"Pop music is music for lonely people made by other lonely people."
Kim Fowley
Maybe that's why Winwood's show at the Greek last night resonated so much.
There was no backdrop. No patter. None of the trappings of today's music extravaganzas, which too often resemble Broadway as opposed to the Fillmore. Once upon a time music was something you listened to. Now it's become something you see. And we're worse off for it.
Call it the MTV hangover.
Attribute it to high ticket prices.
But if you took today's kids to a Stevie Winwood show they'd be amazed. They'd get a glimpse into how it once was. When we went to the show to be set free, to leave all our issues and failings behind. When there were no tapes, no hard drives, because live shows were about experimentation, with every performance just a little bit different, with surprises and imperfections just like life.
And the opening number, "I'm A Man," was a surprise. We didn't expect to be hit squarely between the eyes that hard. Those with vast catalogues tend not to oversell up front, they like to enter slowly and build, but to hear this song which has become even more famous in its extended Chicago Transit Authority version when the lights went down was to be jetted back to the sixties, when we were surfing the possibilities, when we felt fully alive, when music drove the culture and you were addicted to your transistor radio.
Not that every number was an oldie. Or "vintage" as Stevie put it. There were three cuts from the most recent album. And the extended solo in "Dirty City" won over the normally jaded and recalcitrant L.A. crowd. But this was a different kind of night. Standing O's came regularly. You see Stevie played those songs that touch our souls.
Like "Can't Find My Way Home."
Do you remember discovering it on the Blind Faith album? "Had To Cry Today" opened side one with the famous riff, and then came this number so ethereal, so piercing, that you wanted to merge with the vinyl, listening made you feel connected in a way regular life never did. Yes, we sat in our bedrooms, in the dark, with the headphones on, listening to "Can't Find My Way Home" so as to believe that everything truly could be right with the world, that someone got it, and if we could just go on the road with the band our lives would be perfect.
So, Stevie's strapped on his axe, the band locks into this languid groove and then...
That sudden realization. He's playing one of the most classic of classic tracks. Right now. You're there. You're tingling. You jump to your feet in exultation. You can't believe it. After all the losses, your life finally works. You've finally found your way home.
And we had the exact same experience when Stevie's picking his mandolin and you suddenly realize... HE'S PLAYING BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE!
"We'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again"
Isn't that what we're all looking for? An unlocking of those shut portals, so we can experience the joy we remember so well, do it all over again?
Everybody was drinking and dancing with one hand free. There were random screams. It was a direct route back to 1986, when our optimism was still intact.
And he played "Empty Pages," which was the highlight of the Traffic reunion album.
But speaking of Traffic... When the band played "Low Spark"... It was like being high, without any drugs. As if the music let you know you hadn't been forgotten, your life was worth it, you took the right path.
And there was jamming. And solos. And a blistering rendition of "Dear Mr. Fantasy." And it was everything a concert once was. The essence. The experience. Something you remembered in your head as opposed to with a t-shirt. Something you felt. Something that was such an incredible peak that not only did you go see this act the next time they came through, but other bands on a regular basis, because this was the highest point of your life, in the chapel of music, at the show.
We built it without anybody watching.
Once upon a time they featured this music on AM radio.
But then FM burgeoned and the acts thought of the possibilities. They took risks. They went on adventures. We learned about them via word of mouth. Whatever path we were on now changed. This is how powerful the music once was.
P.S. I went backstage to see Johnson Somerset. Producer of that "On It" track with William Topley that I raved about a couple of weeks back. And while we're exchanging history, who emerges into the hallway but the man himself.
And he was nothing like I expected him to be. Winwood was a regular guy. With a smile and a day's growth of beard he had no airs, it was stunning. He wanted to know what I was listening to. I was shocked into silence. I put the question back to him. He told me his nineteen year old son was his funnel, and that he didn't always remember the names, but he was interested in making music with said son after the first of the year, maybe with some Brazilian and Cuban influences.
And there are so many hits. He's such a legend. I told him he deserved his victory lap. Like Harvey Goldsmith engineered for Jeff Beck. But Stevie told me he didn't have a manager. That managers always wanted you to work when you didn't want to, to show up here, do that, he liked being in control of his own destiny.
And then a short Asian man came up and started talking about the Wrecking Crew bio. How he wanted to get a DVD to Stevie. Stevie said to send it via Dropbox. This guy was flummoxed, he didn't know from Dropbox. And when he walked away, I asked Stevie who it was.
Phil Chen.
You remember Phil Chen! He played bass for everyone from Jeff Beck to Jackson Browne, most famously with Rod Stewart.
And it wasn't a mob scene. There were only a handful of people. Chris Lord-Alge reminiscing about bringing Stevie to his mother's house in New Jersey for dinner...
And Chris says he'd like to hear "Time Is Running Out."
And I say I want to hear LUCK'S IN!
And that strikes a chord. These artists know their material. From the initial solo album, the one with little traction, before "Arc of a Diver."
And then Stevie tells me about the numbers they did at soundcheck, which were totally different. And told me he'd play "Rainmaker" if I came to hear him tonight in the desert. But when I agreed to come, he said...well maybe they wouldn't play it after all.
And he talked about playing songs from the Traffic reunion album from the nineties.
And we talked about going on the road playing complete albums.
And if you'd asked me that night in June 1970, when I saw the initial Traffic reunion show at the Fillmore East, if I'd ever be where I was last night, I'd say NO WAY!
But I was.
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Saturday 17 November 2012
Wednesday 14 November 2012
NASCAR Lessons
Remember when NASCAR was the sport of the future? Doing boffo at not only the b.o, but on TV? When it appealed to all ages and all sexes and all ethnicities?
Those days are through.
NASCAR has cratered. Yesterday's "Wall Street Journal" has got an article about it, check it out: http://on.wsj.com/PQqS2o
But the lessons don't only apply to NASCAR, they apply to so many businesses.
1. Know Why People Come
It's the crashes. As the sport got safer, the public lost interest. People want to see banging and bumping. But the sport's image couldn't handle all that death. Either NASCAR has to have a reset, sacrifice attendance/money for safety, or ultimately go extinct.
Why do people like you? Your voice, your songs, the way you give back? Never lose sight of that. It's your glue.
2. Sameness
They call it the "Car of Tomorrow." Yup, all the cars are now the same. So it makes it harder to root for your own individual team. Individuality is key to long term success in America. If you're not unique, you're headed for the dumper.
Sure, the Car of Tomorrow was safe, and it leveled the competitive playing field, but it also excised all the excitement. Imagine if every record was written and produced by the same team, the only difference was the singer, that's NASCAR. As much as we cling to the assembly line hits by the masters, we root for the outsiders. Which is why it's so hard to stay on top in music. Which is one of the reasons why Top Forty can be so fickle. Radio is not loyal to acts. First and foremost it's loyal to shareholders and advertisers. Next comes the listeners. Acts are at the bottom. If you're legendary, you won't get airplay unless your cut is phenomenal. The audience is hungry only for stupendous, and if it's by someone new, all the better.
Then again, NASCAR and Top Forty radio are positively mainstream. You can create a parallel universe. Whether it be skateboarding or kiteboarding. Just don't have delusions of grandeur, believing that your niche is gonna go viral and last.
3. How Big Is Your Core
NASCAR made the mistake of playing to the last row, the people who barely care, who were drawn to the excitement. Once it began to fade, these people were out. Attendance at Talladega has been halved. Be thankful everybody cares, but don't expect it to last more than a couple of minutes. Unless you're constantly innovating, giving them a reason to keep paying attention.
4. Price
$90 to go to the race? Then lowered to $80? That's no difference.
You've got no business without customers. Unless you're planning to fold up shop instantly, you've got to play for the long term. Lower prices ensure longevity. Forget the issue of bad press, people being turned off by high prices, beating you up for same. Many people don't hate you, they just can't afford to go. And it's this cadre which pays retail and keeps you in business. Those buying scalped ducats are just following trends.
Sky high prices have hurt the live business. They've turned it into a once in a blue moon event instead of a regular habit. Imagine if a movie were $90. Hell, $50. How often would you go? And you'd only go to see that which has been endorsed by everybody, what is a sure shot. Which is why classic acts sell out and so many new acts go begging. They just don't have the rep. Meanwhile, if you don't deliver, there are too many options at a lower price, people move on.
In music, it's a race to exclude the audience. We need a commissioner. Who fines acts who scalp their own tickets. Who insists on all-in ticketing. Who makes sure there aren't two thousand pre-sales. Who mandates paperless. Who makes sure tickets are inexpensive and available enough that the core audience can go. Unfortunately, every act is an individual company, believing the rules don't apply to them, and they're entitled to do what's expedient. That's true, but it's hurting the business at large.
What about tomorrow?
No one's thinking about that in the live sphere.
5. Repetition
Jimmie Johnson keeps winning and attendance keeps tanking. Unless you make room for new winners, the whole business loses.
6. Sponsors
Are fickle. You get in bed with advertisers, you can have the whole bottom of your business fall out.
Your sport/music is not the core business of the advertiser/sponsor. Usually, it's hard to quantify results to begin with. So one day, there's a new CEO or sales drop and your sponsorship fails.
Sponsorship is a luxury.
Furthermore, the more you trumpet your success, how rich you are, the more the audience believes you don't need them.
Kind of like Napster... After all those acts parading on MTV's "Cribs," did it really matter to them if you stole a few tracks?
OF COURSE IT DID!
But the acts sent the wrong message. And refused to get on board with the future.
7. Wifi
It's come to NASCAR tracks. It's come to pro football stadiums. It should have been there years ago. Apple introduced its Powerbook over a decade ago with wifi before most people knew what it was, never mind had a router. You've got to lead. This is how Microsoft lost. By being tied to the past, worried about the people in the rearview mirror as opposed to those in front.
Now NASCAR fines a driver for tweeting from his car during a break. That's insane. If there was any sanctity in NASCAR, it disappeared with the Car of Tomorrow. You want to stay relevant? Go where the kids are, give them what they want, engage them.
The road manager should tweet from backstage.
The act should tweet from the dressing room.
It's not like this is manipulation. People have thoughts. You're just writing them down and communicating.
People no longer tolerate boredom. Anywhere. Even at the gig. Give them multiple opportunities to be engaged.
8. Nothing Is Forever
Once upon a time Indy cars ruled.
Indy was killed by internal squabbling. You've got to present a united front.
But don't make the mistake of believing you're here forever.
9. Comebacks
It's hard to remove the stink from a has-been. And that's what NASCAR is. The core still cares. But everybody else has moved on and it's almost impossible to rehabilitate yourself. You stay relevant by continuing to play. By taking chances. Innovating. Once you rely on your greatest hits, you're toast.
If you're not playing your new music in concert, then you're done.
And if your excuse is the audience won't tolerate it...see the above.
We created this situation, not them.
No one wants to overpay for a mediocre seat to see you wank.
At these prices, you've got to deliver!
Furthermore, we've reset expectations. People who pay a lot expect moving sets and dancing...an extravaganza. And most of the time this has got nothing to do with music. Whereas when it's about music, when the audience is engaged, they're dying to hear the new stuff.
But that's a small portion of the audience today.
WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!
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Those days are through.
NASCAR has cratered. Yesterday's "Wall Street Journal" has got an article about it, check it out: http://on.wsj.com/PQqS2o
But the lessons don't only apply to NASCAR, they apply to so many businesses.
1. Know Why People Come
It's the crashes. As the sport got safer, the public lost interest. People want to see banging and bumping. But the sport's image couldn't handle all that death. Either NASCAR has to have a reset, sacrifice attendance/money for safety, or ultimately go extinct.
Why do people like you? Your voice, your songs, the way you give back? Never lose sight of that. It's your glue.
2. Sameness
They call it the "Car of Tomorrow." Yup, all the cars are now the same. So it makes it harder to root for your own individual team. Individuality is key to long term success in America. If you're not unique, you're headed for the dumper.
Sure, the Car of Tomorrow was safe, and it leveled the competitive playing field, but it also excised all the excitement. Imagine if every record was written and produced by the same team, the only difference was the singer, that's NASCAR. As much as we cling to the assembly line hits by the masters, we root for the outsiders. Which is why it's so hard to stay on top in music. Which is one of the reasons why Top Forty can be so fickle. Radio is not loyal to acts. First and foremost it's loyal to shareholders and advertisers. Next comes the listeners. Acts are at the bottom. If you're legendary, you won't get airplay unless your cut is phenomenal. The audience is hungry only for stupendous, and if it's by someone new, all the better.
Then again, NASCAR and Top Forty radio are positively mainstream. You can create a parallel universe. Whether it be skateboarding or kiteboarding. Just don't have delusions of grandeur, believing that your niche is gonna go viral and last.
3. How Big Is Your Core
NASCAR made the mistake of playing to the last row, the people who barely care, who were drawn to the excitement. Once it began to fade, these people were out. Attendance at Talladega has been halved. Be thankful everybody cares, but don't expect it to last more than a couple of minutes. Unless you're constantly innovating, giving them a reason to keep paying attention.
4. Price
$90 to go to the race? Then lowered to $80? That's no difference.
You've got no business without customers. Unless you're planning to fold up shop instantly, you've got to play for the long term. Lower prices ensure longevity. Forget the issue of bad press, people being turned off by high prices, beating you up for same. Many people don't hate you, they just can't afford to go. And it's this cadre which pays retail and keeps you in business. Those buying scalped ducats are just following trends.
Sky high prices have hurt the live business. They've turned it into a once in a blue moon event instead of a regular habit. Imagine if a movie were $90. Hell, $50. How often would you go? And you'd only go to see that which has been endorsed by everybody, what is a sure shot. Which is why classic acts sell out and so many new acts go begging. They just don't have the rep. Meanwhile, if you don't deliver, there are too many options at a lower price, people move on.
In music, it's a race to exclude the audience. We need a commissioner. Who fines acts who scalp their own tickets. Who insists on all-in ticketing. Who makes sure there aren't two thousand pre-sales. Who mandates paperless. Who makes sure tickets are inexpensive and available enough that the core audience can go. Unfortunately, every act is an individual company, believing the rules don't apply to them, and they're entitled to do what's expedient. That's true, but it's hurting the business at large.
What about tomorrow?
No one's thinking about that in the live sphere.
5. Repetition
Jimmie Johnson keeps winning and attendance keeps tanking. Unless you make room for new winners, the whole business loses.
6. Sponsors
Are fickle. You get in bed with advertisers, you can have the whole bottom of your business fall out.
Your sport/music is not the core business of the advertiser/sponsor. Usually, it's hard to quantify results to begin with. So one day, there's a new CEO or sales drop and your sponsorship fails.
Sponsorship is a luxury.
Furthermore, the more you trumpet your success, how rich you are, the more the audience believes you don't need them.
Kind of like Napster... After all those acts parading on MTV's "Cribs," did it really matter to them if you stole a few tracks?
OF COURSE IT DID!
But the acts sent the wrong message. And refused to get on board with the future.
7. Wifi
It's come to NASCAR tracks. It's come to pro football stadiums. It should have been there years ago. Apple introduced its Powerbook over a decade ago with wifi before most people knew what it was, never mind had a router. You've got to lead. This is how Microsoft lost. By being tied to the past, worried about the people in the rearview mirror as opposed to those in front.
Now NASCAR fines a driver for tweeting from his car during a break. That's insane. If there was any sanctity in NASCAR, it disappeared with the Car of Tomorrow. You want to stay relevant? Go where the kids are, give them what they want, engage them.
The road manager should tweet from backstage.
The act should tweet from the dressing room.
It's not like this is manipulation. People have thoughts. You're just writing them down and communicating.
People no longer tolerate boredom. Anywhere. Even at the gig. Give them multiple opportunities to be engaged.
8. Nothing Is Forever
Once upon a time Indy cars ruled.
Indy was killed by internal squabbling. You've got to present a united front.
But don't make the mistake of believing you're here forever.
9. Comebacks
It's hard to remove the stink from a has-been. And that's what NASCAR is. The core still cares. But everybody else has moved on and it's almost impossible to rehabilitate yourself. You stay relevant by continuing to play. By taking chances. Innovating. Once you rely on your greatest hits, you're toast.
If you're not playing your new music in concert, then you're done.
And if your excuse is the audience won't tolerate it...see the above.
We created this situation, not them.
No one wants to overpay for a mediocre seat to see you wank.
At these prices, you've got to deliver!
Furthermore, we've reset expectations. People who pay a lot expect moving sets and dancing...an extravaganza. And most of the time this has got nothing to do with music. Whereas when it's about music, when the audience is engaged, they're dying to hear the new stuff.
But that's a small portion of the audience today.
WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!
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Tuesday 13 November 2012
Forgotten
Van Halen, ZZ Top, Donald Fagen and now Aerosmith.
What do they all have in common?
They put out new albums and they expected the world to care. For the waters to part and people to partake. They're all utilizing a seventies model and that was forty years ago.
Wanna succeed today?
Know who your audience is.
Making albums?
They're only for your hard core fans. You're not gonna get lucky. No mainstream media review or radio airplay is gonna blow you up. Unless it's Top Forty, and none of these acts make that kind of music.
In other words, if you're a classic rocker making new music, you're in the data business. Without it, you've got a stiff.
First and foremost you've got to know who your audience is. I'm not talking a demo, I mean the e-mail addresses. Yes, you're taking names. If you're gonna put out new music, you'd better start at least two years before collecting names. And that cannot be all. You've got to give these people something on a regular basis. Via Twitter, Facebook...you've got to be engaged with them so they don't forget you. Oh, of course they know you, but they're not thinking of you. As for those whose e-mail addresses you do not have, chances are they won't even know you've got a new album out. And they've been burned so many times, they're not gonna lay down their money to find out their preconceived notion is wrong. They're not even gonna read about you somewhere and click through to hear a sample track, that's too much work in this harried, media overload world.
In other words, all these old acts are playing to the gatekeepers.
They've got to play to their audience.
Steven Tyler's full time job should be tweeting, a constant stream of bon mots that addict his fans which they'll pass on.
And he should create a game, wherein winners can meet him and have dinner.
Late night TV is almost meaningless, except for the video that results. Newspapers are ignored by almost everybody. You're better off getting on NPR than being in print, then again, many of these acts don't play that kind of music.
Think small, not big. If you're playing to everybody, you're doing it wrong. You've just got to play to the somebodies who are actively engaged with your music.
Wanna put out new studio stuff?
Then release a steady stream of free live classics to whet people's appetites. A live take of "Sweet Emotion." Beatles covers.
And if you're gonna play new music, play small halls and charge little. Let people know what they're in for. Don't expect them to pay a hundred bucks and sit through five new songs, that's gonna piss them off.
Reviews don't matter. Good or bad. You're in the word of mouth business. Can you build it and sustain it?
If you're not working on your career, it's probably not moving forward. It's a full time job. Mystery is history. Let it all hang out. Let your audience in.
And be in it for the long haul. It might take you three cycles of new music to inure your audience to listening, to lift you from the doldrums of has-been to now happening.
If you wanna get new fans, focus on those actively engaged. I.e. the young 'uns. You do this by playing with their favorites at festivals. Sitting in. Showing that not only are you famous, but you can blow everybody else off the stage.
If you're not willing to do all this, don't even bother putting out new music. Just overcharge for your live show and be thankful people still remember your hits.
Don't swing for the fences.
Bunt.
It might take a walk and a hit to come home. But you still get a run.
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What do they all have in common?
They put out new albums and they expected the world to care. For the waters to part and people to partake. They're all utilizing a seventies model and that was forty years ago.
Wanna succeed today?
Know who your audience is.
Making albums?
They're only for your hard core fans. You're not gonna get lucky. No mainstream media review or radio airplay is gonna blow you up. Unless it's Top Forty, and none of these acts make that kind of music.
In other words, if you're a classic rocker making new music, you're in the data business. Without it, you've got a stiff.
First and foremost you've got to know who your audience is. I'm not talking a demo, I mean the e-mail addresses. Yes, you're taking names. If you're gonna put out new music, you'd better start at least two years before collecting names. And that cannot be all. You've got to give these people something on a regular basis. Via Twitter, Facebook...you've got to be engaged with them so they don't forget you. Oh, of course they know you, but they're not thinking of you. As for those whose e-mail addresses you do not have, chances are they won't even know you've got a new album out. And they've been burned so many times, they're not gonna lay down their money to find out their preconceived notion is wrong. They're not even gonna read about you somewhere and click through to hear a sample track, that's too much work in this harried, media overload world.
In other words, all these old acts are playing to the gatekeepers.
They've got to play to their audience.
Steven Tyler's full time job should be tweeting, a constant stream of bon mots that addict his fans which they'll pass on.
And he should create a game, wherein winners can meet him and have dinner.
Late night TV is almost meaningless, except for the video that results. Newspapers are ignored by almost everybody. You're better off getting on NPR than being in print, then again, many of these acts don't play that kind of music.
Think small, not big. If you're playing to everybody, you're doing it wrong. You've just got to play to the somebodies who are actively engaged with your music.
Wanna put out new studio stuff?
Then release a steady stream of free live classics to whet people's appetites. A live take of "Sweet Emotion." Beatles covers.
And if you're gonna play new music, play small halls and charge little. Let people know what they're in for. Don't expect them to pay a hundred bucks and sit through five new songs, that's gonna piss them off.
Reviews don't matter. Good or bad. You're in the word of mouth business. Can you build it and sustain it?
If you're not working on your career, it's probably not moving forward. It's a full time job. Mystery is history. Let it all hang out. Let your audience in.
And be in it for the long haul. It might take you three cycles of new music to inure your audience to listening, to lift you from the doldrums of has-been to now happening.
If you wanna get new fans, focus on those actively engaged. I.e. the young 'uns. You do this by playing with their favorites at festivals. Sitting in. Showing that not only are you famous, but you can blow everybody else off the stage.
If you're not willing to do all this, don't even bother putting out new music. Just overcharge for your live show and be thankful people still remember your hits.
Don't swing for the fences.
Bunt.
It might take a walk and a hit to come home. But you still get a run.
--
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Monday 12 November 2012
History
SONY
Succeeded with radical breakthroughs. Failed with incremental improvements.
Shed your past if you want to succeed in the future. You may be angry that Apple changed its connector, but look what backward compatibility did for Microsoft... It kept the company in the doldrums to the point where the Redmond enterprise completely missed tablet computing and is now playing catch-up ball. Poorly.
The spoils go to the innovator. If he is willing to double down and never rest on his laurels. Apple will fade without a breakthrough product.
Your fans will give you momentum, but they won't keep you relevant. We're trained to look for the new, to be titillated by innovation. He who worries more about the past than the future is doomed.
GALLUP
Three bad elections in a row. The Sony of polling is now vulnerable.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
When you put the bottom line first, you head straight towards obsolescence. There's so little in the newspaper now, it's not worth reading. Either it's got to be the repository of all things local or be a fount of investigative journalism. Now it looks like a child's toy, a Coleco headed for the dumpster.
BILLBOARD
"Hollywood Reporter" changed its mission. "Daily Variety" was sold. "Billboard" is already irrelevant, but it will lose its imprimatur when everybody wakes up and realizes its charts are meaningless.
In a world where Nate Silver triumphs slicing and dicing data, we've got no quants in music, no one who can make sense of the data and tell us who is truly succeeding and failing. Mediabase will tell you what radio is playing, but radio is the new MTV, a ruling force that will crater. When you can hear what you want to on demand, who's gonna wait to hear it played on radio? We need people to tell us what to hear, we don't need it as radio.
No one has figured out how to decipher the reams of online data to tell us who is happening, who is trending and who is over. But they will.
SELFISHNESS
You want to get Medicare and hide under the roof of self-reliant entrepreneurship.
But people can see what that truly is. Self-interest, putting yourself first. Kids are now brought up in a do-gooder environment, they've all given back via charity. If you don't realize we're all in this together, you're going to be marginalized.
INTIMIDATION
Just because Karl Rove said it was so didn't make it true.
__________________________________________
ASCENDING
_________
FASHION
The media tells us to all be alike, fashion tells us to be an individual.
You succeed today by liberating people and respecting them. Imprison them, talk down to them, and you're history. This is what killed the record business. Instead of getting in the river and swimming alongside its audience, the record business insisted consumers play by its rules. It will never recover. Because the record business continues to follow, not lead. If you want to be relevant, you've got to lead.
CREDIBILITY
In a world where everybody can get his message out, most messages are ignored. You must establish a bond, trust, in order to succeed today. Mainstream media is in bed with publicists and advertisers, neither of which have a direct relationship with the audience. You want to get the public to trust you, people will do your marketing if they believe in your product.
CRAZY
It started with that astronaut in diapers...
Now we've got Patricia Broadwell. Who cares if Petraeus had an affair. But once we know he was brought down by a crazy woman fearful someone else was honing in on her territory, we were fascinated!
Stunts don't work. You've got to be Charlie Sheen, willing to put it all on the line.
What sold both Broadwell and Sheen was passion. People who cared enough about their mission to cast off the rules of society, who were willing to risk everything to achieve what they wanted.
If you don't do this, you'll never be a rock star. We're drawn to the heat as well as the music. We can tell when you're playing it safe. We're not interested in that.
FACTS
That's the story of the election. Fox and the Republicans had it wrong. Karl Rove melted down.
The hurricane is the turning point. Bloviating is secondary to statistics. He who forgets this is destined to die.
Digital is 1's and 0's. Intimidation and obfuscation are passe.
P
ASSBOOK
In a four team test in the last two weeks of the season, 12% of Major League Baseball e-ticket purchasers opted for Passbook delivery of their tickets, even though iOS 6 had just been released.
Paper baseball tickets were less than 33% of the total in 2012, down from 55% in 2011.
If you're not on the paperless bandwagon, if you're not doing your best to get concert tickets into the hands of your true fans, eliminating the middleman/scalper/reseller, you're going to get caught in the middle soon, you're going to be subject to fan ridicule.
In other words, technology is going to solve the scalping problem, since the acts and business were too greedy to address it.
Digital delivery of tickets is here. Use it to your advantage or be exposed as being greedy.
http://on.mktw.net/UE4499
FOOD
The food revolution is not being led by me-too bland tastes. Turns out the public is adventuresome. They're the same way in music, which is why the doubling-down on me-too Top Forty music is hurting the business, no one as much as the major labels.
If the major labels were smart, and they're not, they would immediately start investing in that which is not radio-friendly, which takes a long time to develop, that can hook fans like velcro.
If you're not preparing for the future, you're destined for the scrapheap.
REALITY
Reality TV might be fake, but its underlying appeal couldn't be more now. The blander you are, the less traction you're gonna get. If you want to be famous, have a personality, offend somebody, be real.
HOMELAND
It's not on HBO. It's not at the movies. And it's the most talked about visual entertainment in America. "Skyfall" got all the press, but it will be over in minutes. "Homeland" is built to last.
If you're excellent, the public will sell you.
And the public made "Homeland." Publicity no longer works. If anything, it comes after the fact, on the victory lap. "Sons Of Anarchy" is triumphing years in. If you're not in it for the long haul, you're never gonna make it. Don't change the formula, improve it.
RACHEL MADDOW
Smart is sexy. Gay or straight, ugly or beautiful, in a sea of b.s., we're all drawn to intelligence. If you're betting on the unwashed masses, you'll be stunned to find out everybody under thirty knows how to use a computer, everybody under thirty knows geeks rule.
IRREVERENCE
Once upon a time, we had Frank Zappa.
Thank god for Jon Stewart. Poking fun at the absurdity of a society of which music is a baked-in element. Yes, music used to lead, now people make fun of it.
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Succeeded with radical breakthroughs. Failed with incremental improvements.
Shed your past if you want to succeed in the future. You may be angry that Apple changed its connector, but look what backward compatibility did for Microsoft... It kept the company in the doldrums to the point where the Redmond enterprise completely missed tablet computing and is now playing catch-up ball. Poorly.
The spoils go to the innovator. If he is willing to double down and never rest on his laurels. Apple will fade without a breakthrough product.
Your fans will give you momentum, but they won't keep you relevant. We're trained to look for the new, to be titillated by innovation. He who worries more about the past than the future is doomed.
GALLUP
Three bad elections in a row. The Sony of polling is now vulnerable.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
When you put the bottom line first, you head straight towards obsolescence. There's so little in the newspaper now, it's not worth reading. Either it's got to be the repository of all things local or be a fount of investigative journalism. Now it looks like a child's toy, a Coleco headed for the dumpster.
BILLBOARD
"Hollywood Reporter" changed its mission. "Daily Variety" was sold. "Billboard" is already irrelevant, but it will lose its imprimatur when everybody wakes up and realizes its charts are meaningless.
In a world where Nate Silver triumphs slicing and dicing data, we've got no quants in music, no one who can make sense of the data and tell us who is truly succeeding and failing. Mediabase will tell you what radio is playing, but radio is the new MTV, a ruling force that will crater. When you can hear what you want to on demand, who's gonna wait to hear it played on radio? We need people to tell us what to hear, we don't need it as radio.
No one has figured out how to decipher the reams of online data to tell us who is happening, who is trending and who is over. But they will.
SELFISHNESS
You want to get Medicare and hide under the roof of self-reliant entrepreneurship.
But people can see what that truly is. Self-interest, putting yourself first. Kids are now brought up in a do-gooder environment, they've all given back via charity. If you don't realize we're all in this together, you're going to be marginalized.
INTIMIDATION
Just because Karl Rove said it was so didn't make it true.
__________________________________________
ASCENDING
_________
FASHION
The media tells us to all be alike, fashion tells us to be an individual.
You succeed today by liberating people and respecting them. Imprison them, talk down to them, and you're history. This is what killed the record business. Instead of getting in the river and swimming alongside its audience, the record business insisted consumers play by its rules. It will never recover. Because the record business continues to follow, not lead. If you want to be relevant, you've got to lead.
CREDIBILITY
In a world where everybody can get his message out, most messages are ignored. You must establish a bond, trust, in order to succeed today. Mainstream media is in bed with publicists and advertisers, neither of which have a direct relationship with the audience. You want to get the public to trust you, people will do your marketing if they believe in your product.
CRAZY
It started with that astronaut in diapers...
Now we've got Patricia Broadwell. Who cares if Petraeus had an affair. But once we know he was brought down by a crazy woman fearful someone else was honing in on her territory, we were fascinated!
Stunts don't work. You've got to be Charlie Sheen, willing to put it all on the line.
What sold both Broadwell and Sheen was passion. People who cared enough about their mission to cast off the rules of society, who were willing to risk everything to achieve what they wanted.
If you don't do this, you'll never be a rock star. We're drawn to the heat as well as the music. We can tell when you're playing it safe. We're not interested in that.
FACTS
That's the story of the election. Fox and the Republicans had it wrong. Karl Rove melted down.
The hurricane is the turning point. Bloviating is secondary to statistics. He who forgets this is destined to die.
Digital is 1's and 0's. Intimidation and obfuscation are passe.
P
ASSBOOK
In a four team test in the last two weeks of the season, 12% of Major League Baseball e-ticket purchasers opted for Passbook delivery of their tickets, even though iOS 6 had just been released.
Paper baseball tickets were less than 33% of the total in 2012, down from 55% in 2011.
If you're not on the paperless bandwagon, if you're not doing your best to get concert tickets into the hands of your true fans, eliminating the middleman/scalper/reseller, you're going to get caught in the middle soon, you're going to be subject to fan ridicule.
In other words, technology is going to solve the scalping problem, since the acts and business were too greedy to address it.
Digital delivery of tickets is here. Use it to your advantage or be exposed as being greedy.
http://on.mktw.net/UE4499
FOOD
The food revolution is not being led by me-too bland tastes. Turns out the public is adventuresome. They're the same way in music, which is why the doubling-down on me-too Top Forty music is hurting the business, no one as much as the major labels.
If the major labels were smart, and they're not, they would immediately start investing in that which is not radio-friendly, which takes a long time to develop, that can hook fans like velcro.
If you're not preparing for the future, you're destined for the scrapheap.
REALITY
Reality TV might be fake, but its underlying appeal couldn't be more now. The blander you are, the less traction you're gonna get. If you want to be famous, have a personality, offend somebody, be real.
HOMELAND
It's not on HBO. It's not at the movies. And it's the most talked about visual entertainment in America. "Skyfall" got all the press, but it will be over in minutes. "Homeland" is built to last.
If you're excellent, the public will sell you.
And the public made "Homeland." Publicity no longer works. If anything, it comes after the fact, on the victory lap. "Sons Of Anarchy" is triumphing years in. If you're not in it for the long haul, you're never gonna make it. Don't change the formula, improve it.
RACHEL MADDOW
Smart is sexy. Gay or straight, ugly or beautiful, in a sea of b.s., we're all drawn to intelligence. If you're betting on the unwashed masses, you'll be stunned to find out everybody under thirty knows how to use a computer, everybody under thirty knows geeks rule.
IRREVERENCE
Once upon a time, we had Frank Zappa.
Thank god for Jon Stewart. Poking fun at the absurdity of a society of which music is a baked-in element. Yes, music used to lead, now people make fun of it.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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