Singer rails against major record companies at Plug.In online music conference.

NEW YORK Alanis Morissette stopped publicly unleashing her fury at ex-boyfriends after Jagged Little Pill, but the singer/songwriter has found a new target for her ire: the music industry.

In a speech delivered Monday morning at the online music conference Plug.In, Morissette called for artists to band together and fight what she described as the increasingly profit-driven atmosphere at record companies.


"Many of the most widely respected artists of the last 30 years would be dropped from their record labels in today's current climate," Morissette said.

"Many of the most widely respected artists of the last 30 years would be dropped from their record labels in today's current climate." Alanis Morissette


She argued that labels' bottom-line focus is depriving artists of the chance to experience "natural ebbs and flows" in their careers.


More importantly, she said, the music industry is making it increasingly hard for unknown artists to reach the public and make a living.


With Napster as we knew it apparently dead, and companies such as MP3.com and EMusic now the property of major labels, the Internet isn't the savior it should be for such artists, Morissette said. "We are seeing the Internet turn into a bottleneck."


Morissette suggested that Congress should intervene in the industry in part to make sure that labels are doing enough to support up-and-coming artists.


"For me, this is a moral issue equal to a woman's right to choose," she said.


Clad in jeans and a loose black shirt, the Canadian singer/songwriter sped through her prepared speech, finishing short of the 30 minutes she was allotted. She didn't stay for questions.


Some of Morissette's arguments echoed those of Prince and Courtney Love, two other artists who have excoriated the recording industry.


Unlike those artists, though, Morissette is still actively putting out new music on a major label her next album is due this fall on Maverick Records.


In response to Morissette's speech, Jano Cabrera, communications director for the Recording Industry Association of America, argued that most artists voluntarily stay on major labels.


"It's a fact that most recording stars who have the opportunity to exit the major label system do not. In fact, they typically re-sign with a major label," Cabrera said. "The reason why is because these companies know how to market, know how to promote their works to a mass audience. And in doing so, they take huge financial risks to help advance their careers risks that few artists would be willing to take on their own."


Morissette's speech on Monday was her second major address on artists' rights.


In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in April, Morissette asked Congress to look beyond the interests of major labels when considering the future of music (see "Morissette, Henley Tell Senate To Remember Needs Of Artists").

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This happened about a year ago, but the trend after iTunes Music Store and the upcoming Corporate Napster have changed the media's attention. Like they've been duped and dumbed down like idiots with the techno crap from Apple and shit.

Interestingly, while this article doesn't exactly appear to be recent (can we get a link, a source, a cite?), it was recently posted on NPGMC's "U Tell Us" forum by one of the moderators.

AaronUniversal said:

Why the eyeroll?

equating something serious like the women's rights movement, and specifically the right to choose to people who are deciding whether or not to sign multi-million dollar contracts to entertain is exactly why people see musicians and entertainers as morons and pampered babies with absolutely no realistic perspective about the real world or what they do (and rightly so)

AaronUniversal said:

OK. Just wondering

I agree it was a pretty extreme comparison but I do think the issue has merit overall.

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[This message was edited Tue Oct 14 19:33:02 PDT 2003 by SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy]

>people who are deciding whether or not to sign multi-million dollar contracts to entertain is exactly why people see musicians and entertainers as morons and pampered babies with absolutely no realistic perspective about the real world or what they do (and rightly so)<

You do realize that people like Toni Braxton and the members of TLC and other folks who've sold millions of albums have gone bankrupt due to record companies' greed right? Or do you have no idea of what is really going on and just assume that everyone should wear a suit and work in a cubicle?

This is their job, this is how they make a living- and their not getting their just dues. It doesn't matter what the line of work is, the fact remains that it's not fair.

Don't underestimate the importance of music.

oh no--I hope people dont badtalk Alanis now..I like her very very much.

jtgillia said:

"bankrupt" status for people like TLC and Toni Braxton is more money than you and i will ever make in 1 year, so let's be real.

yeah, i understand artists wanting to be treated fairly and getting paid for their work, but i have no sympathy for millionaires trying to convince the buying public that they've really got it rough.


but my real point was that it's ludicrous to compare the plight of millionaires who signed up for a business they knew was corrupt, but were willing to sell themselves into in order to get the paycheck, and then bitching when times turn bad, to the right of a woman to choose abortion.


and i don't underestimate the importance of music. but i don't overestimate it either, as many people seem to do. does anyone here REALLY have enough time on their hands that isn't devoted to worrying about their own fincances that they feel the need to rally around people who declare themselves "bankrupt" at a significantly higher level of income than any of us are going to make in a year?

rdhull said:

i like her too. i just wish, sometimes, she wouldn't say such stupid shit

Artists are cash cows...what we see is not the truth.
The folks who are rolling are the execs. My belief is knowing the system before you enter it and working it. In all honesty...artists are almost considered bottom of the totem poll...sometimes

ok alanis...so, the contract you chose to sign can be equated to someone else choosing to end the life cycle? i don't get the comparison. one bottom line is money. the other bottom line is life.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

songs are their children

Is this moaning bitch ever happy?

AaronUniversal said:

I totally agree with you, Aaron. Artists KNOW going in that, more than likely, they are gonna get screwed. I will assume they can read a CONtract. I wish they would get to the part where I am supposed to feel sorry for them. Cry me a fuckin' river.

AaronUniversal said:

Aaron makes a very good point.It's sometimes hard to have much sympathy for these artists because,when all is said and done,they're still living good.Toni Braxton may have filed for bankruptcy in the late 90s,but just a few years ago,she was talking about her "30 million dollar raise" and the new mansion that she had just bought in Atlanta.I'm not saying that the record companies aren't evil,and I'm certainly not taking their side.But it baffles me why an artist like Alanis Morrissette is complaining.By all accounts,she seems to be doing just fine.