Grammy night, but does anyone care anymore

They first started handing out the gold statues in 1959, once the lynch pin in music promotion though not always reflective of the times the Awards stil were anxiously awaited by the masses. Since then, and over the last few years the Grammy Awards have come to more reflect the political timbre of the music industry rather than the joys of the music.

It's a business which has seen the era of vinyl record give way to the 8 track, the cassette, the CD and now the world of digital transit. Each switch sending consumers on to the newest transmission method, regenerating their collections time and time again. A bone that sticks in the craw of many a music listener who sometimes views the music industry with more than a little suspicion, if not outright hostility.

Sunday night sees the Grammy's handed out in Los Angeles for the 49th time , another night of high expectations and maybe a hint of the unexpected. Past shows have seen many surprising moments that shocked and enthralled the audience. This year's surprise, isn't particularly a surprise any more, with the word of the reunion of the Police set to take place at the Staples Centre.

And its that reunion that has many suggesting that the Grammy Awards are not only no longer relative to today, but are completely devoid of any concept of the music of today or of what its audience is looking for from the music establishment.

Still they will probably draw an audience, if only to see the stars, their wardrobes and their various stages of lucidity. It's almost like American Idol on steroids, high octane performers who may or may not flame out live on television.

The show will no doubt come with the obligatory warnings about the evils of downloading music, a going concern with the RIAA over the last few years, but one which seems to be working at cross purposes to the goals of the industry. The more you alienate the fans, the less they want to buy the product. The rebellion over the 18 to 20 dollar album has been raging for years now and it would seem that the fans and consumers have been voting with their closed wallets.

The only remaining question is while the stars gather for their self congratulatory big night in an era of declining sales of CD's, will their appearances on the Grammy's either as performer, presenter or winner translates into sales of any kind anymore, or has the music industry finally bitten the hand that fed it one time to many.