"Taking me higher than I've ever been before"
I do what Gary Slaight says.
In case you're not aware of him, he's a radio legend up north who sold his chain for a cool billion yet still retains his rock and roll identity, irreverent and fun. So that's why I was there at the Radio Awards and I was utterly surprised when the show was opened by Kiesza.
She might be a one hit wonder, but the modern paradigm is you create a single, and if you do your job right, it becomes ubiquitous, part of the culture, we all know it and then...WE SEE YOU LIVE AND OUR EYES BUG OUT!
That's the power of music, that's what every other artistic medium cannot provide. That jolt of humanity and charisma that becomes part of our DNA such that when we see the being responsible for the record performing it our bodies tingle and there's nowhere we'd rather be.
Not that there aren't other ways to skin a cat. The night before Cowboy Junkies were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Irrelevant has-beens with one famous song, right?
I became a believer. Because there were minutes of guitar wailing, odd, intriguing sounds coming out of the amps, and then...THEY WENT INTO SWEET JANE!
Acts refuse to look backward for fear of being seen as has-beens. But Margo Timmins and the boys jetted us back to what once was and made today that much more comprehensible, convinced us it is all about sound and hits be damned. At least that's how it used to be.
Furthermore, Cowboy Junkies performed "A Common Disaster," their other killer. And that's what everybody agreed they did, KILLED! Proving once again that with no smoke and mirrors, no special effects, a band can evidence humanity that seeps into our pores and makes our lives worth living.
Greetings from Toronto where it's the same yet different. Where the government helps out with the arts but you're looking through a big picture window at the United States and unless you cross the border you ain't gonna get rich, it's going to be solely about the music.
And there are a plethora of panels and activities, bands and conversations, hanging in the lobby is a full-time job. And you learn just by listening.
Whether it be about what's selling tickets in Singapore or that a 21 year old woman's favorite act is Motley Crue.
The truth is there's too much to know today. You can stay online 24/7 and still be out of the loop. Everybody knows some statistic you don't, we're all in it together and up in Canada they don't complain but put their heads down to work.
And eat.
I just got back from the wildest restaurant in creation. Called Lahore, it's Pakistani food, kinda like Indian but different. And unlike in L.A. the countrymen were consuming, half the clientele was from Asia, dressed accordingly, and we ate in a tent and it was jumping near midnight and it made me feel fully alive with a desire to travel 200 days a year. Get your passport. Book a trip. The Canadians take after the British, they go. And only with boots on the ground can you understand what's going on on this mortal coil.
I listened to Michael Gudinski tell me about competing with Live Nation Down Under and I was schooled at Bruce Allen's feet, hearing a combination of gossip and insight that still has my head twirling.
And Jake met me with a Tim Hortons Nutella donut. And then we went to the Old Crow, a barbecue place in Toronto? But the food was delish!
And I learned about the nuts and bolts of this business while seeing performances by Magic! and other acts that have crossed-over and I've been so overwhelmed I haven't known what to say.
But what I am saying is music is alive and well. Because there's a group of young 'uns who care just as much as their forebears, at least up here, where the tunes come first and being rich comes later, if at all.
And that's the way it should be.
Which is why I love Canada so much.
http://cmw.net
http://www.lahoretikkahouse.com
http://roseandsonsbigcrow.com
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Friday 8 May 2015
Rhinofy-Why Jethro Tull Belongs In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
THE FLUTE
It's right there on the opening cut of their debut album, "My Sunday Feeling." Forget me-too culture, Jethro Tull was original! Name one other band not only dominated by flute, but one where it was played by its frontman! Sure, the Flock had Jerry Goodman, you occasionally heard the flute on glorious tracks like the Blues Project's "Flute Thing," but no one built a whole band around it!
And where is the flute today...
Don't we glorify the originals? THEN WHY NOT TULL!
THIS WAS
Purists are right, the debut is the best. Blues-rock with a twist. Completely lost to the sands of time, "This Was" heralded greatness the same way Led Zeppelin's first did. Check it out and complain. But you can't! Because "This Was" still sounds fresh and original today, unlike what was playing on AM radio.
STAND UP
Because IT DID!
Everyone keeps regretting the passage of album art. But Tull were KINGS! "Thick As A Brick" featured a complete newspaper, but there wasn't a teenager alive who wasn't wowed by the band popping up in the middle of the "Stand Up" gatefold. And this was long before pop-up books were de rigueur.
NO HITS
At first. There was nothing resembling a hit single on the initial LPs. Hell, until "Living In The Past," long into their career, there really wasn't a radio hit at all. Isn't this what we want to celebrate, those who go their own way, who follow their muse in pursuit of musical greatness?
CHRYSALIS
One of the great record companies of all time was built on Tull's back. No Tull, no Chrysalis. No Blondie, no so much more.
LOOK INTO THE SUN
Because we remember that which touches us, even more than that which moves our bodies. Because we're only human, we're confused, we've got more questions than answers, and when music is done right it soothes our pain, it rides shotgun as we try to find our way out of quandary and despair.
RIFF ROCK
We celebrate "Smoke On The Water" but not "To Cry You A Song"?
Then again, Deep Purple isn't in the Hall Of Fame either...
Sure, critics were disappointed in the turn towards the mainstream on "Benefit," but music is irrelevant unless people listen to it and the truth is "Benefit" was close enough to popular tastes to be widely embraced, it satiated people, and still contained the dark "Sossity You're A Woman" and the classic "Teacher," music for headbanging in slow motion.
DEVELOPMENT
We don't want our artists to just repeat themselves, we want them to take us on a journey, to explore, life is all about the new and "Aqualung" was a jump from what came before.
LENGTH, SCHMENGTH
The two key cuts on "Aqualung," the title track and "My God," were 6:35 and 7:11 respectively, and despite the dominance of FM this was not a radio-friendly thing to do. Tull was beholden to the music, not the middleman.
SINGLE SONG ALBUM
How come "Thick As A Brick" has been forgotten? There's not a baby boomer alive who doesn't know it, the acoustic intro, the movements...
Sure, Mike Oldfield did it too, with "Tubular Bells," but that was AFTER!
Furthermore, you had to flip the side in the middle!
CDs play ad infinitum, but no latter day act has duplicated Tull's feat.
COMEBACK
Years after their initial impact, nearly two decades after their debut, Tull had a huge success with "Crest Of A Knave" and its hit track "Farm On The Freeway," which was just as enrapturing as the earlier work. Imagine Bruce Springsteen writing something as good as "Thunder Road" today...IMPOSSIBLE!
But despite all the foregoing, Jethro Tull has been EXCORIATED! For stealing Metallica's Grammy, for making music that fit in no obvious genre.
There's not a chance in hell the Committee will embrace Tull. Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude, because the band had huge success across all demos and the Committee can only embrace personal favorites that no one else liked, that "influenced" others. Some bands are so sui generis that they can't be replicated. Come on, front your band with a flute back then and you'd be dismissed as a Tull imitator!
And Anderson shuffled the lineup. Which makes it harder to believe. The leader is supposed to hide behind handlers who take all responsibility, the band must not be at fault for musical changes. But a band is a living, breathing thing. To expect harmony is to expect Zayn Malik to have a string of number ones.
There's a chance that decades from now, when rock is truly dead and nostalgia creeps in, when those who denigrate Tull have died, that young kids will discover Jethro Tull and embrace the band the same way the Doors were resuscitated. Because like the Doors, Tull tested limits and was very listenable.
Is that such a crime, to make ear-pleasing music?
Don't hate the success, love the music.
Tull is deserving.
But if you're waiting to be anointed you're playing the wrong game.
Jethro Tull won everything. They don't need no Cleveland coronation to prove that. But they should get one.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1zH4CjB
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It's right there on the opening cut of their debut album, "My Sunday Feeling." Forget me-too culture, Jethro Tull was original! Name one other band not only dominated by flute, but one where it was played by its frontman! Sure, the Flock had Jerry Goodman, you occasionally heard the flute on glorious tracks like the Blues Project's "Flute Thing," but no one built a whole band around it!
And where is the flute today...
Don't we glorify the originals? THEN WHY NOT TULL!
THIS WAS
Purists are right, the debut is the best. Blues-rock with a twist. Completely lost to the sands of time, "This Was" heralded greatness the same way Led Zeppelin's first did. Check it out and complain. But you can't! Because "This Was" still sounds fresh and original today, unlike what was playing on AM radio.
STAND UP
Because IT DID!
Everyone keeps regretting the passage of album art. But Tull were KINGS! "Thick As A Brick" featured a complete newspaper, but there wasn't a teenager alive who wasn't wowed by the band popping up in the middle of the "Stand Up" gatefold. And this was long before pop-up books were de rigueur.
NO HITS
At first. There was nothing resembling a hit single on the initial LPs. Hell, until "Living In The Past," long into their career, there really wasn't a radio hit at all. Isn't this what we want to celebrate, those who go their own way, who follow their muse in pursuit of musical greatness?
CHRYSALIS
One of the great record companies of all time was built on Tull's back. No Tull, no Chrysalis. No Blondie, no so much more.
LOOK INTO THE SUN
Because we remember that which touches us, even more than that which moves our bodies. Because we're only human, we're confused, we've got more questions than answers, and when music is done right it soothes our pain, it rides shotgun as we try to find our way out of quandary and despair.
RIFF ROCK
We celebrate "Smoke On The Water" but not "To Cry You A Song"?
Then again, Deep Purple isn't in the Hall Of Fame either...
Sure, critics were disappointed in the turn towards the mainstream on "Benefit," but music is irrelevant unless people listen to it and the truth is "Benefit" was close enough to popular tastes to be widely embraced, it satiated people, and still contained the dark "Sossity You're A Woman" and the classic "Teacher," music for headbanging in slow motion.
DEVELOPMENT
We don't want our artists to just repeat themselves, we want them to take us on a journey, to explore, life is all about the new and "Aqualung" was a jump from what came before.
LENGTH, SCHMENGTH
The two key cuts on "Aqualung," the title track and "My God," were 6:35 and 7:11 respectively, and despite the dominance of FM this was not a radio-friendly thing to do. Tull was beholden to the music, not the middleman.
SINGLE SONG ALBUM
How come "Thick As A Brick" has been forgotten? There's not a baby boomer alive who doesn't know it, the acoustic intro, the movements...
Sure, Mike Oldfield did it too, with "Tubular Bells," but that was AFTER!
Furthermore, you had to flip the side in the middle!
CDs play ad infinitum, but no latter day act has duplicated Tull's feat.
COMEBACK
Years after their initial impact, nearly two decades after their debut, Tull had a huge success with "Crest Of A Knave" and its hit track "Farm On The Freeway," which was just as enrapturing as the earlier work. Imagine Bruce Springsteen writing something as good as "Thunder Road" today...IMPOSSIBLE!
But despite all the foregoing, Jethro Tull has been EXCORIATED! For stealing Metallica's Grammy, for making music that fit in no obvious genre.
There's not a chance in hell the Committee will embrace Tull. Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude, because the band had huge success across all demos and the Committee can only embrace personal favorites that no one else liked, that "influenced" others. Some bands are so sui generis that they can't be replicated. Come on, front your band with a flute back then and you'd be dismissed as a Tull imitator!
And Anderson shuffled the lineup. Which makes it harder to believe. The leader is supposed to hide behind handlers who take all responsibility, the band must not be at fault for musical changes. But a band is a living, breathing thing. To expect harmony is to expect Zayn Malik to have a string of number ones.
There's a chance that decades from now, when rock is truly dead and nostalgia creeps in, when those who denigrate Tull have died, that young kids will discover Jethro Tull and embrace the band the same way the Doors were resuscitated. Because like the Doors, Tull tested limits and was very listenable.
Is that such a crime, to make ear-pleasing music?
Don't hate the success, love the music.
Tull is deserving.
But if you're waiting to be anointed you're playing the wrong game.
Jethro Tull won everything. They don't need no Cleveland coronation to prove that. But they should get one.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1zH4CjB
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Thursday 7 May 2015
Deflategate
Take away their Super Bowl victory.
That's right, strip them of their success, show that rules matter.
But they don't anymore in America.
That's what the underclass doesn't understand...the level of cheating that goes on by their overlords, the rich and famous, the corporate titans, the sports stars. They keep telling us we've got to work harder, to be like them, to make it when the truth is they've had advantages and have greased the totem pole so we can't climb it and all the while keep uttering duplicitous statements that keep us off our guard.
Kind of like Lance Armstrong.
You know who's a national hero? Greg LeMond. Who won the Tour de France when Americans weren't paying attention. He went on record that Lance doped and he lost his bike deal, he was demonized, his life ruined. Because if you stand up against the winners in today's society you're a loser. Kind of like Edward Snowden. Do you think the appeals court would be saying the N.S.A. went too far if it weren't for Snowden? Of course not, justices are human, not infallible, the law is malleable, they sway with the wind.
Actions matter. Identities matter. But somehow in the dash for cash and fame these concepts have been plowed under.
Like high speed trading. Michael Lewis writes a book about what most people can't understand and the only ones who do excoriate him, believing if they say enough negative stuff the story will go away.
And that's the truth.
Kind of like Tom Brady.
You need an edge, everybody in America needs an edge. A thumb on the scale. A way to make sure they can win. If you don't think the game is rigged against you you're not playing.
It starts with schools. The best and the brightest don't even go to public school, they have you agitating for voucher systems while their kids go to Andover and Exeter, places you've never even heard of. And their progeny get into the Ivys because they did too. And if they didn't, they donate a building. Of course you can't get into Brown if you've got 1000 on your SATs, but if your numbers are in the ballpark and your daddy writes an eight figure check, VOILA, success!
Welcome to America, where there's a way around everything. It's who you know and what they can do for you, but it's the denial that bugs me.
When I grew up the worst thing that could happen was to bring a note home from school, my parents would hit me, literally. Today if a kid brings home a note a parent goes to the administrator and says it can't be true and threatens to sue. Don't ask me how things changed, but they did, and this culture is permeating our entire society.
No one can take any responsibility. And when caught, they get on their high horse and deny it. Sometimes the truth comes out, but usually years later, after the perpetrators have garnered the victory and the spoils.
Not to mention America loves a redemption story. We'll give you a second chance if you say you're sorry. But that rarely happens anymore, unless you're a celebrity who makes a non-PC statement and goes to rehab... What, is this the USSR, with re-education camps?
I'd like a re-education camp.
One in which schools teach people how to think as opposed to getting the right answer on a test.
One in which you learn how to read and write, because in the digital age those are even MORE important!
One in which public universities are funded to the degree private ones are. So a degree from UCLA or Berkeley is equivalent to one from Stanford, how it used to be.
One in which you can pay your bills by doing an honest day's work. I'm not saying people shouldn't try to improve themselves, but without people to do all the service jobs we've got no economy, never mind a society.
Now it's great Ellen Pao sued Kleiner Perkins. The VC firm won, but it lost. Because the truth is they did keep women down. And now every VC firm will be hesitant to do this in the future.
And if Brady and the Patriots skate on this no one will be dissuaded from cheating in the coming years.
At least they nailed A-Rod. He equaled Willie Mays's home run record and no one cared.
Because the truth is we don't care about liars and cheaters.
But if we pay Asian contractors a living wage, our TVs and computers will cost a fortune.
If we penalize the Patriots our lives will be empty with nothing to believe in.
Baloney.
People rally around the truth. That's what art used to provide. Before we lionized second-tier charlatans like Jeff Koons and celebrated Taylor Swift for her marketing efforts, trumpeting her success on the anemic sales charts when everybody is streaming. That's right, Swift is the queen of YouTube. Leaving Spotify was irrelevant, because it's got few subscribers. Want to make a difference Taylor, LEAVE YOUTUBE!
Taylor took a stand, one that benefited herself.
Ain't that the twenty first century.
And the only reason I mention her is at least you know her. Becoming world famous is nearly impossible these days. The opportunity is there, but the success rate is incredibly low.
Read this article about how hard it is to become a YouTube star:
"Can You Still Become 'YouTube Famous'?": http://on.recode.net/1IJlojS
But you won't. Because you just wanna believe if you work hard enough and believe in yourself you'll make it.
Hogwash!
The winners have an edge, AND THEY'RE KEEPING IT!
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That's right, strip them of their success, show that rules matter.
But they don't anymore in America.
That's what the underclass doesn't understand...the level of cheating that goes on by their overlords, the rich and famous, the corporate titans, the sports stars. They keep telling us we've got to work harder, to be like them, to make it when the truth is they've had advantages and have greased the totem pole so we can't climb it and all the while keep uttering duplicitous statements that keep us off our guard.
Kind of like Lance Armstrong.
You know who's a national hero? Greg LeMond. Who won the Tour de France when Americans weren't paying attention. He went on record that Lance doped and he lost his bike deal, he was demonized, his life ruined. Because if you stand up against the winners in today's society you're a loser. Kind of like Edward Snowden. Do you think the appeals court would be saying the N.S.A. went too far if it weren't for Snowden? Of course not, justices are human, not infallible, the law is malleable, they sway with the wind.
Actions matter. Identities matter. But somehow in the dash for cash and fame these concepts have been plowed under.
Like high speed trading. Michael Lewis writes a book about what most people can't understand and the only ones who do excoriate him, believing if they say enough negative stuff the story will go away.
And that's the truth.
Kind of like Tom Brady.
You need an edge, everybody in America needs an edge. A thumb on the scale. A way to make sure they can win. If you don't think the game is rigged against you you're not playing.
It starts with schools. The best and the brightest don't even go to public school, they have you agitating for voucher systems while their kids go to Andover and Exeter, places you've never even heard of. And their progeny get into the Ivys because they did too. And if they didn't, they donate a building. Of course you can't get into Brown if you've got 1000 on your SATs, but if your numbers are in the ballpark and your daddy writes an eight figure check, VOILA, success!
Welcome to America, where there's a way around everything. It's who you know and what they can do for you, but it's the denial that bugs me.
When I grew up the worst thing that could happen was to bring a note home from school, my parents would hit me, literally. Today if a kid brings home a note a parent goes to the administrator and says it can't be true and threatens to sue. Don't ask me how things changed, but they did, and this culture is permeating our entire society.
No one can take any responsibility. And when caught, they get on their high horse and deny it. Sometimes the truth comes out, but usually years later, after the perpetrators have garnered the victory and the spoils.
Not to mention America loves a redemption story. We'll give you a second chance if you say you're sorry. But that rarely happens anymore, unless you're a celebrity who makes a non-PC statement and goes to rehab... What, is this the USSR, with re-education camps?
I'd like a re-education camp.
One in which schools teach people how to think as opposed to getting the right answer on a test.
One in which you learn how to read and write, because in the digital age those are even MORE important!
One in which public universities are funded to the degree private ones are. So a degree from UCLA or Berkeley is equivalent to one from Stanford, how it used to be.
One in which you can pay your bills by doing an honest day's work. I'm not saying people shouldn't try to improve themselves, but without people to do all the service jobs we've got no economy, never mind a society.
Now it's great Ellen Pao sued Kleiner Perkins. The VC firm won, but it lost. Because the truth is they did keep women down. And now every VC firm will be hesitant to do this in the future.
And if Brady and the Patriots skate on this no one will be dissuaded from cheating in the coming years.
At least they nailed A-Rod. He equaled Willie Mays's home run record and no one cared.
Because the truth is we don't care about liars and cheaters.
But if we pay Asian contractors a living wage, our TVs and computers will cost a fortune.
If we penalize the Patriots our lives will be empty with nothing to believe in.
Baloney.
People rally around the truth. That's what art used to provide. Before we lionized second-tier charlatans like Jeff Koons and celebrated Taylor Swift for her marketing efforts, trumpeting her success on the anemic sales charts when everybody is streaming. That's right, Swift is the queen of YouTube. Leaving Spotify was irrelevant, because it's got few subscribers. Want to make a difference Taylor, LEAVE YOUTUBE!
Taylor took a stand, one that benefited herself.
Ain't that the twenty first century.
And the only reason I mention her is at least you know her. Becoming world famous is nearly impossible these days. The opportunity is there, but the success rate is incredibly low.
Read this article about how hard it is to become a YouTube star:
"Can You Still Become 'YouTube Famous'?": http://on.recode.net/1IJlojS
But you won't. Because you just wanna believe if you work hard enough and believe in yourself you'll make it.
Hogwash!
The winners have an edge, AND THEY'RE KEEPING IT!
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Tuesday 5 May 2015
Shutting Down Free
Do you expect punters to refrain from using Periscope when celebrities are paying 10k a ticket for the fight?
Welcome to the teens, where those with money and power are completely ignorant as to how the rank and file think.
We had to endure a month plus of hype for a brutal sporting event that ultimately disappointed. We heard how much money was being made. Looky-loos decided not to pay but to view the fight for free on the aforementioned Periscope and Meerkat and the threats to sue Twitter are hysterical. Everybody believes they're entitled.
Just like the music business.
That was yesterday's story, Apple's effort to shut down free. Not only on Spotify, but YouTube too. Heralded by players everywhere, most don't want to achieve their desire. They're going to find out payments for streaming will still be low, because few want to listen to their music. All the spoils will go to the already rich and promoted, and the avenues of exposure everyone counts on, like YouTube, will be gone.
Assuming the government doesn't step in and stop it.
But this is what happens when cronies work together. Old friends like Jimmy Iovine and Lucian Grainge. Grainge has been telegraphing this move for months, testifying everywhere his desire to get rid of free. And this might be good for the bottom line of his recording company Universal, but is it good for artists?
Knee-jerkers will say that people pay for visual content, for Netflix and Hulu and...
But the truth is visual media is facing a piracy onslaught heretofore unknown. With broadband prevalent and numerous sites for pirated downloads and streaming abundant, piracy is a cancer on the television and movie business, and they don't know what to do but sue. They tried that in music, even suing the customers, how well did that work out?
Turns out the public is enticed by legal alternatives, that give them what they want conveniently for a low price. We're way ahead of the game in music, but in a war of attrition, we're about to screw it up once again. Exclusives are the culprit. You won't be able to hear everything in one place for one low price. And the end result will be piracy, or even worse, a shrug of the shoulders and a lack of desire to check out wares completely.
That's what we're fighting in the twenty first century, obscurity, not piracy. That's why YouTube and free streaming tiers are so good.
Not that people shouldn't pay for music.
But it's going to be a long evolutionary process, which no one time-stamped at a label has time for.
Ever try to use free Spotify on your handset? It'll make you subscribe or give up. You can't pick and choose songs and play what you want at will, not that this is discussed anywhere. We live in a mobile world, the desktop is dying, presently YouTube sucks on mobile, as does Google in general, which is why the company is challenged. But you've got the music industry finally waking up to the desktop, huh?
That's right, as we enter a fully mobile society people will end up paying for music subscriptions because of the convenience. But you've got to price it right and give it time. Everybody's not going to subscribe at these prices and not everybody even has an LTE-enabled phone.
But it's coming.
But you always need a free way to check out music.
Back in the day, not everybody paid. Many listened to radio, which is presently execrable, furthermore, who has time for commercials?
And internet radio sucks too, especially Pandora, because it's not on demand.
We need all access, instantly. That's where you start online.
And if there's a piracy path, you're challenged.
It's the people who are thieves, not the techies who build the pathways.
Then again, there's a coterie of coders who put up these sites and do it for free.
What kind of world do we live in, where they don't respect our hard work, where they don't believe in capitalism?
One in which you just can't get ahead and those on the bottom have contempt for those on top.
The games are just beginning in TV and movies.
But in music, we want to close the loop prematurely, coronate the present winners and forget the wannabes, just like we used to in the MTV era. Who cares if no one can hear your music if they can hear the Top Forty!
That's right, if you're struggling, you want a free tier.
And the business wants a free tier as an alternative to piracy.
But greed is having those in power move the ball too fast. It wasn't until Taylor Swift pulled her music that most people even found out what Spotify was. Most people haven't even signed up for the free service. But suddenly, if you pull all free streaming everybody's gonna pay Apple ten bucks a month?
You're just a pawn in their game, don't you realize it?
Those watching the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight on Periscope did.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Howdy Mr. Lefsetz,
Huge fan, first time caller.
I'm a 47 year old roadie...been on lots of Rock and Roll busses, planes, trains...traveled with lots and lots of musicians.
It's funny for me to hear a musician in the bus lounge rant on and on about how he/she is getting ripped off by Spotify...while he/she is busy downloading the current cinematic Box Office Blockbusters onto his laptop from www.neverpayforanothermovieagain.com.
There's at least one of those guys on every musician's bus in America...they have every movie in existence on their hard drive...and every other musician on the bus seems extremely appreciative and completely accepting of the fact that we are watching "stolen art" when we face those long overnight rides.
Never have I heard a musician stand up and say, "Guys, this isn't fair. The people who created and starred in these movies deserve to be compensated for their hard work. Let's take up a collection and send it into Sony Pictures."
I've also seen books and magazines passed around the tour like a bad case of crabs. Do you think that I have ever a musician say, "Is that book good?... Great, I'll go buy one too. It's not fair to the author if we both read the book... Buying a copy is the right thing to do."
The Rockstars want it both ways... they want their youtube... their sports sites...movies, tv shows, etc. for free but they want every person who ever listens to their song to cough up a quarter.
Spotify is going to be the great equalizer. You're a prophet and you're going to be proven correct.
Michael "Ace" Baker
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Welcome to the teens, where those with money and power are completely ignorant as to how the rank and file think.
We had to endure a month plus of hype for a brutal sporting event that ultimately disappointed. We heard how much money was being made. Looky-loos decided not to pay but to view the fight for free on the aforementioned Periscope and Meerkat and the threats to sue Twitter are hysterical. Everybody believes they're entitled.
Just like the music business.
That was yesterday's story, Apple's effort to shut down free. Not only on Spotify, but YouTube too. Heralded by players everywhere, most don't want to achieve their desire. They're going to find out payments for streaming will still be low, because few want to listen to their music. All the spoils will go to the already rich and promoted, and the avenues of exposure everyone counts on, like YouTube, will be gone.
Assuming the government doesn't step in and stop it.
But this is what happens when cronies work together. Old friends like Jimmy Iovine and Lucian Grainge. Grainge has been telegraphing this move for months, testifying everywhere his desire to get rid of free. And this might be good for the bottom line of his recording company Universal, but is it good for artists?
Knee-jerkers will say that people pay for visual content, for Netflix and Hulu and...
But the truth is visual media is facing a piracy onslaught heretofore unknown. With broadband prevalent and numerous sites for pirated downloads and streaming abundant, piracy is a cancer on the television and movie business, and they don't know what to do but sue. They tried that in music, even suing the customers, how well did that work out?
Turns out the public is enticed by legal alternatives, that give them what they want conveniently for a low price. We're way ahead of the game in music, but in a war of attrition, we're about to screw it up once again. Exclusives are the culprit. You won't be able to hear everything in one place for one low price. And the end result will be piracy, or even worse, a shrug of the shoulders and a lack of desire to check out wares completely.
That's what we're fighting in the twenty first century, obscurity, not piracy. That's why YouTube and free streaming tiers are so good.
Not that people shouldn't pay for music.
But it's going to be a long evolutionary process, which no one time-stamped at a label has time for.
Ever try to use free Spotify on your handset? It'll make you subscribe or give up. You can't pick and choose songs and play what you want at will, not that this is discussed anywhere. We live in a mobile world, the desktop is dying, presently YouTube sucks on mobile, as does Google in general, which is why the company is challenged. But you've got the music industry finally waking up to the desktop, huh?
That's right, as we enter a fully mobile society people will end up paying for music subscriptions because of the convenience. But you've got to price it right and give it time. Everybody's not going to subscribe at these prices and not everybody even has an LTE-enabled phone.
But it's coming.
But you always need a free way to check out music.
Back in the day, not everybody paid. Many listened to radio, which is presently execrable, furthermore, who has time for commercials?
And internet radio sucks too, especially Pandora, because it's not on demand.
We need all access, instantly. That's where you start online.
And if there's a piracy path, you're challenged.
It's the people who are thieves, not the techies who build the pathways.
Then again, there's a coterie of coders who put up these sites and do it for free.
What kind of world do we live in, where they don't respect our hard work, where they don't believe in capitalism?
One in which you just can't get ahead and those on the bottom have contempt for those on top.
The games are just beginning in TV and movies.
But in music, we want to close the loop prematurely, coronate the present winners and forget the wannabes, just like we used to in the MTV era. Who cares if no one can hear your music if they can hear the Top Forty!
That's right, if you're struggling, you want a free tier.
And the business wants a free tier as an alternative to piracy.
But greed is having those in power move the ball too fast. It wasn't until Taylor Swift pulled her music that most people even found out what Spotify was. Most people haven't even signed up for the free service. But suddenly, if you pull all free streaming everybody's gonna pay Apple ten bucks a month?
You're just a pawn in their game, don't you realize it?
Those watching the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight on Periscope did.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Howdy Mr. Lefsetz,
Huge fan, first time caller.
I'm a 47 year old roadie...been on lots of Rock and Roll busses, planes, trains...traveled with lots and lots of musicians.
It's funny for me to hear a musician in the bus lounge rant on and on about how he/she is getting ripped off by Spotify...while he/she is busy downloading the current cinematic Box Office Blockbusters onto his laptop from www.neverpayforanothermovieagain.com.
There's at least one of those guys on every musician's bus in America...they have every movie in existence on their hard drive...and every other musician on the bus seems extremely appreciative and completely accepting of the fact that we are watching "stolen art" when we face those long overnight rides.
Never have I heard a musician stand up and say, "Guys, this isn't fair. The people who created and starred in these movies deserve to be compensated for their hard work. Let's take up a collection and send it into Sony Pictures."
I've also seen books and magazines passed around the tour like a bad case of crabs. Do you think that I have ever a musician say, "Is that book good?... Great, I'll go buy one too. It's not fair to the author if we both read the book... Buying a copy is the right thing to do."
The Rockstars want it both ways... they want their youtube... their sports sites...movies, tv shows, etc. for free but they want every person who ever listens to their song to cough up a quarter.
Spotify is going to be the great equalizer. You're a prophet and you're going to be proven correct.
Michael "Ace" Baker
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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Monday 4 May 2015
HBO
We believe in it because there's no advertising.
That's not completely true, that's just the icing on the cake. The truth is HBO is a paragon of excellence with deep pockets that attracts the best creators in media. And when HBO says yes, which is not that often, it gives carte blanche to those creators, believing art is best left to the artists.
Sounds like Mo Ostin's Warner Brothers, I know!
So HBO has Bill Maher, who offends people on a regular basis, caring not a whit if you disagree with him.
And "Vice," which takes you to places you didn't know existed or never wanted to go to and makes you want to buy a plane ticket, gets you so riled up by the world's inequities that you want to protest, just like you did in the sixties.
And John Oliver, who uses comedy to poke fun at the ridiculousness of life.
And it is ridiculous. Public life. All the ass-kissing. I watched this iHeartRadio Country Festival on Yahoo and it made me want to puke. The constant screaming, the endless plaudits, what world do these people live in? ONE IN WHICH RADIO CONTROLS THEIR CAREER DESTINY, SO THEY'D BETTER PLAY BALL!
Everybody in music is beholden to someone else. Bob Dylan had it right, when he said you've got to serve somebody. And it's true, but how bad is your boss?
The Warner Brothers of the past is not the Warner Brothers of the present. Today's record company wants to own everything you do and pay you little for it and if you don't succeed instantly they're going to kick you to the curb.
So in order to make your numbers, you tie up with the corporations. Who are people according to Mitt Romney, who have our best interests at heart.
HUH?
So John Oliver is poking fun at the Bud Light controversy, wherein their tagline says the beer eviscerates the word NO. Despite five layers of scrutiny, no one could see the implication of rape. And that's corporate America, so up its own ass it can't see a bit of light.
But what's even better is the show pokes fun at Bud Light's advertising. The same thing the musicians and the Kardashians and the rest of the nitwits clamor to be a part of.
The game is...if you drink the Bud Light on hidden camera, you get to play with Peyton Manning. This is real. Bud Light has hidden cameras in bars and the reward is life-sized Pac-Man and other inanities.
But no one in the John Oliver version will drink the horse piss. They keep putting it down. They don't want to work on Maggie's Farm no more.
And there you have it, the transition over fifty years from Bob Dylan telling you to not follow leaders and watch the parking meters to country artists putting brands in songs. And you wonder why we live in a golden age of television and music is in the dumper...
THERE'S NO CREDIBILITY!
But what's worse is everybody working in music stokes the fire. Sponsorship is good... That's what makes Live Nation's numbers. That's what will give you marketing money, if you're rich it'll go straight to your bottom line.
And you know why punters can't get good concert tickets? Because American Express has paid for all the good ones. That's right, AmEx writes a check so they can sell access to the good seats to their cardholders as a perk. And if for some reason you've got a Citi card, you're out of luck.
Then again, sometimes Citi screws AmEx. So you've got to have them all. Kind of like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, HBO...
But no, you can buy HBO all by its lonesome. For fifteen bucks.
A good value proposition?
Well, let's see, they've got "Game Of Thrones" and the rest of the aforementioned series. And the archives have the "Sopranos"...
But there's not new programming 24/7! We don't get to view inane reality programming? Isn't that today's media landscape, people make it but no one wants to watch it, kind of like your track on Spotify, which goes unheard.
HBO decided to take the high road. Sure, they market, but there's no smoke and mirrors, no bait and switch. And the outlet knows that only programming of the highest quality will keep its enterprise going. People can cancel EVERY MONTH!
But more than 30 million households subscribe to HBO.
They are believers.
Not Beliebers.
Justin is an uneducated idiot who the machine told us was talented but we knew was a flash in the pan. Kim Kardashian will have a longer lifespan.
And we keep hearing how great Kanye West is, but he hasn't done anything good in ages other than complain on a world class level. His sales suck because the audience cancelled him long ago. But the media didn't get the message. It was as if the "Times" and "USA Today" kept writing about "Deadwood."
But they don't.
HBO gets respect.
And it doesn't beg for it.
Because it's above the fray, beholden to no one.
It's a cultural issue. Music is bankrupt. The only acts with credibility are those without traction. As if everybody who couldn't get on HBO said they deserved to.
"Dream On" was twenty five years ago. "Larry Sanders" last century. It took HBO decades to become a juggernaut. You don't change people's impressions that quickly. And you don't know what you're doing that soon. Takes a while to figure it out, takes a while to be good.
So while you're salivating for corporate dough, tens of millions are drinking at the HBO trough, which is credible and skeptical. Not drinking the kool-aid, not accepting the corporate b.s., the antithesis to the mainstream mantra.
Kind of like Frank Zappa.
But he's been dead for almost twenty five years.
Kind of like the music business.
John Oliver, Bud Light (either watch the whole thing or start at 2:45): http://bit.ly/1Kby6WS
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That's not completely true, that's just the icing on the cake. The truth is HBO is a paragon of excellence with deep pockets that attracts the best creators in media. And when HBO says yes, which is not that often, it gives carte blanche to those creators, believing art is best left to the artists.
Sounds like Mo Ostin's Warner Brothers, I know!
So HBO has Bill Maher, who offends people on a regular basis, caring not a whit if you disagree with him.
And "Vice," which takes you to places you didn't know existed or never wanted to go to and makes you want to buy a plane ticket, gets you so riled up by the world's inequities that you want to protest, just like you did in the sixties.
And John Oliver, who uses comedy to poke fun at the ridiculousness of life.
And it is ridiculous. Public life. All the ass-kissing. I watched this iHeartRadio Country Festival on Yahoo and it made me want to puke. The constant screaming, the endless plaudits, what world do these people live in? ONE IN WHICH RADIO CONTROLS THEIR CAREER DESTINY, SO THEY'D BETTER PLAY BALL!
Everybody in music is beholden to someone else. Bob Dylan had it right, when he said you've got to serve somebody. And it's true, but how bad is your boss?
The Warner Brothers of the past is not the Warner Brothers of the present. Today's record company wants to own everything you do and pay you little for it and if you don't succeed instantly they're going to kick you to the curb.
So in order to make your numbers, you tie up with the corporations. Who are people according to Mitt Romney, who have our best interests at heart.
HUH?
So John Oliver is poking fun at the Bud Light controversy, wherein their tagline says the beer eviscerates the word NO. Despite five layers of scrutiny, no one could see the implication of rape. And that's corporate America, so up its own ass it can't see a bit of light.
But what's even better is the show pokes fun at Bud Light's advertising. The same thing the musicians and the Kardashians and the rest of the nitwits clamor to be a part of.
The game is...if you drink the Bud Light on hidden camera, you get to play with Peyton Manning. This is real. Bud Light has hidden cameras in bars and the reward is life-sized Pac-Man and other inanities.
But no one in the John Oliver version will drink the horse piss. They keep putting it down. They don't want to work on Maggie's Farm no more.
And there you have it, the transition over fifty years from Bob Dylan telling you to not follow leaders and watch the parking meters to country artists putting brands in songs. And you wonder why we live in a golden age of television and music is in the dumper...
THERE'S NO CREDIBILITY!
But what's worse is everybody working in music stokes the fire. Sponsorship is good... That's what makes Live Nation's numbers. That's what will give you marketing money, if you're rich it'll go straight to your bottom line.
And you know why punters can't get good concert tickets? Because American Express has paid for all the good ones. That's right, AmEx writes a check so they can sell access to the good seats to their cardholders as a perk. And if for some reason you've got a Citi card, you're out of luck.
Then again, sometimes Citi screws AmEx. So you've got to have them all. Kind of like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, HBO...
But no, you can buy HBO all by its lonesome. For fifteen bucks.
A good value proposition?
Well, let's see, they've got "Game Of Thrones" and the rest of the aforementioned series. And the archives have the "Sopranos"...
But there's not new programming 24/7! We don't get to view inane reality programming? Isn't that today's media landscape, people make it but no one wants to watch it, kind of like your track on Spotify, which goes unheard.
HBO decided to take the high road. Sure, they market, but there's no smoke and mirrors, no bait and switch. And the outlet knows that only programming of the highest quality will keep its enterprise going. People can cancel EVERY MONTH!
But more than 30 million households subscribe to HBO.
They are believers.
Not Beliebers.
Justin is an uneducated idiot who the machine told us was talented but we knew was a flash in the pan. Kim Kardashian will have a longer lifespan.
And we keep hearing how great Kanye West is, but he hasn't done anything good in ages other than complain on a world class level. His sales suck because the audience cancelled him long ago. But the media didn't get the message. It was as if the "Times" and "USA Today" kept writing about "Deadwood."
But they don't.
HBO gets respect.
And it doesn't beg for it.
Because it's above the fray, beholden to no one.
It's a cultural issue. Music is bankrupt. The only acts with credibility are those without traction. As if everybody who couldn't get on HBO said they deserved to.
"Dream On" was twenty five years ago. "Larry Sanders" last century. It took HBO decades to become a juggernaut. You don't change people's impressions that quickly. And you don't know what you're doing that soon. Takes a while to figure it out, takes a while to be good.
So while you're salivating for corporate dough, tens of millions are drinking at the HBO trough, which is credible and skeptical. Not drinking the kool-aid, not accepting the corporate b.s., the antithesis to the mainstream mantra.
Kind of like Frank Zappa.
But he's been dead for almost twenty five years.
Kind of like the music business.
John Oliver, Bud Light (either watch the whole thing or start at 2:45): http://bit.ly/1Kby6WS
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Re-Roger Waters
Thanks Bob, this is a classic Lefsetz rant about the new reality of music. I hope it gets read.
One clarification: Chris Anderson never said that the long tail would make everyone rich. In fact, his thesis (which turned out to be completely true) is that if you own the long tail (Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, anyone who stocks everything) you are way ahead in the future, because the aggregate gets ever more important than betting on a few hits.
Yes, there are opportunities for folks who live along the long tail (people like you and me and Amanda Palmer) but they don't look like what happens to people who are bestsellers on the short head. Fun to be #1, but it doesn't last.
Being trusted by a (relative) few is a fine place to be, it's merely different than being the hot act.
Seth Godin
______________________________________
Good piece. A quibble, though: Point #4, Change happens: I would argue that the "album" came along in the day of the 78, when you could buy a book of disks by the same artist, one that looked a lot like a photo album (which is where I suspect the term came from). Hence an "album" is a collection of songs, and I would argue that CDs are therefore albums too. But then I would also argue that "record" applies to any recording, regardless of the format in which it's presented, they are all, literally, records of something that happened earlier. But then I am old fashioned like that.
Tom Rush
______________________________________
small nit-pic: albums came from 78s-- book format. Got a couple in a box somewhere
Ron Gustavson
______________________________________
Once Waters "outed" Alan Parsons for playing in Israel, I lost interest and haven't listened to Pink Floyd. And I really like(d) Pink Floyd. Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are a trilogy that will never be duplicated. (throw in Animals if you want). As we in Southern Cali would say, "Dude" (you know the inflection to use.)
alan fenton
______________________________________
A great post. You are keeping me motivated. So glad Valerie turned me onto you.
Richie Miller
______________________________________
Some think I'm nuts but after a couple rounds of his Anti-Semitic rants, I decided to no longer give him my audience. That goes for all his music.
Mar9966
______________________________________
i read My Promised Land as well...great book made me proud and sometimes ashamed at different points. there is no country that is 100% clean i mean look at the British Empire or for that matter American history.
Michael Rosenblatt
______________________________________
.......yup.
Tommy Allen
______________________________________
This guy is a major douchebag! I went to his wall concert and sat 2nd row and it was horrible! Very boring! He had a blimp flying with Jewish stars and swastikas! He hates Jews and his time has passed! Gilmore has a better voice!
He is already a billionaire and if it weren't for his fans and Jewish business owners then he wouldn't have a pot to piss in! Fuck him! Next please!
Regards,
Jac Berman
______________________________________
I am a huge fan of Roger's.... Yet I agree with everything you wrote.. Well, save for your comment, "Roger can't sing". What??
docknof
______________________________________
We don't need no Roger Waters.
Neal Berz
______________________________________
Right on!!
Mike McCready
______________________________________
Magnificent.
John Dick
______________________________________
Roger Waters is a Jew hating mother fucker and a real creep.
Roger is now the teacher he so loathed that does not leave those kids alone.
BGreen
______________________________________
Good piece Bob!
Andrew Lurie
______________________________________
star whose adoring audience had to get stoned to enjoy.
Bob Segarini
______________________________________
Goose Farts. Was that from the "Animals" sessions?
Gotta track it down.
Thanks for the heads up!
Mike Errico
______________________________________
Roger Waters: this guy has made some of the most incredible and strikingly moving music I've ever listened to. My walls are still covered with Floyd RIAA Awards to this day. He is also a perfect example of where an artist should shut up and play the damn song. This Englishman railing on about American politics has put a bug up my skirt for the past 8 years. I don't care about his opinions on other things. Especially politics! When he had the flying pig dropping confetti that said vote Obama on the Dark Side of the Moon tour it was just completely over the top! That pig belongs to all the fans, from the hard left to the hard right and everybody in the middle. Without the fans, he just be some guy out there in an empty room with a pig flying around. If he would just shut up, concentrate on making better music, he would make this man a lot happier with him.
Lavon Pagan
______________________________________
He's a prick
Robin Millar
______________________________________
Thank you for opening this with Waters' anti-semitism. I love the man's music, am currently obsessed with his version of "comfortably numb" with Van Morrison and The Band (what was left of them at the time). I'm obsessed because of Van's phrasing on this track, not because of Waters. I can barely listen to Floyd anymore. Only "Echoes" once in a while. I truly despise Waters' anti-semitism and am also glad you mentioned Shavit's book as to what is really going on. If you are ever in Washington and want to visit the world's premier bipartisan foreign policy and national security think tank, CSIS, please let me know. If you enjoy intellectually honest policy as I do, you'll be like a kid in a candy store. And, I can show you the technology we are using and the multi media we are producing in house on issues like the South China Sea which we recently made worldwide news with in front page NYT story using satellite tech and analysis of China's activities.
Andrew Schwartz
______________________________________
Love your newsletters, especially when you compare music to the digital tech era. But did you have to talk about religious views, ugh it's a bit of a turn off.
Jeniferever
______________________________________
Bit disappointed with you for the first time ever Bob - do you think Roger Waters' opposition to Israel is because he doesn't like Jews? Conflating anti-Zionism and anti-semitism is a dangerous game. By calling legitimate opposition to Israeli actions anti-semitic, it gives credibility to genuine anti-semitism.
I would also hesitate to say Waters is unfamiliar with the issues just because his opinions differ from yours (on either tech or the Middle East). There is plenty of room for different views on the high tech frontier, and Waters has travelled the Mideast extensively (hitchhiking in Lebanon etc).
Charles Kennedy
______________________________________
fuck roger waters and his anti-israel bullshit.
Paul Hackner
______________________________________
Thank you for this and for mentioning his anti semitisim. His tomes on Israel "occupying Gaza" (yes he actually wrote that) generally have enormous untruths, along with his anti semitisim.
Like you I don't agree with everything Israel does, but I'm Jewish. And have family and close friends there.
Amy Krakow
______________________________________
Love Roger Waters, but I guess he got a call from Bob Ezrin to join the "old men yelling at the cloud" club.
Alex Speer
______________________________________
FYI record albums date back to at least the 40's. My dad was a musician in the 30's forward. We had lots of 78 albums around the house when I was a kid in the 50's, Harry James, Bing Crosby etc. They looked like photo albums, thus the name I suspect. I don't think we would regard them as concept albums but they were there.
Always enjoy your observations and analysis.
Herb Lamberton
______________________________________
how the mighty have fallin and how the mighty wail.
Art Polhemus
______________________________________
Well, David Gilmour is desirable. The voice and guitar and most gifted writer in the band. And on the all and all, a proper English gentleman to boot.
Bravo Gilmour!
William Kevin Anderson
______________________________________
When people criticized Johnny Rotten for playing Israel, he said "I will play to the people. I don't play to the Government of anything... I'm playing to human beings, and to deny me that right and turn music into some kind of political joystick is quite repulsive to me, and really, really wrong." At least he got it right!
Jeremy Ferrick
______________________________________
Favorite post of the year (so far), Bob. Top to bottom… Kudos.
Joshua Hall
______________________________________
Bob:
Great commentary!
In my eyes, Roger is done! He is a mediocre Bass player living in the Pink Floyd past. Even David Gilmour has moved on with some great music since the 80's and can dabble in some Floyd in concert for the die-hard fans. Roger thinks he can get away with his Anti-Sematic comments that just's distances his fan! Does he really think people will forget his ravings like Mel Gibson- Hell no!
Unfortunately, Roger is living in the past.... you cannot blame Tech.
Marc R.
Chicago
______________________________________
Hey Bob:
Kim and I met Roger Waters the other week in New York City. He seemed like a helluva guy, sweet and sound. He walked into a small room of 50 people, carrying his own guitar and wearing his black tee-shirt and dad jeans. A true journey man. And gave us the time of day (and Kim a hug) even though we are basically nobody.
We should give him a chance to speak his mind even though it is against the popular view. Don't you keep telling us that's what real artists and real rock stars do? I'm not saying he should not have to fight for it, though.
But something tells me he doesn't mind.
But those are just pros and cons of being Roger Waters.
And who knows. Maybe he is right. Up against the wall! See pic attached.
Paul Koidis
______________________________________
You're misunderstanding the point of a "long tail." Unlike a normal distribution of anything measured -- profits, ticket sales, whatever -- a long tail skews the distribution to fewer, now more wealthy, market participants.
The music industry moving to a long tail from a normal distribution is a transfer of those winnings from the market from a large number of average creators (those close to the median of a normal distribution) to a smaller number of creators (those who make the hits). As you've written, this market rebalance has happened in the overall economy, where wealth has skewed away from the middle class and to the fewer number of rich. That shift is evidenced by the fact that return to capital (robots, computing power, etc.) far exceeds the return to labor inputs (hiring one more middle-class worker).
Gordon Chaffin
______________________________________
In the second line of this post you accused Roger Waters of being an anti-Semite. I feel you owe Waters a public and abject apology. As being familiar with Waters feelings about the policies of the Israeli government I strongly disagree with your assertion. You using that term in all its over-amped rhetorical vehemence are showing yourself to be stabbing wildly at an opponent exposing a lack of surety in your own position on the subject.
Because of you using this loaded political term in describing Mr Waters position I immediately discounted the rest of your argument from that point on in your post. Because of your use of the term to describe Mr. Waters I did not click on the link that I would have probably found enlightening about the problems facing the modern state of Israel. To top it all off you have the dishonesty to misdirect your accusation with a trope that this is all really about his Luddite views concerning tech shows a real lack of class. You yourself, despite your oft mentioned luncheons with the magnates of Silicon Valley really should approach some of the tech grunts on the software project teams before making some of your more specious fan-boy pronouncements about the latest and greatest of the digital age
I am not an especially devoted fan of Mr. Waters work and can take or leave a lot of his canon through his long career. in fact I think there is ample evidence in the public record for him to be officially named one sorry S.O.B at times but you have crossed a line with that particular term and it shall take many considered future posts by you for me to finally regain any esteem I have for you as a rhetorician and essayist.
Maurice Boucher
______________________________________
Brilliant Bob!
I grew up in the 60s but try to stay current
Don't always agree with you but spot-on as ever
I had 6 record shops in Fair London Town (GB) until "progress" aka customers made them unviable so I moved online eventually in order to survive and grow.
As a small label owner as well I made the same move online with MP3 downloads - to survive
Customers (i.e. THE MARKETS) rule and now that music is not the top dog we had better get used to it
Keep 'em coming
Andrew J Titcombe
crucialmusic UK/ looserecordsGB
P S I also have Jewish connections in my grandmother & am fed up with anti Semitic sentiments
______________________________________
Bob, Roger Water is a dick. We all know that. He stood next to Syd Barrett onstage at all the most important gatherings of the British counter-culture and STILL doesn't appreciate how special it was, how fortunate he was. He is an opinionated misery, a champagne socialist, one of the luckiest men in the world and all he has ever done is moan. He wrote one good song ("Wish You Were Here") forty odd years ago. FUCK HIM!
Adam Blake
______________________________________
Poor bastard didn't make enough money? Who else is he angry with? The other members of PF, especially Dave Gilmour, absolutely loath him. He's an angry, jealous, venomous and nasty man.
This guy is right, although I haven't read the book he refers to and can't believe that Kerry would use anything as a bible that would be pro Israel...
Ros
______________________________________
Bob,
In this column, you said...
"The album was a result of the 33, didn't exist before that."
I get that you meant this in a certain way, but not to be picky, albums were around since the days of the 78s. In fact, the very reason they were called albums was because they resembled photo albums. They first were mostly for classical music, as you could not put an entire symphony (or even shorter works) onto two sides of a 78.
Eventually, the record companies put together albums of popular artists' singles, effectively making the first 'greatest hits' albums. And some popular artists did release albums on 78s of new material, like Bing Crosby, who released an album called "St. Patrick's Day" featuring all Irish songs. And there were many others. As someone who has saved all my parents' 78 albums, I know this very well.
So, yes, I get that you are saying that when 33 1/3 albums appeared, that changed the game since you only had to turn over 1 record once, instead of 5 or 6. Which allowed for a more continuous listening experience.
But don't deny the existence of albums pre-33 1/3, especially as the very name 'album' came from those sets of 78s.
David Bly
______________________________________
FUCK roger waters. I think you are spending too much time on a has been, who has only thought of himself. Flush the toilet.
Dennis Rubenstein
______________________________________
Bob, if you are genuinely interested in opening your eyes to blatant anti-semitism coming from the left, sign up for the twitter feed from KC Johnson. He is a mostly liberal Brooklyn College professor that is extremely on point in calling out fellow liberals on this topic, and talks Israeli politics in general (he was a visiting professor there). He is famous for writing the definitive book on the Duke Lax case, "Until Proven Innocent", so his twitter feed is also heavy on due process in regard to the raging "Rape Culture" debate on campuses (I recall your recent mention of the UVA story in Rolling Stone).
And I'm not Jewish, I'm mostly traditionally liberal, but the left's actions on Israel alone reveal how brainwashed and full of selective anger and hate the modern left has become. Just take a look at the high selective divestment campaigns (BDS) in academia and UN resolutions. As you said, I don't necessarily agree with all of Israel's actions, but the double standards are glaring. Those double standards are coming from the left.
It's good to read from all sides of a debate, and not stay in an echo chamber, to have a fuller understanding of the issue. You might benefit from KC's feed if you have a genuine interest.
Eric Cole
______________________________________
another excellent column, thanks Bob
Alan Segal
______________________________________
Bob,
PLEASE publish Roger's rant now so I can stop being called names and pelted with rotten vegetables in public for mine. I beg you!
:-)
Bob Ezrin
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One clarification: Chris Anderson never said that the long tail would make everyone rich. In fact, his thesis (which turned out to be completely true) is that if you own the long tail (Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, anyone who stocks everything) you are way ahead in the future, because the aggregate gets ever more important than betting on a few hits.
Yes, there are opportunities for folks who live along the long tail (people like you and me and Amanda Palmer) but they don't look like what happens to people who are bestsellers on the short head. Fun to be #1, but it doesn't last.
Being trusted by a (relative) few is a fine place to be, it's merely different than being the hot act.
Seth Godin
______________________________________
Good piece. A quibble, though: Point #4, Change happens: I would argue that the "album" came along in the day of the 78, when you could buy a book of disks by the same artist, one that looked a lot like a photo album (which is where I suspect the term came from). Hence an "album" is a collection of songs, and I would argue that CDs are therefore albums too. But then I would also argue that "record" applies to any recording, regardless of the format in which it's presented, they are all, literally, records of something that happened earlier. But then I am old fashioned like that.
Tom Rush
______________________________________
small nit-pic: albums came from 78s-- book format. Got a couple in a box somewhere
Ron Gustavson
______________________________________
Once Waters "outed" Alan Parsons for playing in Israel, I lost interest and haven't listened to Pink Floyd. And I really like(d) Pink Floyd. Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are a trilogy that will never be duplicated. (throw in Animals if you want). As we in Southern Cali would say, "Dude" (you know the inflection to use.)
alan fenton
______________________________________
A great post. You are keeping me motivated. So glad Valerie turned me onto you.
Richie Miller
______________________________________
Some think I'm nuts but after a couple rounds of his Anti-Semitic rants, I decided to no longer give him my audience. That goes for all his music.
Mar9966
______________________________________
i read My Promised Land as well...great book made me proud and sometimes ashamed at different points. there is no country that is 100% clean i mean look at the British Empire or for that matter American history.
Michael Rosenblatt
______________________________________
.......yup.
Tommy Allen
______________________________________
This guy is a major douchebag! I went to his wall concert and sat 2nd row and it was horrible! Very boring! He had a blimp flying with Jewish stars and swastikas! He hates Jews and his time has passed! Gilmore has a better voice!
He is already a billionaire and if it weren't for his fans and Jewish business owners then he wouldn't have a pot to piss in! Fuck him! Next please!
Regards,
Jac Berman
______________________________________
I am a huge fan of Roger's.... Yet I agree with everything you wrote.. Well, save for your comment, "Roger can't sing". What??
docknof
______________________________________
We don't need no Roger Waters.
Neal Berz
______________________________________
Right on!!
Mike McCready
______________________________________
Magnificent.
John Dick
______________________________________
Roger Waters is a Jew hating mother fucker and a real creep.
Roger is now the teacher he so loathed that does not leave those kids alone.
BGreen
______________________________________
Good piece Bob!
Andrew Lurie
______________________________________
star whose adoring audience had to get stoned to enjoy.
Bob Segarini
______________________________________
Goose Farts. Was that from the "Animals" sessions?
Gotta track it down.
Thanks for the heads up!
Mike Errico
______________________________________
Roger Waters: this guy has made some of the most incredible and strikingly moving music I've ever listened to. My walls are still covered with Floyd RIAA Awards to this day. He is also a perfect example of where an artist should shut up and play the damn song. This Englishman railing on about American politics has put a bug up my skirt for the past 8 years. I don't care about his opinions on other things. Especially politics! When he had the flying pig dropping confetti that said vote Obama on the Dark Side of the Moon tour it was just completely over the top! That pig belongs to all the fans, from the hard left to the hard right and everybody in the middle. Without the fans, he just be some guy out there in an empty room with a pig flying around. If he would just shut up, concentrate on making better music, he would make this man a lot happier with him.
Lavon Pagan
______________________________________
He's a prick
Robin Millar
______________________________________
Thank you for opening this with Waters' anti-semitism. I love the man's music, am currently obsessed with his version of "comfortably numb" with Van Morrison and The Band (what was left of them at the time). I'm obsessed because of Van's phrasing on this track, not because of Waters. I can barely listen to Floyd anymore. Only "Echoes" once in a while. I truly despise Waters' anti-semitism and am also glad you mentioned Shavit's book as to what is really going on. If you are ever in Washington and want to visit the world's premier bipartisan foreign policy and national security think tank, CSIS, please let me know. If you enjoy intellectually honest policy as I do, you'll be like a kid in a candy store. And, I can show you the technology we are using and the multi media we are producing in house on issues like the South China Sea which we recently made worldwide news with in front page NYT story using satellite tech and analysis of China's activities.
Andrew Schwartz
______________________________________
Love your newsletters, especially when you compare music to the digital tech era. But did you have to talk about religious views, ugh it's a bit of a turn off.
Jeniferever
______________________________________
Bit disappointed with you for the first time ever Bob - do you think Roger Waters' opposition to Israel is because he doesn't like Jews? Conflating anti-Zionism and anti-semitism is a dangerous game. By calling legitimate opposition to Israeli actions anti-semitic, it gives credibility to genuine anti-semitism.
I would also hesitate to say Waters is unfamiliar with the issues just because his opinions differ from yours (on either tech or the Middle East). There is plenty of room for different views on the high tech frontier, and Waters has travelled the Mideast extensively (hitchhiking in Lebanon etc).
Charles Kennedy
______________________________________
fuck roger waters and his anti-israel bullshit.
Paul Hackner
______________________________________
Thank you for this and for mentioning his anti semitisim. His tomes on Israel "occupying Gaza" (yes he actually wrote that) generally have enormous untruths, along with his anti semitisim.
Like you I don't agree with everything Israel does, but I'm Jewish. And have family and close friends there.
Amy Krakow
______________________________________
Love Roger Waters, but I guess he got a call from Bob Ezrin to join the "old men yelling at the cloud" club.
Alex Speer
______________________________________
FYI record albums date back to at least the 40's. My dad was a musician in the 30's forward. We had lots of 78 albums around the house when I was a kid in the 50's, Harry James, Bing Crosby etc. They looked like photo albums, thus the name I suspect. I don't think we would regard them as concept albums but they were there.
Always enjoy your observations and analysis.
Herb Lamberton
______________________________________
how the mighty have fallin and how the mighty wail.
Art Polhemus
______________________________________
Well, David Gilmour is desirable. The voice and guitar and most gifted writer in the band. And on the all and all, a proper English gentleman to boot.
Bravo Gilmour!
William Kevin Anderson
______________________________________
When people criticized Johnny Rotten for playing Israel, he said "I will play to the people. I don't play to the Government of anything... I'm playing to human beings, and to deny me that right and turn music into some kind of political joystick is quite repulsive to me, and really, really wrong." At least he got it right!
Jeremy Ferrick
______________________________________
Favorite post of the year (so far), Bob. Top to bottom… Kudos.
Joshua Hall
______________________________________
Bob:
Great commentary!
In my eyes, Roger is done! He is a mediocre Bass player living in the Pink Floyd past. Even David Gilmour has moved on with some great music since the 80's and can dabble in some Floyd in concert for the die-hard fans. Roger thinks he can get away with his Anti-Sematic comments that just's distances his fan! Does he really think people will forget his ravings like Mel Gibson- Hell no!
Unfortunately, Roger is living in the past.... you cannot blame Tech.
Marc R.
Chicago
______________________________________
Hey Bob:
Kim and I met Roger Waters the other week in New York City. He seemed like a helluva guy, sweet and sound. He walked into a small room of 50 people, carrying his own guitar and wearing his black tee-shirt and dad jeans. A true journey man. And gave us the time of day (and Kim a hug) even though we are basically nobody.
We should give him a chance to speak his mind even though it is against the popular view. Don't you keep telling us that's what real artists and real rock stars do? I'm not saying he should not have to fight for it, though.
But something tells me he doesn't mind.
But those are just pros and cons of being Roger Waters.
And who knows. Maybe he is right. Up against the wall! See pic attached.
Paul Koidis
______________________________________
You're misunderstanding the point of a "long tail." Unlike a normal distribution of anything measured -- profits, ticket sales, whatever -- a long tail skews the distribution to fewer, now more wealthy, market participants.
The music industry moving to a long tail from a normal distribution is a transfer of those winnings from the market from a large number of average creators (those close to the median of a normal distribution) to a smaller number of creators (those who make the hits). As you've written, this market rebalance has happened in the overall economy, where wealth has skewed away from the middle class and to the fewer number of rich. That shift is evidenced by the fact that return to capital (robots, computing power, etc.) far exceeds the return to labor inputs (hiring one more middle-class worker).
Gordon Chaffin
______________________________________
In the second line of this post you accused Roger Waters of being an anti-Semite. I feel you owe Waters a public and abject apology. As being familiar with Waters feelings about the policies of the Israeli government I strongly disagree with your assertion. You using that term in all its over-amped rhetorical vehemence are showing yourself to be stabbing wildly at an opponent exposing a lack of surety in your own position on the subject.
Because of you using this loaded political term in describing Mr Waters position I immediately discounted the rest of your argument from that point on in your post. Because of your use of the term to describe Mr. Waters I did not click on the link that I would have probably found enlightening about the problems facing the modern state of Israel. To top it all off you have the dishonesty to misdirect your accusation with a trope that this is all really about his Luddite views concerning tech shows a real lack of class. You yourself, despite your oft mentioned luncheons with the magnates of Silicon Valley really should approach some of the tech grunts on the software project teams before making some of your more specious fan-boy pronouncements about the latest and greatest of the digital age
I am not an especially devoted fan of Mr. Waters work and can take or leave a lot of his canon through his long career. in fact I think there is ample evidence in the public record for him to be officially named one sorry S.O.B at times but you have crossed a line with that particular term and it shall take many considered future posts by you for me to finally regain any esteem I have for you as a rhetorician and essayist.
Maurice Boucher
______________________________________
Brilliant Bob!
I grew up in the 60s but try to stay current
Don't always agree with you but spot-on as ever
I had 6 record shops in Fair London Town (GB) until "progress" aka customers made them unviable so I moved online eventually in order to survive and grow.
As a small label owner as well I made the same move online with MP3 downloads - to survive
Customers (i.e. THE MARKETS) rule and now that music is not the top dog we had better get used to it
Keep 'em coming
Andrew J Titcombe
crucialmusic UK/ looserecordsGB
P S I also have Jewish connections in my grandmother & am fed up with anti Semitic sentiments
______________________________________
Bob, Roger Water is a dick. We all know that. He stood next to Syd Barrett onstage at all the most important gatherings of the British counter-culture and STILL doesn't appreciate how special it was, how fortunate he was. He is an opinionated misery, a champagne socialist, one of the luckiest men in the world and all he has ever done is moan. He wrote one good song ("Wish You Were Here") forty odd years ago. FUCK HIM!
Adam Blake
______________________________________
Poor bastard didn't make enough money? Who else is he angry with? The other members of PF, especially Dave Gilmour, absolutely loath him. He's an angry, jealous, venomous and nasty man.
This guy is right, although I haven't read the book he refers to and can't believe that Kerry would use anything as a bible that would be pro Israel...
Ros
______________________________________
Bob,
In this column, you said...
"The album was a result of the 33, didn't exist before that."
I get that you meant this in a certain way, but not to be picky, albums were around since the days of the 78s. In fact, the very reason they were called albums was because they resembled photo albums. They first were mostly for classical music, as you could not put an entire symphony (or even shorter works) onto two sides of a 78.
Eventually, the record companies put together albums of popular artists' singles, effectively making the first 'greatest hits' albums. And some popular artists did release albums on 78s of new material, like Bing Crosby, who released an album called "St. Patrick's Day" featuring all Irish songs. And there were many others. As someone who has saved all my parents' 78 albums, I know this very well.
So, yes, I get that you are saying that when 33 1/3 albums appeared, that changed the game since you only had to turn over 1 record once, instead of 5 or 6. Which allowed for a more continuous listening experience.
But don't deny the existence of albums pre-33 1/3, especially as the very name 'album' came from those sets of 78s.
David Bly
______________________________________
FUCK roger waters. I think you are spending too much time on a has been, who has only thought of himself. Flush the toilet.
Dennis Rubenstein
______________________________________
Bob, if you are genuinely interested in opening your eyes to blatant anti-semitism coming from the left, sign up for the twitter feed from KC Johnson. He is a mostly liberal Brooklyn College professor that is extremely on point in calling out fellow liberals on this topic, and talks Israeli politics in general (he was a visiting professor there). He is famous for writing the definitive book on the Duke Lax case, "Until Proven Innocent", so his twitter feed is also heavy on due process in regard to the raging "Rape Culture" debate on campuses (I recall your recent mention of the UVA story in Rolling Stone).
And I'm not Jewish, I'm mostly traditionally liberal, but the left's actions on Israel alone reveal how brainwashed and full of selective anger and hate the modern left has become. Just take a look at the high selective divestment campaigns (BDS) in academia and UN resolutions. As you said, I don't necessarily agree with all of Israel's actions, but the double standards are glaring. Those double standards are coming from the left.
It's good to read from all sides of a debate, and not stay in an echo chamber, to have a fuller understanding of the issue. You might benefit from KC's feed if you have a genuine interest.
Eric Cole
______________________________________
another excellent column, thanks Bob
Alan Segal
______________________________________
Bob,
PLEASE publish Roger's rant now so I can stop being called names and pelted with rotten vegetables in public for mine. I beg you!
:-)
Bob Ezrin
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Sunday 3 May 2015
Roger Waters On Tech
Just because you're a rock star, that doesn't make you right.
In case you missed it, Roger Waters railed against techies in the London "Times" (behind a paywall, but read a snippet here: http://bit.ly/1FIXDrq) and now we've got to see his inane opinions trumpeted across all media because he was once a star and you know stars, we've got to listen to them. And I don't want to even touch his anti-semitic ravings. Sure, I'm Jewish, but to think the Israelis are the sole oppressors and no band should play there is denying thousands of years of anti-semitism and the obvious point that Israel can only lose once. It's a complicated story, and I am far from approving of everything the country does, but read Ari Shavit's "My Promised Land" if you want to know what's going on, Kerry did, it's his bible, but you'd rather have a knee-jerk reaction than research complicated issues, just like in tech.
The damn tech companies did not steal your business, did not steal your opportunity, did not make you broke.
The customer did.
Which way do you want it, do you love your fans or hate them? Love those who wanted everything you ever did, even the goose farts in the studio you never thought would be released, or hate those who now have access to everything and don't want to listen to you.
Let's state some rules.
1. It's the best time to be an artist in the history of the world...especially if you make popular music, if you are willing to do it yourself. There are no barriers to entry, but you'd rather sign a deal with a major label, which is kind of like a slave signing up with a plantation owner or those Scientologists who wanted to stay in the hole. I can't help it if you're too afraid to embrace the new paradigm, that's your fault. Meanwhile, you're bitching that the labels don't pay like they used to. You want more Spotify money, put your music out yourself.
2. Major labels push what sells. They're businesses, not museums. You can excoriate the Top Forty all you want, but if klezmer music was the new rage, the majors would pick up that. To bitch that the labels won't put out obscure music is like complaining to Detroit they don't make vent windows anymore. It's not cost-efficient.
3. When everything is available, there's a race to the top. The "Long Tail" and other tomes perpetrated the fiction that we'd all get rich in the internet economy. Didn't work during the dot com era and doesn't now. As a matter of fact, the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, in not only business, but art. The public is confused. They're gravitating to the anointed and the popular. Tech helped grease the skids, by providing access, but it's the public that chooses what to listen to. You can get your music on Spotify easily, YouTube even easier than that, but that doesn't mean anybody wants to listen to it.
4. Change happens. Live went to wax cylinders went to shellac to 45s to 33s to cassettes and CDs and then files and now streams. The album was a result of the 33, didn't exist before that. But now you want to keep it. Keep the buggy whips while you're at it. You're supposed to be an artist, using new tools to create something different and exciting. You're like a painter bitching when Picasso and Braque came up with cubism. Embrace the new, it's the only way out.
5. Piracy is a problem for recorded music revenue, not artistry. It's actually good for artistry, you can reach your public for nothing, as you now can on YouTube. Get rid of music on YouTube and watch the ARTISTS go nuclear. They want to reach people for free. Because it's hard to make a fan.
6. Radio is not forever. Bitch all you want about a closed system. But suddenly TV is unbundling, and despite all the radio hogwash there are so many better ways to experience music that one day music radio is gonna crash, the same way AM and Viacom have. Did you see Viacom's ratings? Double digit declines, because their young target demo doesn't watch TV anymore, they utilize other platforms and want it instantly, on demand.
So Roger Waters blows hard and all the has-beens and never-wills throw their fists in the air and scream that he's right.
But it doesn't make a bit of difference. Railing against change is like bitching that you can now call across the country for free. Used to be expensive, with long distance tolls. But I don't see you taking up the cause of the telcos, who all saw the light and moved on to wireless, and when talk declined moved on to data. How come businesses can change and you can't?
And techies glommed on to music because it was desirable, they wanted to hear it, they wanted others to. They're the future, not you. People want to create an app, not a song, and that's sad.
And the truth is that despite you going on that today's music is as great as it was in the past, the so-called "classic rock era," it's not. Of course there are talented people working, of course there's money to be made, but once upon a time there was more experimentation and music was front and center in the culture, moving it. Now music is all about promotion and money. Don't be afraid to speak the truth for fear you'll look old, only in America do we denigrate our elders, experience counts.
And Waters's experience is of what happened in the seventies. If he wants to tell us how he did it, we're all ears. But if just wants to bitch that someone moved his cheese, tune him out and give him no press. The truth is Roger can't sing and no one wants his new music. He's not on good terms with David Gilmour and separately they're not desirable. Hell, Brooks & Dunn got back together but we're supposed to give every solo act a break? Going solo after the group breaks up and succeeding is the exception, not the rule.
We live in a wild, woolly time of cacophony, where the greats are at our fingertips for the same price as the dreck. And to be able to hear everything ever recorded is a boon to the listener, albeit overwhelming. As a result, there's a shifting revenue picture. It used to be those who jumped through the hoops made money and those who didn't didn't. But now that everybody can play, the revenue is tilting towards the winners.
And everybody can't be a winner.
But tech is inert. Software and devices are tools. They need juice to run on. Art can harness the tools and succeed in ways previously unknown. Could PSY's "Gangnam Style" have made it in the old era? OF COURSE NOT! Could you watch concerts 24/7 online for free? OF COURSE NOT! Could you have a world class studio in your home? OF COURSE NOT!
We've got all the time in the world for great art.
And creating greatness takes a long time, to get to that level and reach people. But the audience is always ready, the techies have provided the pipe, there's plenty of money and that's a GOOD THING!
Never forget it.
Ari Shavit - "My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel": http://amzn.to/1bqprEg
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In case you missed it, Roger Waters railed against techies in the London "Times" (behind a paywall, but read a snippet here: http://bit.ly/1FIXDrq) and now we've got to see his inane opinions trumpeted across all media because he was once a star and you know stars, we've got to listen to them. And I don't want to even touch his anti-semitic ravings. Sure, I'm Jewish, but to think the Israelis are the sole oppressors and no band should play there is denying thousands of years of anti-semitism and the obvious point that Israel can only lose once. It's a complicated story, and I am far from approving of everything the country does, but read Ari Shavit's "My Promised Land" if you want to know what's going on, Kerry did, it's his bible, but you'd rather have a knee-jerk reaction than research complicated issues, just like in tech.
The damn tech companies did not steal your business, did not steal your opportunity, did not make you broke.
The customer did.
Which way do you want it, do you love your fans or hate them? Love those who wanted everything you ever did, even the goose farts in the studio you never thought would be released, or hate those who now have access to everything and don't want to listen to you.
Let's state some rules.
1. It's the best time to be an artist in the history of the world...especially if you make popular music, if you are willing to do it yourself. There are no barriers to entry, but you'd rather sign a deal with a major label, which is kind of like a slave signing up with a plantation owner or those Scientologists who wanted to stay in the hole. I can't help it if you're too afraid to embrace the new paradigm, that's your fault. Meanwhile, you're bitching that the labels don't pay like they used to. You want more Spotify money, put your music out yourself.
2. Major labels push what sells. They're businesses, not museums. You can excoriate the Top Forty all you want, but if klezmer music was the new rage, the majors would pick up that. To bitch that the labels won't put out obscure music is like complaining to Detroit they don't make vent windows anymore. It's not cost-efficient.
3. When everything is available, there's a race to the top. The "Long Tail" and other tomes perpetrated the fiction that we'd all get rich in the internet economy. Didn't work during the dot com era and doesn't now. As a matter of fact, the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, in not only business, but art. The public is confused. They're gravitating to the anointed and the popular. Tech helped grease the skids, by providing access, but it's the public that chooses what to listen to. You can get your music on Spotify easily, YouTube even easier than that, but that doesn't mean anybody wants to listen to it.
4. Change happens. Live went to wax cylinders went to shellac to 45s to 33s to cassettes and CDs and then files and now streams. The album was a result of the 33, didn't exist before that. But now you want to keep it. Keep the buggy whips while you're at it. You're supposed to be an artist, using new tools to create something different and exciting. You're like a painter bitching when Picasso and Braque came up with cubism. Embrace the new, it's the only way out.
5. Piracy is a problem for recorded music revenue, not artistry. It's actually good for artistry, you can reach your public for nothing, as you now can on YouTube. Get rid of music on YouTube and watch the ARTISTS go nuclear. They want to reach people for free. Because it's hard to make a fan.
6. Radio is not forever. Bitch all you want about a closed system. But suddenly TV is unbundling, and despite all the radio hogwash there are so many better ways to experience music that one day music radio is gonna crash, the same way AM and Viacom have. Did you see Viacom's ratings? Double digit declines, because their young target demo doesn't watch TV anymore, they utilize other platforms and want it instantly, on demand.
So Roger Waters blows hard and all the has-beens and never-wills throw their fists in the air and scream that he's right.
But it doesn't make a bit of difference. Railing against change is like bitching that you can now call across the country for free. Used to be expensive, with long distance tolls. But I don't see you taking up the cause of the telcos, who all saw the light and moved on to wireless, and when talk declined moved on to data. How come businesses can change and you can't?
And techies glommed on to music because it was desirable, they wanted to hear it, they wanted others to. They're the future, not you. People want to create an app, not a song, and that's sad.
And the truth is that despite you going on that today's music is as great as it was in the past, the so-called "classic rock era," it's not. Of course there are talented people working, of course there's money to be made, but once upon a time there was more experimentation and music was front and center in the culture, moving it. Now music is all about promotion and money. Don't be afraid to speak the truth for fear you'll look old, only in America do we denigrate our elders, experience counts.
And Waters's experience is of what happened in the seventies. If he wants to tell us how he did it, we're all ears. But if just wants to bitch that someone moved his cheese, tune him out and give him no press. The truth is Roger can't sing and no one wants his new music. He's not on good terms with David Gilmour and separately they're not desirable. Hell, Brooks & Dunn got back together but we're supposed to give every solo act a break? Going solo after the group breaks up and succeeding is the exception, not the rule.
We live in a wild, woolly time of cacophony, where the greats are at our fingertips for the same price as the dreck. And to be able to hear everything ever recorded is a boon to the listener, albeit overwhelming. As a result, there's a shifting revenue picture. It used to be those who jumped through the hoops made money and those who didn't didn't. But now that everybody can play, the revenue is tilting towards the winners.
And everybody can't be a winner.
But tech is inert. Software and devices are tools. They need juice to run on. Art can harness the tools and succeed in ways previously unknown. Could PSY's "Gangnam Style" have made it in the old era? OF COURSE NOT! Could you watch concerts 24/7 online for free? OF COURSE NOT! Could you have a world class studio in your home? OF COURSE NOT!
We've got all the time in the world for great art.
And creating greatness takes a long time, to get to that level and reach people. But the audience is always ready, the techies have provided the pipe, there's plenty of money and that's a GOOD THING!
Never forget it.
Ari Shavit - "My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel": http://amzn.to/1bqprEg
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