Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
2003: Last Word on Music
Aired December 24, 2003 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As part of our look back at the big stories of 2003, we're getting the last word on music -- the breakthroughs, the breakouts, the big stories and the songs that you just can't get out of your head.
Joining us this morning, AMERICAN MORNING regular, Toure. He's also a contributing editor for "Rolling Stone." Lola Ogunnaike, she's of "The New York Times." And Rick Karr covers music for National Public Radio.
Good morning to all of you.
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: We're going to sum up the entire year like that this morning. And, Rick, we're going to begin with you. Let's talk a little bit about the last word on downloading music. A lot of, I think, history was made in this year alone. The RIAA, to some degree, looked like they were going to put that 12-year-old girl in the slammer for downloading all of that music. I'm being facetious, of course. What do you think was gained and lost this year?
RICK KARR, CULTURAL TRENDS CORRESPONDENT, NPR NEWS: I think what they gained was they scared some people from downloading music on the Internet. I think it's definitely the case that the traffic is down in these so-called peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa. But by the same token, they've engendered a lot of ill will among consumers, who already said, look, the major record labels charge us too much money for music. They give us records with one good song, and we want a chance to sample it and hear what we like.
TOURE: Yes, there is a serious problem in the record business. There's a whole community of people between 12 and 25 who the record business thinks we might have lost them forever, and they want to download for free.
O'BRIEN: because they don't go to stores and buy CDs like we do...
TOURE: They don't want to go to stores.
O'BRIEN: ... older people do.
TOURE: Yes, yes. And the future is really selling singles online, which is going to change everything the way that artists relate to fans, the way the record companies relate fans. It's going to be a huge shift. O'BRIEN: Do you think this year was a big stride in that shift, a big turn in tide in a way?
TOURE: Well...
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, I think with iTunes and the success of iTunes and getting a song for $1, people are starting to think that should be the way of the future.
KARR: Apple users are only about 3 percent of all computer users, and yet they bought millions of songs online for 99 cents each. The record labels have been saying we can't compete with free. We cant compete with the Napsters because it doesn't cost anything. Apple showed that that's not the case.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. "American Idol," minting superstar wannabe after superstar.
TOURE: A big year.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
TOURE: There are no 20 and 30-somethings at these shows buying into this "American Idol" thing. This is very young people and, you know, people beyond their 30s.
O'BRIEN: Clay Aiken right there.
TOURE: This is not the traditional record-buying public that's into this phenomenon.
KARR: This is the way the industry is going now. I mean, the record industry is starting to look more and more like Hollywood. They just want the big hit right away.
O'BRIEN: So superstar for a minute...
KARR: Yes, exactly.
O'BRIEN: ... and that's good enough.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, if you get your 15 minutes...
KARR: And building up an artist's career they don't care about.
TOURE: With "American Idol," there is no process of discovery for the audience. Oh, here's this person that we've seen constructed day by day.
OGUNNAIKE: America likes hot dogs, but no one wants to see how they're made.
O'BRIEN: That was good. Let's move on that note. The kiss.
TOURE: No! No!
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, oh, no!
TOURE: We've been talking about this forever...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Oh, Madonna and Britney. For anybody's who's living under a rock and hasn't seen this, this is the kiss between Britney Spears and Madonna.
TOURE: It was a great moment for them.
OGUNNAIKE: I don't think there's anything brave about Britney leaning over and kissing Madonna. In fact, I feel like there's a group of lascivious guys with ponytails telling her to go out and kiss her. I feel like she's being manipulated.
KARR: Because there's no mystery. It's not like Prince, am I straight or am I gay, you know, in controversy.
TOURE: Right.
KARR: There is none of that.
TOURE: Right.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. Let's talk a little about the final bow. Some of the musicians that we lost this year, some really big names, Rick, right?
KARR: Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash, Barry White -- I mean, just absolutely huge names in music. The amazing thing about two of those people, Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash, was that almost literally until the day each of them died, they were working on new music.
TOURE: Nina Simone, whose music is still relevant.
KARR: Yes, Celia Cruz. I mean, she's not going to be forgotten.
O'BRIEN: And, of course, Barry White.
O'BRIEN: A big loss, too.
TOURE: I think some of us are here because of Barry White, and, you know, that will continue to be for the next 20 years.
OGUNNAIKE: But just because they're dead doesn't necessarily mean that their careers are over.
TOURE: Right.
OGUNNAIKE: Tupac and Elvis have proven anything.
TOURE: Right, right, exactly.
O'BRIEN: That's true. They'll be putting out...
OGUNNAIKE: They'll be with us for a long time.
O'BRIEN: Right, they'll be putting out CDs for decades to come.
TOURE: Well, Johnny Cash will, because he's got a lot of records in the vault. So, he's going to continue to make music.
OGUNNAIKE: Definitely.
O'BRIEN: All right, you guys, Toure and Lola and Rick, as always, nice to see you guys. Thanks so much for helping us wrap up the year in music.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it. And that is the last word on music for 2003.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired December 24, 2003 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As part of our look back at the big stories of 2003, we're getting the last word on music -- the breakthroughs, the breakouts, the big stories and the songs that you just can't get out of your head.
Joining us this morning, AMERICAN MORNING regular, Toure. He's also a contributing editor for "Rolling Stone." Lola Ogunnaike, she's of "The New York Times." And Rick Karr covers music for National Public Radio.
Good morning to all of you.
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: We're going to sum up the entire year like that this morning. And, Rick, we're going to begin with you. Let's talk a little bit about the last word on downloading music. A lot of, I think, history was made in this year alone. The RIAA, to some degree, looked like they were going to put that 12-year-old girl in the slammer for downloading all of that music. I'm being facetious, of course. What do you think was gained and lost this year?
RICK KARR, CULTURAL TRENDS CORRESPONDENT, NPR NEWS: I think what they gained was they scared some people from downloading music on the Internet. I think it's definitely the case that the traffic is down in these so-called peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa. But by the same token, they've engendered a lot of ill will among consumers, who already said, look, the major record labels charge us too much money for music. They give us records with one good song, and we want a chance to sample it and hear what we like.
TOURE: Yes, there is a serious problem in the record business. There's a whole community of people between 12 and 25 who the record business thinks we might have lost them forever, and they want to download for free.
O'BRIEN: because they don't go to stores and buy CDs like we do...
TOURE: They don't want to go to stores.
O'BRIEN: ... older people do.
TOURE: Yes, yes. And the future is really selling singles online, which is going to change everything the way that artists relate to fans, the way the record companies relate fans. It's going to be a huge shift. O'BRIEN: Do you think this year was a big stride in that shift, a big turn in tide in a way?
TOURE: Well...
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, I think with iTunes and the success of iTunes and getting a song for $1, people are starting to think that should be the way of the future.
KARR: Apple users are only about 3 percent of all computer users, and yet they bought millions of songs online for 99 cents each. The record labels have been saying we can't compete with free. We cant compete with the Napsters because it doesn't cost anything. Apple showed that that's not the case.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. "American Idol," minting superstar wannabe after superstar.
TOURE: A big year.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
TOURE: There are no 20 and 30-somethings at these shows buying into this "American Idol" thing. This is very young people and, you know, people beyond their 30s.
O'BRIEN: Clay Aiken right there.
TOURE: This is not the traditional record-buying public that's into this phenomenon.
KARR: This is the way the industry is going now. I mean, the record industry is starting to look more and more like Hollywood. They just want the big hit right away.
O'BRIEN: So superstar for a minute...
KARR: Yes, exactly.
O'BRIEN: ... and that's good enough.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, if you get your 15 minutes...
KARR: And building up an artist's career they don't care about.
TOURE: With "American Idol," there is no process of discovery for the audience. Oh, here's this person that we've seen constructed day by day.
OGUNNAIKE: America likes hot dogs, but no one wants to see how they're made.
O'BRIEN: That was good. Let's move on that note. The kiss.
TOURE: No! No!
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, oh, no!
TOURE: We've been talking about this forever...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Oh, Madonna and Britney. For anybody's who's living under a rock and hasn't seen this, this is the kiss between Britney Spears and Madonna.
TOURE: It was a great moment for them.
OGUNNAIKE: I don't think there's anything brave about Britney leaning over and kissing Madonna. In fact, I feel like there's a group of lascivious guys with ponytails telling her to go out and kiss her. I feel like she's being manipulated.
KARR: Because there's no mystery. It's not like Prince, am I straight or am I gay, you know, in controversy.
TOURE: Right.
KARR: There is none of that.
TOURE: Right.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. Let's talk a little about the final bow. Some of the musicians that we lost this year, some really big names, Rick, right?
KARR: Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash, Barry White -- I mean, just absolutely huge names in music. The amazing thing about two of those people, Warren Zevon and Johnny Cash, was that almost literally until the day each of them died, they were working on new music.
TOURE: Nina Simone, whose music is still relevant.
KARR: Yes, Celia Cruz. I mean, she's not going to be forgotten.
O'BRIEN: And, of course, Barry White.
O'BRIEN: A big loss, too.
TOURE: I think some of us are here because of Barry White, and, you know, that will continue to be for the next 20 years.
OGUNNAIKE: But just because they're dead doesn't necessarily mean that their careers are over.
TOURE: Right.
OGUNNAIKE: Tupac and Elvis have proven anything.
TOURE: Right, right, exactly.
O'BRIEN: That's true. They'll be putting out...
OGUNNAIKE: They'll be with us for a long time.
O'BRIEN: Right, they'll be putting out CDs for decades to come.
TOURE: Well, Johnny Cash will, because he's got a lot of records in the vault. So, he's going to continue to make music.
OGUNNAIKE: Definitely.
O'BRIEN: All right, you guys, Toure and Lola and Rick, as always, nice to see you guys. Thanks so much for helping us wrap up the year in music.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it. And that is the last word on music for 2003.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
