WHAT SHOULD B SOULED?

Entropy:
"Inevitable and steady deterioration
of a system or society or universe,
tendency for all matter and energy
in the universe to evolve toward
a state of inert uniformity."
(American Heritage®)

Truth:
"The quality or a state of being true,
i.e. in accordance with fact or reality."
(Oxford Reference®)

As the millennium draws 2 a close, we have an opportunity 2 ask rselves some loaded questions.

One of these questions is going 2 take the shape of a 7-CD sampling set released by NPG Records -- the NewFunk Sampling CD Series. This set is, in many respects, an historic release. For a one-time fee of $700, producers, DJs and musicians will b able 2 purchase and then use over 700 samples of Prince classics such as "Kiss," "Raspberry Beret," "When Doves Cry," "Days Of Wild" and many more -- with no additional royalties ever!

A Political Statement

This CD sampler is a political statement as well as an artistic one. As Warner Bros. still owns the masters of all those Prince songs, the message is clear: "The creator of this material has the right 2 xploit it any way they c fit, without the profits going 2 a 3rd party." The real message is even broader: "The creator of ANY intellectual property has the right 2 xploit it any way they c fit, without the profits going 2 a 3rd party." This is a fundamental truth that underlies the creative impulse of any artist. There may b "agreements" at some point 2 share the profits generated by certain works, but such agreements do not challenge this fundamental truth.

Y is it, then, that the current CONsensus, unquestioned by the mainstream media and music business in general, is that it is perfectly normal that the lion's share of the profits generated by musical works should go 2 so-called "xecutives," whose sole purpose seems 2 generate even more profit so that they can leave, after a few years, with a nice "retirement package" of some odd 50 million dollars? Where does that leave the actual creators of the life-blood of this industry? What can possibly b the motivation behind this? If someone actually believes that they r in the music business 2 promote and support art, music and the artists, how can they morally live with the idea that they have made millions of dollars off the back of those very artists they r supposed 2 support -- and not give the biggest portion back 2 them?

Twisted Myth

Yes, this is the U.S.A., the land of free enterprise, and most people see nothing wrong with individuals becoming rich through hard work and dedication 2 their field of activity. In 1999, however, rn't we faced with a very twisted version of this good old American myth? When xecutives jump from one business 2 the next every other year, each time adding another cushy, multimillion dollar retirement package 2 their little nest egg -- when speculators make a thousand times more money than the workers of the companies they r speculating about -- when the very nature of the business in question here, i.e. the music business, is dictated by profitability and "global competitiveness" rather than the very things (artistry, creativity, etc.) which generated the business in the first place -- r we really still talking about hard work and dedication? R we really still talking about free enterprise?

Is it a coincidence if this year's World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit in Seattle was an utter disaster? Is it a coincidence if the very individual who signed an agreement with 4 the release of Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic and has repeatedly shared with us his genuine enthusiasm about this particular work is currently under threat bcuz his "parent company" wants 2 take away from him his right 2 govern who heads his own company thruout time?

Oh yes, his CONtract probably states that his parent company can pick his successor... 's initial CONtract also stated that he didn't own his master recordings... Does it mean that it is right? Does it mean that relinquished ownership of his own masters by his own free will? The real question is: Y did his CONtract include such a clause in the first place?

Not-So-Funky Design

The CONtract included the clause bcuz there is a certain "SYSTEM" that is in place. A SYSTEM that is ultimately designed 2 bring obscene profits 2 a handful of individuals and leave the rest penniless. A SYSTEM designed 2 dull originality down and make it "marketable". A SYSTEM designed 2 intoxicate r children with mindless "entertainment" so that they 4get what real art and real music r and keep purchasing interchangeable, infinitely recyclable "products". A SYSTEM designed to desensitize people thru constant exposure 2 gore and pseudo-sex so that they believe they r still "transgressing" when there is nothing left 2 transgress. A SYSTEM designed 2 speed up entropy in the art itself, just like careless globalization is speeding it up in all aspects of r social, cultural, economic and political lives.

R we really so powerless against all this? Interestingly enough, the very achievement which brought us r current -- but oh so relative -- freedom of self-xpression is now turning against us. The 1st Amendment of the CONstitution, which once gave us the power 2 resist political oppression, is now being used 2 defend the right of multinational companies 2 intoxicate us with their profit-driven propaganda!

Power On

Shutting off r ears, r eyes or r TV sets is not enough, however. We, as artistically minded individuals, as spiritual beings, have the power 2 promote censorship. Not in the sense of, say, hypocritically censoring nakedness on the covers of magazines, but in the sense of censoring those people who, thru their inaction, evasiveness and overall ineptitude, r letting all this entropy happen, r encouraging it and r personally profiting from it -- when their moral and political responsibility is actually 2 help protect us from it.

The music industry doesn't own the music. It doesn't own the artists. And it doesn't own the listeners. Just as artists should only ever enter in2 temporary agreements with companies that preserve their fundamental rights, we, as listeners, should only ever "agree" 2 purchase under r own terms what the industry is trying 2 sell us, and never let it dictate r taste, r behavior, r thoughts, r feelings, and, ultimately, r soul.