Quoting:
The record companies have started to sue over 200 people using Kazaa. Why can't they concentrate on writing music that's worth our money?
End Quote

Actually, I am in the middle of this issue.

I am opposed to downloading current songs.  If you like a song, go out and buy it.  The artist deserves the money for writing and recording it, and the record company deserves money for promoting and distributing it.

Where my beef with the RIAA is to the inability to get older songs.

They hold the rights to millions of songs, but most of those are unavailable to buy in any form.  They hold onto huge collections of songs, but refuse to release them.  The only alternative then is to search through used record stores and hope to find a decent copy.  That is assuming you can find what you are looking for.

I do download music, and 95% of what I download is something I can't find any other way.

One good example is the Smothers Brothers.  They made a huge number of albums in the 1960's, but all you can find now is 1 "Best Of" collection on CD.

I wish they would put a cap on how long a company can hold the rights without re-releasing it before it is considered "abandoned property".

If my downloading old Smothers Brothers songs and bits is "stealing", then give me a way I can acquire it legally.  And this goes for a lot of other artists.  I have been looking for years for CDs by some popular 70's and 80's artists.  But they are unavailable because the record companies will not spend the money to do so.

To me, this is the crime.  If you are downloading Brittney Spears, you are stealing.  Go out and buy it.  If you are downloading Taco, or M, or Smothers Brothers, or Candy Dulfer you are acquiring abandoned property in my mind.

If it was so valuable, they would let my buy it.  I am proud of my copy of "Poodle Hat" that I bought the weekend it came out.  My buying the CD helps encourage the artist and recording company to make more of them.  But the RIAA is causing their own problems by NOT letting me get songs that I want in any other way.

Quoting:


Actually, I am in the middle of this issue.

I am opposed to downloading current songs.  If you like a song, go out and buy it.  The artist deserves the money for writing and recording it, and the record company deserves money for promoting and distributing it.

Where my beef with the RIAA is to the inability to get older songs.

They hold the rights to millions of songs, but most of those are unavailable to buy in any form.  They hold onto huge collections of songs, but refuse to release them.  The only alternative then is to search through used record stores and hope to find a decent copy.  That is assuming you can find what you are looking for.

I do download music, and 95% of what I download is something I can't find any other way.

One good example is the Smothers Brothers.  They made a huge number of albums in the 1960's, but all you can find now is 1 "Best Of" collection on CD.

I wish they would put a cap on how long a company can hold the rights without re-releasing it before it is considered "abandoned property".

If my downloading old Smothers Brothers songs and bits is "stealing", then give me a way I can acquire it legally.  And this goes for a lot of other artists.  I have been looking for years for CDs by some popular 70's and 80's artists.  But they are unavailable because the record companies will not spend the money to do so.

To me, this is the crime.  If you are downloading Brittney Spears, you are stealing.  Go out and buy it.  If you are downloading Taco, or M, or Smothers Brothers, or Candy Dulfer you are acquiring abandoned property in my mind.

If it was so valuable, they would let my buy it.  I am proud of my copy of "Poodle Hat" that I bought the weekend it came out.  My buying the CD helps encourage the artist and recording company to make more of them.  But the RIAA is causing their own problems by NOT letting me get songs that I want in any other way.
End Quote

i agree with most of what you said, especially the part about not being able to buy music and then getting in trouble for downloading it.  i've run into the same problem.  however, my feeling about current artists is that if you only like one song by an artist, i think it is a waste of money to buy an album if you only like one song.  (i don't know about other areas, but it's almost impossible to find a "single" cd around here.)

Quoting:
Yeah, that pisses me off, too.  Instead of wasting time getting after teenagers for downloading music, maybe they should start working on some guidelines for the better treatment of musicians.  A lot of performers get so screwed by their record companies, and if anything should be put to an end right now, it should be that.  
Also, I think downloading music is a good way to spread knowledge about bands kids didn't know about before, and it's also a good way to get to know a band and their music so you can make better decisions about which cds to buy.   :-[End Quote

You've said exactly what I've been thinking.


Plus, they should actually be playing a variety of musicians on the radio/TV, instead of playing the same artist 20 times in a row, considering the artist gets paid EACH TIME they're song is paid.

They spend too much time promoting certain artists and ignoring others.

Quoting:
Plus, they should actually be playing a variety of musicians on the radio/TV, instead of playing the same artist 20 times in a row, considering the artist gets paid EACH TIME they're song is paid.

They spend too much time promoting certain artists and ignoring others.
End Quote

That is an issue with the radio stations.  I often feel that the "Top 40" style of radio is a crime.  Myself, I tend to listen to "Classic Rock" stations because of this.

If you do not like the playlist choice, call the station and tell them what you think, then find a station more in tune with what you listen to.

Quoting:
Actually, I am in the middle of this issue.

Where my beef with the RIAA is to the inability to get older songs.
End Quote

Sorry Mr 80s, did you mean you are undecided on the subject or you are involved with this business with the RIAA? Forgive me for sounding stupid.

I totally agree with what you said, the majority of what I have downloaded is stuff I feel I can't get hold of. I have looked fervishly for old music but the stuff I liked I can't find anywhere.

Quoting:


Sorry Mr 80s, did you mean you are undecided on the subject or you are involved with this business with the RIAA? Forgive me for sounding stupid.

I totally agree with what you said, the majority of what I have downloaded is stuff I feel I can't get hold of. I have looked fervishly for old music but the stuff I liked I can't find anywhere.
End Quote

It's quite all right, is not a stupid question at all.  :)

And in one way, I am in a way in business with the RIAA.  I am a professional DJ, and as such, music is part of my way of doing business.  I have also worked in the past in the recording industry.  But I am not in any way a member of RIAA, nor a member of any unions.

What I mean by "in the middle" is that it is stealing, but the RIAA gives us no choice sometimes.

It is like the old argument about digging through the trash.  If it is thrown away, can you really steal it?  That is how I feel about songs and artists that are no longer published by any of the recording companies.

Some of the old ones are now published again.  Tom Lehrer is one that was out of print for almost 20 years before his work was available on CD.  Xanadu was not available on CD until 1993.  And I know of at least 2 songs from that movie that are not available other then from the original 45s released in 1981.

Some of my favourite "Bumper Music" for years was from an obscure Warren Schatz album.  I wore mine out, and it took me 5 years until I was able to find another copy of it.  This time, I used my equipment to convert it to CD, and I admit to having given it out to other DJs for the same use.

This is where the problem comes in.  I would have bought the CD if it was available.  But this album was only released once, as a 33 1/3 album in 1983.  Because it has NEVER been re-released, it is almost impossible to find.

Technically it is stealing for me to give out a copy of it.  But unless they give myself and other a way to acquire it legally, who's fault is that?  I would have bought it if I could.  I paid $35 for the copy I found last year.  A new CD would have cost me far less, but I really wanted this album.

My problem is that the technology is out there now for us to be able to download and pay for any song we wanted.  But the RIAA is wanting this magic technology that will only let one person download a song, and not be able to copy it and give it to others.

This technology will never exist that I can see.  But because of this, huge numbers of songs are unavailable to most people.  Until this can be fixed, for music fans like me, "stealing" will be the only way to get music we want.

If it is a current song, I feel it is wrong to download it.  I hear the arguments over and over again "I only want 1 song from the CD".  I do not accept that arguement.  Most music stores will order a CD single if you ask them to.  I have been special ordering songs for over 25 years, and have never had a store tell me they would NOT order one.

The other route is to buy used CDs.  There is a huge market out there for them, with most towns having at least one source you can but them at.  Or discount stores (Wall Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc).

To me, theft is theft, I do not care what you call it.  I only do it when I am given no other choice.  The money spent on buying music pays for the artists and the recording companies to do it.  If nobody bought CDs anymore, the recording companies will have no incentive to make them.  THen all you will have is what THEY think is pop.  Heaven forbid the only choice I have when I go to the store is Brittney Spears, Christina Agulera, and Eminem.

Quoting:
It's quite all right, is not a stupid question at all.  :)

What I mean by "in the middle" is that it is stealing, but the RIAA gives us no choice sometimes.

It is like the old argument about digging through the trash.  If it is thrown away, can you really steal it?  That is how I feel about songs and artists that are no longer published by any of the recording companies.

If it is a current song, I feel it is wrong to download it.  I hear the arguments over and over again "I only want 1 song from the CD".  I do not accept that arguement.  Most music stores will order a CD single if you ask them to.  I have been special ordering songs for over 25 years, and have never had a store tell me they would NOT order one.

To me, theft is theft, I do not care what you call it.  I only do it when I am given no other choice.  End Quote

Forgive me Mr 80s, I've just summarised the quote. I agree with all of this.

In reference to paragraph 4, would a record shop order 'Twistin' by the pool' by Dire Straits on single CD for me? I can't find it anywhere.

Quoting:
In reference to paragraph 4, would a record shop order 'Twistin' by the pool' by Dire Straits on single CD for me? I can't find it anywhere.
End Quote

OK, now you are talking about an old song, that even if it was ever released as a CD single, would be long unavailable now.

FOr that, you would probably be able to find it on a Dire Straits CD in the discount bin.  Look in most discount stores, they will probably have it there for around $10 for the entire CD.  Or look at the used CD shops/pawn shops.

Quoting:


Forgive me Mr 80s, I've just summarised the quote. I agree with all of this.

In reference to paragraph 4, would a record shop order 'Twistin' by the pool' by Dire Straits on single CD for me? I can't find it anywhere.
End Quote

Try checking eBay. That is where I buy all my cd's, and I can usually find anything I am looking for. Most cd's are used, but you can find new ones too...all the used cd's I have bought are in good condition and play just fine.

Quoting:


Ripping music off the net is stealing, but I don't think they should be arresting people for it unless they're making some kind of profit out of it, like making burns and then selling them or something.

End Quote

This is VERY well said, Goreripper....and again, I taped albums off the Radio way back when and nothing came of it :-/

Quoting:
If no one bought cars anymore, how many people would lose their jobs? End Quote

And if no one bought horses and buggies anymore, how many people would lose their jobs?
In other words, the industry has to deal with a new technology.  Whether they realize it or not, they aren't making cars anymore.
They can try to do what they're doing now -- shame and intimidate people who download music.  It, in my opinion, is bound to fail.  Suing 12-year-olds is sure to bring a nasty backlash.  Shaming people is ineffective.  It's only wrong if I get caught.
The industry has to give us an affordable alternative.  A $10-a-month subscription service is a workable idea, although I wonder how many people would be willing to spend another 79-cents to download a forty-year-old Smothers Brothers' tune.  

Quoting:
When I was young (Long, Long ago) I went and taped a record from the radio for a friend....big deal!  Just the other day a radio personality "Burned" a CD for me.  Millionare musicians and record execs....GET OVER IT!
End Quote

Well, even music execs need to make $1,000,000 year.  <insert sarcasm here>.  :P

Yeah, I guess I am stealing music.  Of course, taping it off the air is stealing too.  I like to collect rare and weird 80's pop tunes and some live concert recordings (bootlegs usually done by the soundcrew themselves) so *IF* I am lucky enough to find a CD with a particular song on it, 99 times out of 100 the rest of the songs I don't want, already have, or hate.  All for $18 to $24!   :P

By the way, in Canada, the music industry is ripping off the general public.  They managed to convince our politicians to pass a tax on all CDR's and CDRW's sold.  So I have to pay a recording artist money to store my backup programs and school work on.  Yeahhh riiiight.  >:(

After that tax came in, I started copying and sharing music.  Especially the rarer stuff.

Oh yeah, how would you like to pay premium dollars for an album that will stop playing after so many uses??  The music industry is looking at ways of incorporating that kind of technology.  Sorry music industry... I classify that as greed.  >:(  And to make it worse, what do you think is going to happen with all those dead disks?  Greenpeace is going to have a field day!

http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1907716http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/news/0001/spectradisc.shtml

Hell, just Google "self destructing cd" look at the number of links on the subject.

Quoting:
I buy a f***ing lot of CD's.  I also download great big buttloads of music.  I have lots of songs which I didn't pay for, and don't ever plan to buy.  And my conscience is clear.  I wasn't going to buy those CD's anyway.  Without mp3s, I'd have bought a lot less music, I'll tell ya that.  My CD collection would have be a lot closer to 17 than it would be to 175, which is about where it stands right now.
End Quote

I understand you, Kenny. I have a massive CD collection (paid for) but how far can you go to pay for just one single or that special live concert? They make you pay through the nose for it as well. I have seen live CDs for £20-25 - I feel that the music industry would be stealing my hard-earned money from me if I have to pay that much for a CD.

Quoting:
I have problems with the subscription service idea, too.

What is the bit-rate of the music?  The standard 128-bit download contains about 11% of the music on a compact disc.  Even the top-line 320-bit rate download only contains a third of the original content.  

How many of us want to pay, say, $1.50, to download a song that contains one-third the information of the original?
End Quote

I see your point, Steven H. In Britain, we have to pay at least £3.99 for a CD single which is a lot of money for one song and two or three remix's (most of which I don't want anyway). Occassionally you will get a CD single with a different song or two - that may be worth buying.

Quoting:
 I don't mind an artist making a living off their work, but where is it written that musicians must become multi-millionaires?  Graphic artists aren't compensated like that.  
End Quote

Shh!  lars might hear you and demand your arrest!

Quoting:
Oh dear! I downloaded a copy of the Gaylords' 1955 hit "Isle of Capri" off the internet and now I feel soooooo guilty...! :o

Can someone tell me where to locate the members of the group so I can mail them each 20 cents...? ::)
End Quote

Ha ha! Oh Zella! You are very funny.  :D

Quoting:
Are we "stealing" from the phone company when we speak to someone over an Instant Messenger service instead of making a long distance phone call?  Are we "stealing" from the postal service when we send someone an e-mail rather than a traditional letter?
End Quote

Steven H don't give them ideas or they might start charging us extra to send out e-mails and using Instant Messenging programs.   :o  They might create virtual stamps to be used on each and every e-mail that we send out.  Hmmm, that would probably cut down on the spam that gets sent out.  

Quoting:
Steven H don't give them ideas or they might start charging us extra to send out e-mails and using Instant Messenging programs.   :o  They might create virtual stamps to be used on each and every e-mail that we send out.  Hmmm, that would probably cut down on the spam that gets sent out.  
End Quote

Keep that one quiet, Nbc.  ;)

Quoting:
Oh man I seriously hope we don't end up only listening to downloaded music.  I like buying CD's.  CD's with liner notes, album covers, cool designs on the disc.  Man, what a depressing concept.
End Quote

I'm the same way.  The cover and the liners are half the fun ;)

Quoting:
With all the available websites out there I prefer to make my own cover and all that other stuff....then it's your own induvidual design!  BTW...Lars, if you're out there I have you're 20 cents...in fact, I'll give you a Dollar if you'll just stop whining >:(
End Quote

Haw haw! Lars from Metallica? I've heard about his whining and complaining about Napster - won himself few fans there.

Quoting:

I'm the same way.  The cover and the liners are half the fun ;)
End Quote

me too!!  When I by a new cd, I think ripping it open and reading the liner notes in the car on the way home is almost as exciting (if not AS exciting) as popping the cd into my cd player and hearing the music.

Quoting:


me too!!  When I by a new cd, I think ripping it open and reading the liner notes in the car on the way home is almost as exciting (if not AS exciting) as popping the cd into my cd player and hearing the music.
End Quote

Yes, yes :)  I ALWAYS have to be the one to open the CD.  ALWAYS.  No one else.  I don't know why, but I'm just that way.  I HAVE to take the wrapper off.  But, I am kind enough to let my sister pick off that annoying last bit of tape.

Quoting:
Whoa - all this complaining about Lars Ulrich's lawsuit against Napster.  Both Napster and the lawsuit have been dead for two years, and Lars Ulrich hasn't said squat on the subject since.

Also, a minor note:  Many musicians secretly agree with Lars but are keeping their mouths shut after seeing the backlash
End Quote

Sure he's not b*tching anymore...he has all his money and people are getting busted now....actually he DID complain on the VH1 show the other night...he's just PMS'ing about the raiders losing the Super Bowl.....anyway, there are LOTS of artists who don't mind people downloading thier stuff....I'll pay every artist 20 cents, just like Zella said...and the record exec pigs can get thier millions...along with lars :P

Quoting:
Most of the songs I download is because I can't buy the record. I dont buy cds anymore, I buy vinyl because simply I can't find a single cd that I like. Napster ended but many others appeared. They can't stop us.
End Quote

Keep up that spirit...lars and the record exec pigs will NOT win...Burn, Baby, Burn ;)

Quoting:
Keep up that spirit...lars and the record exec pigs will NOT win...Burn, Baby, Burn ;)
End Quote

LOL.  :D

Quoting:
The RIAA And You

 Those that lived in the Southern US has people like Wolfman Jack working in Mexico.

Because Mexico did not follow the rules set forth by the IFPI, they did play records.  And they also ignored the FCC power regulations, so would blast these new "Rock And Roll" records into America via 100,000 watt radio stations.

It is because of people like Wolfman, that kids started to listen to this new form of music, and started asking record stores to carry it.  The IFPI started to see the media of Radio not as competition but as an advertising medium.

Then to make it worse, their lawyers showed them that they were loosing money already because of people "stealing" their songs.  The Napster witchhunt begins.


I did some work for a company that released demos on Napster.  They would freely release 1 or 2 tracks of a CD on Napster, with instructions on how to buy the entire CD.  They made a lot of sales this way.  But with the demise of Napster, they lost their #1 advertising source.

So as Paul Harvey would say, "Now you know... the rest of the story!"
End Quote

I remember that station...it was caled X-Rock80 and it blasted out 150,000 watts of power...

and the rest of the story is that because of greedy little punks like Lars...the little bands haven't got a Napster anymore...he's an idiot :-/

Quoting:

I remember that station...it was caled X-Rock80 and it blasted out 150,000 watts of power...

and the rest of the story is that because of greedy little punks like Lars...the little bands haven't got a Napster anymore...he's an idiot :-/
End Quote

This article was almost entirely written from memory.  ANd you are right, it was 150,000 watts, not 100,000 watts.

I wrote the original article as an opinion for the WSJ in the winter of 2000.  I no longer have the original, but I remember most of it fairly clearly.  Mostly, my point is that the RIAA could be more proactive in working with technology, not trying to block it at every turn.

Could you imagine game companies sueing NVidia because it would require writing new programs to take advantage of the improvements in the video cards?  Or radio stations sueing Hughes for releasing XM radio?  That is almost the insanity of the RIAA resisting any change in technology.

The RIAA had an opertunity to enter the digital music revolution at the ground floor.  But as is their history, they fought it and fought it and are still fighting it.

The technology is there to incorporate memory card readers in car stereos to replace tape and CD media.  But once again, the RIAA has fought it, even though nothing is stopping them from releasing memory sticks with music on it.

If you want a GREAT political catroon that displays how the RIAA thinks, check this out:

http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/pccartoons/archives/plante.asp?Action=GetImage

Quoting:


This article was almost entirely written from memory.  ANd you are right, it was 150,000 watts, not 100,000 watts.

If you want a GREAT political catroon that displays how the RIAA thinks, check this out:

http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/pccartoons/archives/plante.asp?Action=GetImage
End Quote

Thanks, I loved it!  But I still think lars is a loser :P

Quoting:
Before the "Golden Age Of Rock And Roll", it was illegal to play records on the radio.  This is because the IFPI was afraid that if records were played on the radio where people could listen to them for free, nobody would buy them.
End Quote

Actually, many early radio stations played records, especially at the radio stations in small towns, from the 1920's on.  They couldn't exactly afford to hire live bands.

The first audio broadcast was done with a record played over and over in 1906 by Canadian Reginald Fessenden.  During the test transmission they received numerous morse code messages from ships at sea and shore stations along the eastern seaboard asking them to keep playing but to change the record!  :D

Quoting:

Actually, many early radio stations played records, especially at the radio stations in small towns, from the 1920's on.  They couldn't exactly afford to hire live bands.
End Quote

Those were normally transcribed shows (taped).  You could play tapes of a live band, that was the loophole that many used.  But you could not play a record, at least not in the United States.  FCC laws (at the request of the record industry) did not allow it.

Quoting:

The first audio broadcast was done with a record played over and over in 1906 by Canadian Reginald Fessenden.  During the test transmission they received numerous morse code messages from ships at sea and shore stations along the eastern seaboard asking them to keep playing but to change the record!  :D

End Quote

Well, 1906 would be before the FCC even existed, so there would have been no laws to prevent it.  And since he was a Canadian, any FCC laws would not have applied.

Quoting:
The reason why record sales have been down I don't think is because of downloading. Its because of boring music that is the  reason why nobody is buying CD's. All the music that is out now has to sound top 40 and appeal to teenagers. MTv and its playlist are very limited to a certain kind of music and appeal to a small amount of people.
End Quote

Actually, that is partially right.  Add the fact that music is in a slump to the loss due to downloading, and you have a problem.

Music hits these slumps every 10 years or so.  Mostly, I think it is due to far to many songs and groups sounding the same.  The same thing happened to the Brittish Invasion, Disco, New Wave, then is happening now.

Now do not get me wrong, I like a lot of the music now, but you have to admit, it does sound pretty much the same.  Puddle Of Mudd is not all that different then Disturbed, which is almost the same as 50 other groups.

One thing that made me think was something I heard from a 15 year old kid earlier this year.  He hired me to DJ a party he was holding because in his own words "You need to get old people like you to do it (thanks kid!).  You know the old songs that you can dance to.  Ya just can't slow dance to Nickleback or Eminem."

And he is so right!  I can't think of more then 2 or 3 songs in the last 3 years that I would want to slow dance to.  That just shows what kind of a rut they have fallen into.

And "MTv and it's playlist"???  What decade are you in?  Other then the MTV Video Music Awards, when was the last time you actually saw a music video on MTV?  MTV is no longer music videos, it is Jackass and Real World and tons of garbage like that.  Besides, even in the early days, MTV was never about what was popular, it was about what was new and unusual.  

Quoting:
Record label mergers have limited  he competition among labels. I think the music industry has completely lost its way since the teen-pop era of the late 90's and current CD sales of the last few years prove my point.  I remember in 1998 the music industry was complaining about CD sales not being up to 1994-1995 levels so what does the music industry do? Goes to a quick fix with the teen-pop trend that while drove record sales up in 1999-2000 the teen-pop trend didn't last very long and got stale quickly because MTV overexposed the Backstreet Boys and Britbey Spears. Also the radio act of 1996 allowing companies to own how many radio stations they want has killed the music industry as well. Before 1996 a company like Clear Channel could only own a certain amount of radio stations.
End Quote

Well, I do not blame the radio stations as much as I do the record companies.

A local area will carry as much variety as the local market can support.  When I left LA in March, there were maybe 2 Country radio stations in town.  I moved to a small town in Alabama that has 10 Country stations to 3 rock stations.  Out here you listen to either Rap or Country, there is very little middle ground.

Clear Channel will NOT do stupid things with their stations.  Even in LA, there are 4 Clear Channel stations I know of, all 4 playing a diverse selection.  1 is KKIS, with a morning zoo type format all day, then there is KFI, an AM Talk format, then you have 1 that is Rap and another which is classic R&B.  They will deversify their stations, to get more listeners, that is only good business.  SUre after they buy a station you may have overlapping, but they will move it to a more specific audience.

In fact, to show you how that can work to your advantage, we now also have Internet radio.  As I type this I a listening to a morning show I listened to every morning in LA.  My boss often thinks I am nuts listening to the LA traffic reports, but the station is so much better then any of the local ones.

The Brittney Aguliera trend is something that happens every few years.  In my day, we had Partridge Family, then Menudo and yet again with Pet Shop Boys.  Toss in Donny Osmond and a few dozen others, and you cover the teen area of the industry.  The names may change, the length of the career is still largely the same however.

What I think we lost is the entire AM band.  20 years ago, AM was a very dynamic place to have a radio station.  Most AM stations were a combination of top 40 and classic pop all rolled up into one.  You may listen to The Beatles or Rolling Stones, then 5 minutes later they were playing Wham! or Flock Of Seagulls.  Now AM is largely either Evangellical or Talk.  The music has all flown to the FM band, where it is so compartentalized that you will never hear current songs on a classic rock station.  And if you listen to Top 40, you will hear the same songs over and over (and over and over) again.

One big reason the FCC tossed out the ownership rules of the past was the number of radio stations going out of business.  A lot of them were in big trouble financially because of poor management, over-saturation of a market, and other reasons.

One good example known to LA is the story of KMPC.

KMPC in the 60's and 70's was one of the top AM stations.  It was at 710 AM, a 50,000 watt station.  This was in the day that AM was king, and FM was for college radio and announcers that played Easy Listening.  Back then, it seemed like all FM DJs had to take qualudes as a job requirement.

When the "Morning Zoo" format broke big into LA FM radio in the early 1980's, KMPC was left behind.  Plus their major competator in AM was KFI, who had a pair of DJ's that had been doing a morning zoo type show already for over 15 years.  Because of this, they list marketshare.

For the next 10 years, KMPC went from #2 to the bottom, shifting from classical to big band to gospel, then to sports talk.  Then Disney bought the station and turned it into the LA Flagship for Radio Disney.  That lasted for a few years, then when RD lost listeners, KMPC was actually split up.  710 am is now KSPN, an ESPN station (ESPN is also owned by Disney).  KMPC is now assigned to 1540 AM, which is another sports talk station.

I have once again talked for far to long here.  But I feel the rut we are in now is mostly the fault of both Radio stations that are no longer "crossing over" with their music, and record producers that are content with only releasing the same type of music over and over again.  This happened in the 1970's, and even today "Disco" has a bad name because of it.

But one last thing to think of...  If the music is so bad, why are those same bad songs the biggest downloads?  Do a search for Devo and you will find a few songs, same for Talking Heads.  Type in Brittney Spears or Backstreet Boys, and you will find HUNDREDS.

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  you will never hear current songs on a classic rock station.End Quote

That's because it's a Classic Rock format :-/    

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But one last thing to think of...  If the music is so bad, why are those same bad songs the biggest downloads?  Do a search for Devo and you will find a few songs, same for Talking Heads.  Type in Brittney Spears or Backstreet Boys, and you will find HUNDREDS.
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Yes indeed....some people can see that these are just creations of greedy music execs...their puppets..."Music" manufacturing machines...and some people can't ::)

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But one last thing to think of...  If the music is so bad, why are those same bad songs the biggest downloads?  Do a search for Devo and you will find a few songs, same for Talking Heads.  Type in Brittney Spears or Backstreet Boys, and you will find HUNDREDS.
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Offhand I'd say either because they're new, or they charted high when originally released.