
Dead Kennedys guitarist goes after the modern music industry - rottyguy
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20160302/FEATURES/160309930
======
ilamont
When the HN headline mentioned "DK frontman" and "goes after the modern music
industry" I was kind of incredulous because the original singer Jello Biafra
had a reputation of taking advantage of his fellow bandmates through the
Alternative Tentacles record label he controlled (which released all of the DK
records). I admired Biafra's caustic lyrics which nailed so many things that
are wrong with our government and society (then and now) but it seemed a bit
hypocritical for him to take the moral high ground on the ills of the music
industry.

Turns out "frontman" in the article is now guitarist East Bay Ray working with
a pretty much reformed band. No mention of Jello or the other 70s/80s members,
but you can get an idea of the convoluted history here:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Kennedys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Kennedys)

~~~
adfm
Explain the hypocrisy, please. I'd seriously like to understand that. Last I
heard, he tried to keep from having good his music from being used in a TV
commercial. And the impression I get from this article, not only were the rest
of the band pissed he wouldn't sell out, they were torqued that he was
supporting smaller "no name" acts, which is kind of what YC does, in a way,
right? [http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Dead-Kennedys-legal-
feud-32...](http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Dead-Kennedys-legal-
feud-3240445.php)

~~~
ilamont
_In 1997, an employee at Alternative Tentacles Records discovered that DEAD
KENNEDYS had been underpaid $76,000 in royalties over a 10-year period. Biafra
did not tell his fellow band mates about the underpayment but instead
attempted to use the band 's own royalties as a bargaining chip to get the
others to sign to his label in perpetuity worldwide. Later, a whistle blower
at the label informed the band that these were actually royalties owed to them
and when confronted, Biafra refused to compensate the band without a court
order. Left with little choice, the band voted to cut Decay Music's ties with
Alternative Tentacles and filed suit in October 1998 to have Biafra recognize
majority vote and for back royalties.

A jury ruled in favor of Decay Music after a three-week trial in May 2000,
finding that "Alternative Tentacles Records engaged in fraudulent conduct" and
that "Biafra breached his contractual and fiduciary obligations to plaintiff
[DEAD KENNEDYS], even though the royalties were finally released to the band
in January 2000." The jury also found Biafra and Alternative Tentacles were
"guilty of malice, oppression and fraud" in committing these acts._ (1)

 _Biafra 's attempts to dissolve the partnership and gain sole custody over
the Kennedy's music was also denied._ (2)

1\. [http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jello-biafra-gets-shot-
down...](http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jello-biafra-gets-shot-down-by-dead-
kennedys/)

2\. [http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dead-kennedys-beat-
je...](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dead-kennedys-beat-
jello-20030619)

~~~
adfm
Thanks for the reply. Agreed that both sides had issues. Ego can get you to do
crazy stuff. Wonder if that $76k was worth it in the long run.

------
BEEdwards
For a long time punk rock industry vet his arguments sure sound a lot like my
dad's.

"Modern music is garbage and you kids today don't know anything."

I don't know where this guy is, but I don't think it's a controversial
statement to say that more music is being made now by more diverse groups of
people with better technology than at any other time in history.

I'm not saying garbage isn't being made and bought, but to ignore the actual
musical revolution going on at the same time is just damned shortsighted.

And ironically for an aging punk rocker the exact same thing people said about
his music when he was still young.

~~~
vlunkr
I couldn't agree more, sure there's lots of coverage on Kanye, but you can
ignore it and listen to the ridiculous amount of indie artists out there
instead. (New Animal Collective album is good!)

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
It's a golden age for indie music of all kinds. There's an unbelievable amount
of talent out there - not even counting how easy it is now to find good music
from Eastern Europe or Thailand or other places that used to be completely off
the Western music map.

It's not a golden age for making a living as an indie artist. The unbelievable
amount of talent makes it hard for anyone to break through, or even to scrape
by.

I don't think Bieber and Kardashian are any worse than their equivalents in
previous generations. There's always been a lot of manufactured product sold
by image in pop, all the way back to vaudeville and music hall.

But I think the 70s and especially the 80s hit a sweet spot for cost-of-entry
which kept dabblers out while promoting some of the strongest talent.

Now people are a lot more likely to be making music at home than paying
someone else for it. Software synths and samplers have become the modern
parlour upright piano.

It's good in a way, but it makes it much harder for the talented artists who
are selling music to stand out from those who are selling an image and a
lifestyle brand.

------
brandonmenc
> increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for independent bands to exist at
> all, he said

Uh, no.

These old-timers still think a healthy "independent" music scene is one where
an infinitesimally small number of garage bands get lucky and land
distribution deals with indie labels, and maybe make a couple bucks.

What we have now is real music independence - being able to DIY record your
band and instantly distribute the sound to the entire planet, for free. You
can also DIY record and distribute professional music videos, communicate with
your fans in real-time, and take payments from anyone in the world.

What a time to be making (and listening to) music!

The only people complaining about this are the guys who ran small labels in
the 80s and 90s - they're just bitter that they're no longer needed, and that
major labels still exist.

~~~
tnecniv
You forgot the part where you make no money off the record you put out because
digital services pay artists crap and the supply outpaces the demand
significantly. That being said, the last 60 or so years have really been an
anomaly in how much money you can make from music.

~~~
brandonmenc
> the last 60 or so years have really been an anomaly

Correct.

Musicians have to figure out how to make money from ways other than selling
recordings, just like they did for thousands of years before recording was
invented.

Recordings aren't scarce anymore, and that's a major net benefit for society.

~~~
tnecniv
Except before you either worked for a concert hall, had a patron, or it wasn't
your main job. Two of those three options are no longer very viable.

------
rorykoehler
More people that don't understand that the music industry business model has
changed. Not only this but the competitive environment in which the industry
operates has also changed (ie music is not as valuable in the eyes of the
average listener due to things like video games taking that attention space).

Plenty of great music is coming out at the moment, from exactly the type of
indie labels they lament not existing anymore. It's just the successful
contemporary indie labels have appropriate business models to deal with the
current environment. The days of making millions selling plastic boxes are
over. Time to move on.

------
circuit_breaker
Needs more Jello

~~~
TillE
Jello is still out there, writing new music (some of it very good) and touring
with a new band, with all the anger and energy he's always had.

The current "Dead Kennedys" are playing songs from the 80s that they mostly
didn't write, and generally being apolitical.

------
8ig8
Some argue that the Sex Pistols were a _boy band_ orchestrated by Malcolm
McLaren...

> Reliably or not, Mr. McLaren explained his strategy for packaging and
> selling the band in the 1980 film “The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle.”

[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/arts/music/09mclaren.html?...](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/arts/music/09mclaren.html?_r=0)

------
rdiddly
If he's gonna compare "now" with "back then," and the artists he picks from
"now" are Bieber & Kardashian - two of the most vapid and heavily promoted
mainstream household names, available by glancing at the nearest tabloid
headline - then he needs to pick similarly vapid, heavily promoted, mainstream
household names from back then. And there were plenty. Doesn't he remember?

------
timrpeterson
People in the 1950-60s said The Beatles and Bob Dylan were trash. It's called
change, get used to it.

Pretty confident Kim Kardashian will be considered an icon some day in the
same sense as Marilyn Monroe, Madonna or whoever else was considered crap
during their peak by the old guard. Heck, Donald Trump shows she might even be
President if she wants to.

~~~
earleybird
Showbiz Kids[0]

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJXQatf9c0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJXQatf9c0)

~~~
mturmon
"Show business kids making movies of themselves, you know they don't give a
fuck about any body else."

------
peterashford
Having grown up in the 80's I think the article is BS. The net has allowed a
thousand flowers to bloom. The recording industry isn't gone but you can do an
end run around it these days. When I was a kid you got the crap pop du-jour
and that was all. These days you have zillions of avenues to new music.

