IDM Mailing Archive

it was not all that long ago that moby, prodigy, deee-lite, and the aphex twin were signed on major labels. electra and warner bros. fsol and other "ambient" and techno performers are signed to caroline and its sublabel astralwerks. this is not bedroom production or paychecks at work by any means. but the failure to produce multi-million dollar revenues and record sales, coupled with somewhat shitty reviews by the "all-knowing" musical snobs in the "industry." are the followers and fans of electronica willing to pay to be part of the crowd? is the rock star image sutable for notoriously faceless techno pioneers? when it comes to any of this production and its marketing, money is spent to make money and to keep everything afloat, to provide new opportunities for artists. but when will this led to over-production and lack of substance with the music? both house music and "jungle" have hit plateaus where the music sounds less like syncopated beats and rhythms and more like formulated tracks. the major music industry has faced that with the "seattle" sound, aka alternative and hip hop or whatnot. just turn on mtv or the radio and you can hear pretty much the same old thing. i could ramble on, but what's the point? dan daniel@fastrans.net