Robert Palmer died. That guy is cool. He will be missed. His album sneaking sally through the alley is a classic. Riptide, another classic. Johnny cash died recently as well. Rock and roll takes its toll man. 

Man. On the phone all day. everyone you speak with has a different opinion and theory about what it takes to “make it” in the music business. and the fact still remains that most people who make it do so with a major label. Some do alright going indie. But not many. And of course “making it” is a very subjective term. 

The over all consensus is the same though. The music industry is falling. Falling, failing, struggling, however you want to put it. so major label signings are tough. And getting tougher. They want to sign artists with proven track records. Now this is a tough opinion to have since many popular acts today had no track record to speak of before they got signed. Think Norah Jones, John mayer, Pete yorn, dashboard. So if a rep likes your music, they're going to try their best to sign you either way. 

But still the no-sayers are constantly reminding everyone how hard it is and how you have to be basically already selling millions of copies of your music and “on tour” before they will even look at you. but recent signings prove other wise. Who knows? But what it does for me is it makes me ask this question. How can you “make it” in music independently. How can you sell millions or at least hundreds of thousands of Cds on your own? Without a major label behind you doing all their work? For me it has been a challenge that is inspiring. How many cds can a band sell on its own? Can you make a living? I mean a good living. A living worth making? This bullshit about artists having to struggle and not make any money, but the pop stars who can barely sing make millions. It’s the major cliché that in its own way is helping to destroy the industry. Check out fucktheindustry.org. [Its like a little mini-war against the industry. And the other side, “the public” claims to really love and appreciate the artists, but of course if they get their way, whether it be boycotting all purchases from major label artists, or being allowed to download music for free, the artists are going to lose out. Lets face it, for artists that have already made it, people like sting, u2, or puff diddy, etc, who cares. They’ve made their money. Sting has a fucking castle in Sienna for God sakes. But for the young up and comers, artists like me and my band, we’re still really dependent on album sales to make a living. And so are thousands of other artists who haven't made huge money yet. So yea for us this little battle isn't such a good thing. So go ahead and boycott and download and file share and burn cds all you want but bear in mind that yes you ARE affecting the livelihood of the artists. Period.