NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Randy Jackson is a hero. And it's not just because the music-industry veteran -- who is a judge on "American Idol" -- has given a lot of advice in his Hyperion book, "What's Up, Dawg? How to Become a Superstar in the Music Business."

The industry, Jackson tells Billboard, is "in the toilet" and does not seem to know how to pull itself out of it.

"I think record companies are so out of touch with the public, and that's why the music business is hurting," he says.

"The content is bad: The typical album has only two or three songs that matter. Record companies have got to figure out a way to get back in touch with what the public wants.

"What 'Idol' has proved to me is that the public wants the most talented person, no matter what size or color. Most of the people who've gotten far on 'Idol' are people who would never get a deal from record companies."

"'American Idol' is no fluke. The music industry has got to pay attention."

In a business that can easily make people cynical and bitter, Jackson says what keeps him motivated and passionate is that he remembers "what it was like to be the guy trying to make it in the music business. My love for music has never waned, despite the state of commerce in the music industry."

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FLUSH IT!

"Most of the people who've gotten far on 'Idol' are people who would never get a deal from record companies."

Ummm.... because they suck? Clay Aiken?

The reason these 'idols' are getting all the attention and probably none of the money is because of the popularity of the TV show. If it wasn't for the interaction factor, they would be nobodies.

But you can't overlook the fact that they really can sing. You can't say they suck only because they're now mainstream. It's no secret that most of the people who get through and a lot of the people who the producers don't let through have a lot of talent. So what if they used the show to get where they are. So what if they're going to be gone in a couple years when their second album bombs. Exploitation is really the only way for a singer like that to get into the record industry nowadays.

Gee I want to win on American Idol so I can get a million dollar music contract that will SCREW ME forever... I THINK NOT!!!

American Idol is no better than any other record label. They sign these kids to contracts, and, guess what... the record label OWNS THESE KIDS!!! No matter what Randy may say about the state of music, his show is part of the problem.

Wouldn't it be hilarious to see an episode of "American Idol" and have the host and/or the judges say this:

"Congratulations, (your name here). You've not only won a recording contract, but you've also won the privilege of being treated like the bitch the record executives and the RIAA think you are.

"You've also won a lifetime of ridicule from REAL music fans, not the people who watch and vote for this crap.

"You won't make that much money, ebing that the songs off your CD will be traded on P2P before the CD is even released.

"You will be sold and marketed as a fad commodity, and then quickly discarded. Why, look at our prime example. Don't you feel good now, Justin?"

THAT would be a moment I would want to get on tape!

If I thought these programs were really about raising talent, I'd cheer them on, but I really think it's still about making money and getting the top rating for their networks.

INeedAlover I agree, if all they are doing is signing these kids up with the labels, they do enslave them.

Actually, I started thinking that these shows were really awesome for the music industry, cause now they can sit back and they dont even have to spend their time and energy finding the talent. They let the people pick and choose AND they get the money from them when they sign them to their labels. What a racket eh? ~~pepe~~

Of course singers are OK but can they hold a career on their own without having someone else write their songs? Most of these idols may be able to hold a note but haven't a clue on song writing.

True talent comes from creativity, inovation and the ability to interpret that creativity in a pleasing way (Even if that means using someone who can interpret that for you like using a vocalist).

Good vocalists are a dime a dozen since so many people can sing better than they can play a guitar.

DeadMan2003... I have no problem with people playing other people's songs, but I do have a problem with people playing songs they didn't write that are complete shit, or that are written by someone the record companies hire to write songs for them. IE. A band decides to cover a song because they like it is prfectly fine, but when artists like Britney Spears have people writing songs for them, then the artist has no right calling themself a musician. More often than not, they can't even sing for the life of them either.

And if the record industry wants to save itself, why not sign and/or promote GOOD BANDS instead of the shit they do promote? How about that? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out

Agreed that's one big stinky log and it needs to be flushed.

"What 'Idol' has proved to me is that the public wants the most talented person, no matter what size or color."
Perhaps this is a glimps of the reality of the situation. The perception is that people want the best, The statement is flawed because to provide the best one must presume to know the best. Which means one must know what everyones perception of the best is. This is imposible. Perhaps they should offer us the creations that people make and let us decide what we like the best and what we are willing to pay for. But then we really don't need the label around anymore. Home studios are easy enough to contruct anyone interested in publishing their music only needs bit of equipment and an internet connection. Much less than the big labels ask for. This would create a free market between the pruducers and the suppliers so, as was mentioned earlier, a laizes fair economy will straighten itself out. Doesn't seem right to create so much controversy and legislation over some that, if only set free, would fix itself. They claim to want to protect jobs but they continue to outsource every job posible to poorer countries will to work for less. The fact is they just want us to consume all day every day. 2 thirds of this country's (the USA) GDP is made up of consumer spending. But less and less consumers are working every year for a multitude of reason. The worst of which is the lack of jobs. The entire country is turning into one big consumer. If business has showed us anything it is that the consumer always gets the shaft.

I thought Idol was a sham when for some miracle, the obese but talented Ruben won that shit. Thats a miracle.

Idol's 1 for 2 with talent in my book. First they give the pop clone kelly clarkson the win, but then the most talented person, reuben, actually won, I guess this season will be the deciding one of whether its about pop clones or actual talent, since its the tiebreaker.

I think Deadman hit the nail here, performers a dime a dozen, hell half of them can't even "perform" without the digital wizardry coming out of the studios these days. The really talented artist creates as well as performs. You can tell the talented songwriters working for the labels are really starting to dry up since all I've heard, when my wife turns on the radio in the car, is covers of old classics by new bands. Creativity is also going down the toilet for the labels as well since no one can come up with anything new. Time to look elsewhere people.

I think some of them have the ability to come up with something new, but the labels or producers force them to come out with stuff that sounds "familiar" in hopes that it will sell more, when in fact they are ruining the band/artist. Compare the Dave Mathews Band's first several albums to their recent stuff. They were forced to sell out to get radio airplay.

"Compare the Dave Mathews Band's first several albums to their recent stuff. They were forced to sell out to get radio airplay."

Where do you get this crap from? Stay off the drugs. Nobody tells Dave Mathews what to do. He wrote more pop oriented material because that is what he wanted to do.

Airider I think you are Right The well is drying up

A constructed artist now is usually little more than a sex symbol to go on the posters and album covers, while a small army of songwriters and editors tries to turn their screeching into something marketable. 'Marketable' of course means something with a high projected profit, that is identical to every hit for the last few years.

Personally, I enjoy the music that hasnt become totally mainstream. I can tolerate listening to some of the music on the top 10 list of pop an rock music, but I prefer the smaller bands out there that provide a little more quality music that still have style that is enjoyable. They are the real musicians who work hard for their music. Today I think that many people do not appreciate these lesser known groups of people because they are not "cool" or in style now. This may be because they aren't promoted and brought up by big record companies to replace a passing fad to keep the ratings up for them. It seems like once you are popular or mainstream, you must lead a crazy and public life that appeals to everyone else and is considered to be "cool" in society. I wish more people would go to a music store and take a look at other music that they have never heard of and try listening to them. They do not know that there is better music out there. They were never educated about this because they were brainwashed by TV and movies to think almost like a brainless consumers and buy what they were told is good. This is not everybody out there, and I am not targeting any readers here. But there are a select few like this. When they do go out and look for new music, they may not be impressed at first, and they may not choose the right CD to suite them. If they continue to try, getting advice from another peer perhaps, they can still find other good music out there that isn't too mainstream. I dont think that it is a bad thing if someone who isn't known too well becomes popular or makes it to the top, in fact, that is great. I just dont like it when people sell themselves out to become the next pop sensation who, like mentioned before, dont have any talant or experience. I love any kind of music on the market. I listen to an extremely large variety of different styles. The main thing I pay attention to is the quality of the music. I do agree that the music business is drying up and it is important that the "artist" can write their own creative music. The music business will most likely never change anytime soon for the better. It was like this in the past, and it will be like this in the future. It is true that it is all about the money.

I bet mrroop would think that Liz Phair wrote pop stuff for the same reason, that she wanted to? She might say its "more fun" to be popular, but the real fact of the matter was her record label was dumping her ass if she didn't generate more "pop" tunes.

And how is it that Dave Matthews got to be so popular in the first place? Was it the record label he signed with generating such a buzz, he bacame a star? Heck no! He let people tape his shows and word spread by word of mouth, through bootleg copies of his music, that's how.

The RIAA labels don't care about the music. They only care about the $$$. Funny how when a pop star becomes famous we end up with four clones, isn't it. Gee, that would make five Avil Lavignes... one for each label. This is how the RIAA labels think about music, not as an art that needs developing, but as a money making machine. So instead of looking for talent and developing it, they look for tits and ass and could care less about the music behind it.

Randy Jackson is right, music is in the toilet. And like I said before, American Idol does little to keep it from getting flushed.

MROOP - "Where do you get this crap from? Stay off the drugs. Nobody tells Dave Mathews what to do. He wrote more pop oriented material because that is what he wanted to do."

I'm not really a big Dave Mathews fan at all, but I do know somthing of this. He has an album, that I beleave is known as the "Lilly White Sessions", or somthing of that nature, that can only be downloaded from the net. This is an album that was presented to his record label a few years ago, and was turned down because it didn't have a "hit" on it, and was not radio friendly. He then returned to the studio, and put out an album that more suited thier(his labels) standards. If I recall that album had the hit "I did It" or whatever it's called.

So it seems to me that he wrote more pop orientd material, not becuase he wanted to, but because his record label wanted him to. At least in that case.

DeadMan2003 - "Most of these idols may be able to hold a note but haven't a clue on song writing."

This is the case for almost every "Pop Music" artist(if you want to call them that) out there, not only the "Idol" kids. Even the very few who do have the talent to write thier own songs are still forced to use music penned by the "hit makers". It has always been that way in the "Pop Music" buisness, and more so now, than ever before.

Now as for "American Idol", and the music industry being in the toilet. The way I see it, is that "American Idol" is nothing more than one of those big logs of shit that needs to be flushed right along with it. I mean really, what more are they offering us? Other than another "Pop" artist( If you want to call them that), that sings crap penned by someone else, and sounds just like every other flash in the pan. American Idol my ass!! They should call it the "Be an American Sheep Herder For a Year Contest".

DMB really does suck recently. And if you think a label has no control over what their artist produce than you should get off the drugs cuz they are putting you in la la land.