On the opposite end, years ago the Oaks released “Change My Mind.” This was one of the very best songs on the CD, if not THE best. I think it only lasted 5 weeks on the charts and peaked at #70.
Five years later, John Berry’s FAR inferior version of the song went to #10.

If some one prominent in an industry SELLS his share to THE BIGGEST EVENT in the Industry annually it does make ya wanna go HUH???

http://www.gospelmusicupdate.com/_news/marshallhallsignswithdaywindrecords.shtm

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

There is a sisterhood to be found in breast cancer that is seldom found in other forms. Part of that comes from the culture’s encouraging women to form the kind of connection with other women that is deeply empathic, especially in this kind of struggle.

I am NOT a cancer survivor. I am a volunteer with “Look Good, Feel Better” and every single time I go–I am amazed at the courage and strength these women display.

I see janetandfriends as a place where women who need a spiritual (not secular) place to connect. Not a bad thing, after all.

Probably a few of the readers here are aware that we, at Crossroads, have been pretty deep in sorting out a lot of this for 2-3 years now and are beginning to put a number of concepts and the tools that go with them into place. So, just for the fun of discussion on these subjects, I’ll throw out a few things to think about. And some of this may be a bit sideways from Doug’s analysis. Anyway, here goes with 3 related topics:

1. On Tribes. Orthodox (if I can call it that) tribal social theory from the late 1990’s proposes that tribal groupings are in fact a “new” social phenomenon with no antecedents which have appeared precisely as a result of the breakdown of more solid and permanent social groupings that, in their own turn, grew out of the breakdown of the the strength and security of the extended family even earlier in the 20th century. Tribes are the current reaction to the enhanced alienation and disconnectedness inherent in the culture brought about by too many factors to talk about here. But, they (tribes) are qualitatively less structured, more focused, more temporary and, therefore, less stable than any previous cultural “attempts” to overcome individual isolation. The fanatic and continuous Cathedral fan of the 1980’s and 90’s is not the same as “followers” of janetandfriends who move in and out of the community as their day-to-day conditions change. A tribe that grows around a certain viral video may last just a few days but a fleeting “community” exists among those who are sharing the delight of passing it around.
Tribes are extremely ephemeral unless some personality or other force moves in such a way to “lead”, organize, and/or extend the communal experience that pleases the individuals in the tribe. And there is absolutely no guarantee that this can be consciously done. Tribal loyalty is so “light” and suspicion so thorough that any hint of manipulation can be cause for immediate evaporation.

So we have all this “background” to any attempt to “exploit” the situation and turn the phenomena into “tribal marketing.” Not easy. But possible. It requires first and foremost and understanding of this background. And that is just going to be hard for some in the SG world. And then, it requires a level of authenticity to which we are not accustomed in this business. And then, it requires a level of “conversation” to which we are not accustomed. And then, there is the “know thyself” part. Do I even know what my own vision for my life creation is and does that have the juice to even attract tribal followings? Can I trade the notion of ubiquitous fame for niche, but effective, fame. Testing out and comparing what I want to be doing as an artist with the desires of a “potential” tribe is an ongoing creative process.

2. On Music. Doug seems to make the case (or fear) that tribal products can take precedence over attention to music. Inspiration from the music leads fan and artist to shift into getting inspiration from the other “products” which leads to a disinterest in the quality of the music on the part of both the artist and the fan. I would argue that in fact this is not a straight line sequence ending with ancillary products and other endeavors but a circle which leads the artist back to more intense and passionate musical creation based on the informed connections between the artist and tribal conversations. Since Doug correctly places the initial inspiration as coming from the music, I would agree and say further that if this goes away, so do all the other artist’s endeavors. The “celebrity” connection is always first and foremost, the music. Musical artistry remains the core of the process–it simply may be informed and funded differently.

3. Disintermediation. While I agree that it would appear that such a “scattering” is indeed inherent in the current directions, it is extremely important to remember that we are in the midst of (rather than at the end of) a paradigm shift. I would preach often and long here that all these cool new concepts and tools are in a constant state of experimentation, shift, and change. None of them may be useful even a year from now. We do have a tendency to desire a new permanence that may or may not be forthcoming. Seth Godin talks (very sketchily) about a concept he calls “silos of tribes” which may indicate or point to a renewed aggregation of some sort. In music, that could end up being some kind of realignment of large scale groupings around something more like “experience” than genres. And, personally, I do think we will get to something like that. Sometime. But until then it is probably going to be as you said “Every man for himself.”

DH has so much potential.