It does seem true that there are no great originators anymore.
It did take a huge and enjoyable fight to get the Tipsheet CD through the red tape but we managed it and it changed the face of the industry.

But before that there were Andy Oldham and Micky Most and Ahmed Ertuegun and Pete Waterman and Berry Gordy and myself and others...

These days, dare I say it, there's only really Simon Cowell.

Like him or not, he's the sole originator in our business over the past few years.

Discuss. Where are the role models?

I have to say I agree with you again JK. I did a read up on Micky Most and as a baby in the 60s it was my parents record player in the 70s & 80s that made me discover Herman's Hermit "I'm into something good", The Animals "We gotta get outta this place". Will read more on these guys as I want to be ONE of them. I like the ideas of singles and just want to find a way to make money from them all.

It seems with all the talk of new model/live etc the single is such an open goal now that one has to kick the ball right into it.

One of the key things that does seem notably absent currently is the lack of in house "hit factories".

Any new great originators are likely to come from this background which actually takes a lot less investment these days than before.

Reading the list of names below, it would be easy to say it is a nostalgic list, but much more worthwhile to stay on the hunt for these entrepreneurs.
I believe they are out there but currently lurking in a pile marked "small fry" which needs a thorough investigation.
There are loads of great writers that are lacking the finding of good talent to front their works too, as I think we all have experienced at some point.
Interesting to note, that Simon is technically using the same TV methods as Mickie Most, proving it is not outdated, however UK records and Ahmet did not use these methods.

Ah Mart; my point is that key innovators find their own ways, whether or not they may reflect parts of older ideas, they are of their time.

Simon sussed very early on (Robson and Jerome, Power Rangers, Teletubbies) that TV was a great way to provoke music sales.

Others had done it before him but he saw the time was right and the unique ways of getting sales.

That's the kind of thinking that is so rare these days.

Ahmet saw different gaps in the marketplace and different ways of breaking and selling it.

So did I.

But at the same time generally speaking the TV-led music that Cowell produces is utterly awful. Ok - I'll give you Leona can sing and seems to be being groomed to being the new Mariah - but I'm no fan of hers either.
Look at the names on the list:
Robson and Jerome - less relevant than Mantovani
Power Rangers - ?
Teletubbies - ?
Westlife - possibly less relevant than Robson, the Teletubbies and Power Rangers put together.
Chico - words fail me.
No-one can argue Louis, Simon etc have made a lot of money and provide some kind of entertainment but its not done music any favours at all.

Ah Fred, the point of this thread is not value judgement on the quality or lack of it of the music but ability to make the most of it.

Simon has that but very few others have.

What the music is matters not for this discussion - it could be great classics, crap pop or country nursery rhymes.

I can see your point. When you consider that we've lost magazines like
Smash Hits and Melody Maker and programmes like Top Of The Pops; when the NME is nosediving along with (as far as I'm aware) Q, Mojo and Uncut whole areas of the industry are disappearing with little of substance to replace them.

There are as many musical innovators out there as ever. And some of them are (probably) quite successful in the market / niche they are working in. But everyone outside these small scenes will only hear about them by chance (or never).

Innovative business pratices: I think that all the different ways (developed since the days of sheet music) to get attention / hype a record into the charts are still possible today.

But there are (at least) three important differences to former times:
1) There is no longer one mass audience (the mainstream).
2) Attention / awareness doesn