The Lowdown Radio News… Fan Whining…Grammy Nods, and Musical Pot Busts

Posted by thelowdown2 on December 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

It has been some time since The Lowdown has been active. Thanksgiving came up and a few other commitments but we are back to bring you quality music and news!

One of todays musicians that I have a great deal of respect for is Jack White of the White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather, etc. He is one of those artists that are truly committed to their craft. A genius on the guitar, he has propelled himself into rock history. Jack White owns Third Man Records, Which is a record label, a live music venue, and HQ for Jack White. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, White and his crew release rare and limited edition vinyl records that they press themselves. The records themselves are not the classic black records but rather are two tone colored and sometimes have surprises hidden inside. White has set up a subscription membership for fans at his Third Man website called The Vault, at a cost of $7/month or $20/month for premium services. Included in the membership for “$7 a month you can get exclusive streams, concerts, articles and photos, as well as presale tickets, chat rooms and other content. Upgrading to platinum status, which costs $20 a month, lands fans subscription-only records, 7-inches and shirts on a quarterly basis.”

Third Man records releases many limited edition material and the fans go crazy for it, unfortunately many times people buy the records at cheaper prices in stores and turn around to sell them on eBay for exorbitant amounts of money. White calls theses dealers “flippers” and this past Monday he got tired of it erupting in a storm of comments thrown back and forth between White and his Third Man Vault members. Instead of releasing the records like normal, Jack’s label set up an eBay auction page and sold the records there. Vault members were given the heads up and directed to the auction page. Within an hour all the auctions set up were over $100. Fans were complaining that they were getting ripped off and not getting their subscriptions money worth. Jack chimed into the chat rooms and told fans directly… “We sell a Wanda Jackson split record for 10 bucks, the eBay flipper turns around and sells it for 300, We’re not in the business of making flippers a living. We’re in the business of giving fans what they want.”

White cut out the after market middleman! White even told fans to stop all the whining… “We’ve done giveaways, contests, auctions, etc. a lot of different ways for vault members to get first crack at limited records when we don’t have to … seriously stop all of the whining, because what you communicate to us is that all of the trouble we go to isn’t worth it because nothing we do will make you happy. we’ll try to do back rubs door to door when we get a chance. sincerely the staff at third man records.” For a full read of what White and the fans said click here.

It was a very heated exchange and I have to say that I agree with him. The music industry has changed from what it once was. The top money earner has always been touring and merchandising, but there was once a time when you could make money off selling records, thats not the case anymore. Everything is digital and easily pirated, artists and the people they employ lose out on possible revenue from sales of music. And in this case, White has a record label and record store that he is operating. While talking to fans he said “there’s a guy who waits in a black suv down the block from third man who hires homeless people to go buy him tri colors when they are on sale. doesn’t even get out of his car.” This guy undoubtedly turns all those records into profits on eBay and other auction sites. So why is it such a burn that Jack White is looking out for himself, his craft, his business, his employees??? I sympathize with Vault members for not getting first crack at the cheaper limited editions but White puts it in perfect context…

“Would you like us to just stop making limited edition records? you would go so far as to say fuck you to us? for what? we didn’t do anything to you but give you what you want. you’re a vault member obviously, for what reason? limited records you can’t get elsewhere? would you kindly send us those records back so we can sell them to some other fan who didn’t get to have them? don’t want a split colored limited edition record? then guess what? don’t buy one. don’t want them to be expensive? then guess what? don’t WANT them. it’s you and others wanting them that dictates the price and the entire nature of the idea.”

They are members for those limited editions, they pay that premium for the first heads up on these deals, but if the going price for these rare vinyls on eBay is $500 why shouldn’t the record label and artists get that money? I do feel for the slight that the Vault members feel, but I have to applaud Jack White for playing the game. He cut out the middle man and went back to dealing with the customers, direct interactions. He is looking out for his business and I can’t argue with that. What do you think about this, should White have posted the auction himself? Should he have told fans to stop whining? Sound off in the comment section!

Biggest music awards show is coming around town again. The Grammy Awards will be on February 13, 2011. All of the nominations have just been announced, Eminem leads the pack with 10 nominations followed by this past year’s up and comer, Bruno Mars with 7. Lady Gaga also got some nods, as well as Lowdown favorites, Cee-Lo and Arcade Fire. A full list of the nominees can be found here. Eminem walks away with the nom for Record of the year and many others, Cee-Lo got noms for his hit “Fuck You” in the Record and Song of the Year categories. The Lowdown will give a full list of predictions for the Grammys a little closer to the date but big winner for the year is going to be Bruno Mars. Although he has had some drug problems recently, getting caught with 2.6 grams of coke in Vegas, he is nominated in his own categories as well as collaborator in other songs. He co-wrote Cee-Lo’s FU song, and also features on B.o.B.’s Grammy nominated “Nothing on You.” It will be interesting to see how his drug arrest affects his chances of Grammy wins, or even the reverse, the Grammys effects on his sentencing. Justin Beiber, nominated and is a shoe in for Best New Artist, although I think it should go to Florence and the Machine. Below are some of the major categories, predictions will follow soon!

Album of the Year
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Eminem – Recovery
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

Record of the Year
B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars) – “Nothin’ on You”
Eminem (featuring Rihanna) – “Love the Way You Lie”
Cee Lo Green – “F— You”
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Best New Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence & the Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding

Song of the Year
Ray LaMontagne – “Beg Steal or Borrow”
Cee Lo Green – “F— You”
Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
Eminem (featuring Rihanna) – “Love the Way You Lie”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Best Rock Song
Neil Young – “Angry World”
Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Muse – “Resistance”
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”

Best Alternative Music Album
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
The Black Keys – Brothers
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Vampire Weekend – Contra

Best Rap Album
B.o.B – The Adventures of Bobby Ray
Drake – Thank Me Later
Eminem – Recovery
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
The Roots – How I Got Over

Music News Roundup…

1. Here is evidence of your tax dollars at work and proving that all the new TSA procedures at the airport are keeping you safe. While going through a Body Scanner at LAX in Los Angeles, old school rapper Kurtis Blow was caught with a small amount of Marijuana, given a ticket and released. How nice, I do feel safer.

2. On the opposite side of things, Country star Willie Nelson was also busted with weed, however his experience was much different. At a Border Patrol checkpoint, Nelson and his tour bus were busted with 6 ounces of the Mary Jane!!! The 77 yr old star could face jail time and a $10,000 fine. Read more about it here

Filed under Uncategorized