A&R Guys, a Lost Art?

I have a very important suggestion for the money of America. That means both Apple and Bill Gates. Whereas they are not the only money, they are the ones involved with digital music. In the past record companies used money from the sales of CD's and concert tickets to pay artists, and...... finance FUTURE bands. Investment capital. Front money. You can't sign an unknown band without scratch. It is a risky proposition anyway, signing some band to a lengthy contract trying to guarantee they will continue making money. This was the process. If Apple and Microsoft are successful buying EMI or Universal Music Group, they will be responsible for the A&R process. Take heed! The future music of America lies in your hands. You have to budget revenue from the sales of those "iTunes" back into NEW music. It is important. All the focus has been on the iPod, and many don't realize the rest of media has been dying. Television is being choked by a little search engine known as Google. How could a couple of guys in the basement of a California bungalow singlehandedly kill the television industry? Advertisement. Advertisers go with what they think will make them money. That over the last few years has changed from television to the internet. Many things are appealing about the internet, but that does not mean it should replace television. The interactivity is a plus. One could say the personal computer is more democratic than traditional media. You get to chose. You can mix and match songs of your choice instead of buying commercially available CD's. Of course people did this anyway, in limited amounts on burnable CD's, and on cassette tapes. My whole musical upbringing was based on the cassette tape. It was not as flexible as the MP3 player, but it still allowed you to copy music without paying for it. (for your own use) Watching movies and TV can seem like a chore, like having to sit in church and listen to a Fire and Brimstone preacher. If you don't like the tone or the programming content, it is not nearly as fun as it seems it used to be. You can't get porn on television, really. I still think television is an extremely valid medium, and it should not be abandoned. Producers and advertisers should reach a compromise over the internet. VH-1's recent show on the 80's hair band and comedy clubs was telling. The 80's seem really distant and foreign, living life in excess. Well, we hadn't invaded the Persian Gulf.