Uncertainty and music.

Subject: Uncertaintly ,recording and music.
From: GUEST,Azoic
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 11:58 AM

I admit from time to time I find myself wishing that an artist would record their unrecorded backlog of material before their voice begins to fail(or last least ,changes) and economic circumstances make the issuance of new product more difficult.Possibly this is an indication of myself being a victim of an immediate gratification culture,or just anxious for all potential music from an artist being made available now.I conjecture that some performers and record companies hold off and record/release just a part of an artists potential catalog to maximize profits over time?Am I wrong?Am I correct?

Subject: RE: Uncertaintly and music.
From: GUEST,Jack Campin
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 12:05 PM

The obvious implication is that if you want to hear that unreleased stuff, you need to find the artist and kill them. Whereupon the record companies will put out everything they've got.

Subject: RE: Uncertainty and music.
From: Lox
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 06:04 PM

Its getting more like that ... in the old days an artist would pump out album after album ...

The relative significance of Image and substance was balanced differently then though ...

... not the quantity is quality, but certainly a good artist is less dependant on image to flog their wares and presumably has the talent to pump out more that is of quality ...

... or so I vainly opine ...

Subject: RE: Uncertainty and music.
From: josepp
Date: 02 Aug 11 - 07:31 PM

Reminds me of an old 3 Stooges when Curly was an artist behind on his rent. The landlord demands payment and Curly doodles on a piece of paper and hands it to him. "What's this?" the guys asks.

"I don't know," said Curly, "but it will be worth a fortune when I'm dead."

The landlord scowls and says, "I should kill you now and find out!"

Subject: RE: Uncertainty and music.
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 04:20 AM

I think I prefer it this way. When I was young I used to yearn for some sort of immortality that I thought fame would give me. Now I have my place in history - its not the one i would have wanted, but you're just as dead as all the other people in the cemetery who didn't bother. So really it doesn't matter.

People got their chance to like your music when you were alive. Now leave the stage to musicians and 'traditions' as yet unknown. They will make music serve them in the way that they need - nothing to do with us!

Subject: RE: Uncertainty and music.
From: John P
Date: 03 Aug 11 - 05:13 PM

I conjecture that some performers and record companies hold off and record/release just a part of an artists potential catalog to maximize profits over time?Am I wrong?Am I correct?

My experience is that a vast majority of folk musicians don't have a record company in the picture. Most of them record as much as they can, but it is a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Most of us are so poverty-stricken that the thought of holding back from making some money now in the hopes of making a little more later is bizarre. Also, most musicians I know play a lot of stuff on stage that they would never consider recording. A performance and a recording are two very different art forms, with different concerns being important.

If you're talking about big "stars" who could theoretically afford it, maybe they are doing other things with their time? Isn't that a simpler explanation? Someone who is creative enough to have a large unrecorded song list is probably creative enough to have a steady supply of new songs, so there wouldn't be much reason to hold off on recording. In the case of a record company making those decisions, I doubt they would want to market more than one album a year from an artist, but they would really like to put out that one per year.