Over at Wired, there's an intriguing interview piece where the ever curious Eliot Van Buskirk talks with Tommy Silverman, founder of Tommy Boy Records, about "What’s Wrong With Music Biz." As expected, there are some rather controversial things said in relation to what it means to "break" an artist in the music industry these days, and it leaves the reader to question whether or not Silverman's criteria match that of the emerging musical middle class dynamic. Silverman also shares his own interpretation of how Chris Anderson's theory of the long tail has played out in the record and music industries. But, those things aside, it is a great introduction into Silverman's unique view of the industry.
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[Hobbyists]... those are the people who are using TuneCore and iTunes to clutter the music environment with crap, so that the artists who really are pretty good have more trouble breaking through than they ever did before."
Silverman also co-chairs the New Music Seminar which begins next Monday, July 19th in New York City.
