AlwaysThere
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2012
- Messages
- 5,631
- Points
- 113
The short version of my opinion: the Estate doesn't deserve the level of hate they get.
This x 100. The worst thing I can say about the executors is that they are ignorant toward the people that matter.
I refuse to believe for one second that Branca and McClain knew beyond a reasonable doubt that the tracks were fraudulent and still signed off to put them out there. Something tells me that they (or, if the stories are accurate, Branca) were blinded by the idea of having twelve finished songs from 2007, i.e. an era where, according to legend, very few usable tracks remain. Rather than go with their gut (or their ears), they pushed forward and threw them on the album.
Yes, the family pushed for the songs to be trashed. Yes, several collaborators openly expressed their views that the songs were fake. Yes, there were rumors that McClain was against the songs from the beginning (and, if true, he had the ability to block the songs from being published and should have done so). No one is denying that the Estate screwed up. But I won't call them the spawns of Satan for doing so (as many have).
And as far as removing the tracks from public consumption, of COURSE they won't. Firstly, they're in the middle of a fraud trial, and pulling the album from retail stores would be a clear admission of guilt. Secondly, the only people who even talk about this scandal are the hardcore fans; the general public doesn't bat an eye at the Cascio tracks anymore. If Sony Music and the Estate came forward and admitted that they were cutting the three tracks from the album, that would cause a firestorm like no other, and could possibly open up the door for MORE lawsuits. Right now, the Estate is in a lose-lose situation that they put themselves in.
This x 100. The worst thing I can say about the executors is that they are ignorant toward the people that matter.
I refuse to believe for one second that Branca and McClain knew beyond a reasonable doubt that the tracks were fraudulent and still signed off to put them out there. Something tells me that they (or, if the stories are accurate, Branca) were blinded by the idea of having twelve finished songs from 2007, i.e. an era where, according to legend, very few usable tracks remain. Rather than go with their gut (or their ears), they pushed forward and threw them on the album.
Yes, the family pushed for the songs to be trashed. Yes, several collaborators openly expressed their views that the songs were fake. Yes, there were rumors that McClain was against the songs from the beginning (and, if true, he had the ability to block the songs from being published and should have done so). No one is denying that the Estate screwed up. But I won't call them the spawns of Satan for doing so (as many have).
And as far as removing the tracks from public consumption, of COURSE they won't. Firstly, they're in the middle of a fraud trial, and pulling the album from retail stores would be a clear admission of guilt. Secondly, the only people who even talk about this scandal are the hardcore fans; the general public doesn't bat an eye at the Cascio tracks anymore. If Sony Music and the Estate came forward and admitted that they were cutting the three tracks from the album, that would cause a firestorm like no other, and could possibly open up the door for MORE lawsuits. Right now, the Estate is in a lose-lose situation that they put themselves in.
