The price of our thirst for instant gratification
This month marks the 50th anniversary of one the greatest record labels of all time.
You do not have to be a music fan to find the story of Island Records interesting which, given our increasing demand for instant gratification, is one I doubt will ever be repeated.
Chris Blackwell founded Island Records in 1959 with just 1,000. Thirty years on he sold the company to PolyGram for an estimated 300m.
Mention Island Records and most people will cite Bob Marley as one of its stars. Marley and Island were synonymous with reggae and, it's fair to say, introduced the genre to most of the world.
But Island Records also nurtured many other talents, including Tom Waits and Julian Cope.
Blackwell helped Cat Stevens and Marianne Faithfull reinvent themselves, as well as signing Irish rockers U2.
Gentle nurturing was a key to the success of the label – something sadly lacking in the music industry of today.
Bob Marley's first album is a case in point. In 1973 Blackwell gave Marley 4,000 and, most importantly, an elastic schedule. Cynics said he would never see the cash again, but while Marley was a rebel, this did not make him a thief.
Marley's debut album Catch a Fire was critically acclaimed. However, it sold only 14,000 copies in its first year. Despite this, Blackwell persevered and continued to cultivate Marley's talent. The rest, as they say, is history. Bob Marley became one of the greatest names of modern music. This is just one example of Blackwell's nose for talent and his long-term investment in his protges.
Another Island singer who benefited from this ethos was Grace Jones, who described Blackwell as a marathon runner as opposed to a short-distance sprinter, the latter being a description of most modern music industry figures.
In today's music-making climate, the pressure to deliver a quick quid from an overnight success is intense. Acts are now created either via TV talent shows or marketing departments, and if their first single isn't a raging success they are dropped like a stone.
We have become conditioned to expect instant gratification; we want everything NOW!
And while we should probably celebrate the leaps forward made in technology that allow us to get what we want, when we want, I can't help but think it is rather sad the virtue of patience and the instinct to nurture something to success is a diminishing trend.
Without Chris Blackwell we would not have some of the greatest music ever recorded. I doubt the music industry will see many like him in the future.
* Looking at the Chichester Festivities line-up for this year I'm impressed, yet again, with the calibre of guests.
Including luminaries such as Julian Clary, Melvyn Bragg, Gyles Brandreth, Rick Wakeman and Jonathan Ansell, there's something to suit all tastes and ages.
Check out www.chifest.org.uk and bag your seats now.
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Weather for Chichester
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
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Tomorrow
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