
Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win - fortran77
https://variety.com/2019/music/news/the-true-story-of-erroll-garner-the-first-artist-to-sue-a-major-label-and-win-1203413083/
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farisjarrah
Great article! Erroll Garner is definitely my favorite jazz pianist, I think
he definitely deserves some more love in Jazz history. The dude couldn't read
music and was improvising stuff like this:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLLWN9x3Yis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLLWN9x3Yis)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OCJgP7_-fE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OCJgP7_-fE)

Edit: Erroll Garner's story is a great one if anyone wants to take a read:

I just find it funny, I was studying some of these piano transcriptions and I
SERIOUSLY was disgusted at the stuff he was able to play. Like, one has to
wonder if Erroll actually had 3 hands at some points, while practicing these
masterpieces... Interestingly enough he was a short man... How on earth did he
play some of these things?!?

"Short in stature (5 ft 2 in), Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone
directories."

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erroll_Garner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erroll_Garner)

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jacquesm
You should check out Michel Petrucciani.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Petrucciani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Petrucciani)

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OldManAndTheCpp
Why are record companies still attractive to musicians today?

In the past, selling music meant having access to capital equipment (the vinyl
presses), access to marketing budgets, and access to the record shop
inventories.

Now, music can "pressed" for free by Spotify, Apple Music et all, shelf space
is not limited (computer storage is cheap!), and the marketing can be done
online more cheaply (I assume).

With all these stories of successful artists in the past (like Erroll Garner)
and in the present (like Taylor Swift) being chained by their record
companies, why do present day artists sign with a record label?

I'm sure I'm missing some key facet of the business, what is it?

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GauntletWizard
Marketing. Superstars aren't (possibly never were) natural, they're the
product of a lot of time and effort getting their look, their feel, their etc
all just right. This takes time and effort, but when it works, the results are
huge.

Think of Record Companies as the VC Funds of the rock and roll world. Yeah,
it's possible to bootstrap, but why bootstrap when you can get a cash and
publicity injection?

~~~
mywittyname
There are tons of great artists that you've never heard of. There are tons of
mediocre artists who people can't avoid listening to.

The key difference between these artists is marketing.

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doc_gunthrop
Erroll Garner was a true master at playing piano. When Liberace played "Misty"
it was something remarkable, but when Garner plays it that's another
experience altogether.

Just watch this performance and be blown away:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tAU3GM9XI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tAU3GM9XI)

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lichtenberger
Eroll Garner is one of my most favorite pianists. Plus, as a Lindy Hop dancer
it's super great to hear his music and dance to it.

Nowadays, I love Gordon Webster and of course... Stephanie Trick and Paolo
Alderighi.

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throwaway35784
Unreadable on mobile due to all the tracking.

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pmoriarty
Expect a lot fewer individuals to win against big corporations now that the
conservatives got a stranglehold on the courts in the US.

~~~
Jamwinner
Big companies legislating regulatory capture of markets is not restrained to
any single party. It is however a growing problem. Changing your tone may find
you more support in this overwhelmingly popular notion.

