Today on a morning debate TV show they asked.....'Will you live long enough to see Brexit?'
Well with an extension to the 'Brexit' leaving process looming......most UK people have lost any interest and are simply focusing on keeping 'body and soul' together. Well Four Seasons fans had better do the same!
Everything is running slow and for Four Seasons fans I'm afraid the story is the same. After the great enthusiasm of Snapper Records concept of a mega/luxury BOX SET of 40 albums spanning the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and the news of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli's enthusiasm, it is becoming ever more apparent that 'delivery' is the problem. So we can ask the question.....'Will we live long enough to see Snapper's and our concept?' Bob and Frankie may also be asking that question.
The problem is, 'The Majors'...ie Rhino/Warners and more importantly Universal Motown.
Licensing and legal delays have prevented the completion of contracts....and although we had been promised a high proportion of 'unreleased'....'from every decade'......no news has surfaced on the Tape Archive review at the Partnership or from the Motown Archive research.
In many ways this is not a surprise. Whilst Rhino and the Partnership have regularly licensed tracks in their ownership, and were positive when the concept was launched....and Universal Motown saw the potential of the 'unreleased' track they were able for the first time to put before Bob Gaudio.......the administrative problems of licensing when you do not have a definitive 'final list' of tracks to be included appears to becoming problematic. Firstly this is the first time since 1988 that NEW transfers from the analogue tapes has been a viable proposition and the identification of material for inclusion cannot be underestimated. There are so many diverse problems re the Masters to be resolved. Also anecdotal evidence shows Universal Motown are renowned for not having a 'can do' approach to licensing and many projects in recent years[and still today] have been bogged down in their 'processes'. Other licensees have been tearing their hair out and abandoning projects because Universal will simply find excuses for not licensing songs. There is too much evidence for anyone to argue that this criticism is unfair.
In the meantime Snapper and the fan group members have been positively gathering 'memorabilia' from our archives to illustrate how the groups music was presented in the media in past decades for potential inclusion in the proposed /Book'.
On the music catalogue side we have been commencing a 'forensic' review of what is important to be included and the limitations of surviving Masters. What fans want[as far as we know from vinyl and CD issues] has been documented and this has been shared with Bob Gaudio as our 'wants list'. Questions of copyright and royalties payments on 'live' recordings have arisen and at present remain unresolved and the content....remains unclear.
Snapper are not unfamiliar with such problems and have both the determination and experience to manage such issues, but how much time it will take and the compromises necessary are just emerging several months into the design development.
We continue to back the idea of a project that is based on fan input/wishes, as this would be the first time ever in the history of the group that it has happened and we have great confidence in Snapper's leadership and drive. Their track record shows this.
In our forthcoming blogs we will be tackling issues that have become an intrinsic set of problems for the sound we have and what legacy will the groups catalogue leave. The question is how much work is necessary to salvage, repair and issue a representative version of their 'body of work'. We'll be posing questions and potential solutions. But can the music industry be moved by the innovative ideas of a small independent Record Company [with the backing of the artists] and the fan group? It is a bit like the question....'Can 'democracy' survive?'.....Only time will tell......hang in there everyone. We owe it to the next generation of fans.
Casey Chameleon
Next time …..Part 2 - Repairing the 1960s Catalogue.
Recent Comments