Why don't you guys just get over it ? What we're seeing now is the logical
end result of this equation: more labels, more "artists", more vinyl divided
by the same (or less) number of consumers (I guesstimate less than 10,000
worldwide for the WHOLE scene). And have you actually BEEN to most of retail
outlets that carry our shit ? Sonic Groove (while hot) is the size of my
living room. Fat Cat in London was pretty small until they moved...BPM in
Paris is no Sam Goody, etc. It's either that or dance music (ALL dance music)
is lumped into a little ghetto in the corner of an otherwise commercial
outlet (like Let It Be in Minneapolis). Limited pressings, limited display
space, limited listenership, two week shelf life. And that's for a hit record
(I'm thinking, off the top of my head, "Places" by Joey Beltram, for
example).
It's simple: Watts sneezes, we catch cold. Frankly, I'm surprised that Jeff
McDonald didn't start cutting things out sooner.
Thus, the regionals like 7th City, Deep and Record Time come in to pick up
the slack..as well they should.
Folks, the honeymoon is over...people are learning the hard way that you just
can't jump into the game without a net (either getting w/ an established
label, like a +8, or w/ a distributor like Submerge). IMHO, boycotting Watts
isn't the answer, making better records with regard to who's buying them is.
ao