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Fogerty's Fabled Fantasy Fight Fixed

Whenever I suspect someone doesn't know how incompetant, corrupt and venal the music industry can be -- and what an awful place it has been for investors -- I tell them the story of John Fogerty.

Fogerty was the signer/songwriter/guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). Creedence was one of the biggest bands in the late 1960s and early '70s -- over the course of less than 4 years, they racked up 8 Gold albums and 10 Top Ten singles.

Somehow, Fogerty lost the rights to his own music -- the details are abit murky, but they ended up in the hands of CCR's label, Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz.

How bizarre is this: When Fogerty left Creedence and started recording solo, Zaentz sued him, claiming the songwriter had plagiarized himself. The entire tale is sordid and ugly and makes the labels look even worse than they really are (which is kinda hard to do).

I remind you of this as a counterweight to major Label claims that P2P hurts artists. As it turns out, that's not true for 98% of all bands. The WSJ recent story about the band Harvey Danger (I mentioned them last month) demonstrates why:

"CD sales aren't a great money-maker for most bands: Absent a huge hit album, a band's best chance to make money is through a combination of publishing royalties, concert-ticket sales and merchandising -- all driven by the hard work of creating and keeping a dedicated fan base that will buy not just a current CD, but back-catalog albums and future releases as well. The problem is that takes time and patience labels increasingly don't have.

"The time frame for success is a lot longer than what a label will give you," Mr. Lin says.

The takeaway from all this is the anti-P2P litigation does nothing for most artists. Instead, it attacks an alternative (e.g. Non-label) distribution mechanism that is potentially of enormous assistance to the majority of unknown, alternative and non-radio bands.

At first, the labels resisted digital distribution -- to keep their brick & mortar retailers happy. Eventually, they came to realize that the bigger threat was disintermediation -- the internet rendered labels (at least in their present form) unneccessary.

Now, I suspect the motivation against P2P is little more than a naked attempt to thwart a competitor to the (legal) monopoly distribution system the labels have developed over the decades. 

At the same time, the PR fallout has been horrific -- bad for business, and terrible for investors. The EFF has noted how little impact all RIAA litigation has had after 2 years. Most recently, the MPAA has decided to enter the bad PR competition, suing a 71-year old grandfather whose 12-year old grandson downloaded a movie. 

But my point is to look beyond all the posturing. The industry should be considering newer distribution networks that will eventually replace the present dying methods.

Ask yourself which model makes more sense, and is potentially more lucrative to the companies?

-The older physical version involves pressing a polycarbonate disc, packing and shipping them to warehouses, sending them onto to retail stores, which consumers drive to and buy them and drive back home. They can also order them online, and then have them shipped via UPS/USPS home.

-Or, consumers download the data over the internet, and burn their own discs if they choose.

I prefer the second business model -- it seems a lot more profitible.

BTW,  Fogerty is back in the news because Fantasy records was recently purchased by Concord Music Group, which is owned  in part by TV producer Norman Lear. The  new owners and Fogerty buried the hatchet, and he released "The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty-Creedence Collection."

Sources:
It's no fantasy; John Fogerty reunites with old record company
DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press, 11/02/05
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20051102/ENTERTAINMENT01/511020375/1005/MTCN0303

What If We Give It Away?
A Digital Experiment by Harvey Danger Could Be a Useful Strategy for Cult Bands
Jason Fry
WSJ, November 7, 2005
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113096612427486597.html

John Fogerty Is Closer To Peace With a Label
ANTHONY DECURTIS
NYT, November 1, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/arts/music/01foge.html

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 | 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (1)
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Comments

I agree 100%. As the exec. producer of a small production company and record label, I agree with your view on P2P downloading and the larger view economically.

Thanks for keeping up this site. I check back often. Very good perspective.

Jason Chesworth

Posted by: Jason | Nov 22, 2005 9:45:29 AM

At the end of the day it's all about people. We're social animals.

Posted by: D. | Nov 22, 2005 9:46:27 AM

On the other hand, I'll be sad if this kills the last real record shops. Virgin Megastores could all vanish forever and I'd survive, but don't take away my Amoeba Records or its boutique-ier brethren.

Posted by: wcw | Nov 22, 2005 10:11:50 AM

I'm predicting that Steve Jobs is going to start his own record label.

Posted by: L'Emmerdeur | Nov 22, 2005 11:33:31 AM

'Zanz Can't Dance' (but he'll steal your money, watch him or he'll rob you blind) and 'Mr. Greed" were on Centerfield and both are thought to refer to Saul Zaentz.

Posted by: Jim Letourneau | Nov 24, 2005 4:13:07 PM

The Fogerty v. Zaentz story, which seems to have entered the land of Urban Myth, needs to be corrected, if only for history's sake. Neither Fogerty, nor anyone else in the band, lost their rights. Fogerty simply was angry with the deal he signed. In song publishing, the writer gets half and the publisher gets half. Most writers in the rock era owned their own publishing. Fogerty did not, but no one stole it from him. He's a great artist, but he has led the public on about being wronged by Zaentz and Fantasy. Fantasy sued him for plagiarism because they (incredibly wrong-headed of them!) thought he was deliberately copying a previous Fogerty song (that they published). They lost that one, and they won the defamation suit (over Zanz Can't Dance). It was all petty in the long view, but we really can't let this notion of Fogerty being completely ripped off by Zaentz and Fantasy continue to have legs. He got rich (deservedly so!) from Creedence, and so did Fantasy. It was no better and no worse that most other artist/label deals.

Posted by: Gordon Whiting | Mar 17, 2008 2:50:11 AM