Peter stated the sad facts of reality in the music "bid-ness," which are sad indeed:

> The frightening question is, are the major
> labels mass producing product to bolster the
> sales figures for what would be failing artists
> (most sales figures are not based on what sells
> at the retail location but rather what is
> shipped out of their respective warehouses.)
> only to have the plastic returned six months
> later and sold in pieces to recycling companies > and costume jewelary companies? What a waste
> of our non-renewable resourses! It's like
> walking through Rome.

Peter:

Wow, that really blows!

As you are part of the "industry," I am sure that you could give specific examples--- but, no doubt your employer has you clamped down with some sort of binding non-disclosure contract, so these types of secrets aren't revealed to the masses.

You are confirming something that I have wondered about for ages--- for instance, did they REALLY sell 28 million copies of Wacko Jacko's THRILLER album? Are they selling as many N' SUCK and BACKSTREET BOYS and Britney Spears CD's as purported?

I have noticed that today's music does not encourage thought, political activism, or any sort of true enlightenment of its' listeners. This is one reason why I remain loyal to YES. They are still trying to bring PEACE AND PRAYERS to a very fucked up world. Their music is also something that warms my heart, which is a rarity these days.

But Peter, your response brings up a very important question in my mind.

What about SOUNDSCAN?!?!

Isn't THAT supposed to be collecting sales figures via the UPC code at the register when a CD is actually PURCHASED?!?!? How do they get around this "alleged truism"?!?

And, the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) must be a witting accomplice to this fraud upon the public.

These days, my favorite 'wrecka stow here in Buffalo is a place called RECORD THEATRE. Inside that store, the USED CD section is damn near as large as the retail section, and I have noticed mass dumpings of shitty product in that side of the store.

So, there we go kiddies--- the true artists like Mr. Baerwald, Joe Henry, et al, are bound strictly to sales at the register, and the music that we all suspect as being "shit to a 4/4 beat" is being mass dumped to inflate sales, later to be sold at a fraction of the original retail cost for "recyclable materials."

Except the petroleum products CD's are made of don't exactly biodegrade, do they? At least not in my lifetime!

Thanks Peter, for a startling revelation, and confirmation of something I have suspected for years.

Any further comments, or specifics, should you want to divulge them, can be made to me privately, if you don't want to post them in a public forum.

Thanks for your honesty!

Peace and Prayers,




Kent Daniel Bentkowski
Buffalo, New York USA