Oasis’ talent scout: “their splitting-up was a disaster!”

“I didn’t support Oasis’ splitting-up, but Liam and Noel have really bad tempers, it was necessary.” Said Alan McGee, the Gallangher brothers’ talent scout, “they had become just a trade-mark, you knew what you could expect from them. Now they have separate projects and we are here to see what is going to happen.”

Creation Records Manager, Alan McGee came to town with his “British style” for the meeting organised at Via Como Informagiovani, on Sunday 13^th March, where he spoke in front of an audience composed of experts and bands to be.

“I discovered them by chance in a pub in Glasgow. That night I had to be elsewhere. My first impression wasn’t positive, they played a Beatles song in a very bad way. It was only later on that they revealed their true potential.” Adds McGee. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, dressed in black and with elegant shoes, McGee talked about his experience in the music world, which began twenty years ago.

He met Oasis during his career, “they have never been easy to handle. But I have to admit that I have experienced an incredible moment with them. They have always reached their goals one after the other in an incredible speed, “ and this is also the case for other successful bands of the “britpop” genre such as Primal Scream.

A round table in which music in a digital and downloading period has been discussed. The latter was organised by Ghost Records for the “Notturno Giovani” project, to which Francesco Brezzi, Giuseppe Marmina, Christoph Storbeck ( Strike managing director) and Samantha Colombo participated.

“It’s not that I want to criticise technology but we have to find an agreement with the music-business” explains Alan McGee.  “Free downloading is not a positive thing, the artists’ job is not appreciated enough and this gives bands a very low hope  for survival. When Napster was born the production companies should have collaborated. Today, however, there are true problems: where does the copyright end up? How will music be in the future? How can a musician get on if he doesn’t earn money?”.

The artist, in short, seems to be obliged to live in two different worlds: the creative and the practical ones, where the Internet is becoming a way to present themselves, to advertise their music, to find venues and promoters. “ There is a new trend such as the “netlabel” which are real labels that you can only find online and that can launch successful bands” explained Giuseppe Marmina from Ghost Records. “ The Internet is very useful for your contacts” explained Cristoph Storbeck. The youth have to be more dynamic and have to take initiative. They have to stop waiting for others to do everything for them.” In the end, in a world where “ music is freely available” it is important to have clear ideas, to know how to surf between blogs and social networks and to be determined. But there is a piece of advice that the experts never forget: “don’t copy the other bands, have more fantasy, take risks, be borderline but keep you origins”  continues McGee. “I have decided to leave Creation Records when Sony Music was created. The ideas were becoming too bland which created a pauper creativity.”