Shelby Lynne – HuffPost 5.19.10

[Note: This candid conversation with Shelby Lynne discusses labels, American Idol and talent, it being an informative exchange for artists.]

Mike Ragogna: …what kind of balance do you think exists in the music industry between art and its marketing?

Shelby Lynne: The music industry has gone to the dogs and it’s in the toilet. They don’t care about music. They don’t care about the artist. They just don’t care. You know, that’s why artists don’t have any long careers anymore. They sign the wrong people for the wrong reasons. It’s all about money.

MR: There’s also the back catalog to deal with. Do you think the labels are their best caretakers?

SL: It gets tougher to take our music back. You can’t make a living on a major label. They take all the money. They make all the money because they have all those salaries to pay, and they don’t give a damn if you’re starving. I knew when I was getting ready to do the press on this record that they’d be asking me about the whole thing, and this is the way I feel about it. I’m not mad and I’m not bitter. I am free.

MR: And there’s that wonderful 360 deal, probably the most offensive approach to an artist that labels have ever concocted. Basically, it takes control of every element of an artist’s potential livelihood beyond records–name and likeness, photos, new non-musical product lines, concert revenues, t-shirts…

SL: That’s wrong. That’s why I tell this to anybody starting out who asks, “What do we do?” First off, if you think the major label thing is your answer, please don’t do it. Just buy yourself a $3.00 calculator and you’ll know why. It’s ridiculous, and I feel bad for these little young cats that really want to have a label and stuff. You’re really honestly better with CD’s in the back of a Cadillac and doing your own damn record.

MR: Then there’s a new business model and culture that’s evolved out of American Idol.

SL: Well, American Idol is part of the problem.

MR: As much as it’s blasphemous to say such things, I think you’re right.

SL: It’s so much a part of the problem because the standard is so f*****g low. That’s why we’re bombarded with too much crap. You have to keep your standards somewhat in a realm of taste. I’m sorry, I do not agree with that s**t.

MR: And there’s the shock value Simon provides, verbally throwing many of these talented kids to the lions for its entertainment value, though I think he believes it’s good for them in some way.

SL: It’s not about any talent. I tell you what, when I was a kid, I would have done anything in my power to get on American Idol, if it had existed. But you know, now that I’m a 42-year-old woman, I’m going, “My God, if you want to find good music, you really, really either have to know where to look or you just stumble on it. You have to really, really search and search and dig to find it because we’re so bombarded with American Idol level mediocrity that we’ve forgotten what it’s about. It’s about being 75-years-old and still being able to look at your catalog of work and go, “You know what? There’s not a bad apple in the bunch!” I want to be that 75-year-old woman, still singing, still making records and going, “You know, I ain’t done that bad.” At least I can sleep at night, put my head on the pillow and go, “I never sold out.”