A Letter to the Tejano Music Industry
- Forward
JANUARY 29, 2008
HOWDY!
DEAR FRIENDS, MEMBERS OF THE TEJANO ACADEMY:
WISHING YOU A BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR! MAY 2008 BE THE BEST YEAR FOR YOU YET, WITH BETTER ONES TO COME. MAY ALL OF YOUR
ASPIRATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS BE FULLFILLED.
AMIGOS, LET ME GET TO THE MATTER OF THIS CORRESPONDENCE. WE ALL KNOW HOW THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS AILING AND HOW THAT AFFECTS US
ALL. THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT ARE COMPONENTS OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE WITH THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC AND SPECIFICALLY WITH
TEJANO MUSIC. SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT, OTHERS ARE OUT OF OUR HANDS, LIKE THE STATE OF THE
ECONOMY. HOWEVER, AIRPLAY ON RADIO STATIONS THAT REFUSE TO PLAY OUR MUSIC IS ONE PROBLEM I SINCERELY BELIEVE WE CAN RESOLVE.
WE KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF AIRPLAY FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE GENRE OF OUR MUSIC.
THIS BRINGS ME TO THE POINT OF THIS LETTER. A MEETING WAS HELD IN HOUSTON ON MONDAY, JANUARY 28TH TO DISCUSS OUR SITUATION AND
TRY TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO OUR WOES. IT WAS A GREAT MEETING!!! IN ATTENDENCE WERE SOME VERY IMPORTANT KEY FIGURES WHO ARE VERY
SENSITIVE TO OUR NEEDS, CITY AND STATE OFFICIALS, MEDIA PERSONNEL, RADIO CELEBRATIES, RECORD DISTRIBUTORS AND TEJANO MUSICIANS
AND CELEBRATIES.
NAMES OF ATTENDANCE:
Ret. Senator Gonzalo Barriento – Tejano Democrats, Senator Mario Gallegos - Texas Senate Dist. 6, Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. II - Texas Senate Dist. 27, State
Rep. Dist. 143 Anna Hernandez, State Rep. Dist. 148 Jessica Farrar, Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Little Joe Hernandez – La Familia, Ruben Ramos
– Mexican Revolution, Roberto Pulido – Los Clasicos, Roel Pulido – Los Clasicos, David Lee Garza – Los Musicales, Leonard Davila - Austin Tejano Music
Coalition, Lorenzo Cano – CMAS University of Houston, Jesse Rodriguez - Amigos Radio, Sammy Hernandez – Festival Chicano, Alfred Rodriguez - Amigos Radio,
Frank Flores – Go Tejano Committee, Diana Falcon, Falcon Productions, Ruben Cubillos – VIVE Tejano, Inc.
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
How Tejano Delegation was called to order to address Houston Rodeo controversy
Why is Tejano music not part of the 2008 Go Tejano Day at Houston Rodeo?
Analysis on how current conditions developed from record-breaking Tejano partnership
Discussion on understanding Houston Rodeo’s process used in determining entertainment
Discussion of power shift in Go Tejano Committee and Houston Rodeo officials
Discussion where Mexican Regional acts overshadowed long Tejano music partnership
Discussion of short term resolutions and long term goals to reconnect partnership
Redefine process in determining Tejano music entertainment
Form sub committee to explore Houston Rodeo’s official position, beliefs and consequences
Seek diplomatic solution to define the value of the Tejano music relationship
State of Tejano music – issues effecting the genre: limited radio outlets, limited support for new Tejano acts to find air-play on current stations, down sizing of
venues or their demise, discrimination of aging audience base and the erosion of large events yearly
QUITE A LIST, DON’T YOU AGREE?
NOW THEN, THE MOST IMPORTANT AND PRESENT MATTER IS THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO. AS YOU WELL KNOW, TEJANO DAY AT
THE RODEO IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST MONEY GROSSING DAYS OF THE RODEO. THANKS TO NUESTRA RAZA, LOS TEJANOS.
BUT CHECK THIS OUT, TEJANO DAY WILL NOW BE TEJANO DAY WITHOUT TEJANO ARTISTS OR TEJANO MUSIC! SAY WHAT?
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I PERSONALLY FEEL ON BEHALF OF ALL TEJANO MUSICIANS, BANDS, ARTISTS, AND FANS, ABUSED, MISUSED AND
DISCARDED!!! ¿QUE CHINGAS ES ESTO? CARNAL AND CARNALAS!
FURTHERMORE AND ON TOP OF THAT, AS BOBBY BUTLER “EL CHARRO NEGRO” WOULD SAY, “THERE IS A PROBABILITY THAT THE POWERS THAT BE
MAY DO AWAY WITH TEJANO DAY ALTOGETHER.”
YOU WILL BE INFORMED OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, BUT IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME OF NEED TO COOPERATE AND LEAN YOUR SUPPORT IN ANY WAY,
SHAPE OR FORM THAT CAN HELP US IN OUR ENDEAVOR TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR US ALL, NOW IS THAT TIME!!!
YOUR INVOLVEMENT, OPINION AND SUPPORT IS TOTALLY VITAL AND CENTRAL TO THIS CAUSE. STAY POSITIVE, HEALTHY AND AWARE. CONTINUE
SUCCESS AND RECEIVE THE ALMIGHTY’S BLESSINGS.
REMEMBER ALWAYS, SI SE PUEDE!!!
TU AMIGO
LITTLE JOE
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The below email was sent by Mr. Saul Barbosa, with Stars Above Texas Music. ..... WOW
hola friends & fans de la onda tejano,
although there are a lot of optimistic fans, artists, and the sort.
reality has once again set in on the state of tejano music in the new year.
many of you have predicted great changes, and progress for the largest growing segment of artists: namely female soloists. and many have been enthusiastic that
the ladies could help restore tejano to a wider audience.
but now lets examine reality, make that hard cold reality.
as you know by now the pre-nomination ballots have been released for public voting by the tejano music awards (ttma), and if one is to closely examine the stats,
they are quite bleak for the ladies once again. by pre-nominee, i refer to the process that only the final 5 can correctly call themselves "nominees".
1) there are 10 categories to vote on. for statistical reasons, let us remove male vocalists, female vocalists, and duets (usually male and female combo) from the
question on hand because they are, by design, exclusive by gender.
2) that leaves 7 categories with 12 pre-nominees each which equals a total of 84 candidates to vote on. of those 84 candidates only 14 are female, which is a
measly 16.5%. (83.5% male!!!)
3) the situation gets even worse when we examine the top 3 premium awards: "song of the year", "album of the year", and "entertainer of the year". of these 36
pre-nomination slots a thoroughly embarrassing 3 are for females. that amounts to just 8% of eligible candidates.(92%male!!!) (once again i have left off the other
2 premium awards : male/female vocalists for reasons already explained).
sorry folks!!! there just is no way to put a positive spin on this one. i already know those of you by name that try to find the silver lining where there is none.
of those 3 candidates , in item 3 above, two of the ladies are relatively "invisible" within the industry. so their chances of winning or even making the final 5, are
astronomically small. that leaves only one lady, elida reyna, among the top 36 pre-nominees, who has a realistic chance of taking home a major award!!! some
think this is progress within the tejano industry?
this flies in the face of what is happening around us, with greater visibility on the internet blogs & websites, radio airplay, and cd sales during this eligibility period,
which is for the later part of '07, rebecca valadez, leslie lugo, megan leyva, monica castro, veronica (of avance), among others have made major musical impacts
during this time.
the most blatant insult to the girls was the "album of the year" category. you have to go back to the selena era, 12 years ago, to find such a great crop of
successful albums put out by women in a single year. the lack of respect here is incredible as the list below should illustrate.
where is elida reyna. many consider this to possibly be her best album ever.
rebecca valadez, much better than her grammy nominated first effort, with a ton of hits.
leslie lugo's breakthrough with lots of airplay and sales.
megan leyva's 5th cd to date, and possibly most commercially successful.
monica castro, who achieved # 1's in mexico, tucson, and most importantly kxtn.
liza ybarra's critically acclaimed, that many have said is the best in 12 years, and quite possibly the best songwriter of the last 20 years.
veronica (of avance) a fan favorite, making huge waves everywhere she plays.
comeback efforts of delia gonzalez (of culturas) and agnes torres (of new variety)
footnote: the one girl who did make the top 12 albums is a relative unknown: ernestine romero and is highly questionable to put up against the likes of ruben
ramos, joe posada, ram herrera, etc.
this list is not all-inclusive, just the most visible of female artists that were blatantly left off the all male's club for "album of the year" by the "tejano industry".
the one category that the ladies made heavy gains in is the "most promising band" in which they received exactly half (6) of the pre-nominees. of course this is
important, but can one of them actually win?? once again it sends a message from the industry, that one day these ladies may be great, but not in 2007, maybe
not next year either, maybe not in 10 years. that is the problem with this category. why not award these girls right here, right now for their terrific music, songwriting,
and performing this year when they are making history.
for those of you who have never tried it, producing a cd, promoting it, and trying to tour with a band for a new-comer can be a mighty expensive process. why is the
industry teasing "most promising" instead of awarding what they are currently achieving. just maybe you will give them that much needed push to keep producing
great music and performances.
as i alluded to above, production of a first class album can lead to the edge of bankruptcy, and maybe that is the motive of some within the industry for
up-and-coming females.....
as one die-hard tejano fan, t-man, stated recently that he has seen some 1000 up-and-coming female tejanas disappear without a trace. sometimes with a hit or
two, sometimes before they ever record. many of them super-talented. can you think of some of them???
of course these 12 pre-nominees are generated by, then voted on by the "industry" and not the fans. so who is the "industry" exactly and are they completely
oblivious to the trends in front of them?? i give the ttma a lot of credit for trying to create a fair system in which to determine worthy candidates (compared to some
other organizations out there). ttma has one of the best qualifying systems. all awards show have flaws, none are perfect and that includes the grammys
themselves. but the system is apparently broken and the ttma should seriously consider a revamping of entire process.
some have argued, what difference does it really make, it is only a awards show?? but who wants to host, work hard to qualify for, participate in, and finally receive
an award from a "questionable ceremonies show? what incentive do these girls have to put out quality and creative product when they will never be recognized for
it. gaining radio airplay, live gigs, and cd sales is hard enough in addition to not having their hard work recognized in anyway what-so-ever.
of course the radio airplay/cd sales/giging all go hand and hand and are separate from receiving an award. but once again the industry, specifically the program
directors, are the ones blocking the women in that arena, and therefore is a totally different essay.
are there any possible solutions to this broken process??
just what if.....there was a "listening committee" that actually listened to each of the albums submitted. albeit a more cumbersome process, but not logistically
impossible, and we might just award those who are actually deserving. there might be a fighting chance for many of these girls rather than a system that, by its
very nature, is voted on by name recognition and a cultural based machismo.
certain categories would continue to have to be voted on by the "industry" such as "most promising", "entertainer" , and "showband", but the rest of the categories
could be determined solely by listeners who have no built in bias or favorites.
another quick and easy fix is to restore male and female entertainers as separate categories, knowing that the industry and fan base intrinsically favor men each
and every time.
footnote: the grammy (general grammy awards) process for voting on the tejano genre is somewhat different but similar in it's biases. first of all there is only one
award granted: "album of the year". that makes it winner take all. this means there is even less a chance of winning. one category/one trophy. another hardship is
that the "industry" both generates and votes on the submitted albums. the public has no input what-so-ever. the winner is determined by a behind-the-scenes
process of "who knows who". for this years awards approximately 10 of the 51 submitals featured female lead singers. a 1 in 5 chance?? or fat chance??...
predictably none of the five finalists were female.
to their credit, the industry did nominate one lady, rebecca valadez, in '07. apparently her work outside of the tejano industry gave her an unexpected edge.
this year's five tejano finalist featured 3 men around the 60 year age bracket, plus one man in his late forties. overall this is an abbe ration within the grammy
process where youthful & female winners are abundant in most of the other genres. case in point: the big winner this year was the debut of amy winehouse,
a young female, new to the music scene who took home the most grammys with 5 total. can tejano ever award 5 trophies to the debut of a young female???? after
all neither the tejano awards or grammys are not handing out "lifetime achievement" awards. there is actually a special trophy for that and a separate "hall of fame"
organization.
once again i suggest a solution for the grammys of a "listening committee" that actually takes time to hear all the submitted albums. i can almost put money down
that the five finalist would not include 3 male senior citizens!
seriously disappointed,
saul barbosa
stars above texas music
sacollectiblesii@ yahoo.com
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