Monday, January 26, 2009
Kuarup Discos closes its doors
Last Tuesday, as the world was celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration, a short e-mail arrived from Kuarup Discos, announcing that the record label was shutting down.
I would like everyone to know why Kuarup went out of business, so here’s a translation of the announcement:
After 31 years dedicated to the best of Brazilian music, the independent carioca label Kuarup Discos decided to close down its operations at the beginning of this year.
During the last years, sales of physical products [i.e., CDs] suffered a vertiginous fall, which was far from compensated for by sales of Internet downloads. We understand that the crisis of the CD is irreversible and has turned unviable our business model, which was entirely based on the production and sales of quality music.
To those familiar with Kuarup’s products, this is a heavy loss. The label’s catalog is rich in choro, samba, instrumental music, Brazilian classical music, and the best regional music.
It’s no secret, however, that Brazilian Internet music piracy is probably the most visibly active in the world. No sooner is a CD released than blogs offer it for free download. For every blog that is shut down for piracy, two new ones pop up. Don’t ask me for the names of these blogs—I refuse to publicize them.
If Biscoito Fino is still in business, it’s because of the deep pockets of its backers. But what of other independent labels? Between the global economic crisis and persistent piracy, their chances of survival are very slim indeed.
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11:06
 
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Guinga gets a sock in the face
Many people consider Guinga a god. Not so the cops at Madrid airport. Alan Romero, who often keeps me abreast of Guinga's doings, sent a link to a horrendous story, reported by Guinga’s daughter, Constance Escobar.
It appears that Guinga was returning to Rio de Janeiro after a 20-day Italian work trip, and since he flew on Iberia Airlines, he had to change planes in Madrid, where a labor dispute involving Iberia, as well as a shortage of air traffic controllers, has been causing many flight cancellations and delays.
As Guinga told O Dia, his Madrid connection turned into a three-day ordeal. On Friday, 9 January, Iberia announced that the scheduled flight for Rio was delayed owing to snow. The passengers waited a whole day at the terminal, until Iberia put them up at a hotel.
On Saturday, Guinga was awakened pre-dawn with the announcement that the bus would leave for the airport at 5 am. While passing through security, He placed his coat, shoes, and carry-ons on the x-ray machine’s rolling belt. His coat, containing 400 euros and 200 reais, passport, boarding pass, house key, and wallet with all his documents, was stolen as he was putting on his shoes after the inspection. Another flight missed.
Guinga complained to the airport police and was told it wasn’t their problem. They suggested that he contact the Brazilian embassy. Adding injury to insult, one of the cops punched Guinga in the face after the musician made accusations about the theft of his coat. The former dentist lost two teeth and a great deal of his dignity.
Accounts in the Brazilian press vary as to what happened next. According to this report quoting his wife Fátima, a policewoman who saw Guinga injured and crying in the terminal tried to help him. She was taking him to a restricted area in the terminal when he espied his coat discarded in a trash container. Only the money was missing. The same policewoman then helped him to change his flight from Iberia to TAP Portugal and accompanied him to the gate.
Other than the broken teeth, the only proof of the ordeal that Guinga retains is a document the Spanish police forced him to sign, attesting that it was they who found the coat.
As they say in Brazil: sem palavras.
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18:53
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