by David Wild for Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=16913

The man who told the world "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Don't Come Around Here No More" doesn't need any assertiveness-training course. Tom Petty's determined, sometimes defiant attitude has collided with the music business throughout the years. For instance, in 1982 Petty recorded Hard Promises with the Heartbreakers, only to find that his then-record company had plans to use his name to initiate a new, higher $9.98 list price for albums. Petty withheld the tapes and threatened to retitle his record $8.98 in protest.
That same spirit is alive and well on Petty's latest album, The Last DJ, which takes a hard look at the lack of moral grounding in the music business. The title track has kicked up considerable controversy, with some radio stations seeing the song as a slap in the face and banning it. But Petty is not just biting the hand that feeds him. Music is only the beginning of what's pissing him off these days. "The Last DJ is a story about morals more than the music business," he says. "It's really about vanishing personal freedoms."

1 Radio is not even worth listening to
"I don't really give a flying fuck about any of it. I've tuned out. But I was elated when my song was banned. I mean, nothing could have complimented me more than to hear they just banned it at such-and-such a station because it's anti-radio. Now, in 2002 to have a song banned that doesn't have a dirty word, doesn't advocate violence -- it's fascinating, you know. Like, what are you afraid of? No record has ever been made that was more pro-radio, you know.

"I remember when the radio meant something. We enjoyed the people who were on it, even if we hated them. They had personalities. They were people of taste, who we trusted. And I see that vanishing. I thought it was a good metaphor to start the album."

2 All anyone thinks about is money
"You don't hear any more of, 'Hey, we did something creative and we turned a profit, how about that?' Everywhere we look, we want to make the most money possible. This is a dangerous, corrupt notion. That's where you see the advent of programming on the radio, and radio research, all these silly things. That has made pop music what it is today. Everything -- morals, truth -- is all going out the window in favor of profit.

"I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. You know, I saw a billboard in New York I wish I had photographed. It was for the TNN network. It said three words against a patriotic background of red, white and blue - BIGGER, YOUNGER, RICHER. Now, I find that fascinating: 'Bigger, younger, richer.' This whole idea of being wealthy has gone too far. I never ride in a limousine, you know. I feel gross if I get in a limousine. One good thing about the Sixties was it sort of was the opposite back then. You looked silly trying to appear rich."

3 It's ridiculous to make people pay twenty dollars for a CD
"It's funny how the music industry is enraged about the Internet and the way things are copied without being paid for. But you know why people steal the music? Because they can't afford the music. I'm not condoning downloading music for free. I don't think that's really fair, but I understand it. If you brought CD prices back down to $8.98, you would solve a lot of the industry's problems. You are already seeing it a little -- the White Stripes albums selling for $9.99. Everyone still makes a healthy profit; it might get the music business back on its feet."

4 Only a complete greedhead would charge $150 for a concert ticket
"My top price is about sixty-five dollars, and I turn a very healthy profit on that; I make millions on the road. I see no reason to bring the price up, even though I have heard many an anxious promoter say, 'We could charge 150 bucks for this.' I would like to do this again and maybe come through and not leave a bad taste in people's mouths. I was at one of our gigs recently, and I was just stunned driving in that it cost thirty dollars to park your car. It's so wrong to say, 'OK, we've got them on the ticket and we've got them on the beer and we've got on everything else, let's get them on the damn parking.' You got to care about the person you're dealing with."

5 Record labels don't care about artists
"An act like ours wouldn't even be around today if someone hadn't brought us along and let us make mistakes and grow at our own pace. Today it seems that if you don't have a hit -- or even if you do -- they have no use for you the next time. It's like, 'Well, why wait for these guys to come back with another hit when we can bring in somebody else?' It's an asinine way to conduct yourself. These people are looking at balance sheets, not music. Most people involved in putting this music on the air or bringing it to us aren't really listening to it."

6 Filthy lyrics make me sick
"I'm frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it's not meant for me. Personally, I'm way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect. I'm much too smart to think that jewelry or how cool I am is really going to change much about my personality. If you're dumb enough that it entertains you, have a great time. But I am seeking more than that.

"When I was a young rock & roll star, I was really fascinated and shocked at times by the power that I had, by the power of my words, and shocked that it can be taken wrong. I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that an artist has to take some moral responsibility for what he or she is putting out there. And I think a lot of these young kids are going to have to learn the hard way before they realize that you can actually do some damage if you're being careless or frivolous in what you're saying."

7 Only a sick culture would sexualize young girls
"It's disgusting. It's not just pop music, it's fashion, it's TV, it's advertising, it's every element of our culture. Young women are not being respected, children aren't being respected. Why are we creating a nation of child molesters? Could it be that we're dressing up nine-year-old women to look sexy? And even if we're wrong, let's not do it anyway. I really don't put it past these advertising people to say, 'Well, look, we made a lot of money when we brought the nine-year-old out and made her look like a hooker. Let's do it again.' "

8 Why are we rewarding people for being rich?
"Getting back to the whole issue of ticket prices: We don't do the Golden Circle/VIP thing. I don't see how carving out the best seats and charging a lot more for them has anything to do with rock & roll. A lot of the time, some corporation's bought up these seats with someone's money who doesn't even know it's being spent -- and they are going to use it to entertain clients. A lot of the people who buy these seats don't give a damn about the music -- they're going to get a waiter. What you see from the stage is a group of people just talking to each other, not really interested in being there at all. And the poor guy who really is interested, he's sitting way in the back."

9 And TV is worse
"I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever. If you want to talk about something that is all about money, just watch the television. It's damn dangerous. TV does not care about you or what happens to you. It's downright bad for your health now, and that's not a far-out concept. I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health. The music business looks like, you know, innocent schoolboys compared to the TV business. They care about nothing but profit. They will make a movie about murdering their kids, you know? And they'll put the guy who killed them on TV. And before long, he might even have his own show."

10 A lot of artists are as greedy as the industry
"Let me say this so it's definitely in the story: I don't think the industry is entirely to blame. Let's face it: The music industry has always been laughably corrupt, always. It's the artists themselves that often cause problems. Artists aren't necessarily business people. And they aren't neces-sarily aware of all the things that go on in their names. Some just want to make some music, but there is a lot of greed among artists as well. Whether or not we know it, we are all to blame. I think it's time -- starting with the artist -- to try to be a little more responsible and aware of what goes on in our name."

first post this is a great artical

Tom Petty, another great artist with a lotta great ideals, but, like Joni Mitchell, sorta misses the complete point, imo.

1). Embittered over the fact that his music gets much less airplay than it did at one time. Great rationalization.

2) I agree.

3) Wow, this one makes my head spin. Yes, the labels charge too much for cd's. However, no one MAKES anyone pay for it. Then, for him to acknowledge that the music is instead being "stolen" makes me disagree with the entire paragraph.

4) I agree that only "greedheads" would charge so much for tix. ...but then, what do we call the people who pay the prices? Unlike record sales, there are only so many seats available, and guess what, they all seem to SELL. No one's twisting anyone's arm. The fact is that scalpers were commanding those prices long before the promoters. The promoters are only tryin' to put the scalpers outta business. ..and they seem to be makin a dent too.

5) I agree very much.

6) Arrogant snob. Just because your lyrics have always been innocuous by default doesn't mean that every artist's should be. ...and go find the parents. If kids learn the "hard way," who's fault is that? I'm tired of this arguement. Music is reflective, and to think otherwise, I think, shows insightlessness.

7) A little disgruntled that'cha can't get anymore, Tom? This culture has been sexualizing young girls since you were nearly a dribble down your old man's leg. It's amazing how people can lose track of the times and start lambasting them. 9yo's??? What the hell channels have you been watchin' lately, Tom?

See paragraph #4.

9) See paragraph #6. ...."...It's damn dangerous. .... It's downright bad for your health now, and that's not a far-out concept. I think watching the TV news is bad for you. It is bad for your physical health and your mental health." This is the dumbest thing I've read from an intelligent person in a lonnnnng time. Get over it, Tom. Rock'n'roll AND TV are here to stay.

10) I can agree. There are just as many artists with $$ signs in their eyes signing with major labels as their are true aspiring artists. In fact, most artists would love to make a living from their craft. Thing is, the artists you're alluding to are most likely the very small percentage of the world's artists who've already been signed. Most artists want exposure. ...I do agree, however, that artists should become much more responsible for their own goings-on. Is it standard practice for the labels to add a clause in the contract to disallow sucjh responsibility? or do signed artists simply give up on that aspect of their careers? Either way, you're right. I think the solution is to find an opportunity for artists even greater than the established industry. Oh, wait, we have. I think it's called the internet. Now if we could only find the right business model, we could eliminate this entire 10th paragraph.

I can't remember anytime when our culture has sexualized a nine year old girl in the popular media, fourteen year olds maybe...

tom Petty does and always has bored me as a musician but i agree with most of what he said.

I just wish that more contemporary artists would start talking about this,

Janis Ian, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty? they are all languishing in bargain bin purgatory and oldies stations, they haven't written a fresh piece of music in 10-20 years, of course they're bitter.

To be honest, if I was their record company, I wouldn't give a fuck about them either, at least based on the more recent music that i've heard.
Expecting to be treated like royalty just because you had a few hits when most of us were in knee-pants is just as silly as expecting copyrights and royalty payments to last forever, even after you're dead.

Maybe a good dose of starvation would give them the creative muse they need to make relevant music again.

shoshidge I like his new song The Last DJ....

9 year old, 14 year old, 16 year old, same thing

Says whom? I think they're _very_ different.

heck yeah! i'd feel a lot better doing a 16 year old, a 14 year old is cutting it a bit too close.

uhhhhm....uhhhhhhh... nothing!

well I agree........
Tv radio and the whole bit pisses me off!
And I agree about the fuck you fuck this and that songs too....
no one cares about the kids this world has to raise.
I remember groing up and men wouldn't swear around women and children. So much for present day respect for one another.

objectifying women has been going on for ages, especially in the media. it's pretty sick actually. as i'm getting older, and the fact that i'm having a baby girl is opening my eyes even more. it's freaking me out that the media is so nonchalant about it. mtv is blatent, i f*cking hate that chanel now. even rolling stone magazine is pissing me off, the last 2 covers were practically naked jennifer love hewitt and totally naked christina aguilara. you can't get away from it anymore.

it's sad.

btw, my last post was a joke. i'd like to retract.

How old was Brooke Shields when she did "Pretty Baby"? Wasn't she 10 or something? Isn't that sexualizing a child?

I see the problem does anyone have an answer?
Here is an idea, why doesn't tom and all the other poeple/artist that can do something to change this problem. I know i know not everyone can come up with ideas or answers so i'll give it a try. Why not start a new label, stduio ect... why not invest into a TV station with morals...wait thats PAX TV. People want sex, killing and non moral acts, do you think that the TV stations would show sex and killing if the people didn't want it? This will get worse becuase they will soon be showing more nudity and blood n guts. Rasing your kids with a TV? How did you think they would turn out... I i teach my kids to kill and hate this is more then linky how they will turn out.
I hear alot of poeple cry about "how could he kill this person" How could a person rob murder and rape. When you should be asking how dare you teach my kids how to such on the TV.
monky see monky do... Human see human do.
You can not forget that wearing cloths, drinking coke, driving a car and acting in a so n so manner is not a normaly human but rather tought. We learn from each other. What is law does not mean what is right. There are no moral guidace with it comes to "the law" hence the morality of what was said befor from tom petty. I understand what hes saying but what is he and others "powerful artist" going to do about it? You now have an option start a new record label and make it happen the way its suposed to be.

interesting

oh yeah, I think he shoots wide of the mark a few times but then how do we know which artists really feel for our side of the argument and which ones are just playing both sides for maximum exposure?

I don't see how starting another record label is going to change anything. As Vanvox said, TV shows what people want. Starting a 'holier than thou' label will effectively be the same as flushing money down the toilet. Maybe Tom will have more effect by speaking out and getting us, the great unwashed masses, to examine our own behaviour. Granted, that may not be much, but at least we're here now discussing these ideas. Would we do so if Tom was off running a label that no one would be interested in?

i've got no problem with adult content as long as it's directed towards adults but MTV is directed towards minors, so is most popular media.

The movie "pretty baby", if I remember correctly, was rated R and actually tried to show the negative aspects of sexualizing children.

Many cultures have and still do seem to sexualize children, especially girls.
The differences between them and us are that they get married a lot younger, also, those cultures do not seem to celebrate promiscuity the way we do and children are constantly under the scrutiny of family members, therefore they are given less opportunity to indulge their throbbing sexual curiosity.

I was a latch-key kid, i had access to a bedroom, liquor and mainly, privacy for at least three hours after school every day.
I could bring a girl home to my deserted neighborhood, fuck her brains out and have her out the door and on a bus home before anyone got a sniff of what i was doing.
I don't think kids are meant to have that sort of freedom because most of them abuse it like i did, and there were a lot worse than me.

In traditional societies, it is virtually impossible for two kids to find enough privacy to get up to something of a serious sexual nature.

Combine the lattidude that kids here enjoy with insidious media telling them how awesome it is to listen to their hormones and go wild and what do you expect?

You haven't seen sexualization of 9-year-olds? Go to an elementary school and check out what the students are wearing.

"The Last DJ" has been getting a lot of airplay on DirecTV's music channels. It's a great song, and after reading this article, I'm downloading the entire album.

Anyhoo, I think these days it's too easy to discredit someone's opinion by labeling them as bitter; there's a fine line between bitterness and anger, and even disappointment. While I may not agree with absolutely everything Tom says, I think he's got a lot of valid points and I'm glad that he's speaking out.

Trust me, being a 19 year old, 16's not that far off... in 16, even 14 was pushing it, 9's always completely out of the question.

Now it'd have to be a damn mature 16, 14 is right out.. and why comment on 9?

Whether or not Tom Petty has a good song or two left in him does not negate the fact that he is obviously past his prime.
It's a shame that so many amazing songwriters seem to lose the spark that made them great.
What is it about turning forty that makes you suck?( I know there are exceptions).

It's not a case of an artist sucking after a certain age; it's the audience blowing.

Most artists make music for their target generation. For Petty, it's Baby Boomers in the 35-55 range (or thereabouts). Anyone much older than that will thin he's just a scrawny punk who can't hold a candle to Del Shannon. Anyone younger will think he's a scrawny old man who can't hold a candle to Dave Matthews. It's just a fact of life that younger audiences want their own stars; people they can relate to. Just because you and your Grandparents don't like the same music doesn't mean either is inherently bad.

Petty is a washedup has been artist seeking publicity.

Actually mcarp, in my case, my musical taste has more in common with my grand dad's than anyone in my age group, although i realize i'm an exception.

Look at Stevie Wonder for example, in the 70's he did Superstition, Sir Duke, I wish, and other wicked songs.
As soon as the 80's hit, he just started to suck, even the stuff he did when he was 14 was better than 'I just called to say I love you'.
What happened to him?
Other bands and musicians suffered the same fate...
Chicago, Kool and the Gang, Tower of Power, even Micheal Jackson.
It's not that their newer music doesn't relate to young, hip people, it doesn't relate to anybody!
It's boring, uninspired and stagnant and they don't even realize it.
Even once die-hard fans have lost interest.
It breaks my heart.
Maybe it is better to OD at the age of 28 and have people remember you at your best

just need to bring the good stuff and get rid of hip/hop/pop thats flooding the market right now.