from blabbermouth.net:
____________________

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Weighs In On The State Of The Music Business - Feb. 6, 2004

Legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen recently spoke to Rock Confidential about the long-overdue U.S. release of his latest album, "Attack!!", and his enduring popularity around the world. Asked if his perception of the music business changed for the better or worse after years of playing and recording as a solo artist, Yngwie said, "That's a large question so I'm going to have to give you a large answer. It's unfortunate but it's true. People living in the United States seem to think the United States is the world. The world is not the United States. I love this country. I've lived here for a long time. Not only is there a world outside of the United States, but those people outside of this country do not just like BRITNEY SPEARS and N' SYNC. When we went out on the G3 thing [with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai], none of us have really been in the limelight for quite some time. We were filling the places, cramming 'em in. The bottom line is this: The unfortunate part of the music industry is that it's very non-diverse in the United States. In 1987, '88, if you didn't look and sound like BON JOVI — forget about it. In 1990, '92, if you didn't look and sound like NIRVANA — forget about it. That's not right. That's not the way shit should be done. That's not what everybody in the world is supposed to sound like. For worse or better, I don't know. I think it's been pretty much the same for the last 30 years. It's all about money. That's all it is. A lot of times people ask me if I have any advice to become successful in the music business. I say, 'Let me ask you a question. Do you want to get good or do you want to get famous?' They are two different things. You can get famous without being good. You can be really good without being famous. Sometimes you can be good and famous, but that's kind of rare. If you follow a trend, that's the kiss of death right there. Here today, gone later today. That never works. Longevity is the name of the game. People will know that what you do is real. To me, that is the way to go and it's the only way I know. I can't handle doing trendy stuff. The funny thing is that it's now come to a point, at this particular moment in time as we speak — right now, you and me — there is no formula. There used to be a formula, but there isn't any more. In the '80s, if you had a song and video like [Malmsteen's] 'Heaven Tonight', you knew that song was going to be on the radio. In the '90s if you had something that sounded like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', which a lot of bands did, you knew that was going to be on the air. Now, there is no formula. For better or worse? I think it may be better because that's why bands like EVANESCENCE got a shot. They don't sound like anything I've heard before. That's great.

"With a combination of CD burning, the internet, cell phones, and the VH1s and MTVs, people get lazy. They don't want to go out and stand in line to see a show. The concert business and the record selling business has gone down. Let's say you're a kid and you have a vision that you want to be rich. Well, one thing you should not do is to get into music. That ain't happening anymore. It's a sad fact, but it's a true fact. A cold hard fact."

Wow, that was pretty good.

Wow... that's wild. Ya think he was sober during that particular interview? lol :lol:
He does have a point though. ;)

I knew he had it in him... I can't disagree with him one bit.
That's why I've been importing my music for the last 3 yrs

I like things away from the norm not because it's hip to do so. Still, is there something wrong with there being a fomula like we had in the past decades? I quite like some of the trends of the past decades, esp. in the late 70s and early 80s as well as the early to mid 90s. Yngwie makes some excellent points and I agree with him that people nowadays are lazy to seek and try new music. I do disagree with his reference to Evanescence, though :p While there may not be bands that sound like them in the scene, it doesn't necessarily mean they are good either ;)

We have an historic moment here, I actually think he hit the nail right on the head. Another thing that bothers me is the lack of musical knowledge people have to day. I don't say this to sound arrogant at all, but I always respected where the 80's hair bands came from. The bands that were doing theatrics, glam, etc in the 70's. I love 70's music as well, but I always tried to respect bands from earlier generations that influenced that era as well. For example, though I can't call myself a huge fan, I always gave props to someone like Blue Cheer for being one of the early metal bands, etc. Today, people seem to believe that N'Sync, Brittney Spears, etc are actually doing something innovative and it has all been done a million times before. In the 80's. you had Tiffany,NKOTB, etc. However, in the 70's you had Leif Garrett, etc.

True Yngwie, but even you tried to follow the trends in one way or another. Don't deny it. I was alive in the late '80s - early '90s....And what did you do it for??? Ah yes, $$$$$$