RUSH Members To Discuss Band's Future During Los Angeles Meeting
- Nov. 3, 2009
RUSH drummer Neil Peart has updated the "News Weather And Sports" section of his web site with his latest entry, entitled "Autumn Serenade". An excerpt follows below.
"In this autumn of 2009, the three of us are poised on another kind of 'reinvention.' We have agreed to meet in Los Angeles in November, and discuss our future.
"We learned many years ago that when we finish one long project — like a two-year tour following a year or so of writing and recording for 'Snakes & Arrows' — we don’t make any further plans for a while. It's good to feel truly free for a time, and to clear your mind to focus on what you'd really like to do next. Of course, these are parlous times in the music business, so our time-honored pattern of touring, recording, and touring is no longer the obvious way to do things. The music world — or at least the business of it — is very different now, even since 2006, when we began work on 'Snakes & Arrows'. The importance of 'the album' is not what it was, and there is currently a reversion to a musical climate rather like the 1950s, when only 'the song' matters. Radio, downloads, and 'shuffle' settings are inimical to collected works. Because of that reality, record company advances that used to pay for album projects are a thing of the past, so if that was what we wanted to do, we'd be on our own... To this point, the three of us haven't even discussed what we might discuss, so to speak — so our ideas and shared enthusiasm for the entity of RUSH will be fresh, spontaneous, and quite likely exciting. For myself, I'm open to anything we can all agree on (I've pointed out before that in a three-piece band, we need consensus, not democracy — it's no good having one outvoted and unhappy member). My favorite group activity is always songwriting and recording, and I've got some lyrical ideas and those new drumming frontiers to explore. However, those rhythmic concepts would also be inspiring for a new drum solo, if we decided to do a tour of some kind, maybe with an orchestra. We could write and record just a few songs, and release them some way. Or there were a couple of film-and-music projects we had discussed in the past. In any case, there are enough possibilities for future collaboration, and I am curious to see what we'll come up with."
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COMMENT | Please don't retire :( posted by : RiotAct666 11/3/2009 10:44:34 AM
It would be a sad day if Rush decided to do that. Hope they keep on going for a few more years at least.
COMMENT | Internet killed the rock and roll star posted by : mcman71 11/3/2009 10:58:53 AM
Sing along with me!!!!
Internet killed the rock and roll star, Internet killed rock and roll star, on my phone and in the car, we stole too much we've gone too far,
Seriously, we need to end illegal downloading.
COMMENT | How cryptic.... posted by : BlabberMagnetic 11/3/2009 11:00:23 AM
...and how sad that a band has to publicize meetings like this.
COMMENT | DAMN YOU mcman71!!! posted by : BlabberMagnetic 11/3/2009 11:01:26 AM
Thanks for having that song get stuck in my head for the day!
COMMENT | end illegal downloading??? posted by : BallsToTheWall 11/3/2009 11:17:37 AM
Good luck with that. Not sure how you propose that can be accomplished. You might as well ask people to stop breathing air. Whats done is done. The record companies have screwed music lovers for years with their over priced CDs, shows and merchandise. Its just unfortunate that the artists are the ones that get the shaft. The labels have for the most part gotten out of the game. Hence the reason you see no music videos on MTV. That used to be their marketing machine. Now its no longer worth it to them. I have faith that musicians will still make music but its gonna be up to them to find the best way to get it noticed and make a profit.
COMMENT | Balls to the wall posted by : mcman71 11/3/2009 12:02:47 PM
I'd like to respond to your points
1. Record companies overcharging for CD's- Where are you buying them? CD prices have remained virtually unchanged since their inception, in fact they cost about half of what they did when they first came out. Most cd can be purchased at big box retailers for less than 11 bucks. Full cd downloads from itunes are only 10.
2. Overpriced shows- In the old days, concert tours were basically commercials for the album. The record companies could much more easily recoup their investment in the band by record sales. Since the record sales have gone away, there is no longer the same money to invest in artist development. I don't blame the record companies one bit.
How do we fix this? Simple. Since we are living in a country without Habeous Corpus and with the Patriot Act, the government could easily use new laws and laws that have been removed to basically force ISP's to provide ip addresses of everyone who accesses pirate sites and downloads or uploads information. From that point, violaters can be fined, with non payment resulting in additional fines, leveys, revocation of drivers liscences or the inablility to to receive federal student loans. This is all within the powers of our government. Nothing has to be passed.
Personally, with all of the powers that President Bush gave the government, I would be a fool to do anything illegal on the internet seeing as how everything one does is tracked and recorded. You have been caught. It's only a matter of if and when the government decides that they want to do something about.
COMMENT | mcman71 posted by : Nespithe 11/3/2009 12:11:06 PM
You are dreaming!! When cds 1st came out it was announced that they would be sold for less than vinyl. At that time priced 8.49. Best Buy will average at $14.99 without the 1st week sale. With tax you have about 16. Mall stores are around $14.99 on sale and then $19.99 after that. So pull the bullshitte out of your ass along with the corporate cock you cant seem to get enough of.
COMMENT | nespithe posted by : mcman71 11/3/2009 12:31:34 PM
First off, are there even any mall stores left? Most here in Charlotte are gone. Also, when CD's first came to Tower Records in '84 (I'm only saying this because the one in DC that opened near my school opened in 1984) CD's were between 15-19 before tax. The first Cd's I ever saw were in Sears in late 1983. They had "Thriller" and "An Innocent Man" for $20! Throughout the '90's I spent betwen 13-15 plus tax for cd's at Media Play or Best Buy. I NEVER saw a $10.99 cd that wasn't in the bargain bin until about 4 or 5 years ago. Oh, and throughout the 90's, if you happened to buy CD's through Columbia House or BMG? Regular price was 18.99 or 19.99. When you adjust for inflation, Cd's have actually dropped in price year over year. Quit your bitching, you sound ignorant.
...I saw them bag in '96 and strongly encourage you to see them! Awesome band.
mcman71 - it's one thing to argue points w/ someone, but why does every debate have to involve "pulling the bullshit or corporate cock out of your ass"???? Ballstothewall wasn't being vulgar w/ you.
Question - if you disagree w/ someone you meet in person, do you tell them to pull (fill in the blank) out of their ass? No, because you'd lose a mouthful of teeth.
It's unbelievable how many ignoramuses post here.
COMMENT | mcman71 posted by : Davidsunknown 11/3/2009 12:48:49 PM
i agree with you fuck downloading i buy everything i can by an artist.
COMMENT | translation? posted by : hawking 11/3/2009 1:03:26 PM
to me, this sounds like he wants to start releasing singles, but the other two want to do another album.
firstly, cd prices have not gone down that much. as far as downloading, it's a double edged sword. I'm 40, have 2 kids, etc so can't just buy anything that sounds appealing to me. So when I was reading a lot of positive press about 'Between the Buried and Me' recently, I was VERY intersted in hearing the new album. BUT, I can't justify blindly spending $15. So i downloaded it. And i love it! So i ordered it. Now, did I commit a crime by downloading? I don't think so. You could even argue that the band got an album sale that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Yea, a LOT of people just steal music, but I guarantee that i'm not the only person who's done what I described above!
COMMENT | to the point about CDs being over-priced posted by : suttercane 11/3/2009 1:23:11 PM
When CDs were originally developed, the record companies didn't have to charge more than the price of cassettes for them. But they made the decision that they could charge more for this new technology, and they spent 20+ years screwing over consumers. The idea of file-sharing with mp3s was a mass reaction to that.
As much as I love music and always buy my CDs in a record store, the fact is that the music industry brought this mess on themselves. Don't forget that they also sued to prevent stores from selling used CDs in the 1980s (they lost). Their business model for years has been to charge too much for a product that might only have one good song on it, but the only way to find that out is to shell out your money first.
COMMENT | Downloading posted by : shapechangerVII 11/3/2009 1:29:00 PM
You're not gonna fix the problem. You just need to figure out ways to adapt. Mcman's idea of involving the government is ridiculous. That's like bringing in the government to fix baseball steroid use. The industry needs to figure this out rather than trying to stop it. They're not going to stop it. Adapt. Do I have the answer for them? No. But it sure as shit ain't the government. This is business and those hot shots get paid big bucks to run a business. Figure it out.
I'm in the exact predicament as brir who posted above me. There is so much crap out there that gets good reviews and so much of it is shit. Reviews are not as objective thanks to the Internet. Fanboys run wild with reviews. So, I combat this with getting an album from a friend or from my library system. (I don't download because I don't know how.) If I like it, I go buy it. If I don't like it, I don't rip it.
COMMENT | mcman71 posted by : BlabberMagnetic 11/3/2009 1:43:44 PM
Is Manifest still on South Blvd? I miss the old school Repo records for bootlegs.
I think they got a couple more CDs left in 'em, but they gotta start looking at an exit strategy, which is probably what the meeting may partly be about..hey, they been at this a looong time.
COMMENT | BlabberMagnetic posted by : Slacker1 11/3/2009 2:04:55 PM
you must not be very familiar with Neil Peart and his incessant need to keep fans informed of whats going on.
COMMENT | ^^^ posted by : BlabberMagnetic 11/3/2009 2:06:14 PM
He just makes it sound "dire".
COMMENT | Future posted by : justHerb 11/3/2009 2:10:06 PM
I think they have the fanbase and intelligence to make just about anything work for them. They don't need a new album to tour and most of their fans would happily buy a new song per month or whenever they decided to release them.
They are in a perfect position to control their own destiny.
COMMENT | Let's all get together and fix the industry posted by : SuicideNote 11/3/2009 2:11:44 PM
The braintrust that frequents Blabbermouth must be able to come up with a solution that the Music Industry has been working on for years.
I kinda liked the idea that some artists have done such as Prince and built CD charge into their concert ticket price and then handed out the CD at the show to everyone. That way everyone that goes to a concert is technically buying the CD, wether or not they have downloaded it already or not.
But then again, I already can't go to all the shows I really want to because of lack of money and bumping the price of tickets even further will make that worse. Also this is going to do very little for up and coming startup bands.
Anyone else got any better ideas?
COMMENT | LaLa.com posted by : sillycornelius 11/3/2009 2:27:52 PM
To those like myself that do not download illegally:
Create an account at www.lala.com - You can listen to any album once all the way through. If you like it you can download it. Their prices are also very reasonable.
COMMENT | lala posted by : shapechangerVII 11/3/2009 2:28:38 PM
Isn't it true you can only listen once?
COMMENT | IDIOTS posted by : Old Fart 11/3/2009 2:41:04 PM
Someone "downloaded" my stereo out of my car last night. I presume it is cause they feel that new stereos are overpriced sop they helped themselves to mine.
Stealing is stealing. Period. You cannot justify taking something that is not yours through illegal means. It shows ones true character. These are the same people that will keep driving if they hit someone in the night, not tell their partner they have Herpes or help themselves to your lunch in the work fridge.
Narcissistic, self serving assholes is what you are if you download music via pirating.
COMMENT | McMan posted by : BallsToTheWall 11/3/2009 2:59:17 PM
Quit fooling yourself. I managed a music store (mall based) for 10 years...1990-2000. Prices were ridiculous (15.99-18.99 for a cd). Why? Because they could be. Obviously people were still buying them or they wouldn't be selling for that price. The music industry had a MAP agreement with the retailers...Minimum adverstised pricing. That means they all agreed to keep prices at a certain level to guarantee profits. Best Buy came along and changed the game but by then the damage was done. People were fed up with being ripped off. I feel zero sympathy for the record companies. They made out like bandits for a long time. And now that the profits have dried up so has their willingness to invest in artist development. These days if you don't have a hit out of the gate, forget about it. As far as the gov't being involved as you suggest. Thats like 1 cop car chasing 10,000 speeders. Do you think they have unlimited oversight capabilities and the means to accomplish that? Put down your copy of the book 1984 and get real.
COMMENT | For the words of the PROFITS were written posted by : TexasDog 11/3/2009 3:05:59 PM
yep, two wrongs do not make it right.
It's been stated before that the cost of creating and marketing a CD averages less than $1. Normally one more dollar pays royalties to songwriters and performers. In the past, they sold to distributors for $6-7, who then sold to CD stores at $9.25-$10.50 (with a mere $0.50 per disc shipping-at the store I worked at). So cost per disc was about $12-13. Add $2 for 'profit, rent, electricity, etc.' and you're at $14-16.
Meanwhile, Best Buy started in 1995 to drop prices the first week to $9.99 or $10.99
What happened? our record stores owner went over with his Tax-ID info and bought them for resale at his store. Even though they were mainly metal, they needed some regular stuff.
So now Wal-Mart and Best Buy split the money with the record label, as they can handle their own distribution. so with no record stores and no distributors, it works out better....for them. But do those stores carry everything? nope. fairly mainstream. and that's what can kill an obscure artist.
also blame the record companies for selling the same stuff over and over. How many versions of the WHO Live at Leeds are there? (THREE, one with five songs, one with 17 songs, and with 28? songs). I've got Moving Pictures on 8-track, vinyl, factory cassette, CD and remastered CD. I am not buying this again.
Meanwhile, Neil Peart has stated that he hates touring...he said this in 1987. Now that there is not a record contract to fulfill...all they need to do is tour. Hell, they toured two summers in a row off of the same album...they did not HAVE to do that. They simply made so much money on the first leg that they ran thhrough the same towns again (some cities changed, but they managed to hit Dallas on a weekend night each tour).
Neil seemd to forget the Live Nation/Ticketmaster money they received-rumored to be $11-20 million for each S & A summer tour.
For the words of the PROFITS were written on the studio wall
COMMENT | I suspect the time is coming... posted by : Dr. Mysterio 11/3/2009 3:07:10 PM
When it will be impossible to sell *recorded* music at all, to anyone, for any price. Even to the people who have been wringing their hands over it for years.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but changes as extensive this never happen without pain, and I do feel badly for the many, many acts who have busted their asses over the years to establish themselves in a certain status in the music industry and now find that there's nowhere near as much music industry anymore.
Peart's hit on something I suspect has been coming for a while: the idea of the "album" is going to matter less and less, until maybe it'll just disappear entirely. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. But it'll leave a lot of us mopey and hankerin' for the good-ol-days.
COMMENT | posted by : TexasDog 11/3/2009 3:12:27 PM
oh, and don't forget. recording artists PAY for their promotional copies...which are given to radio stattions (who sell them to used CD stores for beer money), record label personnel, who give it away, or sell it-someone at the WEA offices in Dallas was selling new discs unlabeled and uncut to the local "CD Warehouse" stores for $9 each. they were all promos. and somehow this guy got them before they even got to the A & R reps.
next time you buy a disc used, look at it. line thru the UPC code? A punch out? a stamp on the cover? no artist got paid for that. they had to pay for that. and insiders made all of the money.
COMMENT | To: shapechangerVII posted by : sillycornelius 11/3/2009 3:16:00 PM
re: LaLa.com
Yes, you can listen once for free. If you like it you can pay for it and listen all you want.
COMMENT | ^^^^^^^ posted by : shapechangerVII 11/3/2009 3:42:22 PM
I like to listen more than once, typically. I will try your suggestion though.
COMMENT | IDIOTS posted by : Old Fart 11/3/2009 2:41:04 PM
Someone "downloaded" my stereo out of my car last night. I presume it is cause they feel that new stereos are overpriced sop they helped themselves to mine.
Stealing is stealing. Period. You cannot justify taking something that is not yours through illegal means. It shows ones true character. These are the same people that will keep driving if they hit someone in the night, not tell their partner they have Herpes or help themselves to your lunch in the work fridge.
Narcissistic, self serving assholes is what you are if you download music via pirating.
You make it sound so black and white. It's not. Record companies are shoving as much shit at us as possible just to make a buck. A long time ago record companies looked for an artist that they thought could stand the test of time. That is no longer the case. It's different times, Old Fart. This is a natural business progression ... if you offer a shit product, people will stop buying.
COMMENT | my 2 cents... posted by : I'mGonnaKillEddie. 11/3/2009 4:26:35 PM
RUSH has and will be the biggest part of my life (music-wise) forever. Yes, I saw them in '07 (S&A tour) in Boston (400 miles from Baltimore). What you have here is the best there will ever be, no matter which LP. you look at. Time marches on, but I don't want these guys to ever stop. Fav. LP. - PRESTO. Like 'em all! They will do their best to 'get the new music out year after year, no doubt'. RUSH WILL NEVER DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COMMENT | the record industry still screws people posted by : longsincedark 11/3/2009 5:02:11 PM
For people who pay for mp3s you are basically paying for below cd quality music with no artwork or value (can't resell it) and you are paying a couple bucks less than the retail cd. I would love to pay for music online but until the stores start carrying FLAC or other lossless formats it is pointless.
COMMENT | downloading isn't anything new posted by : Capricac 11/3/2009 6:02:46 PM
Taping LPs, taping tapes, burning CDs, etc, is really the same freaking thing man. Wake the F up. We DEF don't want the GOVT and RECORD LABELS making decisions about this. I'm a musician myself for years, and the industry are criminal as they come. Garth Brooks wanted used record/CD stores to pay additional royalties years ago when he was the only artist to sell 10 MILLION COPIES of his debut. Garth was eating pretty goddamn well if you ax me. What about USED record stores?? Isn't that stealing then by this logic some of you have? If you make a copy of any media and give it to a friend or family, then the industry wants you to be charged with stealing. Ridiculous and ludicrous. I agree about LP covers, lyrics, photos, etc. They were sure fucking cooler before CDs and the digital age. Four universities did studies on the bands with the MOST STOLEN MP3s and guess what? The bands who were downloaded most SOLD THE MOST. Metallica was number one--yep, the cokehead sellout clowns who "will NEVER make a video" and wanted to castrate NAPSTER. It's a joke man. Steal mp3s, make tapes, burn CDs, etc. Ever hear the first Metallica demo tape with Mustaine and Ron McGovney??? I was a major 'tape trader' and I turned tons of people onto Metallica. Now look at those clowns. I had to go on a tirade cause this whole "downloading" dilemma is fucking stupid. If you want to buy a product, then do so. If you want to share it, then do so. This is the USA and if we don't wake the fuck up, we aren't going to be allowed to think before long and share anything. Neil Peart is doing pretty fucking good financially. I know friends who paid a minimum of $80 to several hundred bucks to see the last two tours. Do the math. Fuck the labels. I am glad we are back to a "do it yourself" way in the "industry". I grew up playing thrash and punk, and I fucking miss those days. Rebellion and attitude was REAL. Not all this fucking whining and posing. TV was FREE. Now look at us. Pay for everything. Thank god there is a forum like this where I can speak. Demand that your fave bands make a good product and you WILL buy it. Fuck boring ass CDs without good packaging. You are free to choose. Bands are charging so much for shows because you will pay it. If you don't pay and buy the shitty packages, then they will be forced to do something good. They can release their own music and set their own prices, something that the labels had bands by the balls for, for years and years. I look at the industry death as a new beginning man, one that is long overdue. I love mp3s and sharing them with my friends and family. I have found all the excellent old real metal on P2P networks. They sure as hell aren't in any "record stores" now are they? Wal-mart and Best Buy are huge corporations, something that "underground" or real artists would have frowned at back in the day. What the fuck is wrong with everyone?
COMMENT | Manifest Music Charlotte, NC posted by : Gedd Head 11/3/2009 7:19:50 PM
hey mcman71....Manifest is still open and going strong....went by there the other week and found several killer CD's for $5.00 each and a couple live grateful dead double cd's for $10.00....they have a shit load of used DVD's too......BOTH Repo Records ruled....I used to go to the one on Central the most.....smoked lots of grass with a couple dudes that worked there....ahhhh great times !!!!
COMMENT | but, were they really 'good' times... posted by : I'mGonnaKillEddie. 11/3/2009 8:59:56 PM
were they really, 'good' times?
just KIDDING!!! Family Guy, someone in here started it.
COMMENT | longsincedark... posted by : tiradeoftruth 11/4/2009 12:53:11 PM
i completely agree.
to pay for an mp3 when it is such low quality is crazy, record companies should let you choose from an artists catalogue, and download tracks at highest quality per song at a REASONABLE price.
no cd to burn, not much to pay for artwork, no leaflets to print - straight to your hard drive. the costs should come right down, its disgusting to charge to download from ituunz etc at same cost of a cd.
oh and 1 minute samples of each song in HIGH quality.
i always buy cds, but use youtube to listen to tracks before i buy them.
there are some cds i want, but im not gonna buy a cd if i like one or two tracks on it and most of the rest of it is filler. so i do without which means the artist does without and the record companies have shot themsleves in the foot.
the only thing would be how to make it so that noone else could share it?
its pretty impossible.
COMMENT | snakes and arrows posted by : tiradeoftruth 11/4/2009 12:54:32 PM
is a great album, and i really hope to see them if they tour next year, been an on/off fan for the last 20 or so years.
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