The party kicked off with the Jets, MCA’s answer to the Jacksons. I wonder what Tippy Gore would say to 14-year-olds strutting around in low-cut spandex and fishnet stockings. The old guard was in evidence, trying to mold talent into formula acts that could be predigested and controlled from the top. The talent in the act is undeniable, yet the outcome almost tragic.
Walter Yetnikoff and Sony’s Norio Ohga introduced the three-inch CD as the new answer to the single, and the industry’s latest effort to reach down into the pockets of teenagers. At the same time they defended the high price of CDs as the only way to underwrite the tours of name acts and to find new talent. Both had missed the point. Price remains a critical issue for the business, yet the fact remains that the biggies no longer lead the taste of much of the young music buying public. Rap is no longer
