FIXER-UPPERS

Your headline read “What’s Wrong With the Record Industry (And How to Fix It)” (by Robert Hilburn and Chuck Philips, Oct. 12).

The question is what’s wrong with the contemporary music industry? The record companies are only one of the culprits, and probably not even the main ones.

I’m a baby boomer in my mid-40s and have tried to stay current with popular music my whole life. While the corporate-ization of popular music has created a mountain of musical banality, there is good, adventurous, imaginative pop music being made. The problem is it’s not being heard.

That RIAA survey quoted midway through the article said a mouthful: Consumers feel radio playlists are narrow and repetitive. Where is radio that takes chances, that plays music even one millimeter outside a narrowly targeted demographic? That was the Top 40 radio that I grew up with. It’s gone, and so is any forum for new music. Instead we get the umpteenth Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men clone.

That RIAA survey also said that consumers thought record labels release too much weak, sound-alike product. They don’t, of course; that’s just all that consumers hear on the radio. And, please, the problem is not too much product. The problem is there’s no place to hear it. Keep the music coming, a lot of it--but give us a chance to hear it!

NICK DURUTTA

Sherman Oaks

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I cannot understand the concept of mainstream music declining in integrity, when at its very core the “mainstream” does not reflect quality at all but rather the status quo.

I’m sure that any critics of the Spice Girls who have given the music a fair chance have found themselves tapping or humming along to music that they utterly loathe. Making music catchy does not mean that you are making good music. This is the problem with the record industry today. Good music rarely appeals to the mainstream because it requires mental participation. For example, Boss Hog and Built to Spill, bands cited as “failures” in the article, are actually quite gifted acts that just don’t make everyone happy.

In this age of technology and overstimulation of the senses, it is crucial that we have unique opinions and interests that set us apart as individuals, rather than as a big flock of sheep. Who cares about the fate of the record industry? They have never been responsible for good music--that has always been left up to the artists.

JOSH COOPER

Los Angeles

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Being a music industry student at Cal State Northridge, I must say that Hilburn and Philips’ article is right on target! It has been my belief for years now that the main problem with the industry is that there is too much money spent on bad music!

Here’s one idea for record executives to consider. Spend less money on over-production and more money on promotion to ensure that your albums will sell.

MIKE PRAGER

Northridge

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I’ve managed bands and read the article with some amusement. My take:

* Major labels have a fixed way of dealing with artists. Most of the money that is “invested” in new acts is in the form of “recoupable advances” that the artist will have to pay back from future earnings. If they aren’t recouped, the label will write off the losses. Labels create “controlled composition clauses” to minimize the payout of publishing royalties. They always manage to control their downside, so don’t shed tears for them.

* Clueless A&R; people. Cut-out bins in record stores are full of bands that should never have been signed.

* Music publications that are so off base that they do stories on Oasis, a band that wouldn’t exist but for stolen Beatles riffs and ideas.

TOM ROBINSON

Robinson & Associates

Long Beach