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John Mellencamp Likens Internet To A-Bomb

by TLTheLiberator
4 replies
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From News Report...

Outspoken musician John Mellencamp, a fierce critic of the music industry, condemned the

...Internet at the Grammy Museum on Tuesday, saying, "I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb. [...]

It's destroyed the music business. It's going to destroy the movie business."

Reuters writes that Mellencamp added that "some smart people, the China-Russians or something" stand to conquer the US by hacking the nation's infrastructure.

Mellencamp went on to blame MP3 players for ruining the audio quality of music.

He said, in reference to the audio of a remastered track by The Beatles, "[Y]ou could barely even recognize it as the same song.

You could tell it was those guys singing, but the warmth and quality of what the artist intended for us to hear was so vastly different."

He also spoke of the difficulty of establishing a legacy through music, Reuters reports:

After a few generations, it's gone [...] Rock 'n' roll -- as important as we think it is, and as big as it was, and as much money as people made on it, and as proud as I am to say that I was part of it -- at the end of the day, they're gonna say:

'Yeah, there was this band called the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and this guy named Bob Dylan...'

And the rest of us? We're just gonna be footnotes.

Mellencamp's critique of the web comes not long after music legend Prince told the Daily Mirror that he believes that the "Internet's completely over."

Do you agree with John Mellencamp? Is the Internet "dangerous"?
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    In the way that he meant it, HE'S RIGHT! The newspapers and tv news programs said the SAME THING!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
      I didn't see the news report, but from the excerpts you quote, it seems that Mellencamp, like many establishment figures, is confusing "the music business" with music.

      The industry that the internet is allegedly so threatening to, has actually only been around for a few decades and arose to profit from the emerging recording technology that permitted publishers and record companies to exploit the talents of creative musicians and songwriters by creating "carriers" such as records in order to commoditize their music.

      In so doing, the record companies became, effectively, the guardians and arbiters of what music could be accessed by the public, leaving countless talented musicians without any means of distribution.

      Now the internet is allowing global distribution with low barriers to entry for all. This can only be a good thing for those interested in the music. For sure, we'll see fewer music superstars. But, hopefully, fewer manufactured stars as well.

      The record companies that refuse to adapt and continue to insist that their business model resides in a piece of plastic whose distribution only they control will, deservedly IMO, go to the wall.



      Frank
      Signature


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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Frank,

    You're right, of course, but that doesn't affect the verascity of it. Printed news, as it exists now, and certainly the TV news are the SAME way. This has the potential to put a LOT of support people out of work and make music SO popular that it becomes SO common place that nobody gets that much fame or money.

    That is already happening with news. It is starting to happen with music. Heck, how often is Disney turning out a new singer?

    And have you ever listened to music like from debby gibson? It is like it is all from her synthesizer!

    It really will be interesting to see where this goes. More and more industries are going to be all but WIPED OUT!

    Some industries affected are: Printing, photography, photo touchup, set design, some special effects artists, musicians, any kind of media creation/transfer, publicizing, and well, you get the idea...

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Interesting post, TL, as I just read about this a few days
    ago (Mellencamps remark).

    Frank is correct in his assessment. JM is failing to recognize
    the wider picture of reality. The internet has created immense
    pressure on the business side of music.

    It's just the usual progression when you have changes in technology,
    and then those changes spark the creativity of thousands of
    people, if not millions, and more innovations emerge. I'm specifically
    referring to the way music is delivered - downloads, etc.

    There has been a development going on for years, and that is people
    are downloading specific music tracks as opposed to buying an entire
    CD just so they can listen to their favorite songs. That how it was
    for so long, and ask the older people how many albums did they buy
    but only really liked a few songs on it.

    The music industry is trying to figure out how to deal with that situation
    of people voicing their preferences for buying specific tracks and not
    necessarily entire CDs. The industry is having a very tough time trying
    to sustain profits, or optimize profits, from that scenario. And it's not
    working very well.

    The article I recently read was about EMI, one of the few remaining
    major labels. They announced that things are improving for them. But
    actually they are losing "less" money in recent times than before. So I
    guess anything positive is good news.

    The net is forcing evolution in older business models and long-established
    industries. And of course that is painful for the businesses that are a part
    of those industries.

    If they're smart, the music industry, then they will evolve and do what is
    necessary to survive - or become extinct.

    EMI is trying to do that because they're only retaining and promoting sure
    fire profitable artists. Musicians/bands that are established. Plus they are
    diversifying their investments, so to speak, and becoming more involved
    with other aspects of the music and entertainment industry that are more
    stable and profitable.

    Prince said the internet is dead, or over? Ah, completely over. They need
    to stick to what they do best and talk about that.

    Also, to address your question if the net is dangerous; it can be, but it
    inherently is not dangerous.

    That is really analogous to asking if change is dangerous. The internet
    represents many things, and change is just one of those things.

    The internet and change just are; they just exist. EMI is making the
    effort to adapt to the changes and the internet. So while it represents
    a threat to the status quo that existed for 40+ years, they are not
    allowing it to make them extinct.


    Ken
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