MovieChat Forums > That Thing You Do! (1996) Discussion > Jimmy may have been a jerk, but he was r...

Jimmy may have been a jerk, but he was right about the record label

posted 8 years ago by dhmason6155
7 replies | jump to latest

He may have been a lot of things, but he was above all serious and committed to his music. It became obvious to him pretty soon that Play Tone was just using The Wonders to make money because they sounded like the Beatles. They, including Mr White, didn't give two sh!ts about the band or their music.

Two reasons:

1. The way Moe Green uh, I mean Sol Siler treated him after the photo op:("get Fabian away from me!").

2. When Mr White informs him in the studio that they can only play music provided by Play Tone, with the exception of no more than two originals, and "none of that lover's lament crap", White's words.

Mr White was all business and zero percent sensitivity to the musicians themselves. And I know it's a business driven by profit, but if you know anything about Tommy Mottola or Clive Davis, you know they were label exec's who were as passionate about the artists and their music as they were about the business side.

We got a job.
What kind?
...The Forever Kind.

[–] Doc80 8 years ago

White was just enforcing the contract the band themselves signed, that's his job. If Jimmy were so smart he would have realized that this is how the game is played. You do what they want to start and later on down the road, when you are more popular and established, then you get the power.

As for the Sol, it was brought up in the movies, he's in charge of the entire label. He doesn't have time to know every artist and he doesn't care because he doesn't need to. He has people that take care of that stuff while he deals with the overall direction of the label.

[–] dhmason6155 8 years ago

Well, I can't blame Sol for being in a bad mood. After all, he'd just been whacked by the Corleone family...

But there's no excuse, or other explanation for insulting one of his own artists.

Anyhoo, Jimmy ultimately did "play the game" successfully, as they said in the end credits when he went on to a successful recording career. Looked like quitting Play Tone while the quitting was good was the right move.

White enforced the contract and Sol ran the company, period. You're right, but you're basically agreeing with me. Play Tone was like a lot of labels who just wanted to make money. Labels like Columbia, Arista and Motown weren't that way. Their philosophy was to develop and nurture the artists. Clive Davis, Tommy Mottola and Berry Gordy were intimately involved with their artists and their careers. And they made money. Berry Gordy MADE Michael Jackson.

Sadly, that way of doing business is a thing of the past. the industry is run by corporations now and it shows.

We got a job.
What kind?
...The Forever Kind.

[–] coolman13355 7 years ago

His second band The Heardsmen was even still with Play-Tone.

[–] tornado2449 7 years ago

Agreed. Labels are in theory there to help bring a band's sound to the masses and distribute..not to completely change who they are and neuter them in order to produce radio hits. That may be what they are too often..but it's not what they are supposed to be.

That was one thing they didn't really touch on too much cause they wanted the love story to end the movie. The breach of contract would have been a lot bigger of a deal than the small part it was made to be.

[–] ChardeeMacDennis86 7 years ago

"You know who I am?! I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones while you were going out with cheerleaders!"

[–] strntz (10934) 7 years ago

Mr White was all business and zero percent sensitivity to the musicians themselves.

Well, yeah.

Music is no less a business than any other private enterprise. Mr. White was not all that well written, but generally speaking the "label" knew far more about building and sustaining the money train than the artists do (not to mention financing the whole project).

Here's what's wrong with the Rick White character that no one talks about: no way would Rick White have let that band break up so quickly and without a fight. After Jimmy walked out, White pretty much smirked and called them the "one hit Wonders". No record company exec ever would have given up that easily on a band that currently had the number 7 record in the country at that time (with the Showcase appearance it would likely have been number one) and had fans mobbing the venues like Beatles fans did. If completed, the new album would be guaranteed to be a number one seller. Circumstances like that present themselves only a few times in a lifetime.

If I was White (heheh) I would have called Jimmy later on after he cooled down and compromised a bit with him. Offer him at least one more track or two for the second album. I think if he explained the business end to Jimmy he could have compromised and kept him in the Play-Tone "stable of artists" and kept that gravy train rolling.

The fact that Jimmy's next band not only signed with a record label (realizing the necessary symbiotic relationship between artists and record companies) but signed on again with Play-Tone proves that the label wasn't as evil as Jimmy first thought.

[–] Esterhowse (468) 3 years ago

"It became obvious to him pretty soon that Play Tone was just using The Wonders to make money because they sounded like the Beatles."

WTF would a record label do..

The Wonders arean't anything special, there are hundreds of bands just like it created every year. What the moron Jimmy should have done is used their money to fund his "Artistic" endeavors.

Also at the end of the day, The Wonders big hit was a Beatles rip off.