Holy Ship

My inbox is going berserk with this:

http://www.holyship.com/

At the risk of overloading you with a third e-mail, and I know after two sign-offs increase dramatically, I must say I know Gary Richards, I know about this cruise...

And for those paying attention, and I know by the volume of e-mail I'm getting on this subject many are, Gary just made a deal with Live Nation. I told him to. Not necessarily Live Nation, I won't get that specific, but I told him he could not remain independent and could not tie up with a neophyte. Because of the money and the talent.

So you're loyal to Gary/Hard Events. That's just great. But right now, "Coachella" has got a greater reach. That's the power of brand names. That was my point.

And for those saying that talent is king... I agree. Except, as stated previously, recent events have proven that going it alone, with your own money, is a tough row to hoe. It's kind of like starting a car company. Other than Tesla, which got a rave review in the "Wall Street Journal" (http://on.wsj.com/PDsUnc), the highway is littered with the carcasses of failed automobile companies. The startup and infrastructure costs hobble you. What everybody does on a mass scale everyday, like pollution controls, you have to engineer from scratch, or pay dearly to license. Justin Bieber may drive a Fisker, but the cars have been poorly reviewed and analysts don't expect the company to survive.

In other words, the odds are stacked against you. If you want to become a concert promoter, book that which Live Nation and AEG want no part of. Otherwise, their money and might will come in and trounce you.

Now that Gary Richards is aligned with Live Nation he not only has the company's deep pockets at his disposal, but also its relationships, with both artists and agents. There's no loyalty in this business anymore. Which is why indies get trounced. Your only hope is to pay top dollar and utilize your leverage to convince someone to play with you. That's how Randy Phillips got Britney Spears to sign with AEG half a decade back. He told her managers he would get promotion in Regal Theaters, which are under the same corporate umbrella.

Yet it is heartening that without a big promotional campaign, without paying PR people to spread the word, the people who truly care, the members of the electronic music community, are aware of the Holy Ship!! cruise.

Grow or die.

Expect the usual suspects, Live Nation and AEG, to expand. Now the turf war has been expanded to the sea. I'm not saying every niche cruise is at risk, then again, so many of the acts on those boats Live Nation and AEG want no part of.

Cruises offer a couple of things that are hard to get elsewhere. Like-minded community and intimacy. People will pay dearly for these. Life is about experiences more than money. Then again, you oftentimes buy experiences with your money. And these boats don't leave every week. You want to be on them.


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