Miami & The Beaches Photo Blog

Ever since Lars Ulrich took up residence as the figurehead
of the fight against Napster back in 2000, there has been a battle waging
between musicians and fans that download their music for free.

Now the battlefield looks like this; the governments on one
side, and the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) on the other. The war’s latest
casualty is British pop ‘star’ Lily Allen, who has (not for the first time)
threatened to quit the music industry as a result of illegal downloading of her
music. After joining forces with British government minister Lord Mandelson,
who is spear-heading the government campaign to tackle the illegal downloading
problem, Allen has faced mixed reactions of abuse and support for her
decisions. Her blog, which over the years has been considered honest and
somewhat self deprecating, has recently been taken down as a result of all the
attention.

Allen’s intention to leave the music scene evokes a mix of emotions.
My initial reaction was to consider the news irrelevant. While Lily has had some
success with popular, entertaining, and often quite blunt songs, she is hardly
today’s Janis Joplin. However, I followed Lily’s career with half-hearted
interest. Here it seemed, was a girl who liked to sing, who appeared cheeky,
irreverent, and was a true product of the blog era (her career success is
purported to be based around her original MySpace popularity). Was this then a
musician who performed for the sake of the music? Apparently not…

It’s easy to judge, to throw stones at musicians who gripe
over not receiving royalties from song downloads. We all want to believe that
musicians and artists create music for the same reason that Jimmy Hendrix, Led
Zeppelin, and Jim Morison did back in their day – for the love of the music,
and to share the experiences with their fans. Sadly, to believe this is to live
in a delusional world. And why should musicians be painted with such a
tarnished brush? Do journalists not write for the love of writing; to inform,
entertain and god forbid, inspire the world? Should we do it for free?

Whether Lily Allen quits the music industry, or stays on to
produce a third album, the decision will have little impact on our lives. Her
music has not been so influential that she will be sorely missed, and she, like
many bands of this generation, will fade into anonymity within a few years.
What is a shame though, is that Allen, who seemed like she could be a small
beacon of light in an otherwise manufactured, rather narrow-styled industry,
turns out to be less than we hoped for, but exactly what we should have
expected.

The music industry is abuzz with talk over the recent nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. An iconic list of first-time nominees includes KISS, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, LL Cool J, Jimmy Cliff, and Genesis. Among those previously nominated who have yet to become indoctrinated are ABBA, Donna Summer, the Stooges, and the Chantels. Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a prestigious, lifetime achievement for any musician.

Over 500 ballots were sent out to industry professionals and previous honorees to take part in the vote. The stipulation for eligibility is 25 years from the first record release of an artist or group. Nominees chosen for induction will be announced in December and the ceremony will take place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on March 15, 2010.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated first-time nominee, KISS, is also one of the most controversial when it comes to the Hall of Fame. They have been eligible since 1999 and have been bypassed by the nominating committee until now. Even though they feel it honor to be nominated this year, their previous dismissals from the ballot have been the subject of harsh words from the group and their fans regarding the nomination committee. Their presence in the rock-world has had a substantial effect to the point where members of their fan-base, commonly known as the “KISS Army,” staged a protest outside of the Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland when they were snubbed from the 2006 ballot.

If inducted, KISS also has to deal with the topic of which of the many members of the group should be included. Apart from the four original members (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss), KISS has seen a number of members come and go throughout the band’s lifetime. Co-founder, Paul Stanley, commented that, “We have been doing this a lot longer than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has existed.”