Is Simon Cowell the cancer of the music industry

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

Up to a point, Slasher.

My objections to Cowell et al are as follows:

1) The X-Factor presents itself as a meritocracy, although it is nothing of the sort. It is a cynical exercise in emotional pornography.

2) The public are effectively swindled out of money, because they are voting on rigged performances (autotune, editing sound, etc).

3) I believe that at least one key member of The X Factor should face charges of fraud. I won't say any more on that here, except to say that "And if you don't want anyone else to listen to it then come up with something better" shows a real naivety about how this disgusting business is run.

Sorry to sound like a pompous ass, but I want youngsters to be inspired by real musicians rather than McSingers, and they aren't even getting a look in.

But who decides on all this, the taste police?
Look, I don't like any of that muck either but it's easy to part fools with their money and it's just another 'talent' show, which have always been popular.

No one has or ever will consider any of these people 'artists', some enjoy it as light hearted entertainment, plenty dont.
The ones who are really into it are freaks and if they weren't freaks about x-factor they'd be freaks about something else.

I dont know what you mean by fraud, he's creating a package, a product. Where do you draw the line between X-factor and it's auto-tune and sound engineering in a studio.

What about Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club, engineered to ****, couldn't be replicated on stage. Extreme example but it's just to highlight that they're both just using available technology

I couldnt give a two shítes about Cowell and I'm not going to hate him for giving some people what they want

I can't understand when it comes to music that some people are genuinely offended by other peoples taste or what they perceive to be lack of?

Sorry, I didn't address this interesting point:

I dont know what you mean by fraud, he's creating a package, a product. Where do you draw the line between X-factor and it's auto-tune and sound engineering in a studio.

What about Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club, engineered to ****, couldn't be replicated on stage. Extreme example but it's just to highlight that they're both just using available technology.

In a talent show, they should make all the available technology available to all the contestants, not just the ones they have selected to make them appear better then they are. The X Factor does not do this.

However, the fraud I'm talking about is one of an entirely different kind, and I probably shouldn't have brought it up.

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

Let's take Miss World as an example, and let's say that people wanted to win it, and were obsessed with watching it, and wanted to look like the winners because that's what the public wanted. And hey, say the organisers, it's all about celebrating beauty.

We could have opinions about that, and mine would be similar to the one you outlined about The X Factor - basically, it's how the world is: deal with it. Call that scenario "A".

Now, this has never happened in Miss World as far as I know, but let's say that it did:

1) Selected contestants were photo-shopped.

2) Polls, judges, etc, were manipulated.

3) Posters and calenders of particular girls were bought by shills to make them the "most popular" calenders and posters in the world.

4) All of the above were done for purely commercial reasons and lied about, while driving rival beauty competitions off the air.

Call that scenario "B".

I can live with scenario A because at least there's some element of truth in it.

I despise scenario B, because it's a commercially-driven, manipulative sham that actively works against the values it pretends to champion.

It's ugly, Slasher. Real ugly.

Ok, fair enough, I can really see where you are coming from. It just isn't something that bothers me because I don't take it seriously in the first place

The lot of you have a read of this!

yes we all down load its free but its as good as stealing.
This is why the The music industry is dieing!

You consider your self fans of a band and then take money out of there pockets.

That is why music is going crap...

If I owned sony and i was loosing money like that. I wouldn't be, putting money into bands id milk each band dry of the music they had until the next big sound came along not investing more money to make well a loss.

Why take a chance on something when its a loss?

That's why music is so slow at the moment because so many people down;load ileagly which means they make a loss

Hence why you pay 90 euros to hear GnR play. That's where money is made now live gigs. Not on record sales.

Your all clueless on the affect s of down loading.
Is the main reason why music has gone sh!t and will continue to be.

Why go to the effort of making music when people will steel it because they cant be arsed spending 16 euros on a cd?

Its completely Inane to say oh cowell is the cancer of music hes not, those Xfactor contestants don't go very far after words genrally a shelf life of six month ...then they dissapear like a virgin on a prom night....

The Fans who down load albums for free are!

Rosco1982 wrote: »

http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf

Try again Snow Monkey.

That's dated 2004!
whats changed since then

Computer tec
Internet speeds.
File storage.....

Isn't the music industry itself the cancer of the music industry?

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

I do not agree. There are loads of great bands/albums out, lots of them tour and do not charge crazy prices. It has little to do with illegal downloading.

Off hand, I know The National and Interpol both released great new albums this year, and are both playing in Ireland this year, charging pretty reasonable prices, even if they are sold out :mad:

We were ripped off for years when buying cds , and now record industries moan that we download instead, boo hoo. You ain't going to get much sympathy here I think. A piece of plastic should not cost 16 Euro.

As for the other argument about x-factor style music and the music industry, I think it is much better now then 10 years ago, there is a lot less pop and boy/girl bands, a lot more rock, indie, electronic and overall good music, more people have better taste. The x-factor is more about television and less about the music that follows, so I would not worry about that. The only good genres of music that have gone down the drain are hip-hop and metal (really awful these days)

Of course you don't agree with me. you pobably wear pointy shoes and skinny jeans hats and blazer but thats ok how ever your taste in music isnt really of any interest..

So the National and Interpol are good bands? id rather grate my balls on a cheese grater then subject my self to a hole album of either of them....

Yep you were ripped of bye record company's... so here's just some of the costs....
So a band gets signed.
The label pays for recording studios. ( so the band can record ya know?
then there's the possibility of a producer, sound engineer who also have to be payed.
Then a graphic design agency get payed to design design the cover.
Then the cds have to be made printed and music put on to them then the
covers of the cds have to be printed.
that company has to be payed.

then there's the buyers like hmv or virgin or tower records. have to bye them important them to the country then they get stung with import tax and another silly import tax type thing.
Then they have to make money on the cds so they can pay there staff. and there electricity bills etc....Then on top of that they pay more tax

Oh and then the band may get payed depending on royalties etc.
Ive missed stuff out like shipping etc.... Oh and then the recording studio gets payed... after all those out goings.....

Let me get this straight you wont pay 16 euros for a cd yet you coould have 5 pints in one night that may cost you 20 to 25 euro.... But shore drinking isnt a waste, you get drunk go home,feel like sh1t in the morning and half the day.

And you wont have a cd for life either... Yes i still bye cds and lisen to them on my trusted disk man do you know why that is ?

because mp3 quality sucks.