Stevie Nicks Claims The Internet Destroyed Rock; Seems To Think You Need A Record Label
from the that's-not-how-it-works-any-more dept
What is it with aging rock-n-rollers complaining about the "internet" these days? It's kind of amusing how these rockers, who always tried to present such a rebellious persona, are now acting just like the older generation they mocked. Everything new is evil and bad, huh? We already covered John Mellencamp's recent anti-internet diatribe, where he referred to it as an atomic bomb for the music industry (he meant the recording industry, but apparently doesn't realize it), and now Hypebot points us to the news that Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks is bashing the internet as well, in a very similar manner:"The Internet has destroyed rock. Children no longer develop social graces. They don't hang out anymore," she complains. "I'm financially stable. I'm okay. But what about the kids trying to make it in this business? If you're not an established band, if you don't have a hit single, they're gonna drop you. There are a lot of people out there as talented as we were, but they can't sustain being in a rock 'n' roll band for long without success. We were able to, but we're going to die out."First of all, I'm not quite sure what rock and roll and "social graces" have to do with one another. But the rest of her comment reveals an amusing misunderstanding of what is actually happening with "the kids trying to make it in this business today." You see, many of them are realizing they don't need a major label to become successful any more, and they celebrate when they get dropped from a label, because it means they can take control over their own business models and actually do things that make fans happy, rather than piss them off. And many of those things involve using the internet to help create, promote and distribute works, while also building up a strong, loyal and committed fan base. The internet hasn't destroyed rock at all. It's destroying the old gatekeeper system that kept so many out before.
Nicks' mistake is to think that you still need a major record label behind you to be a success. Like other aging rockers, it appears she's a bit out of touch with what's actually going on in the music world.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: internet, stevie nicks
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in thread ]
haha and a coke head speaks
reality seems not to come from those messed up on heroin and cocaine......
maybe she should take a lesson like ozzy said and admit the labels wanted them all fucked up on drugs so that they could steal off the cash ...( as ozzy says as he makes a steak and eggs ina kitchen larger then the house i live in )
NO suing fans is what destroyed your business and maybe you should go back under a rock and or pound your selves in the head for allowing the riaa and labels to do it.
FREE IT ALL NOW, i have friends doing ok and htey give th emusic out online freely...MY thought is the money is starting to run out and guess what they cant keep suing peopel and losingmoney either. ITS TOO LATE you missed the boat and by suing you ended your selves.
FUCK OFF bitch
awarded idiot of the day award
[ link to this | view in thread ]
rock n roll is about "social graces"
AHHAHAHAHA
riiiiight
ever hre of the phrase
sex drugs and rock n roll
thats your social grace
and i doubt the vatican is doing any of those
at the dinner table during "grace"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
She is losing it
How is that related to the internet?
There are a lot of people out there as talented as we were, but they can't sustain being in a rock 'n' roll band for long without success.
In your days Stevie, but with the internet, that is just not true anymore.
Ehhh.. damn kids, get off my lawn!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Again
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
old and ignorant
Obviously said fleetwood singer is quite ignorant and old, is that any surprise? I agree she should actually try to understand the issues (and fails to), but really, she's so old it's "get off my lawn" material.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Yes, but harpies can actually move men with their voices. Again I have to side with the South Park guys on this one, she sounds more like a bleating old goat.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Getting old
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Getting old
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I don't understand why they don't try to share their music through the p2p technology. Make an association and make a tracker like the piratebay, charge a few bucks for unlimited downloads per month/year. I would pay.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I mean really...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Feh - Her and the rest of the Hippies Screwed it up
Children no longer hang out because they are no longer permitted to hang out. Children are no longer permitted to hang out because of her generation's so called "social graces". Fuck rock and roll, it died with Chuck Berry, and was burned by the self-important losers hanging out on corners acting lewd and doing drugs in public, thinking they were "something". Thanks for fucking every following generation's childhood, idiot losers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I'd like to join in on the fun.
At least they have social grace. I mean, what better way to learn about social grace than to listen to complaints about the way things are. I thought social grace meant never pointing the fingers at those to blame? Guess I sit corrected. Thanks, Stevie.
By the way: A record label is what tells parents about explicit lyrics. :P
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Is it just me or is it that the rockers who most fit the rebellious "screw you" mode, The Stones, are the only ones to point out that the record companies are not the artist's friend as Mick Jagger has? I'm sure others may have but it's only Mick that I've seen "in print" on the Net.
Nicks isn't just "comfortable" she's rolling in it wealthy. She's one of the one in a million that made it, recording contract, major label, indie or any other way.
Stevie, there's still clubs around, places for people to play and hone their skills and presentation. There's better ways to connect with other musicians and that horrible bunch called fans and it's that very Internet that you dislike so much.
As for social skills, the younguns are doing just fine, thank you, far better than we mouthy boomers were doing at their age in many respects. Of course we were all too busy rebelling, drinking, smoking pot and getting fat with the marijuana munchies, weren't we?
As far as aging bands go I'll pay money to see the Stones, Jethro Tull and a few others who remember that they both have to play well and entertain at the same time rather than the tired, boring and still incredibly dull Fleetwood Mac sets you guys still put on.
In short, Stevie, at your age isn't it seriously time you grew up?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gladwell on fleetwood mac
http://www.examiner.com/music-marketing-motivation-in-national/malcolm-gladwell-on-fleetwo od-mac-style-success
[ link to this | view in thread ]
For What She's Worth
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nice article.
Phrase, used by stevie are amazing. Ha Ha
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: gladwell on fleetwood mac
Fleetwood Mac at least had chops as a blues band and not the mush they churned out when they became a sad reflection of a poor, somewhat talented pop band.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hmm anyone have a question for stevie Nicks???
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I won't be surprised if I hear about a new Stevie Nicks album tomorrow.
Is techdirt just playing into their hands?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
"If you're not an established band, if you don't have a hit single, they're gonna drop you."
Erm, yeah, that's the problem and that's what really "killed rock". Real rock & roll is about attitude, creativity and rebellion. Hit singles depend on conformity and widespread appeal (as inoffensive as possible, please). These are not compatible ideals with a few rare exceptions, bands that often get ignored or dropped from labels before some executive realises what they have.
What's "killed rock" is record labels trying to treat rock bands as though they were boy bands in search of profit. I'm not massively familiar with the band's back catalogue, but wasn't selling out like this what people criticise Fleetwood Mac for in the first place?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
And yes sometimes I really am an asshole
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Weird Al
Sorry if this is a bit off topic. Just had to share. :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Article is a bit arrogant
Have some respect. Stevie Nicks is a recording icon and I give her the benefit of the doubt when she speaks about rock and what it takes to make it in the recording industry -- internet or no internet. Until you release your first hit single, I think you know about as much about it as I do -- which is nothing.
Just because the internet is liberating doesn't make it a good business model for 'making it' as a band.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Article is a bit arrogant
There's that old trope again.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Again
These boomers simply aren't paying forward. It's a pervasive attitude that's even worse and more damaging than the whole "thieving culture" that is pervasive in the younger generations.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No, She is a bit arrogant
She's the arrogant and presumptuous one.
Perhaps SHE personally would have a hard time making it today. Since she is a relic, that's not hard to fathom.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Stevie is in her sunset years, time to get on the bus to the dog track.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Article is a bit arrogant
"There's that old trope again."
Yes.
I wonder, does this apply to politicians as well?
"When you get to be the governor of New York, then you can criticize David Paterson. Not before."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yay Stevie
Likewise, she's correct when she says "if you don't have a hit single, they're gonna drop you." But had been a problem for a long, LONG time before the internet came along. Like, since the 80's. She'd already made it big by then, so I guess she's out of touch with musicians who aren't pop stars, which should surprise nobody.
It's kind of useless to listen to people like her talk about the music business. I've briefly met one or two rock stars, and it's astounding how little they actually know about the business that sustains them. That business is built to groom pop stars like her, which involves isolating them from anyone who isn't an industry official or another pop star. It's no wonder she can't think straight.
Thank God that system is on the way out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Article is a bit arrogant
I don't. She has no concept of what it takes to "make it" in the modern industry, since she's been a well-known and successful musician for over 3 decades at this point. Her band was old hat before I even started going to gigs and buying CDs as a teenager, and I'm 35. What perspective does that give her, other than things don't work like they used to?
"Until you release your first hit single, I think you know about as much about it as I do -- which is nothing."
Ah, that old saw. Well, I know exactly as much as Nicks does about making a hit debut single in the modern incarnation of the industry, which is absolutely nothing. I also feel free to comment on stupid mistakes being made in the industry, although I also have the grace to apologise and admit errors when they happen. This happens rarely with the current industry's actions.
"Just because the internet is liberating doesn't make it a good business model for 'making it' as a band."
We're yet to hear a good reason why, other than it makes life difficult for unimaginative incumbent millionaires and middlemen. It also depends on your definition of "making it". Before the major labels came along, making enough money from your music to feed your family was "making it", not hoarding obscene fortunes. Maybe returning to an era where making a comfortable living from your talent was an acceptable goal isn't such a bad thing?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Because that never happened before the internet?
lol
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nicks comment
Stevie Nicks is a Rock Legend and if she says the Internet is destroying Rock....well then....it must be.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Nicks comment
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Though, I don't think it's working.
It's causing a Reverse Streisand Effect. By complaining about this in such a ignorant fashion, she shows her age and frankly her irrelevance to todays culture.
I, for one, will not be buying a ticket for a Stevie Nicks concert.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Nicks comment
Nicks out of touch???? Ya right. Show some respect.
It's not a matter of respect, it's a matter of circumstance. When was the last time she listened to an unsigned band in a dive bar?
What Stevie Nicks says is true in many ways. The music business has to be different now because the music is.
Except she's not saying the music business has to be different, she's complaining that it is. She's saying things are bad becuase the music business is different.
I think one's opinion is based on what kind of music they listen to. I have a feeling you don't dig too many "Rock" bands. You know, where they actually play and sing without all the technolgy to over dub, or whatever you call it....voices, etc.
I listen to plenty of rock music, though it's mostly non-major-label stuff, so I doubt you've heard of any of it. The bit about "over dub" doesn't make any sense - Fleetwood Mac overdubbed vocals on every album they made. Maybe you mean "auto-tune?" I don't listen to that stuff.
Stevie Nicks is a Rock Legend and if she says the Internet is destroying Rock....well then....it must be.
Let's switch one rock star for another, then maybe you'll see where you went wrong:
"Bill Gates is a Computer Legend and if he says Linux is destroying Software....well then....it must be."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Record companies are not your friend
But you haven't been paying attention. When the record companies consolidated down to just 4 major players, they CUT hundreds of rock bands, some of whom had hit records. They didn't sell ENOUGH hit records to matter to the accountants who took over the music business.
They decided that rock wasn't necessary and concentrated on hip-hop and r&b acts since that segment was selling the most CDs. Well, you don't expand any business by contracting your field of interest. And that's what the record industry did.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Maybe its the Music
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Stevie's financial stability
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Clarifying the Stevie thing
[ link to this | view in thread ]
An Internet music story
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rock, new rock, grudges, my generation, and Stevie Nicks needs to retire.
I used to be a big fan of Fleetwood Mac. When I was a kid in the 1970's I remember picking "Hero's Hard to Find" which is any irony about this article.
My friends had many different tastes in music. Some liked the Sex Pistols, to me there were all hype, not much music.
Others Bowie. He has his merits. He has sustained but I believe I'm right it's because he continued to put out good albums. And he choose seminal players in his quest for success.
Readers of this commment may not know. Geddy Lee and Rush do not like Lou Reed's music. They were never fans of his later work. The one and only Eric Clapton doesn't like Later Zepplin. Neither did the Who. Pete Townsend can be seen on You Tube admitting that fact. In fact all of the slights and grudges and insults in our industry can easily found by googling it.
So when John Cougar, Stevie Nicks, and David Byrne go on their hate speak. Reader beware it is not to be helpful, or compassionate. Those qualities are not avaialable to human beings. You know that, I know that and so does Ms. Stevie Nicks.
Hug and hit compliments are bogus. Fact is that she should have retired 10 years ago. She is not pertinent in todays changing rock world. Neither are the remaining members of the Cars.
They're last album "Move Like This" was garbadge. And the should retire.
So when a new songwriter, bless your heart, I was too when I was 16 years old. I am now about 35 years old. I would not go reading comments written by the cagey, somewhat older, not as wiser Ms. Stevie Nicks.
It remains a shroaded mystery about her careers demise in rock. Steve Nicks may lietarlly alive but her career is dead. RIP.
A younger, more pertinent alive rock musician. Who is not stuck in 1977.
Dead Careers
David Bryne RIP, John Cougar RIP Stevie Nicks RIP
Finally digital music does not affect your live concerts. He is a crafty old man, with no good in him. But like many old people he needs to move aside.
Brian Rhodes-Power Play-Lead Singer-Lead Guitarist
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Stevie Nicks
[ link to this | view in thread ]