Pribek

Take a look at the language in this piece about a deal between Warner Bros./Nashville and NASCAR’s BAM Racing. From MI2N...

BAM racing owner Beth Ann Morgenthau said: “Our team has gone through an extensive renovation. We are rebuilding from the bones up. By partnering with Warner Music Nashville, their stable of artists and the staggering buying power of the country music fan base, we are looking forward to an extremely successful 2010 both on and off the racetrack.”

“This is a unique opportunity to extend our artists brands to the vibrant NASCAR community, allowing us to tap into the natural synergy that has developed between the racing world and Country music fans,” said John Esposito, President of Warner Music Nashville. “We’re excited to have this opportunity to link our artists with one of NASCAR’s most professional teams and look forward to exploring innovative ideas to make those synergies work for everyone involved.”

Yes we’ve come a long way from honky tonks, sawdust floors and cheating songs…all the way to staggering buying power, artists brands and synergies.

“Vibrant NASCAR community”?

Hunh!!??

Does that dude really talk like that?

Take it away Hank…

As always, put on some beans and biscuits and click pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTube.

Maybe it should be “sings on” or “croons on”. Get ready for a full force Frank Sinatra multi-media assault.

From the L.A. Times.

Late last year, the Sinatra heirs signed a pact with Warner Music Group Corp. that will bring Ol’ Blue Eyes back in a big way, not just as a digitally resurrected entertainer but also as an advertising pitchman and, potentially, the name on the marquee of a feature film, a Broadway show and a casino and resort.

Everybody wants to bet on a sure thing and there is no surer thing than Frank Sinatra, right?

I don’t know, cashing in on a legacy is tricky business. People will look but, if it’s in poor taste or misdirected in any way, it will tarnish the legend.

The heirs aren’t all brimming with confidence.

Nancy also said her father “never wanted his image to be on an ashtray” and that any advertising “must be equal to his excellence, which is not easy to do.”

Frank Jr. says…

“This is the first I’m hearing about a lot of these things,” he said. “I’m the last person to hear about these things. . . . I’m not party to all those decisions, not like I would like. That’s the way it came down.”

In has famous essay for Esquire back in 1966, “Frank Sinatra Has A Cold”, Gay Talese must of had a glimpse into the crystal ball.

In an age when the very young seem to be taking over, protesting and picketing and demanding change, Frank Sinatra survives as a national phenomenon, one of the few prewar products to withstand the test of time.

Springlike weather in the Ozarks today. It’s a blue sky and 70 degrees out with a slight, pleasant breeze. I’ve got all the windows open in an effort to air the place out after a lengthy rehearsal yesterday. It smell like coffee and stale cigarettes in here. I feel sympathy for Robert (drummer), the non-smoker.

I know that when I talk of merger/anti-trust stuff, that it probably leaves most folks uninterested. I also question the importance of this stuff in my world but it is pervasive.

There are currently four major record labels. Now, Warner is attempting to merge with E.M.I., which would leave three.

What is troubling about this merger is that it seems to have the support of Impala. Impala is a group of independent music types. This concerning anti-trust, is taken directly from the Impala website.

To be effective, competition assumes that the market is made up of suppliers, who are independent of each other. However, if certain companies agree among themselves to, for example fix the price of a given product, then such agreements impair competition, and freeze smaller companies out of the market. Similarly if two large companies decide to merge or join forces, the extent of control over the market of that group increases – thus decreasing the possibility of fair competition

.

So, why would Impala back the merger. This is from a Reuter’s article concerning the merger.

Impala said that under the deal, a combined Warner EMI would, for example, give financial support to such groups as Merlin, the newly launched agency which works to secure licensing deals for independent labels

I think that indie labels licensing with majors is a good thing. It can open up the playing field and bring diversity to the music industry. But what do the words “financial support” mean here? Between the lines, it appears to be an upfront payoff instead of real commerce based on performance or quality. It’s exactly the kind of thing that’s wrong with the traditional music industry.