Re:ex parte (Score 1)

Sorry, but thebdj misunderstands how the entertainment industry, and particularly the music biz, actually works when it comes to "exports." Of the "Four Families" of the recording industry - Sony BMG, Warner Music, Capital EMI and Universal - only Warner is US-owned. The other three major players are conglomerations of Japanese, German, French and British corporations. Domestic (US) CD releases are only "exported" to other countries on a limited basis. However, the major labels all have corporate subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, etc and if an artist's work is deemed sufficiently exploitable (i.e. it will sell), it will be released under the umbrella of the subsidiary. Therefore, even if an album by an American artist is recorded in a studio in LA and released by a "US" label, it would not be counted as an "export" when released in the UK by a label subsidiary. By the same token, when a Coldplay album is released by EMI in the states, it does not count as "trade" with England. Also, the copyright cartel in the US had a law passed years ago that prohibits the importing of sound recordings from another country if a domestic release is available, thus ensuring that consumers would have their choices limited to what the Four Families deign to release stateside. As for thebdj's comment that "many countries think our music sucks about as much as we think theirs does," I won't argue an obvious statement of opinion but rather point out the fact that US artists regularly (and successfully) sell CDs and concert tickets in Europe and Asia while European artists have also made a good bit of money in the United States (ever hear of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Radiohead, etc?) www.mondogordo.com