Dear Toni,

As an international Pop artist, I have sung all over the world in many countries and been on various labels.  Some years ago, I started two companies, Telegraph Hill Company and Parnassus Productions.  My business partner (Al Roberts) and I then built a recording studio. Al has long been associated with Dimples’ restaurant in Burbank. We decided that the only way to have it all was to own it all!  My new CD, on Yellow Brick Rose, will be called, Only In Hollywood. I’ve been on TV and radio all over the world, and also in Billboard magazine. Can you tell me if (you believe) there is a link between “bad culture” and public misperception of what is truly good? Rap and Hip-Hop and simplistic drum and bass Beats have dominated music far too long, encouraging the public to embrace yet lower standards.  But surely the public cannot believe this is good music.  I wonder: is this an example of the saying that “You can sell garbage if you paint it gold,” and the public simply buys into what is served them by a compliant press and record industry?   The difference about music today, I think, is that the artist has to take total control of career — learn all aspects of the business, produce and own it all, hire people to help you (don’t just sit around and wait to get discovered). It’s time for really good music to come back again.