"you must be EXTREMELY attractive"

One of the ugliest men in show business sang the lyrics "What would you do if i sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?" back then, maybe, people had a much higher standard of music back then. Now days it wouldnt matter because he'd be good enough looking and have such rad dance moves that his lyrics and voice wouldnt matter. On top of that he'd be lip syncing or singing under prerecorded backing vocal tracks.

My point is, today, vocal, instrumental and lyrical talent doesnt matter. its all about the image.

The reason i bring this up is because a friend of mine was looking to start an all female rock band and posted an ad up online. In my Boycott The Music Industry blog i posted one of the responses from a guy from an "Established L.A. based entertainment company" . It encapsulates one of the things that are very wrong with music industry today.

After he name drops a handfull of major networks, film companies and magazines, (of course no record companies after this was an ad for a band right?) he proceeds to ooze slime with every keystroke. here are some excerpts;

• "The only pre-requisite is that you must be EXTREMELY attractive, a beautiful face and Magnificent body, as this is the current wave in all areas of the entertainment industry." he carefully follows this statement assuring her that this isnt for any X-rated or Adult work. also note that none of the 'pre-requisites' are musical ability.
  
• "If you are a female actress, model, vocalist, musician, or dancer, and you feel you meet our pre-requisite and standards, and you are interested, please e-mail Photos (at least one head shot and one body shot, although a few of each would be preferred)" is there a casting couch involved?
• the fact is that business is business, and there is a reason why there are no new Aretha Franklins and Mellissa Ethridges bursting on to the scene. Even people that talented would not get record deals today, but there are many young ladies with a fraction of Aretha's voice, signing multi-million dollar deals, because of their face and body. and because you're a fucking douche bag perpetuating this kind of attitude in the music industry.
• I cannot change society, or what the masses at large want, the reason labels look for beauty, is because it sells, and it sells because that is what people want.

who else wants to punch this guy in the throat? whats most fucked up is that he's right. This is the sad state of the music industry. It may not 100% reflect what the masses want tho. But even if that is what the masses want... the masses are stupid by design. they've been conditioned. if you dont give them a choice of real talent they will pick the good looking hack.

Look back to the 70's ... real song writers with great songs making hits that become classics. and they were UGLY! but it didnt matter. it was music.

the industry is insulting us by giving us vacuous celebrity with nothing to offer but eye candy thinking thats all we will accept. There's room for heart throbs but dont confuse pretty faces with talented artists.

Douche bags like this need to be stabbed in the crotch by scorpions.

if you want to read the full email check out my Boycott The Music Industry blog at boycottthemusic.blogspot.com