producer fran ashcroft…interview

This interview is incredibly interesting. He’s clearly very in tune to music and the way it reaches out. Fran Ashcroft produced for bands i’ve never heard of and The Gorillaz.

Interviewer: The record business is suffering alot from people downloading
Fran: Well that’s what they say! It’s true lots of people download stuff because they can. Lot’s of people used to tape music from the radio because they could. Do you know anybody who kept all the cassette tapes that they taped off the radio in the 70s? I don’t. And the same will be true of downloads, you delete them after a bit….what happens is the stuff that you like and you enjoy and that you would actually put your money down for is the stuff you want to…keep.

I think we’re going to see a big divide between…Top 40 music and everything else. On the one hand, Top 40 stuff will remain in the kind of position it is now with the same kind of money being put behind it…The other 98% of music that’s out there will be able to be marketed to its own particular niche.

EXACTLY!!! I completely agree.

When artists wake up to the fact that if they sold 50,000 albums with a record label, they have a listener base of 50,000 they can draw on. Then what’s the point in having the record label when you can sell it to your fans directly.

I agree though I believe it’s happening now with artists declining to sign with big labels and going Indie or making their own lane to distribute their music. It’s reminds me of a quote from The Office:

“Michael: No, we don’t actually cut the paper. That’s a good question. The paper is sent to us cut, and dyed, from a paper manufacturer, and then we sell it to a business for more than we paid for it.
Abby: That’s not fair. [the rest of the kids agree]
Michael: Yes it is, well, w-w–you need someone in the middle to facilitate…
Jake: You’re just a middleman.
Michael: I’m not just a middle… man…
Melissa: Wait, why doesn’t the saw mill just sell paper directly to people?
Michael: You are describing Office Depot, and they’re kind of running us out of business.
Dwight: We have better service than they do!”

Watch artists come to see this and cut out the middle man.

It’s a question of using the most appropriate tools for the work you’re supposed to be doing.

Autotune anyone? It’s about having tools to your trade and using which ones are appropriate for what you’re going for. It’s NOT about one artist telling the rest of the virtuosic populace that a certain tool is “dead” or out. Let the artist decide for themselves.

Peace and x out the middle love.

February 3, 2010 | Categories: inspirational, interview, miscellaneous, studio, videos | Tags: 2009, ashcroft, b-quote, cut out the middle man, fran, fran ashcroft, future, gorillaz, ideas, industry, int, intelligent, interesting, interview, love, me, michael scott, middle love, middleman, music, music business, office depot, peace, peace and much love, produce, producer, production, quote, rambling, random ideas, real, smart, the gorillaz, the office, tube, vid, video, you, youtube, youtubes | Leave a comment