CA&E: What do you think about satellite radio?MF: It's a very healthy thing for the music business. It'll open up a lot of areas. I've spoken with the CEOs of both companies. Right now, their dream sounds like a good one. Their DJs aren't going to be afraid to play stuff. They're not beholden to anyone. If they keep it true, we'll get a lot of great music that otherwise wouldn't get on the radio. The play lists for radio are so restricted now and the DJs can't express themselves. Satellite radio will be far more expressive, where individual programmers will have freedom to do what they want, whether it's blues music, talking to musicians, or doing some live shows. I think it could bring radio back to where it should be and where it was. Radio was so fantastic in the '60s. DJs would play what they liked and very often make bands famous; now they're told what to play. Jim Ladd (a DJ in Los Angeles) is one of the few people out there who still has the freedom to play what he wants. It's all fairly scary. There has to be a business there, but you can transcend it. The artistic side has to be given more freedom. And their position, the corporations, will be enhanced in a major way, five, 10 years from now.
CA&E: What new bands give you hope for the future?MF: There's a young band called The Flying Tigers that I really like; they're on Atlantic. I think a chap who came out of rap called Everlast - I think he's incredibly talented. And he made a musical change, became very musical and worked on Carlos Santana's album. It's an interesting time. About the only reason there's some decent music out there is because of the small labels. They have a small roster of artists that they care about. And that's why the corporations buy these small labels. So corporations need to get back to how they used to run these companies.