Morrissey Central "CAPITOL RECORDS, LOS ANGELES" (February 17, 2023)

CAPITOL RECORDS, LOS ANGELES - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - CAPITOL RECORDS, LOS ANGELES

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

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[Gregor Samsa]

dont get yer drawers in a twist,if you are so offeneded by her writing then dont read it,her name appears at the top so just scroll on by,isnt that hard.

I didn’t read it, I simply cannot summon the energy to read yet another Fiona article saying more or less the same thing.

 

[That's Enough For Me]

In this newsflash, we learn that companies speculate on buying assets but choose not to re-sell all of them, focussing on those that represent their best chance of providing a return on investment.

Meanwhile we also learn that an artist/artist management who wants their album released has done a very poor job of their due diligence in who they were selling to, prior to taking the money.

Brand new information. Everything has changed!

 

[BrokenFrame]

How many more times can you attempt to say the same thing while juggling the same set of words around?

This really is all he has left.

At least read it before complaining.

 

[marqueemoon]

I didn’t read it, I simply cannot summon the energy to read yet another Fiona article saying more or less the same thing.

It's a good article, you should read it.

 

[Thewlis]

A great article, outlining the long history of feuds between artists and record company, as we have also been discussing on this site.

 

[Les Tameside]

It's a good article, you should read it.

A better article might strive to explain how a Sex Pistols fan, who has spent the best part of forty years moaning about record companies and lawyers, would/could sleepwalk into a contract that doesn’t secure the release of his record.

Such an article might be a basis for Morrissey moving forward, particularly as the recent agreement was with the same company that owned Harvest—where he’d astutely noticed “Just one weak-chinned drone can assert the fist of injustice and all […] efforts are flushed away.”

 

[BrummieBoy]

Musicians Seek Class Action in Lawsuit vs. UMG & Capitol Records

A new filing in the John Waite vs. UMG case concerning copyright termination is seeking class-action status.

www.digitalmusicnews.com

A group of nine musicians are suing UMG and Capitol Records to regain control of their masters.

Some interesting background information from Fiona Dodwell that, at last, broadens the discussion from a paranoid conspiracy theory with Morrissey as 'persecuted victim' to a more nuanced overview of how this contract dispute is part of a wider conversation about the nefarious excesses of Big Music contracts and censorship.

The problems with Capitol Records seemingly were in the public domain prior to Morrissey signing a deal with them. So: why did he sign?


Once again, it appears that a failure to pay to hire effective management and legal representation to negotiate a good deal has banjaxed his career - alongside his 'idiosyncratic' self-publicity...


Either this was a failure to do 'due diligence' on an offer or it was desperation because this was the only offer on the table.


If Morrissey has indeed signed a 'works for hire' contract at this stage of the game then he really has to explain how he could be so credulous!


The only way forward is probably for Morrissey to negotiate a new contract elsewhere and seek to have the 'BOT' masters released to the next label as part of any deal. No doubt Capitol Records will be amenable if 'the price is right'...as in an arm and a leg?


The 'guerilla war' launched by Taylor Swift against Big Music by re-recording & re-claiming her back catalogue has probably led Capitol Records to include a clause ensuring that's not an option for the 'BOT' project.


I suspect the album has been 'ghosted' due to a covert campaign against its content within Capitol Records by other artists and 'woke' staff. The same tactics have stymied several authors at major literary publishing houses & other 'content providers'so it's likely the next shoe to drop...yesterday's brouhaha at the New York Times, the 'Twitterfiles', 'Netflix' implosion...etcetera...


Whatever you think about the validity or aesthetic quality of Morrissey's artistic response to the bombing of Manchester Arena, it's absolutely outrageous if he is indeed being subject to 'shadow-banning' by political operatives within Big Music. It would be a great plot-twist if some 'whistle-blower inside Capitol Records came forward...huge difference between above scenario and unrealistic demands for a Sam Smith level advertising budget...



'the labels argue that most sound recordings aren’t subject to the termination rule – unlike the underlying musical composition. The label’s argument falls under the purview that recordings are ‘works for hire,’ which means they are created (and belong) to the label in perpetuity.'


https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/04/18/musicians-suing-umg-capitol-records/



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/w...ch-19-year-old-gender-studies-students-think/

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/3492601-netflix-to-woke-workers-suck-it-up-or-quit/


https://unherd.com/thepost/can-the-new-york-times-resist-the-trans-backlash/

 

[Anonymous]

Let's look on the positive side - after this total carcrash of a situation, surely Morrissey isn't even going to attempt to shop around his new album with a major label. If this doesn't finally make him see the light, take control of his own destiny, and release 'Without Music the World Dies' himself, then he'll have no one else to blame.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

So what is the ransom?


Also, maybe this is Capitol’s ass-backwards way of publicity for the album? It’s quite the build up. Lol.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

She doesn't mention us fans who thought Rebels Without Applause had shockingly poorly recorded vocals and wondered if the album was even releasable.

Correct. But she does mention the many that loved RWA.

Anyway, do you think experienced Capitol would bother signing an album in the first place if it was poorly recorded and unreleasable?

Use your loaf.

 

[Musician]

Okay. So if Capitol had released the record, there would be no problem/mention of other artists suing them. Now that Bonfire is off the table suddenly we get a piece on how unethical they are. Piss off.

 

[Like_Elvis_In_The_Movies]

Won’t be the last album to be shelved / lost by a record company as they decided it didn’t fit with their image / change of personalities at the record company / times have changed.

Some of the songs sounded good on the last tour , some of them certainly didn’t / the lyrics were very patchy (being kind).

Getting to stage , just have to chalk it up to experience and get on with working on recording / finishing the recording of the follow up he was already talking up & self releases

 

[Johnny Tapia]

How many more times can you attempt to say the same thing while juggling the same set of words around?

This really is all he has left.

 

[gashonthenail]

It's becoming clear that Moz signed a poorly worded contract with Capitol. He has signed over the masters to them and they have decided they no longer have any plans to release the album. After all the legal battles Moz has fought and lost in his time, I would have thought he would have had enough sense to have a really good lawyer thoroughly check the licensing agreement to cover this eventuality. It's appalling treatment of an artist, and Capitol clearly have form, but it's a good example of why checking the small print is so important.

 

[Girlmostlikely]

Thank you, Fiona. This is a well written and researched article. It's good to see that it's not just our Moz having these issues. I think this article is very helpful. I have not always been impressed with Fiona's output, but she has been getting better and credit is certainly due here! Believe me, I too, have been feeling like 'here we go again' with this Capitol Records mess, but remember M "can't be wrong about everything, it isn't possible"

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET US GET WHAT WANT...RELEASE BONFIRE!!!!!

 

[Musician]

It's becoming clear that Moz signed a poorly worded contract with Capitol. He has signed over the masters to them and they have decided they no longer have any plans to release the album. After all the legal battles Moz has fought and lost in his time, I would have thought he would have had enough sense to have a really good lawyer thoroughly check the licensing agreement to cover this eventuality. It's appalling treatment of an artist, and Capitol clearly have form, but it's a good example of why checking the small print is so important.

But we don't know anything, do we? How is that becoming clear? In a perverse way I find it very funny how Capitol didn't say a single word and everyone is jumping conclusions. Might as well Morrissey('s team) breached their contract.

 

[DennisW]

"It was in 2021 when Morrissey confirmed he had finished recording new album, Bonfire Of Teenagers. Shortly after, it was announced that Capitol Records would release the project and fan"

The Capitol deal was announced just last fall right? Hardly "shortly after" the end of recording around May 2021... Should have just self-released it long ago.

 

[NealCassidy]

Oh, the irony…

SkinFlint doesn’t even change the words round

 

[klaus]

i miss julia

 

[T. H. Auden]

A very well article, I think I must say.