Erle Montaigue has been in the Music Business for over 40 years on both sides
of the fence having owned several recording companies (and still does) and also
having been a "rock Star" with several hit records to his name from the 60's and
70's.
Please see www.moontagu.org.uk for further details of credentials etc.
I have been in the music business now for over 40 years as a performer and in
management, so I am definitely not a prude, having lived through the 60's as a
musician. However, this morning I was browsing the local newsagent and was
horrified to see a photo of a young woman on the front cover of a daily
newspaper (NOT the Daily Mail thank goodness), dressed in skimpy underwear
sitting on something, ( didn't even see what she was sitting on because her
female parts were so in my face), legs so wide apart that you could fit a truck
in there, showing all of her "womanhood" nothing left to the imagination! What
made it even worse was when I read her name, it was Christina Aguilera! Didn't
even see her face at first as the other parts of her body were quite powerful to
say the least! This was, as far as I am concerned, pornography. A young woman
thinking that she has to show it all in order to stay in the music business. I
guess she is trying to outdo Lady GaGa. The photo was not at all sexy as
pornography isn't "sexy", it is just in your face porn! Sure a nice tight shirt
or dress, showing form is sexy as it simply shows a beautiful young woman in
there, they don't have to actually show you what's underneath as that
immediately turns sexy into anatomy which becomes boring after the first couple
of looks as there's nothing else to imagine.
The fact that these women have to resort to degrading themselves in order to
sell records and pack out stadiums says much for their talent! If they actually
HAD some talent,maybe they wouldn't have to resort to this degradation. Singers
like Aimee Winehouse have had their problems, but they don't have to resort to
porn, as they have real talent.
When a musician has talent, they should not have to resort to such debauchery. I
manage a number of brilliant young female singer/songwriters, one of whom is my
own daughter and I would just hate for them to have to resort to porn to make it
in this business. But that's the way the music business is going now. My
daughter told me that she would prefer to dump her dream in the music business
if she had to do what most women artists now have to do. Madonna started it all
but she is quite tame nowadays. Can you imagine someone like Whitney Houston in
her heyday having to show it all? No, she and others like her had real talent
and didn't have to.
The music business has turned in to a circus with all of the young and old girls
trying to out-do each other trying to shock us more and more. But they don't
shock us anymore, it's just base!
I have nothing against porn if that's what people wish to read, however, keep it
in porn magazines and right out of the music business. MUSIC is the operative
word here! Real music doesn't need women poking us in the face with their lower
body parts. And why is it just the women? Robbie Williams doesn't slide a hose
down his underwear and show all .. come to think of it, maybe he should. NOT!