Following the Muse

[Fiona McQuarrie <fmcquarr@upei.ca>]

Re Marcel's and Peter's comments on Kate's TOTP appearance (which of
course being in North America I haven't seen):

Kate may very well be following her muse and not be in business to please
her fans. I actually wish more artists would do this rather than churning
out whatever the Flavour of the Moment sound is.
But the fact remains that she has chosen to participate in a BUSINESS.
She could have chosen to follow her muse by being an amateur musician and
writing/playing her songs for her own pleasure. But she instead decided
to operate on a larger scale as part of the established music business (as
opposed to an independent artist like Happy Rhodes).
And the sad facts of the music BUSINESS are that if you don't make your
fans happy, you will not have fans, and you will suffer the subsequent
loss of sales and income. It's a vicious equation but unfortunately it's
the way the BUSINESS works, even though as we all recognize music would
be much better served if this weren't the case.
I think Kate is one of the most encouraging examples of an artist who
has managed to maintain her artistic integrity while being commercially
successful. However, the BUSINESS has changed since she entered it in 
the mid-70s. There are many more outlets for artists to be seen (worldwide
video channels, more radio stations, CD-ROMs, etc.) and because of this
the artists that get sales and sustained fan support are those that
are visible. And I must agree with Marcel, although not quite in the terms
that he expressed, that Kate is missing the boat on this part of her
career. 
I'm not saying that I want to see her wearing spandex and having mud
tossed at her at Woodstock II while singing a cover version of Ace of
Base's "I Saw The Sign". However, there is a whole new generation of
music fans listening and seeing music that have *no idea* of who she is.
And this is because she does not get out there and promote her work, or
tour. Old geezers like the Stones and Pink Floyd manage to push themselves
out every couple of years, and because of that they have a sustained fan
base of all ages. My suspicion is that the majority of Kate's fans are
people who were turned onto her before or during Hounds of Love, when she
was out there on TV, radio, etc. and doing the promotional thing.
She will always have a reliable fan base, but it isn't a giant one.
And many artists in similar circumstances are the ones that found themselves
on the chopping block when record cos. decide it is time to "rationalize"
or "downsize". 

I agree with Peter that she is not a musician just because she wants to
please her fans. But I also agree with Marcel that it is probably not a
good thing to appear on TV and look like you wish you were somewhere else.
One way to serve your muse and please your fans at the same time is to
evince an interest in your own work.

I would be interested in hearing from others who saw the TOTP show.

Cheers, Fiona
fmcquarr@atlas.cs.upei.ca