This thread has been bandied about a bit, and I think that good points have
been made by several.

My concern is not about comparatively subtle marketing changes, e.g., if
they want to try to make Gardiner look extra-manly or Mutter sexy on the
covers....  well so be it.  If the worst "embarrassment" to CM is that the
Titanic soundtrack is sold under its banner, I think we'll all survive.

However, Don (among others) made the point that marketing changes that
include marketing-driven changes in what is labelled CM can be more
dangerous.

In other words, I'm concerned if it's decided that CM better sell like the
Titanic and make bucks like Michael Jackson.

Anyone who does not believe that marketers can exert a big change on a
field should look to see what passes for Country Music (The Other CM?)
these days.  It's just pop rock with a cowboy hat and a southern twang.
That would be ok, I suppose, except that "real country" has just about been
killed in the marketplace: radio, record sales, and touring.  I don't care
much for Country in any form,:-) but the point remains.

Yes, it's true that the markets for CM#1 and CM#2 share little more than
the CD format at this point, but I am still concerned about the fate of
classical recordings if it is decided by marketers that they have to go
big time and push the revenue hard.

William Jenks