Jon Bon Jovi is being a little bitch

[BlobVanDam]

I do so love the entitlement mentality of musicians like Bon Jovi.

If you want people to buy a whole album, make a whole album that's worth buying. I'm certainly not against buying an entire album if I like the songs--I do it pretty regularly. But if only one or two songs are any good, then I'll just buy those and save myself the money.

And if you really don't want to sell your music track-by-track, don't put it on services like iTunes and Amazon. Sell only full albums. It's not like anyone is forced to sell their songs individually for 99 cents each. You agreed to that when you signed the fucking contract.

Just sounds like he's upset the music industry doesn't run things the way he'd like. Well, tough shit, bro.

Since his record label has the publishing rights to any music he records, he wouldn't have any say in whether they get put on iTunes or sold individually. Depending on how long the record contract was, it might have been signed long before any online distribution was a factor.
And it wouldn't matter if the whole album was great. Most people won't even check out a track unless it's a hit or they heard it somewhere. He's in the pop rock business. Why bother writing a great album when people are only going to buy the singles anyway? I haven't heard any recent Bon Jovi, so I won't dump shit on his music just because he doesn't like iTunes, but that's the world he works in.
One of the reasons I'm glad I listen to obscure bands who focus on writing albums rather than catering to ADD music listeners who barely care about music. To me an average/good album should be 7 or 8/12 good songs, whereas I fully expect a great album to have 10+/12 good songs.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I do so love the entitlement mentality of musicians like Bon Jovi.

If you want people to buy a whole album, make a whole album that's worth buying. I'm certainly not against buying an entire album if I like the songs--I do it pretty regularly. But if only one or two songs are any good, then I'll just buy those and save myself the money.

And if you really don't want to sell your music track-by-track, don't put it on services like iTunes and Amazon. Sell only full albums. It's not like anyone is forced to sell their songs individually for 99 cents each. You agreed to that when you signed the fucking contract.

Just sounds like he's upset the music industry doesn't run things the way he'd like. Well, tough shit, bro.

Since his record label has the publishing rights to any music he records, he wouldn't have any say in whether they get put on iTunes or sold individually. Depending on how long the record contract was, it might have been signed long before any online distribution was a factor.
And it wouldn't matter if the whole album was great. Most people won't even check out a track unless it's a hit or they heard it somewhere. He's in the pop rock business. Why bother writing a great album when people are only going to buy the singles anyway? I haven't heard any recent Bon Jovi, so I won't dump shit on his music just because he doesn't like iTunes, but that's the world he works in.
One of the reasons I'm glad I listen to obscure bands who focus on writing albums rather than catering to ADD music listeners who barely care about music. To me an average/good album should be 7 or 8/12 good songs, whereas I fully expect a great album to have 10+/12 good songs.

I listen to a lot of obscure bands, too, and I almost always buy full albums.

He should just be glad people are buying his music at all. He does not get to be the arbiter of how people buy music. If he wants to do that, he's more than welcome to set up his own system. But iTunes, Amazon, etc. let people buy single songs, and if that's all people want to buy then that's entirely their right. Maybe they're missing out on the overall experience of an album, but that's their loss. It doesn't mean they owe the artists anything or that they're somehow screwing the musicians or "ruining music" or whatever bizarre rationalization Bon Jovi's throwing out.

And he can cry me a fucking river if he didn't read his contract. If he gave up the right to negotiate how his music is sold and in what form, that's no one's fault but his.

I know it's fun to bash record companies but no one is forced to sign contracts. Musicians do it for the money. My heart bleeds for them when they QQ about it.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I listen to a lot of obscure bands, too, and I almost always buy full albums.

He should just be glad people are buying his music at all. He does not get to be the arbiter of how people buy music. If he wants to do that, he's more than welcome to set up his own system. But iTunes, Amazon, etc. let people buy single songs, and if that's all people want to buy then that's entirely their right. Maybe they're missing out on the overall experience of an album, but that's their loss. It doesn't mean they owe the artists anything or that they're somehow screwing the musicians or "ruining music" or whatever bizarre rationalization Bon Jovi's throwing out.

And he can cry me a fucking river if he didn't read his contract. If he gave up the right to negotiate how his music is sold and in what form, that's no one's fault but his.

I know it's fun to bash record companies but no one is forced to sign contracts. Musicians do it for the money. My heart bleeds for them when they QQ about it.

I agree with your main paragraph, although most artists don't get a lot of control over their record deal publishing, even the bigger bands. Even getting out of a record contract can be difficult.

That said, I agree that he shouldn't complain. He's in the pop business, and it's about the money. And I don't mean that as an insult, after all it's called the music business, and this is how artists make their living, so I don't care that they're in it for the money as long as I'm enjoying the music. Pop fans have never been about the album experience. He's in the wrong genre to complain about online distribution and the types of fans it caters to.

Bands these days are making most of their money from touring anyway, and Bon Jovi are a popular live act, so this isn't hurting him financially. While I share his point about people not enjoying albums these days, online distribution isn't to blame.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I listen to a lot of obscure bands, too, and I almost always buy full albums.

He should just be glad people are buying his music at all. He does not get to be the arbiter of how people buy music. If he wants to do that, he's more than welcome to set up his own system. But iTunes, Amazon, etc. let people buy single songs, and if that's all people want to buy then that's entirely their right. Maybe they're missing out on the overall experience of an album, but that's their loss. It doesn't mean they owe the artists anything or that they're somehow screwing the musicians or "ruining music" or whatever bizarre rationalization Bon Jovi's throwing out.

And he can cry me a fucking river if he didn't read his contract. If he gave up the right to negotiate how his music is sold and in what form, that's no one's fault but his.

I know it's fun to bash record companies but no one is forced to sign contracts. Musicians do it for the money. My heart bleeds for them when they QQ about it.

I agree with your main paragraph, although most artists don't get a lot of control over their record deal publishing, even the bigger bands. Even getting out of a record contract can be difficult.

If a musician signs a bad contract, that's their own fault. If they're dumb enough to believe a record label is going to look out for the artist's interests, that's also no one else's fault. But what's more likely is that they just see the numbers on paper and lose all sense of reason. I know a lot of acts get screwed, but you'd think they would start to wise up and stop signing contracts if they're getting shafted that badly.

That said, I agree that he shouldn't complain. He's in the pop business, and it's about the money. And I don't mean that as an insult, after all it's called the music business, and this is how artists make their living, so I don't care that they're in it for the money as long as I'm enjoying the music. Pop fans have never been about the album experience. He's in the wrong genre to complain about online distribution and the types of fans it caters to.

Well, I'm not even sure you have to go that far to discount his point. He gave up the right to determine how his music is sold--he did this willingly. You are right that music is a business, meaning it has buyers and sellers. Buyers can only buy what sellers make available, and if you deferred your sales rights to someone else, you don't really get to complain about it if you don't like how they exercise those rights. Doesn't matter what kind of music you're producing, really.

Bands these days are making most of their money from touring anyway, and Bon Jovi are a popular live act, so this isn't hurting him financially. While I share his point about people not enjoying albums these days, online distribution isn't to blame.

Indeed, online distribution has been a huge cash cow for the music business. Maybe bands aren't getting their proper cut, but they should take that up with the record labels, not blame Steve Jobs.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Signing a contract with these stipulations isn't necessarily dumb or naive. For all we know, online distribution wasn't even specifically mentioned when he signed his contract, or wasn't an issue. Since he's only bringing it up now, I'd say it didn't bother him at the time. He's been in the music business long enough to realize that the record label can do whatever the hell they want with those recordings.

I'll just agree that he's stupid for blaming Jobs. I'd be the first person to want to blame Jobs if it was his fault, but there are plenty of other popular online download services doing the same thing, even if not as popular, and if they weren't offering it legally, he'd be losing that money through illegal downloads, and those kids would still just be downloading those singles instead of albums anyway.

He can try to take it up with the record company, but it would be about as successful as his iTunes rant.

 

[Nerys Myk]

^A few of us agree with you, PKTrekGirl. I do think Jon Bon Jovi makes a good point about how people listen to music today versus getting the complete album experience.

As for Slippery When Wet, it was one of the few albums where everyone I knew could sing along with every song on the album. Many a road trip was made enjoyable while rockin' to Slippery When Wet. Then again, I was always part of the cool crowd in the 80s... maybe it was different for nerds?

Nah, anyone who was actually cool in the 80s didn't listen to Bon Jovi.

 

[kitkat]

I do so love the entitlement mentality of musicians like Bon Jovi.

If you want people to buy a whole album, make a whole album that's worth buying. I'm certainly not against buying an entire album if I like the songs--I do it pretty regularly. But if only one or two songs are any good, then I'll just buy those and save myself the money.

And if you really don't want to sell your music track-by-track, don't put it on services like iTunes and Amazon. Sell only full albums. It's not like anyone is forced to sell their songs individually for 99 cents each. You agreed to that when you signed the fucking contract.

Just sounds like he's upset the music industry doesn't run things the way he'd like. Well, tough shit, bro.

I agree with you 100%. Of course, I can't stand Jon Bon Jovi already but I don't think that has anything to do with it; I think he's being a crybaby brat.

Funny story: My husband grew up in his hometown and he said that one time in high school, JBJ was in a truck next to their school bus...all the girls were SCREAMING and he just sat there, looking pissed, wouldn't even look at them. All he had to do was turn his head and wave...it would've made their day. But instead he was a total prick everybody in the bus said what an asshole he was. My hubby said that ever since then he hasn't wanted to give a dime to his music anyways. Some people might think that's a small thing, but seriously, that's my point, he could've just waved and burned a calorie or two. I think it goes to show his mentality.

And, FWIW, I, like you, also listen to A LOT of obscure bands and my favorite type of music for a long, long time now has been the kind of group/musician who you can tell are really into the music and not the commercialism of it all.

 

[the G-man]

From another thread (emphasis added):

I guess Tommy and Gina had to settle for a tailgating BBQ in the Giant Stadium parking lot at this year’s Bon Jovi shows. Either that or settle for a glimpse at their “Livin’ on a Prayer” buddies from last row, high above the opposite end zone of the football field. Because that’s all a working-class couple will be able to shell out today....

Who hasn’t been disheartened at the triple digit concert ticket prices in recent years? And the ever-rising cost of merch at the venues has been mind-boggling. VIP Packages seem to be the latest thing in helping musicians make a profit in this day-and-age ...Six hundred dollars for a ticket to the show, a souvenir bandanna and a pose in the tour bus

Oh, yeah...it's all about the "art" for JBJ, not the money.