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Gay? Time to release! (some records)
Posted: 11 Jan '06, 15:21
If you are gay and an artist, which is not an unlikely combination, Sony is now playing for the other side. Having launched, on Tuesday, the first label exclusively devoted to gay/lesbian, bisexual, and trans-gendered artists.
Colourfully named 'Music With A Twist', the label has teamed up with Wilderness Media, who are front runners in exposing gay and lesbian programming, having previously joined up with Viacom to release a gay and lesbian television channel 'LOGO'.
They are also set to broadcast a national radio show aimed at a homosexual audience, borrowing the name of the label in an effort to promote the joint venture.
Selfish Cunt photographed by Sonia Melot. Nothing is implied by the inclusion of this photograph.
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but he's
like, gay.
not as gay as CIA tho.-
i heard CIA were
gayer than the village people.
and sounded like son of dork.
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YOU IDIOTS
I'M NOT SURPRISED AT ALL TO SEE SO MUCH HOMOPHOBIA ON THIS INTERNET PAGE. ALL OF YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!
GAY & TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SUFFERING FOR CENTURIES. IT IS ONLY REASONABLE THAT THEY ENJOY WHATEVER FREEDOM AND ACCEPTANCE THEY HAVE NOW.
I'M AN 85 YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO HAD 2 GAY SONS. BOTH OF THEM WERE KILLED FOR BEING THEMSELVES. FROM THAT POINT ONWARDS, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ORGANISATIONS THAT PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF HOMOPHOBIA... AND THE STORIES ARE HORRIFYING!
ALL THOSE OF YOU WHO AHVE POSTED NASTY COMMENTS ON THIS PAGE ARE CLEARLY HOMOPHOBES. IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU, YES.. YU, THAT MURDERED MY SONS. WITH EVERY CASE I HELP SORT OUT, I HAVE FOUGHT MY MAXIMUM TO SEND THE PERPETRATOR TO JAIL, AND AM VERY HAPPY TO HAVE SUCCEEDED IN MOST ACCOUNTS.
YOU NUTCASES DESERVE TO BE BURNT ALIVE ON MEDIEVAL STAKES.
WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIVE BACK INTO THE SORE-RIDDEN HOLE OF THE FLEA-RIDDEN HUSSY THAT BROUGHT YOU SHITLUMPS SCREAMING INTO THIS WORLD??? OR MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST GO LOCK YOUR DIRTY SEWAGE MOUTHS AROUND THE LEPERED-PENIS OF THE TRAMP THAT SIRED YOU?
UGLY WORTHLESS CUNTS !!!
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so now
the phrase "you have a gay taste in music" can actually be applied?
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but the gays would cry
if there was a hetro only label.
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yes
but minorities always get special preference. imagine if there was an exclusively 'straight' club that refused to let gay people in (like some refuse straights into gay clubs)... there'd be outcry...
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That's pretty much
any club in small-town England isn't it?
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Yeah
It's DiS Recordings.
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the fuck?
..
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oh for fucks sake
i'm gonna start a record label for straight artists only. if you're gay you can fuck off right back to the hole from which you crawled out. *
Sony Music - proud to re-inforce divisions between people based on their sexuality.
*i dont' mean this, i was just making a point.
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how
do they prove they're gay?
do they have to provide footage of them engaging in homosexual acts? and swear an affidavit that they have never done anything sexual to another person of a different gender?
or are bisexuals allowed?
I'm going to make a label that only releases records by people who are one eighth irish and own a spaniel.
that'll show those gays.
what was the question again?
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Do
you have to be good? cos i think I might be an eighth irish and I could get a spanial? Am I in??
They just have to have a singer with a lisp and claim a penchant for pink.
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thank you
goddamn fuckin i dont think we fuckin care about your fuckin sexualitys just keep it to your self and youll be fine i mean look at dumbass good charlotte two band members liek eachother
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What
a load of cunt.
I find it offensive.
I say someone creates a label banning all non-straight people.
Cunts.
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hmm
there's always been queer artists, not least in the punk scene. Smart book as a starting point is Homocore: The Loud And Raucous Rise Of Queer Rock
David Ciminelli & Ken Knox
Alyson Books ISBN: 1-55583-855-3 £10.99
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...
Now,Brandon Flowers! Now's ur chance!! Just kidding.
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obviously
it's hard to comment on something like that as, especially on the internet, it's very easy to be misinterpreted.
however, couldn't we just have more labels for _good_ music? please?
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.
double true plus good
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to clarify my position
gays = good
this = silly, patronising idea.
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Who cares?
No one will buy any of their CDs, they're gay.
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Hmmm
Sounds like all those people who moan on about the MOBO awards being a "kind of racism" because a "music of white origin award" would be considered so. Idiots!
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can you explain
why that isn't a reasonable argument?
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I was...
...always more pissed about MOBOs being "music of black origin" but then giving Tim fucking Westwood an aware.
He fails on BOTH counts, neither a musician OR black. PROBLEM.
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haha
fuckin halarious^
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Yes
lets reinforce segregation in society, what a wonderful idea.
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it's all
reverse racism or whatever.... i don't care that much anymore as i've finished my degree. read 'white' by richard dyer. actual vague theories.
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yup, typical responses here.
no-one stop to think for a minute that the music industry is capitalising upon artists by labelling, packaging and selling them.
I don't see how people can be *that* offended by this? But it is telling that the majority of these comments begin with some tired joke about positive discrimination.
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If they so wished
A person could pick out so many comments from this article/comments and take exception to them
Great shout up there ^^^ about proving their sexuality. That made me chuckle
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well...!
If sony want to put their money where their mouth is then they should make Will Young or Robbie Williams cover a Pansy Division song...
Other than that, it's hardly going to be another Catcall records is it? are uggy Bear going to reform and do a take that style tour with sony's money...?-
That's a good suggestion
Will and Robbie doing a duet of 'Bill and Ted's Homosexual adventure'
plugging into each other's sockets
indeed
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Indeed
This is all about 'marketing' and nothing to do with 'prejudice'
still, it's an insult to the intelligent amongst us purely in its conception
people have such eclectic sexual preferences but marketing types don't like nebulous boundaries - they like pie charts and cash
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Colin
Your face is gay.
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this is gonna
hurt more people than it helps
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God, I love you Tom.
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????
you lot are one step away from saying something like "it's political correctness gone mad!"...
i am cynical about sony's efforts to set up a gay label, as it's obviously only them trying to appeal to a different type of consumer or whatever but what you guys are saying beggars belief. "ooh, imagine how they'd react if we set up a straight label" indeed. you find it offensive do you? oh poor you.
do you want to ban LGBT societies at universities? or maybe shut down G-A-Y? they are separatist organisations afterall.
the fact is that people who are members of oppressed groups in a society like ours (which despite what you might think is often sexist, racist, and homophobic) need to separate themselves to raise visibility and appreciation for what they are doing because the opportunity for them to do this by regular, mainstream methods does not exist.
this is a great thing when it's done by the people, for the people (a cliched sentiment, i know)... just look at ladyfest for an example. it's not about segregation because everyone is welcome to appreciate the output (whatever that might be). and the idea is almost "we shouldn't have to be doing this, and we hope someday that we won't have to be doing this because female artists will get the appreciation that they deserve".
the same goes for "gay artists" i suppose. although i'm not up for creating fixed identities and pigeonholing people... i do still think that "gay music" might be something worth persuing in order to raise its profile.
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whilst I agree with your sentiment foreverware
it's not good to have such a behemoth grab at the 'market' in such a way
Ladyfest is great fun but I somehow feel that ...let's say... MacDonald's Ladyfest, or L'oreal Ladyfest or whatever would be less fun
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?
i completly agree with you. and i did say in my comment that i didn't think that *sony* doing this was a good idea. but people weren't criticising it along those lines, they were criticising it along "gay label = separatism" lines.
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i think
they were only doing that because it was Sony.
There are already 'gay' or strongly gay-friendly labels. Don't Sleater-Kinney and the Magnetic Fields both run one?
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nah way
i really don't think they were only doing that cos it was sony.
i can't quote anyone without typing it up because this website is designed weirdly to not allow copy and paste... but read them again, they are so not saying this only because it's sony.
and yeah, there are tonnes of gay labels and gay friendly labels.
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Gay Artists
I'm not sure about this. Whilst I find the "well, why can't they're be labels with straight artists only" argument a little glib, I don't necessariy think this a good thing.
The implication to me does seem to be that gay artists need a helping hand to find an audience; something I don't think is true. The successes of Elton John, the Scissor Sisters, George Michael, (especially) Will Young and (to an extent) REM, for example, show that homosexual acts (pun unintended) can find a mainstream audience just as easily as straight acts. Cross-dressing, trans-gender, bisexuality etc. never seem ot have been barriers to success either.
On the other hand, one thing that does interest me is that I don't think either Elton John or Will Young (both, of course, hugely successful and well-known to be gay) has ever released a single that is overtly gay (i.e. clearly directly sung to a man), which does make me wonder whether there is still a feeling a larger audience would be uncomfortable with such an explicit exhibition of homosexuality.
I would like to think that this is not the case.
So, in short, I do think Sony's decision, whilst perhaps laudible, is perhaps a tad unnecessary.
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I dont think
...it matters if its a gay 'themed' one, what about Michael by Franz Ferdinand?
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i thought that was the point.. that this would be, like, proper gay music and not just music sung by gay people... if you see what i mean. not that this makes sony's position any better, really.
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WELL GOODNESS!
I am so unoffended it's amazing.
SO WHAT.-
I wonder if they will
like The Open Mouths. I think they are the first band to be completely homo-wave.
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Unlikely
as "Music With a Twist's roster will feature gay artists who have mass appeal and hit potential across all musical genres. The label also plans to release various compilations geared toward gay and bisexual audiences, as well as music fans everywhere, featuring hit songs by established artists that have been embraced by gay, bisexual and transgender audiences."
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home-wave
ach, i'm not really sure what counts as "homo-wave" but there are squillions of queer bands.
p.s. you added me on flickr the other day. the internet is a small world, isn't it?
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it's not that i'm offended
i just think it's a bit gay
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Seems a perverse idea. Although it will attract attention and undoubtedly much deserved praise for any bands signed. I wish them well.
As someone said about 100 posts up, why should sexuality matter? Surely if they're not actually very good (i.e. can't get people interested and supporting their music without being singled out for preferantial treatment) then they probably aren't that great compared to other bands on the entire roster. If they're really good, then why won't Sony promote them in the normal fashion? Equality anyone?
Some bands have other things to talk about other than themselves, and so the question of their (songwriter's) sexuality never really arises. Where do they fit in? I presume they would be better off at a separate wing of Sony altogether.
If the cream of the music world is not entirely gay - which I beleive it is not- then recruiting acts and concentrating on pedalling below-par material to a predominantly gay audience, is surely discrimination.
Why not just concentrate on letting everyone hear your music by default? I buy music I like. If I liked music written by gay people that tackled gay issues, then I'd probably seek it out. If I wanted music by straight people that tackled gay issues I'd probably seek it out. Etc...
Surely promoting music under a banner of segregation with sexual connotations is anything but inclusive or tolerant. Who said I didn't want to listen to music from gay artists in the first place? Sony's market research, apparently.
As an cynical aside - is this a ploy to get all the gay people in Sony Music to come out, get together with vocal liberals and be relocated as a 'team' to a warehouse in Croydon? One hopes not.
Toby
P.S. Reading back my comments above it looks like Im starting an Onanist only label some time soon. What a ...
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CRABLIN
used to be in CIA, the mighty portsmouth rock juggernaut? it all makes sense now. my word, its a small world. i do believe ur bassist was a pompey grammar school boy was he not?
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what!
this is very funny but also really really insulting to the many gay artists that dont make too much of a point of being gay.
as a gay myself, and record label chap, i think that running a label should be about music, yes gay image etc fits with music... but fuck off... a whole label. i hate sony bmg mother fuckers it will all be weslife shit anyway.
its ridiculous. but if they gonna bring out a Pansy Division box set then this is the best idea for a record label.i also dislike the idea of Mobo's and Brits...
paul truck
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what's
offensive about it? It's just stupid.
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