2001 Soap Box Archives

What ever happened to the music?

Maybe I’m a little oversensitive about the subject of music. After all I’ve made my living in the music business for over forty years. It’s taken me places I’d never have gone without it. It’s given me things that I never would have had without it. It’s worked me hard and kept me away from my family for long periods of time, but the rewards have been gratifying, not just from a monetary standpoint but by being able to spend my life doing something I dearly love. I have a deep and abiding respect for the music business, and when I say music business I am referring to the creation and performance of music. That’s my part of it. It hurts me when I see it being invaded by a bunch of bean counting, ruthless, totally profit motivated bozos with dollar signs in their eyes and a mercenary attitude toward music in their hearts. Many of the major radio stations in this nation are programmed by a handful of tin eared tyrants called consultants. They are not happy with slowly killing country music. Now they want to start charging record companies for playing their records. Oh, they try to use other terms to describe it but that’s what it comes down to, play for pay. Whatever happened to payola? I thought it was illegal. And besides the airwaves of this nation do not belong to a hand full of greedy individuals who program radio stations. They belong to we the people. They are for our entertainment, education and for keeping us informed. I think it’s disgraceful for radio stations to charge to play records. After all, is that not biting the hand that feeds it? If there were no records to play there would be no music radio and therefore these people would be out of a job. I don’t know if the general public realizes what is happening or not, but the U.S. government has deregulated radio stations, which on the surface sounds good. But in reality what it boils down to is that one of these days, and it’s arriving fast, most of the major media in this country will be in the hands of three or four powerful cartels who can attempt to mold public opinion at will. They’re already doing it with music, wait until they start with politics. What’s going to happen is that these people are going to gather so much power around themselves that there won’t be but a smidgen of politicians who would risk their wrath by trying to do something about it. It’s funny to me that our government gives up control of our nation’s airwaves and then turns around and tries to tell us how to raise our children. I view this as a very dangerous situation with dire possibilities for a lot more than the music business. Whatever happened to music being played on the radio just because it was good and not because some perrier swilling number cruncher thinks it fits a certain image? Whatever ever happened to the concept that if the people in Lafayette like a record who cares whether the people in Peoria like it or not, and vice versa? Whatever happened to commitment and caring? Whatever happened to the music?

What do you think?

God Bless America
Charlie Daniels