Dear FRONTLINE,
The music didn't die but the recording industry did commit suicide.
Two things have been overlooked in your view at the industry.
1)The music press. When Rolling Stone magazine became more of a political-fashion-movie magazine and ceased to be a music magazine was the day when love of profit overcame love of music.
2)Live music venues. Through the fifties and sixties even our small town had several halls and clubs that brought live music to the public. Today there is one bar in our area that has had the same musicians playing the same set for the last twenty years. Unless you live in a major city you have no chance of seeing a live band play. Even the venues in major cities are not worth the price of the ticket. Places like "The House Of Blues" claim to be reviving the live music experience. Their ad claims "Not a bad seat in the house", only trouble is you don't get a seat you get to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other audience members packed in the place like sardines while being harrassed by a waitress because you are not drinking and in their opinion you are cheating them out of a tip.
ed price
Cantonment, fl.
Dear FRONTLINE,
The music business is off somewhere around 40% over the past few years. That drop, I suspect, correlates directly to consumers like me who no longer listen to radio or buy many CDs from stores, because they donít play or carry anything we care to hear.
What is not ìoffî is the number of talented musicians. For example, one of my favorite artists is Lucinda Williams. I still hear her on radio ñ but itís over KPIG on my computer. I still buy her records, but only at a small, specialty retailer in a nearby college town. I've also driven a few hundred miles to hear her. The shame is that most people will NEVER hear her unless they happen to stumble upon her music by accident.
That story is equally true of thousands of talented musicians ñ from all over the world, and playing all types of music. For me (and I suspect millions of others) what is ìpopularî is nearly always junk and what is ìtalentedî is very hard to find. That has always been true, but not nearly to the degree it is today.
Bill Kidder
Salem, OR
Dear FRONTLINE,
I enjoyed the program because it gave a balanced view. I believe that the industry suffers today because the music the majority of the public is exposed too through corporate radio is selected not for it's quality or uniqueness but by how close it fits in with yesterday hit. Hence lousy music produces little or no sales.
As a radio DJ, for a community radio station, I DJ because music is my passion. I decide what songs will be on my playlist.
I have the opportunity to listen to many new releases. Many are very good, some are exceptional, however, most get lost in the shuffle and are soon forgotted. Even the exceptional releases from known artist. However, my passion is to expose my listeners to the quality releases that come my way.
Community, College, and Internet radio stations have always been excellent resources for quality music.
I only hope that public radio can continue to survive and that the music industry finally understands what an important resource public radio is for everyone.
Paul Ronan (KPSU)
Portland, OR
Dear FRONTLINE,
Being in a band in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I, alonsg with my fellow band mates, are seeing some of the issues within the Frontline special aired tonight, however I think there is still more to be discussed than what was shown.. Money was put behind both projects and thats mainly the important thing in the industry.. neither seemed worthy of that lasting quality.. Velvet Revolver is a take on the A Perfect Circle supergroup idea with the edge of The Darkness.. and Sara Hudson's music only seems like Avril Lavigne 2. The truly good music is being stamped out and not being listened to.. indie bands like Cursive and even new stuff from older bands like Rush have their products completely overlooked.
Trey Price
Frisco, Texas
Dear FRONTLINE,
'The Way the Music Died' was probably the worst episode of Frontline I've ever seen. It was nothing but an hour-long commercial for the Velvet whatever and Sarah Hudson.
Is the fact that the NY Times carried the story on how downloading is not affecting the music industry the reason why US News/Frontline spent less than a minute talking about downloading and CD replacements? What about the proliferation/success of indie labels? So much time was spent watching people listening to their own music (or music that they are promoting) that little was left for any substance.
I am normally impressed with the reporting (in fact, 'Ghosts of Rwanda' moved me to tears). I am just hoping that this comment serves as a force balancing a slide towards the tabloid quality of network news.
Jason Smith
Seattle, WA
Dear FRONTLINE,
I always enjoy your show, but thought your program on the music industry missed a golden opportunity for real insight. Instead we barely got the tip of the iceberg and it was a tired old iceberg at that.
You could have done an entire hour on the juggernaut that is Clear Channel and how it is stifling the radio and concert promotion business. For some real indepth reporting on the music biz, go to www.salon.com and read their series on Clear Channel for starters.
I'd love to see you revist the music industry from a different angle. For example, take a look at the proliferation of gangsta rap and how a majority of the images of young black men that you get from MTV are of the oversexed criminal. Apparently, we haven't come too far in 200 years.
Mark Jerome
San Francisco, CA
Dear FRONTLINE,
As an indie record producer I can only shake my head in disgust at the "main stream" industry's lament over falling sales. The record industryís demise is self-inflicted, it's cause is simple greed. Why bother to find real talent, adventurous new music and break new ground that, quite possibly, is outside the "eye of the needle" norm.
When the public discovers that a completely packaged CD can be made and marketed for only 89 cents for 250,000+ units, they likely will never spend up to $21.00 on a CD again.
Real music is happening in small clubs across the country with true talent that is displayed every weekend or throughout the week depending upon the urban music scene. These artists have produced their own CD's, have local and regional fan bases and if they're fortunate find sound management and marketing to take them places based solely upon their musical abilities and performing talent. There are many extremely talented performers and recording artists in Portland, Oregon, and as an example of local talent that broke the industry mold is pink martini. the band sold over 500,000 units as an indie! For music to remain an art form, this is the road artists must travel.
richard donin
portland, oregon
Dear FRONTLINE,
Just watched your program on the death of the music business and must say that it was the worst, weakest show of your series. I'm a devoted viewer and was very disappointed at the shallowness of the report. You seemed to touch on the "soul" of what makes a good performer with your interview of David Crosby but spent too much time looking at the two very commercial groups that you shadowed. Though they are meeting with different commercial success, as the end of your show indicated, they are basically the same. Who cares!!!
If as a performer if you are not traveling and playing the small clubs and venues, I don't want to hear you. If you are writing your music to satisfy Wal-Mart I really don't want to hear you.
Where was an in depth discussion of music sharing, law suites, and the attitude of teenagers about music, musicians and the industry? My teenager's attitude is that if you love to write and perform why should you expect to be a multi-millionaire.
Steve Storo
Prineville, Oregon
Dear FRONTLINE,
Filesharing, and cheap, easy duplication have done much to hurt the record industry but have actually helped cultivate a more rich artistic scene then MTV or the radio have for years.
A funny thing happens when you download or copy music from your friends: you rarely end up with crap. You only pass on that which inspires you, you might aquire a copy of something sub-par, but it will likely find the bottom of a stack of CD-Rs and stay there.
I am myself a musician, and thoughts of the lost income to artists once troubled me. Real musicians make money from playing live shows. Real fans buy music they already have copies of.
For years the music industry has been sowing the seeds of its own downfall. I feel no sympathy.
Aaron Taras
Sacramento, CA
Dear FRONTLINE,
This was a very disappointing look at a very disappointing business.
There is a great volume of intelligent, artful music and lyrics out there that barely survives on the periphery of the corporate megalopoly. It's discouraging that even PBS and Frontline seem to have ignored or forgotten this.
Marcus O'Realius
Dear FRONTLINE,
Over paid record execs, no choice radio, profit over music make boring choices for the casual listener.
I have found that you have always needed to search out the fringes for good things to listen to. Even KCRW has it's own agenda and sound to conform to. Hooray for the internet pipeline directly to the fans of the music. It is going to take a massive rethink to fix this system.
C Cole
Dear FRONTLINE,
Your report was informative, but one sided. While you explored the reasons why corporate music died and is dying, you explore nothing of why new music from artists who actually have something to say is in it's birth pangs and very much alive.
Music is going back to its performance, live audience roots, and with the introduction of the internet, a vehicle exists in which an artists like me may have a chance at a living. The best artists out there are undiscovered. I don't think it will really take off until a revolutionary society grasps that "The Times, They Are A Changin."
With the advent of pop -lets- make -a -star shows like American Idol, the rest of us who want real music are only driven further away from generic bands like the ones you featured.
Michael Fetler
Colorado Sprongs, Colo.
Dear FRONTLINE,
I am an avid Frontline viewer, and, more importantly, a avid- ne' rabid- music lover. Music is like breathing to me. Sadly, the major record labels, retail outlets, music magazines, & many of the so-called "artists" treat people as myself like trash!
We are disrespected when David Crosby, along w/ Stills, Nash, & Young charge up to $300.00 for a ticket to their show; we are disrespected when a good singer such as Sarah Hudson plays THEIR (the corporate) game- e.g. "Girl on the Verge" sucked as it sounded just like every other processed pop/rock record made (dense guitars, etc.), the video was absolutely stupid, yet when she was just singing only accompanied by her father on piano, I thought "wow! Now that's GOOD!"
We, music lovers, are further disrespected by an outfit like Velvet Revolver that is little more than EXACTLY what one of the record company exec.s said they were not, "a bunch of retreads!" They wear leather, they have a junkie for a lead singer, they have 3 "dudez" from a half-rate band called Guns 'n' Roses. We are disrespected when Toure', a decent writer w/ Rolling Stone, speaks negatively about Britney Spears when the magazine he writes for has put her on their cover, 1/2 naked usually, at least 4 times in less than 3 years!
The absolute truth is, it's up to the music loving community to take back the "biz." That's why downloading is so popular.
Willie Nelson is 73 years old and is making fresh interesting music that doesn't get played on ANY radio station, but 1,000 people pack the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas just to hear him play- I seriously doubt 90% of the pop acts in ANY genre will have any audience when they're that age, because they don't work for it.
David Elliott
Dallas, Texas
Dear FRONTLINE,
Record companies have been on the gravy train for years, and they don't like being put on a diet, so they lash out at the people who'd be their biggest fans, if only we, (the fans) were offered what we wanted in the quantity that we wanted.
Fortunately, with the development of the Internet, the Record Companies will ultimately fade away, to be replaced by new ways for people to support their artists, without being fleeced.
Thomas Stevens
Portland, OR
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a musician and music educator, it is frustrating to see an industry groping in the darkness for a hit. It resembles one of my students groping for a melody when they haven't touched their instrument in a week.
Furthermore, it breaks my heart to read some of the viewer comments that long for the music of the good ol' days when there are a few (only a few) good musicians/songwriters/bands out their struggling to find an audience. Case in point: www.bandbystarlight.com
Kory Washburn
Denton, TX 
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