Above is a computer “wallpaper” screen that Joe Sikoryak made for us circa 2008. You can find this and a few others on our website, under “Fun Stuff.”
I bring this up because we were pretty productive in the FSM album days. I had a great time supervising the CD line.
Usually, because we worked so hard on the master, packaging and presentation, the fans were happy with what we did. And perversely, this resulted in less discussion of the albums online—because people talk a lot when they’re unhappy. When they’re satisfied, what is there to say?
On that note, there was one thing that people used to say, and probably still do, that got under my skin—just a little bit.
This is not a logical or rational complaint on my part. Usually, it was people being nice and finding a way to express their enthusiasm and their passion for this music.
But it always annoyed me—like I said, it’s not rational.
And it’s not even really a complaint...I’m mostly just making conversation.
The thing that annoyed me was when people responded to an album’s release by saying, “Now, we need...” and naming the next CD they want.
For example, when we did Star Trek II, it was, “Now we need Star Trek III.”
Well, yes, obviously. And when we did Star Trek III, it was, “We need Star Trek IV.”
The point, and what I discovered, was there was really no end to “We need...”
Which is fine! In fact, it was great. It was absolutely essential for us to run a business—to have a deep reservoir of passionate collectors who were never truly sated.
But just as a personal level, usually, when a CD came out, it represented the culmination of months or sometimes years of toil on my part and the part my colleagues. Costs, setbacks, struggles, compromises—and finally, triumph.
Having people be happy and satisfied, if only for a moment or two, when they finally got their grubby hands on the CD was just a little emotional nugget to help us feel it had all been worth it.
And when it pivoted in five minutes (sometimes sooner) to “Now we need the next thing” I remember always feeling...well...do you really need it?
We need food, shelter, companionship. We need a Leonard Rosenman CD—really?
You’ll notice I do very little complaining online. I’m pretty accepting of the discourse and opinions and truly, I don’t really care.
It’s not for me to tell people what to think, or demand that they kiss our ass or respond in a certain way.
In fact, I think business owners who harp on their customers on Yelp or reddit or whatever and are always demanding loyalty and praise are, well, losers.
Lately I’ve kept a “scratch file” of notes and topics that I could talk about on my blog. And I was reminded of this and jotted it down...and thought I’d discuss it.
So that’s all! I’ve created a message board thread if people want to discuss this. Thanks! (Although you can post comments here, I think you have to sign up to wix or something, and I know most people won’t bother to do that.)