"Ms. Nicks, who was a very talented songwriter many years ago."
 

This guy probably wasn't born when these albums rolled out. He is seriously trying to start a war with chiffonheads and FM fans everywhere, so what Stevie Nicks hates the internet, it's probably because Liz Rosenberg brainwashed her so she could keep on milking the tour cow.
Nobody can deny that the quality of music in general has slipped especially in the last 10-15 years. the internet may not provide a causal relationship but why would people buy albums when they could steal them from the privacy of their own homes.

Remember, Mama said to buy albums!:cool:

Rock -N-Roll is dead but not entirely because of the internet. That genre of music generally sucks nowadays. However if you listen to Hip Hop like I do there are zillions of great songs that have been released this century.

"Ms. Nicks, who was a very talented songwriter many years ago."
 

http://www.martinezgazette.com/news/...ictim-internet

Rock is apparently dead, a victim of the Internet
TAKE NOTE, MARTINEZ
By Jim Caroompas
Guest Columnist
September 2, 2010

You have to hand it to aging rock stars – their wealth has purchased them lots and lots of time to sit around and philosophize about the Internet.

Not long ago, this space reported on Prince’s theory that the Internet is dead, old news, passe, over, kaput. And that’s why he is releasing his new album as a bonus in the Sunday edition of a newspaper, which is alive and well in at least, oh, three or so major markets. Let’s go crazy, indeed.

And now, a woman on whom I used to carry a major crush has declared the death of rock and roll, and the culprit is none other than … the Internet.

Stevie Nicks, of the Peyton Place version of Fleetwood Mac, is preparing to release a new solo album, or CD, or whatever people release these days, and during an interview to promote same, she was quoted as saying:

“The Internet has destroyed rock. I’m financially stable. I’m OK. But what about the kids trying to make it in this business? If you’re not an established band, if you don’t have a hit single, they’re gonna drop you.”

“They” being, apparently, the record labels. She went on:

“There are a lot of people out there as talented as we (Fleetwood Mac) were, but they can’t sustain being in a rock ‘n’ roll band for long without success. We were able to, but we’re going to die out.”

Well, all due respect to Ms. Nicks, who was a very talented songwriter many years ago, and who even more years ago was a pretty good singer, it’s not like Fleetwood Mac has sustained success. Sure, the monster hits that they produced in the late 1970s are still in heavy rotation on classic rock stations, but I seem to recall a double album called “Tusk” that kind of hit the shelves, and remained on them. And that, as I recall, was pretty much the end of one of the most successful, if romantically complicated, bands of all time.

Let me try and figure out what Stevie, who, by the way, is 62 years old, is saying here. If I understand her, the Internet has opened up the ability to record and distribute music without the benefit of a record label. And that, in turn, has flooded the market, or at least the Internet, with a dizzying array of musical offerings, without the filter of record executives, who did serve a useful function of sorting out the wheat from the chaff, at least to a small degree. And that, as a result, if an artist does not have an instant hit, and then more hits to sustain that success, they are dropped like hamburgers in a vegan cafe.

However, before the Internet, if you were an artist signed with a major label and you didn’t come up with a hit in the first, say, 12 months, chances are you were going to be dropped like pronouns in post-modern poetry. And if you did have a hit, and failed to follow that up with another one in, say, another 12 months… well, there’s the door, Eleanor.

For example, let’s take one of the most successful bands in history. Let’s take … oh, say, Fleetwood Mac. Now, FM had it all – they had two English guys who had lots of musical street cred from days gone by, they had Christine McVie, who was married to bass player John McVie (the Mac to Mick’s Fleetwood) and could also write and sing very nicely, thank you. After several semi successful iterations of the band came and went, John and Mick hired Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, a couple who wrote and sang great songs, and Lindsey played a pretty mean guitar. It turned out to be one of the most fortuitous hiring decisions in history, though it led to romantic disaster. Mick and Stevie got together, Lindsey went off with someone else, they wrote great songs about it, Mick’s wife objected to Stevie, John and Christine got divorced … It was a mess. But it produced two stunning albums: “Fleetwood Mac” and “Rumours.” These albums both sold millions of copies and produced many singles which also reached the top of the charts. But fame, fortune and lots of drugs resulted in “Tusk,” which bombed. After that, the band pretty much broke up. If it hadn’t, it’s doubtful things would have turned out differently.

The point is, labels as they once existed are increasingly irrelevant today. Yes, there is much more product out there. The Internet is swamped with new material. But a band like Arcade Fire is burning up the charts without a major label behind them, because word of mouth (always the best advertising) is far more virile now, thanks to … the Internet.

So Stevie, good luck with your new album. We’re glad you’re financially stable, and we hope you get a hit so you can continue that stability. Meanwhile, the Internet looks pretty darned stable, too.

Sorry, I just noticed this was also posted in the Nicks McNuggets thread.

Thanks for the article....its an interesting read through.....though I disagree about Tusk.....Its my favorite over Rumours now ......not that I don't love Rumours for the success that it was but.....anyway......I can see the point he's making. We all know Stevie hates the Net though I'm sure someone buys stuff for her online etc......We've all dicussed 'how' she can and could use the Net to her advantage .....esp for this next new LP/cd.....I guess the question is 'if' she will......same with FMac....heck the Eagles have done more with the Net than either one of them have.......Its a shame.......I guess we'll have to wait and see really.......thats why I don't understand all the pre-press before the LP....attention spanes are so short these days.....its seems that all this buzz she's creating should be before the LP is released instead of 6-7 months or so before its even out.......she could 'market' those re-issue's of her solo stuff with tons of extras too....before the release....release one every other month or something......anyway, just some thoughts......I don't hate the guy for his comments cause we are all intitled to our own opinions......it is what it is.......:D:shrug:

Oy, if you're going to criticize someone, you could at least do a little research, but I guess that's expecting too much.

Tusk went multi platinum, which is pretty good for an album that supposedly stayed on the shelves. Mirage and Tango in the Night also went multi platinum, which is really good since according to this guy Fleetwood Mac wasn't even a band anymore following the "disaster" that was Tusk. And apparently Stevie's extremely successful solo career counts for nothing.

music, like anything else, is a business. It has to make money via purchasing music various ways. And for a business to work money has to come in. I see this in my business too, people want everything for free and are appalled that I wrote them a prescription for a drug that costs money. They want all free samples, etc. and the same applies somewhat to the internet and music. Do you go to the grocery store and demand your groceries for free? Neh. A bit of rambling, but I think this applies to the internet and the music business.

I totally hear what you are saying. I have a good friend who wont buy any music but he will download everything from limewire. His excuse is that they make enough money and he has trouble paying the rent. The thing is I tell him is that if he wants his favorite artists to keep making music then he should pay for it because at some point they wont even bother wasting their time. I hate the fact that I pay for my music and alot of other people dont. Its annoying to me because you cant afford it that you feel the need to steal it. Ok I am done ranting now!

She could probably still drink this guy under the table and then proceed to play a fantastic rendition of Songbird with a cigarette in one hand, thank you.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2chuhx3.jpg

I appreciate your rant. Aren't you tired of these bums? These poor, destitute struggling fans who obviously have computers with burners/sound systems, electricity and a roof over their heads can't afford a buck to honestly download their favorite artist's music? I guess he's living beyond his means.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GNKcJP7dZ6...k-homeless.jpg

[QUOTE=Tango;908672]I appreciate your rant. Aren't you tired of these bums? These poor, destitute struggling fans who obviously have computers with burners/sound systems, electricity and a roof over their heads can't afford a buck to honestly download their favorite artist's music? I guess he's living beyond his means.

yeah you know what is even crazier is that he is a dj and he downloads a ton of music everyday so that he can play it later on while dj'ing. that makes it even worse because he is ripping somebody off so he can in turn make money from them. total crap and we get into an argument everytime he brings it up. i stole something once when i was about 12 years old and it cost me $112 which i had to pay back with money from a paper route i had. it took me like 4 weeks to do that but it taught me a very good lesson!

I heard hiphop was dead.

I don't know. We need something NEW.

Exactly, this guy's recounting of FM's album success is extremely slanted! Tusk as pointed out by many was only considered a bomb when compared to the behemoth that was Rumours. It did sell @4 mill copies (which is pretty darn good for a double album released in a major recession) and became a critical success and indie favorite till this day. Mirage went straight to #1 and spawned 2 major singles and sold millions...and lets not forget their return to glory with the worldwide success of the 8 million selling Tango In The Night! He didn't even bother mentioning Stevie's 4 consecutive Platinum selling solo albums in the 80's!

So FM & Stevie Nicks did have a pretty good 15 yr. run (1975-1990) on the charts! Nowadays artists are lucky of they have 2 great selling albums and a 5-8 year run on the charts. There is no denying that the internet has contributed to a shorter shelf life of new music/artists and a certain disposability in general.:shrug:

And, some bands (*cough*Fleetwood Mac*cough*) find it extremely difficult to even RELEASE 2 albums in "a 5-8 year run".

This article is interesting but I agree. the guy is clearly ignoring the success of Mirage and Tango as well as Stevie's hit albums in the 80's. It would seem to me that this guy thinks that anything that didn't sell as much as Rumours is considered pale by comparasion. As for Stevie's new CD I am excited but I wonder since it has been almost 10 years since her last will this one sell many copies. I would love it if she had a huge career comback with a massive hit single but I think based on the current trends in music that is unlikely but then again you never know.

Well, if you go by Fleetwood Mac's concert set lists for the last 30 years, apparently, they agree. :shrug:

I completely agree with that. The numbers Tusk sold is nothing to sneeze at, but is a bomb when compared to Rumours (in fact, a similar situation is with Michael Jackson, where Bad sold a lot of copies, but was considered a bomb next to Thriller). Anyways, that aside, as I've found with movies, you sometimes gotta take what a reviewer says with a grain of salt.

To be honest, musicians don't actually make that much money from album sales. The record labels control how and when the music is distributed, and get most of the profit. Unless you're a band that owns it's own label, it's unlikely that you're gonna see anything of that profit. These days musicians make most of their money from touring, which people still have to pay for.
Also, a lot - if not the majority - of musicians support the use of the internet for music distribution, and use it for promotion, such as free downloads etc. I honestly think, from Stevie's point of view, that it is a generational thing - we know how much she hates technology and I think she is seriously missing out/behind the times when it comes to using the internet as a promotional tool.

Fleetwood Mac ranked #11 on Billboard's 2009 year-end tally of top-earning musical acts, ahead of Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Green Day, Paul McCartney, etc. Their position was mostly due to ticket sales - as were most of the other artist's standings-, but the band's back catalog sales remain brisk around the world. Tango and The Dance were sales juggernauts. Most of the bands and Stevie's video releases went Platinum as well.

The original column is the work of a blogger, which explains the absence of anything resembling research or credibility.

GoldDustOrphan originally wrote:
The original column is the work of a blogger, which explains the absence of anything resembling research or credibility.

That's an excellent point. The 'many years ago' part kinda hurts, when we know she has a new cd that could be released any time now, but she's sitting on it til March 1. I think it's the biggest strategic error she could possibly make. Most people here seem to think it's fine, and I can wait til March. Though I am far less excited about buying it next year than I would be if she'd get it out this year.
I think it's very stupid to wait another 6 months to release it- what the hell was the point of working on it to completion for it to just grow mold and sit with her thumbs up a sock until March? Have the spontaneous new work tweaked to death? Every release has to be in the spring? It's worked so hugely well for her in the past 20 years?
Holiday sales and multi-generation gifters and giftees could make a big difference. People could grow to love the songs by her tour next year and she'd have no excuse not to perform as much of it as she wants.
I wish she'd reconsider and get it out this year, it could be done, but won't be. I think she is being stubborn and short-sighted.
Heh- yes, I can wait :)