Country Music the way we knew it .

[Joe Casey]

After reading an article in the ST Pete Times (fl.)on Shania Twain I see the hand writting more clearly now....They went to an Elementary school to ask kids about music and their preferences...When asked who their favorites were they responded with,Backsteet boys,Ricky Martin,Britney Spears,and Shania Twain...This caught the reporter (Gina Vivinetto)off guard...She asked the students if they liked Country and they responded yes it's cool...She then asked if they liked the toe tappin hoedown fiddle playin ..the girls faces fell,some actually grimaced...They have never been exposed to what country music really is,or was...They were mostly Black and hispanic students at the Perkins elementary school....So you see what the image out there of country music is..Because thats the exposure...They will never get to know names like Ernest Tubb, Marty Robbins,Lefty ah it's just downright disheartning...I am sure the Opry has ideas of changing to the mainstream and with the depleating numbers and Ballless members who won't make a stand I give it 2 years tops...The Old timers are hanging in there but they are a totally powerless,voice. The time for them to show they were united was on the last set of changes the staff firings...Heck when someone attacks family you band together and defend.....We can only hope the rays of hope,Hag Strait,Jones,Jackson ,Paycheck can hang in and give us the Country we minorities in Country still like to hear.Otherwise hang on to your collections...With sales like Shania's there can be no competition. PS. If anyone would like to read the entire article i will e-mail it through scan.

------------------
cjc



<p ALIGN=CENTER><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b">[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 12-03-99]</FONT></P>

[Jack Stoner]

Joe, I read that article too. It gets down to what we've been saying for a long time. The record companies have only one goal, sell product. Doesn't matter what style is put out, just sell baby, and unfortunately the market that buys the most product is not the real country fan. Everytime Jones or Haggard puts out a record (CD now) it will sell "n" copies, but the sales are not enough for the corporate executives.

The Nashville product is now aimed and marketed to the same audience as the MTV market.

"Murder has been comitted on Music Row".



------------------
--------------
Franklin D-10
Keep It Country, Hoss

[Janice Brooks]

I think it's New York killing Nashville.
Meantime I hope everyone has gone to find the Larry Cordell album.


------------------
"BUS" ICQ 44729047
www.geocities.com/nashville/3886

[Pat Jenkins]

I guess I'm like a lot of you, in that I believe real country hasn't changed. It is still out there, just a lot harder to find. A really good country album might sell a few hundred thousand, most much less. This is not near enough for record labels who can sell millions with Shania and Faith. It would take a lot of guts as a record label to say "We are going to put out country, country albums only, in spite of record sales. We don't care about money only the purity of the country sound". It won't happen. But watching the indie labels, there is an abundance of really good music out there. One thing I am tickled about is the stand Music City News seems to be taking, some very strong editorial comments recently. Country music is alive and well, just not on the major labels. Great Gugamooga, Pat