Bruce Springsteen's early struggles reveal how the music industry has changed

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Fifty years ago this week, a scruffy young artist from New Jersey released his first album.

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When Davis told Springsteen he needed a single for his forthcoming album, he came up with another winner called “Spirit in the Night.” Things were looking good when Springsteen’s debut, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,” was released on Jan. 5, 1973.Article contentThough it was impossible to know why for sure, Springsteen himself had a strong supposition: “Greetings” wasn’t truly him. Hammond and Davis had envisioned the album as a solo record with a few session musicians.

But Columbia could afford to be patient. Those were the glory days of the music business, which sold 1 billion records in 1974. It was standard practice to support budding artists, including subsidizing national tours as a means of selling records. Concert tickets would go for about the price of a long-playing album; the idea was to generate excitement that would lead to radio airplay, and, ultimately, profits.

But Columbia’s patience was wearing thin. The label’s new president, Walter Yetnikoff, wanted to drop Springsteen – prompting a junior executive to swear at him. Columbia decided to advance Springsteen enough money to record a hit single and see if he could rise to the occasion. After six months of work – and driving everyone around him crazy in the process – Springsteen answered emphatically, yes, he could rise to the occasion with “Born to Run.

 

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Bruce Springsteen's early struggles reveal how the music industry has changedFifty years ago this week, a scruffy young artist from New Jersey released his first album.
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