Re: Gramophone Awards 2008: Finalists

makropulos <makropulos@xxxxxxxxx> appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:5b21f55d-e479-4065-a078-
af2d9df3c92a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

On Aug 30, 4:06 pm, td <tomdedea...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On Aug 30, 10:03 am, musica_call...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Gramophone Awards Finalists announced (3 per category):

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/gramophoneawards2008.php

What is interesting on this list is the small number of recordings
from the so-called "majors".

Is Lebrecht right?

TD

Yes, that's a good point about the rather meagre offerings from "majors".

I really can't take anything Lebrecht says seriously (and I'm sure you
can't either). But to answer your question, wouldn't you say that companies
like (for instance) Telarc, Chandos, Harmonia Mundi, Supraphon, Hyperion,
and BIS have become majors for the purposes of classical repertoire, even
though they're not "majors" as we used to understand them?

More to the point, *I'm* right. Lebrecht wrings his hands and gnashes his
teeth because the so-called "majors" (as I like to put it) are dying, or
moribund, or just don't give a darn, and therefore the entire industry is to
be written off. I used to think so at one time, but I've been gradually won
over to the point of view that while the "majors" are feeble gnats compared
to the giants they used to be, the indies are where it's at.

Unfortunately the "majors" can still wield some of their parent corporations'
marketing money, and can gull certain public media companies into carrying on
the pretense of their continued importance. They still have their methods of
distribution, for what that's still worth, and poach artists as they see fit.
How else could Julia Fischer be enticed to board a sinking ship?

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
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Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Gramophone Awards 2008: Finalists
    ... that's a good point about the rather meagre offerings from ... I really can't take anything Lebrecht says seriously (and I'm sure you ... classical repertoire, even though they're not "majors" as we used to ...
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    ... Ah, but to Lebrecht, any labels other than the so-called "majors" simply ... to his view that the entire classical recording industry is dying. ...
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