gaining widespread acceptance in the U.S.A.66 Greater political
freedom in Mexico and other countires has allowed such music not only to be heard
by fellow countrymen but also by people from other nations including the United
States.67 Even within the U.S., alternative music in languages other than English
is being created such as Chinese Rap of San Franciso. Many radio stations are just
beginning to play both modern and traditional music from various ethnic groups
around the world. Music from such a wide array of ethnicities can eventually
further diversify the styles found in alternative music. Furthermore there have
been conferences established, such as The New Music Seminar, which are more and
more geared towards exchanging knowledge about various alternative music groups
domestic and from abroad. One of the ways in which The New Music Seminar does this
is by soliciting delegates of the music industry, both domestic and
international.68 After all that has been said about the diversity of
alternative music, one should not be misled to believe that alternative bands as a
whole look at a plethora of musical styles from around the world with relative
impartiality, for such is not the case. Indeed most alternative music that at
least is heard on the domestic radios is more purely Western69 than many popular
groups such as Tears for Fears with their 1990 hit "Woman in Chains" which uses a
hayashi (Japanese flute) sound that plays from a pentatonic scale (Chinese
influence). Take also many soul songs such as "I'm in love", a hit in the
fall of 1993 where the singers put on Jamaican accents and sing with a carribean
rhythm. The main reason for this greater apparent openess to music of other
countries lies in the major labels who sign up these bands. These labels have
either bought independents or have set up subsidiaries in many different countries
where they have access to the local music there.70 To keep the popular music
market they have to produce new sounding music that is different enough to sound
new but not so different that it will be unattractive to the public. Majors tend
to tinker with both modern and traditional music from these different countries
where they are present in order to fit this music into what what they think will
sell best. They then pick groups which produce such hybrid music, and these groups
then usually become mainstream acts.71 On the other hand, alternative groups and
their independent labels, which tend to be organized at a local level, have very
little international presence and are consequently not exposed to the same ethnic
variety of music. At the same time, however, they either don't care about sounding
too "new" or actually try to be as experimental as possible. Such is the reason
why their music, with its ethnically homogeneous influences, sounds more innovative
than mainstream music. I predict that as the music played on the radio continues
to diversify, thus giving the public more exposure to non-western styles of music,
that alternative bands will incorporate such styles more in their efforts to make
their music be as new and exciting as possible. Such mixed styles of music will
eventually become attractive to the major labels and then be distributed
internationally, thus greating a global cross-pollination of music. It is
conceivable that countries other than England and the U.S. will experience a
similar phenomenon if and when their music achieves world recognition.1 New York
Times, Nov 15, 19922 Stuart Elliott, The Media Business: Advertising, The New
York Times, August 21, 1992, at .3 Although there are other forms of equally
complex music with an equally elitist nature, such as Korean Court music, these
forms of music do not have anywhere the same worldwide impact of European classical
music. In other words, the understanding and appreciation of European classical
music is reserved for the elite from many different areas of the world.
Consequently, the elitist nature of this music is recognized by the masses around
the world.4 I should note that this is my own interpretation of what alternative
music is and not a rule that every alternative fan would agree with. These four
factors will encompass styles of music that some people may find not find to be
alternative. One example of such a style would be one which combines several
different non-western folk styles but yet has no western influences. Indeed such
music is rarely heard in this country and is very different from the types of
alternative music played domestically whose stylistic influences are almost all
Western or African-American. Nonetheless, it would be ethnocentric of me to say
that such music is not alternative music or even American alternative music simply
because it has little or no Western influences. Furthermore, as this paper later
explains, the alternative music we hear will have more and more non-Western aspects
to it in the future.5 Caitlin Moran, Time To Air Our Differences, The New York
Times, December 3, 1993, at .6 (41)7 ibid. at 418 ibid. at 519 ibid, at 4110
Anthony Violanti, Fit to Be Tied, The Buffalo News, November 19, 1993, at .11
ibid.12 ibid.13 ibid.14 ibid.15 ibid.16 ibid.17 It is true that Georgios
Panayiotou, better known as George Michael, is involved in a suit against Sony in
England in which one of his complaints deals with the record company infringing too
much on the creative decision-making process of his albums and CD's. Nonetheless
it would be difficult to use this case as precedent, not only because the trial is
in England, a country more advanced with regard to respecting the moral rights of
an artist than the U.S.., but also since the final decision regarding that issue
has not been recorded. See The Buffalo News, November 19, 1993, and Panayiotou and
Others v. Sony Music Entertainment (UK) LTD, 2 WLR 241, Chancery Division, 1994. 18
66 Tulane Law Review 771, 82219 ibid. at 827, 829, and 830.20 In the past artists
were often coerced to sign contracts with a ten-year term at a salary that was
significantly lower than what they could have obtained on the open market. ibid. at
826.21 724 F. Supp. 808, 1989 - See also the progression of decisions this case
uses from Gilliam 538 F.2d which recognized the invasion of the moral rights of a
show that had many parts cut from it; to National Bank of Commerce v. Shaklee
Corp., 503 F. Supp. 533, 1980 which found such an invasion where advertisements for
various products were put in blank pages of the plaintiff's book even though the
actual content of the plaintiff's work was not modified at all; to WGN Continental
Broadcasting Co. v. United Video, 693 F.2d 622, 1982 which stated in dicta that
even if blanking intervals were not used by the plaintiff television station, they
could not be used by the defendant without plaintiff's permission.22 It must be
emphasized that when any kinds of conflicts do arise between the artists and the
label, the parties are encouraged by the court to negotiate and resolve the
conflict. 66 Tulane Law Review 771, 820.23 Dale English, Stepping out to a
Different Beat, Business First-Buffalo, July 13, 1992 at .24 Punk rock musicians
for example may consider themselves to be alternative since much of their music
does not appear on the top 40. However, the fact that such music comes from only
one relatively old style, namely punk rock, negates at least one of four factors of
alternative music discussed above.25 Mouncey Ferguson III, Punk Evolution: Money
Isn't the Motive as Rockers Start Up Their Own Business Enterprises, The Washington
Times, September 21, 199326 ibid.27 ibid.28 ibid.29 Newsday, August 27, 1992; see
also Burt Reinhart, Sting and Eric Clapton..., USA Today, September 28, 1992 at 30
Trudi Rosenblum, Relativity Reinforces Modern Rock Roots, Billboard, March 12, 1994
at 31 It is becoming increasingly important to market and distribute
internationally since more and more revenue is being made this way. For example,
in the 1980s the U.S. record industry made more on international sales (a market
estimated in 1991 to be worth more than $12 billion per year) then on domestic ones
(about $4 billion in 1984). p. 4932 Recording technology in the past decade has
been advancing more quickly than it ever was before.33 p. 5134 It was estimated in
1990 that CBS, Warner Communications (now Time Warner), Polygram, BMG, and MCA
controlled 93% of the music industry. see Music at the Margins, p. 52.35 Music at
the Margins at 42.36 ibid. at 42; see also Chris Norris, Wheeling & Dealing:
Restless, Big Deal, Hightone Labels Forge New Distribution Pacts, Billboard,
January 30, 1993 at37 Music at the Margins at 51.38 ibid. at 42.; One is seeing the
effects (or causes) of the increased interaction between the two different kinds of
labels in alternative music itself. During the 1970s, both in the U.S. and in
England, alternative music was clearly distinct from mainstream music. Bands that
could be called alternative such as the X-teens remained underground. Now the
newfound popularity of many such bands has caused an identity crisis in the
alternative world which will be discussed later in the paper. - Caitlin Moran, Time
to Air Our Differences, The New York Times, December 3, 1993 at 39 Stepping Out to
a Different Beat: Shifting Tastes Put a New Face on the Club Scene, Dale English,
Business First-Buffalo, July 13, 1992 at 40 Ibid.41 Ibid.42 Ibid.43 Cyndee Miller,
Marketers find alternative way to appeal to young music lovers, Marketing News TM,
October 12, 1992 at 44 The Ottawa Citizen, August 26, 199345 The Media Business:
Advertising and Marketers Find Alternative Way to Appeal to Young Music Lovers46
Marketers Find Alternative Way to Appeal to Young Music Lovers47 The Media
Business: Advertising48 Rene Stutzman, Magazine Buys Tampa-Area Clone, The Orlando
Sentinel, September 20, 1993 at49 James Lockhart, Screaming in Millions, Sunday
Times, February 6, 1994 at50 Jim DeRogatis, A Waste of Resources, Texas Lawyer,
August 3, 1992 at51 Ibid.52 The Ottawa Citizen53 Reed Johnson, The Year in the
Arts, Gannett News Service, December 21, 1993 at54 ibid.55 ibid.56 Marketers Find
Alternative Way to Appeal to Young Music Lovers57 The Media Business: Advertising
58 ibid.59 The Year in the Arts60 The Media Business: Advertising61 ibid.62
Marketers Find Alternative Way to Appeal to Young Music Lovers63 ibid.64 The Thai
government recently conceded to impose stiffer penalties and greater copyright
protection in response to the threat of trade sanctions by the U.S. and the
European Community. For example, such violations taken by pirates are now a state
offense in which the police can investigate without even receiving a complaint from
the offended party. Previously such a party had to bring the pirates to court
which could be a long and arduous process, if it ever even found out who the
pirates were. - see Philip Pennington, Thailand, Billboard, August 21, 1993 at 65
(Billboard, December 11, 199366 Tim Vandenack, New Entertainment, United Press
International, January 12, 199467 ibid.68 Jason Galloway, New Ways to Promote Music
Abroad, Gannett News Service, July 28, 1993 at69 Of course most, if not all, styles
of popular music in the U.S. and even England have African Roots. Nonetheless, for
purposes of this paper I am referring to such popular styles as being western since
any non-Western influence is far removed.70 In spite of the dominating force of
music from England and the U.S., only two out of the six majors are controlled by
interests or entities from those two countries. The rest are owned by the
Japanese, the West Germans, and the Dutch. - Music at the Margins at 52.71 ibid. at
52.#