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Why Madonna, not Sheila E. Did the Prince tribute.

#81
My guess is that it's related to Madonna's continuing ability to outgro$$ everyone else in the entertainment industry on concert ticket sales, which represents huge attendance, huge interest, and huge television viewing numbers, which translates into good ratings, and translates further into ad dollars and big profits for the show producers. Her last world tour grossed over $200m and she ranked #1. Bruce Springsteen came in #2 at $170m. Hard to believe Madonna grossed more than Bruce but she did...More than U2, Celine, Bieber, & Taylor Swift.
 
#82
Dr. Cheese said:
It's true. Music is full of young people who know way more about art than law and business. There will always be people who get caught up.
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I don't disagree that music is full of people who know way more about art than law and business.

I disagree that the responsibility for that lies with anyone but themselves.

The idea that musicians or any other artists are incapable of being competent business people is a canard, and one that hurts musicians. The "they're just artists they can't help it" is an enabling and co-dependent view of things. It's a choice made by artists, and it's a poor one they need to get out of the habit of making instead of people excusing their willful ignorance.
 
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#83
40Hz said:
(Note: In Ms. McKennitt's case her bargaining chip was her own independent personal sale of something like 30 thousand copies of her first self-produced album on cassette before the web even existed. That smelled like money to the labels. And when she looked for a label to sign with, she basically auditioned the them rather than the other way around. Now that's what I call changing the game!)
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...and that is what I call "How things work in almost every other business in the world"
 
#84
Funky Ghost said:
I guess I'm naive. I figured they wanted her ( Madonna ) because they were contemporaries who were at their primes during the same span, were both seen as trend setters and often bombastic and both have/had the chops live. Sheila E was never ( correct me if I'm wrong here ) seen as much more than a side kick to Prince. I can't ever recall her being a self sustaining artist in her own right.

In any event I didn't watch, I had zero desire. The only tribute I ever found worthy was Freddie Mercury's. IMO of course.
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I saw Sheila E when she was a 17 year old Sheila Escovedo in NYC with George Duke, I thought then that she was a talent to be reckoned with.
 
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#86
If one doesn't know who Sheila E is, one has not done their homework! She and her family are well known in the Bay area and in the Latin music world. They have several records. Sheila E has been a professional studio grade musician since she was a teenager. She has played on countless records. She has done solo records in association with Prince and without.
 
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#87
DWBass said:
...And it's funny how folks like Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin who shot themselves up with illegal drugs and a Cobain and Kath who shoot themselves in the head get more respect than Prince.
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Cool to see Kath mentioned...not sure anyone ever thought to give him a tribute concert...but-
Maybe I'm naive.
I am still under the impression he died by an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
 
#90
JimK said:
Cool to see Kath mentioned...not sure anyone ever thought to give him a tribute concert...but-
Maybe I'm naive.
I am still under the impression he died by an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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We'll never know. He was depressed and under the influence and handling a loaded firearm. Doesn't matter. I brought it up because someone brought up Prince's drug overdose as if that lessens his legacy.
 
#92
aborgman said:
That background (and not buying into the "oppressed artist screwed by the industry mythos") is likely WHY she did it.
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Precisely.

Bucking the game is one thing.

Refusing to get sucked into playing the game at all is a much better strategy.

Thinking outside the box is an acquired habit. So is being a victim.

And this country's pop culture revels in being the helpless victim.

Or so I think anyway.
 
#100
bonin in the boneyard said:
Just wanna say that I saw Sheila E. live with her family's band on a whim once and I was completely blown away. We had maybe one other table between us and the stage and I could not see her forearms move sometimes, yet every hit was perfect--incredible power AND rhythm. But more than that, it was musical, whether the groove was rock, jazz, or Latin.

I thought her response here was perfect: she took an ignorant and dismissive comment and turned it into encouragement for other musicians fighting to find their place. Right on.
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I wish I could have seen that show. She has been at it a long time. I first saw her on an Alphonso Johnson album when I was a junior in high school, and she is only 26 months older than me!
 

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