So we’re into another new year. They keep on coming. And with it, a fresh start. Resolve. Optimism. And, though anxiety still fills the halls of SonyBMG, the company that’s home to the label I call home, I’m still feeling at least partially rejuvenated from the holiday break, more motivated in the fleeting afterglow of a year Legacy managed to defy the odds and actually more than hold it’s own, and hopeful that this is the year that we as a label, as a company, as an industry, stop the bleeding and find the new shape and scope that will be our next beginning. Do I know how we’ll do that? Do I have the “vision?” Man, you think I’d be sitting here writing this at this hour of the night if I did? Sorry.
But, corny as it is, what I have is this: I have faith in the music. And I have faith in the men and women here at Legacy who have faith in the music. I have faith in the men and women at the other labels here and around the industry who haven’t forgotten that music - no matter how we choose to enjoy it - still matters and can and should still come first. And let me tell you something - though we’re pretty beaten up, there are still a lot of us. Sure, there are those around still driven by their egos, still hanging on as long as they can before their bottom falls out. But you know what? There are a whole bunch of folks who can’t wax romantic for the 999th time about the wild convention in Bora Bora (there are plenty of others who can, but chose not to). There are a whole bunch of folks who, as one younger member of the Legacy family succinctly put it: “don’t remember ‘the good old days’”. As he said, “THESE are the good old days.” I wanted to kiss him for his perspective. He’s right.
These days ARE good. Well, maybe it’s more honest to say there are more good days here than one familiar with the music business in 2008 might believe. There’s so much great music out there and more and more legitimate and compelling ways to discover and enjoy it. And at Legacy, we’re offering our share. See for yourself: just before Christmas will i.am and Michael Jackson went into the studio and emerged with new versions of tracks for our 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller that’s a blast. We finally managed to find our way to releasing the cache of Johnny Cash Television shows on CD and DVD and will continue to do more in the coming year. We got to work with artists like Son Volt and Derek Trucks, among others. We’re working on a Legacy Edition of Carole King’s “Tapestry” and Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” in both cases having unearthed live performances from the period that are so spectacular that they’re hard to step away from. Literally. And there’s so much more done and doing - the incomparable Philadelphia International Records label catalog (when Mr. Gamble speaks we all need to listen. When Mr. HUFF speaks, we REALLY all need to listen!), Dennis Wilson’s mythical “Pacific Ocean Blue”, The Clash, Santana, Jeff Buckley, Common’s early stuff, The Foos’ “The Colour and the Shape”, Neil Diamond’s Bang Recordings, Miles…the list goes on and on and on. These days ARE good. Yes, there’s darkness, but there’s also light. Lots of it.
And so we’re into another new year. Maybe this will be the one. And maybe it won’t be. One thing I can tell you for sure though is that no matter what, we are going to keep doing the best we can for our artists and their music and their fans. I’m going to try not to let the bullshit get me or mine down. And I’m going to remind myself from time to time of something Taj Mahal once said to me during a conversation that I instantly recognized as one to cherish: Of the industry and company and selfish executives and the hating media, he said, simply and with a knowing grin, “hey man, you knew this train was going to Shanghai when you got on it.”
I’ve told that story now for the 999th time. And I just may never tell it again. With any luck, some day soon I won’t have to.
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