From where I sit: While Jackson's right about record companies not promoting older artists and he has a right to bitch about Sony Records Chairman Tony Mottola not releasing a single to help promote the CD, but Jackson's wrong about playing in the race card and using Al Sharpton in his case. Wake up Jacko! If Mottola is a racist, why was he married to Mariah Carey? The record business is doing to you exactly what they have done to thousands of other artists over the years-- regardless of your skin color. Sony has put you upside down on the books and made sure you will never get a dime out of the CD royalities. To be blunt: It has nothing to do with your race Michael. They have put you out to pasture, kid.
One other thing-- lose Sharpton and Cochran as your wingmen. It's doing nothing for your career. These men are feeding you bad information, like telling you Sammy Davis died broke. Ah If memory serves me right, Sammy's estate was worth around $7 million. (I could ask Althea, but I know he wasn't broke.) Other black artists who have signed bad record deals do so because they are not represented by good counsel, or are too enamored by being "signed." These kids are clueless about what's a good or bad deal.
Okay kids, this one is going to be brief. Family members are about to desend on me for a visit. I have tons of things to do in the next few days and little time. You get the picture? Good. Let's get to work!
For months I've been explaining that the devil's in the details regarding CARP, DMC and other proposed and pending legislation in Congress. Well now we have a first person experience--
Janis Ian Has A Lifelong Fan - Singer-Songwriter Jan Ian wrote an OpEd piece on the recording industry recently that ran in Performing Songwriter Magazine. Because of the wide spread interest in the piece outside the recording industry she has graciously posted a copy on her site. I have two words to say to you: READ IT.
We fans have found our poster girl in Janis Ian. Ian piece shoots from the hip about the recording industry, the Academy, internet radio, and Napster type services. She exposes the readers to what really happened to all those pop music icons who's music you would love to hear, but can't find. I honestly admire her for telling the truth about what has happened to her and other great talent that goes silent from the radio airwaves because of the greed within the recording industry. Janis isn't the only one who has said these things, I have several friends who were pop recording stars who have told me similiar stories, but she is one of the first to go so public with the story. BRAVO!
Doc's dealing with the reality his cable company isn't being all that it can be for him. In many respects they are down right hostile bastards. Between the website hosting fees, extra bandwidth charges, the of lack of an unique IP addresses, unreliable service, not allowing you to share bandwidth with your neighbors, and the total cost of ownership and connectivity, Doc's seeing what I've been bitching about for the past two years. Welcome to the club, honey. It's time to make some changes.
I don't know about Doc's situation up in Santa Barbara, but after three years of doing the BMW dance on Verizon/GTE I FINALLY got the word I can get DSL in here in good old Diamond Bar. It's up in the air if I can get a unique IP address yet, but I'm working on answering that question. If I can get what I want-- I will be cutting the cord on several website hosting fees ($90/month,) a couple ISP account ($40/month) and a cable modem account ($60/month.) We will set up a server here on one of the spare machines, run a little CAT5.
Yes Doc, the market is talking-- and Adelphia's not even home. So as soon as possible, I'm walking out! Divorcing my cable company. Waving bub-bye boys!
DebkaFile in Israel is reporting that the LAX Shooter, Hashem Mohamed Hadayat, had connections to the "Egyptian Jihad who maintained undercover links to the same Jihad cell in Brooklyn, New York, as the “blind sheikh” Abdul Rahim Rahman and Ramzi Yousef. Both are doing time for perpetrating the first attack on the New York World Trade Center in 1993." It appears Hadayat has had remote connections with other terrorist events as well.
Michael Jackson Outs Sony Records
