Re: Fripp news

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

Spot on, Douglas.  Though I'd understood that the real estate maven in the 
family is Toyah. :)

-----Original Message----- 
From: Douglas Baldwin
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2012 8:43 AM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Fripp news

Knowing the Frippster just a teensy tiny bit (via Guitar Craft and a few
other brief exchanges), I feel compelled to comment on the many comments
given about his "retirement." First, note Robert's online diary:
http://www.dgmlive.com/diaries.htm . Robert is a great writer, but he often
uses his own code to express himself. Regular reading of his diary reveals
this code rather clearly, and gives excellent insight to his day-to-day
life: his struggles with the music business, pictures of his office and
fellow workers, his lovely wife Toyah, and perhaps most relevantly, his
thoughts about retirement.
   Philip wrote (and several other posters said or implied):

> "I understood that as he is becoming his own management to keep following 
> up legal rights to his music of the past. Reminds me of the tendency among 
> record labels to stop seeking out new great music in favor of focusing on 
> dealing with the legal rights to their back catalogue."
>
> Economists call this rent, or rentierism.  The extraction of value not by 
> producing anything new but by squeezing what has already been produced. 
> Actually creating new stuff entails risks and overheads; extracting rents 
> just requires a small army of lawyers and some posh offices.  That's 21st 
> Century capitalism for you - all gain, no risk!

Philip's comment implies a stinky heartless materialism. Robert doesn't 
seem
to be very interested in making money through his back catalog per se. What
he wants is proper control of the Crimson/Fripp catalog so it doesn't get
abused by the fat grubs of 21st century music biz. He would also like to
distribute income properly to his fellow musicians, many of whom do not 
have
the background in real estate that he does, and so do not have much in the
way of a cushioning income to soften the blows of the business. Robert
certainly has no posh offices nor army of lawers; the DGM offices are on a
rural side street adjacent to the village butcher, and Bobby often bunks
down on the floor in a sleeping bag when work demands it. The staff 
consists
of two or three people.

Almost everyone who commented on the DPRP article was blindsided by DPRP's
stupidly misleading and sensationalistic headline: "Robert Fripp Quit
Music." That's poor English, for starters. What Robert has given up on is
his role as a front-line, headlining, touring-in-poor-conditions performer
and recorder of music that demands tour support. Robert is so plugged into
music that it drips in puddles around his feet. Music flits around his
rounded head like moths 'round a light. Almost every day he does things 
with
his fingers, heart, and ears (and what's between them) than most of us 
could
wish for. He's just sick of the crappy business surrounding the public
performance and distribution of music.