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I've told this story before. In the early 1990s I worked for Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label, back when they were dominating the UK and European po
by ilamont 7y ago
I've told this story before. In the early 1990s I worked for Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label, back when they were dominating the UK and European pop charts as The KLF (https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/07/20/537708922/how-three-austrian-unknowns-misunderstood-klf-s-the-manual https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/07/20/537708922/...).
One day we received in the mail a cassette tape and a letter from a law firm representing a composer or publisher (I can't remember which) of a famous Broadway soundtrack from the 1960s. The letter accused the KLF of infringement. The cassette contained one of the songs on the Broadway soundtrack, an instrumental section of which repeated a three note riff that sounded a lot like the same three-note sequence from one of the KLFs biggest hits. The rhythms and song structures were otherwise nothing alike.
It didn't seem like an obvious example of copying, and it was quite possible it was a coincidence or some obscure influence on The KLF or their core musical collaborators, who would have been youths when the Broadway soundtrack was released.
"Are you going to fight this?" I asked the label's president.
Her answer: "No."
From The KLF's perspective, it wasn't worth a long, expensive legal fight they might lose. I think a lot of it related to the problems it encountered with the "1987" album you mentioned, which had been partly done to ridicule the record industry but really took a lot of energy to deal with when the legal troubles emerged.
Also, the label president didn't say it, but potential bad press could have also been on her mind. At the time, the KLF had the British music press eating out of their hands, and a public legal fight could change the narrative of the KLF as being brilliant pop iconoclasts to something less favorable.
- rock_hard 7y agoI need to tell you this: in the 2000s we worked off the strategy and tactics outlined in The Manual and had a string of global chart topping successes I can only assume others did the same...do u know the bigger story?
- rgbrgb 7y agoIf anybody else is wondering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manual
- ilamont 7y agoI would love to hear more. I've heard of at least one other band that had this kind of success, and it does not surprise me in the least. Drummond knew how the industry worked as a musician, manager, and skeptic, and in that book outlined a formula that could work. It was a bit of a piss-take but there were nuggets of wisdom and truth.
- rock_hard 7y agoTrying to keep this account disconnected from my real life persona so won’t name names. But we had a series of number ones around the world in countries like the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Brasil, France, Italy, China, Australia...really every country you have ever heard of. Of course some of the tactics had to be translated into 2000s world but I still recommend aspiring music artists to read it when they ask me for advice today. It’s of course not the only strategy that works...but I’d say it’s the easiest to execute if what you want is commercial success So in either case the book levels the expectations (“sex, drugs and money will always be a problem”) and establishes some fundamentals...and it’s of course a really fun weekend read. Many of the general ideas also translate 1:1 to startups or really any kind of endeavor and have served me very well in my career
- ilamont 7y agoI always remembered the line from the book about finding a bass line being like a "panther on the prowl" and IIRC mentioning Billie Jean or some other Michael Jackson song as an example. It really made sense. The same section also warned against hiring some "thumb-slapping dickhead" to play bass which made sense from their perspective (The KLF never used bass players) but doesn't hold true for all types of songs, even dance music.
- rock_hard 7y agoI remember now One of my takeaways was to not try to do everything yourself...if fact to try to do nothing yourself except piecing together existing stuff in novel ways I just watched a YouTube video of one of the producers of Demi Lovato and he frames it like this: “What makes a great producer is not the ability to play any instrument or be a good engineer or anything. You can find others to do that for you. What makes a great producer is the ability to know how to tell a compelling story with your work!” Paraphrased from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kre17S89-j8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kre17S89-j8 I think this is true for any product...your are selling people on a story/vision...of what could be, not what is!
- alasdair_ 7y agoScooter did that too. And there was "Bring Me Edelweiss" but that was a single hit.
- rock_hard 7y agoYep, also Chumbawamba
- fzzzy 7y agoAbsolutely, I don't see why it wouldn't have worked. I doubt it would work today however.
- rock_hard 7y agoWhy do u think it wouldn’t work today? I think the strategies in the book are timeless
- fzzzy 7y agoWell, I was thinking specifically about the instruction to use ABABCBB form for a song, which was great in the 80s and 90s, but would produce a song that was way too long for today's tastes, I think. I believe you when you say there are many timeless lessons in the book.
- rock_hard 7y agoYeah you have to adapt the tactics to the modern times The key lesson here issnt to use a ABABCBB arrangement but to research whatever the successful arrangement of your time is and to apply it
- fzzzy 7y agoThanks! That's a great insight. The book really does emphasize steeping yourself completely in pop in order to absorb as much as possible. Also, I guess the tracking engineer would be up on the latest styles and able to assist with this. I wonder if there are still big studios you could convince to book studio time with net 90 terms? I suppose there must be. So much modern music is just bedroom recordings nowadays but I'm sure fancy studios still exist.
- djmips 7y agoWas it Jesus Christ Superstar? I actually do hear the similarity but I wouldn't call it a ripoff either. I love the KLF!! Riff starts on the beginning of both tunes. Jesus Christ Supertar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoeM18vCaU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoeM18vCaU What Time is Love? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28w2LVzxVkU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28w2LVzxVkU
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- jacobush 7y agoSounds a bit like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVxXbTk-zsQ&feature=youtu.be&t=47 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVxXbTk-zsQ&feature=youtu.be... Das Boot U-96