I just finished watching this documentary on Hulu, and thought it would be very fitting to share here. Those of you who run blogs and visit this site are probably all too well aware of the current problems within the music industry. However, some of you may be unaware of the forces behind the decision making processes, as well as the deceptive techniques used to create todays "stars". This video aims to reveal these deceptions, the motivation behind the decisions, as well as cast a critical eye on the so called "stars" themselves. It features great commentary by several established acts. Erykah Badu delivers some of the most refreshingly honest commentary on the entire video, particularly her comments relating to women hoping to make it in the industry. Here is a synopsis of the plot, which was posted on imdb.com
"Before the Music Dies takes a critical look at the homogenization of popular music with commentary by some of the industry's biggest talents like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt and more. Using historic footage the film looks at the evolution of American music and the artists who created it and pulls back the curtain (in a very creative way) to expose the sad truth behind today's "artificial" music stars. "The reality is that superficiality is in," says Marsalis. "And depth and quality is kind of out." Inspired by the death of his brother, director Andrew Shapter and his crew traveled thousands of miles, visiting dozens of cities, speaking with hundreds of fans, journalists, record executives and musicians while searching for "real" American music. What they found were mega-talents without a major label, including one artist Eric Clapton believes is "the real thing.
This is the first video that I have posted here, so I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know if you would like to see more videos/documentaries relevant to the music industry posted here in the future.
"Before the Music Dies takes a critical look at the homogenization of popular music with commentary by some of the industry's biggest talents like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt and more. Using historic footage the film looks at the evolution of American music and the artists who created it and pulls back the curtain (in a very creative way) to expose the sad truth behind today's "artificial" music stars. "The reality is that superficiality is in," says Marsalis. "And depth and quality is kind of out." Inspired by the death of his brother, director Andrew Shapter and his crew traveled thousands of miles, visiting dozens of cities, speaking with hundreds of fans, journalists, record executives and musicians while searching for "real" American music. What they found were mega-talents without a major label, including one artist Eric Clapton believes is "the real thing.
This is the first video that I have posted here, so I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know if you would like to see more videos/documentaries relevant to the music industry posted here in the future.
