Mailbag

From: Peter Buffett
Subject: Re: The Defiant Ones-Episode Four

"You can't as a businessman"

Don't forget my dad! Bono once came to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting to see "how two guys over 80 could hold an audience of 40,000 for six hours without a light show"

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From: Marty Winsch
Subject: Re: Kid Rock For Senate

This reminds me of the madness over the Chick-fil-a same sex marriage hub hub back in June of 2012. The more the left hammered, the longer the lines got at local CFAs thanks to the right coming out to counter support. We were on our way to the South Carolina coast for vacation, decided to stop for lunch and couldn't believe the swarm of people descending on the CFA off the exit! I remember sitting in my car striking up a conversation with an older gentleman from PA about all the commotion. He said he'd never even heard about CFA until everything in the news. So, be conservative, they decided to show their support by eating there...no matter how long it look.

Think about how golden the silence would be worth to the left both with respect to Rock & Fil-A. Before all this technology, used to be about standing up and being counted, heard, physically. Now, it feels like in some cases, being heard requires being disciplined enough to be quiet via certain mediums.

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From: Sepp Donahower
Subject: Re: Travis Kalanick

the company will crumble now….look at american apparel and dov charney….who i know well…he came to LA sleeping on friends couches and selling fashon t shirt blanks when there were none has a dream and built an empire providing thousands of jobs…the board and private equity partners drove him out just like travis….and the company crumbled and is gone.

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From: Ryan Booth
Subject: Re: RapCaviar

I'm a filmmaker and have recently been making some of those videos for RapCaviar. Not massive budget and getting the artists to give you time is complex, but there isn't anything I make that gets more views than the RapCaviar videos. We shot Young M.A. going to hang with a youth football team in Brownsville. She played on the boys team growing up and she went specifically to hang out with a young girl who is playing on the boys team. They sat and talked for a few minutes. Took a ton to make it happen. But I really think it's a moment that girl will never forget. Massively successful artist showing her a photo of playing on the boys team as a little girl. Just like her. M.A. said, "what happens after the game...when you're shaking hands and you take your helmet off..." The little girl finished her sentence, "whoa, it's a girl?!" M.A. lit up and started laughing. "That same thing happened to me."

It was a moment.

And they're trying to facilitate those moments a couple of times a week, in the middle of that massive playlist. Pretty interesting.

Cheers.

r

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From: Ken Kragen
Subject: I've Had The Time Of My Life

Bob: I'm older than you so I was already managing musical artists by the time "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" came out and I loved it. For one of the few times in my life I ran after an act. I pitched Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but they didn't sign with me. Years later Bill became a client. What a wonderful human being. He and another former client of mine, Jennifer Warren had a huge hit with "I've Had The Time Of My Life." You were just too young to appreciate how special the Righteous Brothers were at the time.

By the way congratulations on the terrific piece in Sunday's LA Times. Loved seeing you get that kind of coverage.

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From: Walter Sabo
Subject: Re: Manufacturing Authenticity

The culture for innovation.
You are correct and it has always been so. Nothing that exists can easily embrace new or change.
That's because it exists because of what already is.

When I started at NBC as the person in charge of their FM stations, I spent most of my time with "corporate" convincing them of the viability of the FM Band. This was the company, RCA, that funded and housed the invention of FM. But, shocking, I wanted to scrap the automation, build physical plants and hire 200 people to make it work. And I did. But that only happened when the CEO cut off the bureacrats and said, "Let Walter do what he wants." It was an order to innovate, not a logical path. We launched two new formats: AC, which I was ASSURED would never work on FM, and Urban at WKYS.

When I launched the first FM talk station aimed at people under 50, New Jersey 101.5 and again at KLSX LA and WTKS Orlando I was assured it would never work. "FM is for music." This year NJ 101.5 will be 27, and grosses more than any Philly station. The local management of all those stations thought it was a bad idea. A CEO had to cut them off and declare the innovation. Those are real innovations that now seem the norm, but they were not. They were incredibly hard to get on the air and keep on the air long enough to realize success. If I had had a mortgage and kids I probably would not have hung out there that far for that long. Never one kind word about being innovative from anyone. Except the owners.

At Sirius, when I got there Pre-launch, my biggest challenge was compelling new ingredients between the songs. No, I never used music research. Never monitored adds and deletes. I really didn't pay much attention to the music because I knew our opportunity was in a different place: What I tried very hard to get on the air was a fresh approach to what the talent says. If you hate a song, say it. If you know a lot about a song share it. No clocks, rules about how long they could talk or what to say---just say something! My favorite break ever was HUMAN NEWMAN on HITS ONE snoring through the entire break. I challenged the talent to scare me.

Howard Stern--nope they didn't want THAT! But I made the first call to recruit him with the blessing of the majority shareholder, not the blessings of the programmers.. Quite the opposite.

And when I arrived all the non-music channels were just airing the audio feeds from cable channels---I got rid of all of them for quite awhile. I said we are going to make original, dangerous, different uncensored talk. The first one I put on was OutQ. It doesn't all work--but I TRY STUFF every day. I am too proud to copy. I've never gone around the country handing out photocopies of a format. I bake from scratch. My work is often messy, never duplicable.

People get confused. I don't drink, have never seen cocaine, don't know any indies and I wear Brooks Brothers. I wear Brooks Brothers because that's my bodytype! and it gets me in the room with the CEO's who will then give me permission to trash the place and let a new crop grow. If you want the music industry to change, and it must, it's not going to happen with the staff or A&R people. It's going to happen when crazed, impatient CEOS (the Yetnikoffs) say "do it." I've NEVER had a staffer say, hey we want to do something different. It always comes from the owner/CEO. The ones who seem most conservative, rarely are.

Top 40 was created by two OWNERS. Desperate owners!

I do a talk show on WPHT Philadelphia every week and hopefully I can talk to you on it soon! Your work is outstanding. Walter

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Subject: Re: Forgiveness

Bob,

There's a family story that my great grandfather stole a firetruck as a young boy and drove it around town. He went on to be an OBGYN delivered hundreds, maybe thousands of kids.

Can you imagine if a kid stole a firetruck today? DHS would be called. He might go to jail. I doubt he'd get into medical school.

Different times, and I know we have to be more careful these days, but we should also lighten up.

Jack Pratt

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From: Beau Willimon
Subject: Re: Beau Willimon Responds

Thanks for sharing these replies, Bob, and for posting my response. The support the Public has been getting has been strong and inspiring, due in no small part to folks such as yourself getting the word out and bringing it into the collective conversation. These are the sort of conversations that we've been having for centuries - what is art? what is its role? who does it serve? And I'm encouraged that this ongoing debate is still alive and well in America (for now!).
B

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Re: The Classic-Day One

Bob,

I just finished reading this out loud, and my wife and I have great, big lumps in our throats. By the time I got to the end of the piece, I could barely
continue speaking. That's how well you captured the concert, the moment and all of our lives. Thanks for the second or third great essay this week.
I only wish I could have been there. And you're absolutely right......It's ALL about the songs.

Best always,

Eric Carmen

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From: Willem Van Maele
Subject: Re: TheFatRat

I'm only 24 and work in the music industry, but I've never heard the name 'TheFatRad' nor 'Animal Jam'. You made even me feel old. Damnit!

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Subject: Re: TheFatRat

Bob,
This one truly hits "home" today. As a musician (of decades ) and middle school music teacher, I had never heard of Thefatrat until the beginning of this past school year when a student shared them as his favorite group. The class searched him on YouTube using our smart board and I couldn't believe the number of views on top of the fact that I had never heard of the group before. "Unity" has a perfect melody for students to remember and I now use that song to teach my 6th and 7th graders about songwriting/composing, the music industry; as we do the "math" on the monetary value of "views" and advertising and yes, beat-making.

Thanks for your words Bob.

Seth

www.picklepieproductions.com
www.facebook.com/sethandthemoodymelix

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From: Claire Cameron
Subject: Re: TheFatRat

I have an eight year old in the room and decided I'd test The Fat Rat without any introduction. I hit the first link to hilarious results. His eyes started to spin, he chucked aside the xbox controller, and started dancing like a maniac -- only Jennifer Beals has hit the floor harder. What?!

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From: Joshua Freni
Subject: Re: TheFatRat

My 11 year old son fell in love with Marshmello after seeing him on one of his favorite YouTube channels, WHAT'S INSIDE (4.7mil subscribers). Now that Marshmello remixed Future's "Mask Off", I have an 11 year old walking around the house chanting "Percocets, molly, percocets, rep the set, gotta rep the set".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQozKx5dLr4&t=282s&utm_source=phplist5937&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Mailbag

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From: Joshua Malinsky
Subject: Re: TheFatRat

Crazy right?

I have a 9-year-old son with a true gift for music. He found TheFatRat
through his favourite video game as well and using my Spotify account.
And of course, once you like a few things on Spotify, a whole path of
music opens up via it's suggestions. I used to worry about how my kids
would discover music beyond pop radio, without a physical library of
music in the house to explore (ie: CDs, which have long since left my
home). It turns out Spotify is doing a better job than I could have
hoped for in terms of giving kids access to non-pop-radio music in the
genres he likes already.

He now plays TheFatRat constantly on piano to the delight of other kids,
and we all have fun making up goofy lyrics to go along.

Until this email I was pretty sure I was living this existence in isolation!

Best
Joshua

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From: Patrick Charles
Subject: Re: TheFatRat

Bob;
My son knows TheFatRat from playing Geometry Dash on the iPad, he's 7.
I used to work in radio so I never play radio in the car. He's only ever heard the music I stream, so his favourites up to now were The Beatles, Weezer, Ben Folds, Weird Al.
Since he's started playing Geometry Dash and finding the videos and music on YouTube, I've had to make him a GeometryJamz playlist for the drive to camp. He now says his favourite music is EDM!

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Subject: RE: TheFatRat

Hi Bob, so smart to talk to kids about music. All music execs should sit w 10-17 year olds STAT!. The parents will buy them everything they ask for. My kids are 10 and 15. For the past two years they have found all (100%) of their music on youtube and word of mouth of their school friends. They discover bands and songs through either the video game posted on YouTube or the youtube star or an ad. On YT my 15 yr old son discovered Twenty One Pilots , his obssession, and then...Hot Topic clothing store takes it from there. They are in every mall. If he likes a band -they have the tshirt, then you see all of the other band tshirts displayed on their walls and the names get branded in your mind. Then if you Google the random band you saw on the tshirt wall of HT, Google sends you spam of all of the related bands. That is how they suck the kids in. I've witnessed it first hand. The kids discover the music online and the merch pushes it to the next level and there starts the domino effect. I came from a film music background at MCA records and music supervisor at MTV. Both of those brands do not exist to my kids. My 10 yr. old daughter watches you tube stars- now it's all about Jake Paul and his new single...she begs for his tshirt..

Bottom line. It's youtube, HT, and Spotify gifts cards they want. Trust me execs need to know this or get out.

Kris Long

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TheFatRat @ThisIsTheFatRat

@Lefsetz thanks so much for your letter. And say hello to Luke and Annabelle

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Subject: Festivals

Hi Bob —

My partner, Sean, and I started Wanderlust 8 years ago, a wellness festival focused on yoga, organic food, inspirational lectures, outdoor activities and wine and music at night. Now we've got 70 of them running in 16 countries. They are not behemoths like Coachella. We'll four-wall big ski resorts in the summer like Squaw Valley and do 3,000 - 4,000 people per day for 4 days. It's a premium experience where everyone is a VIP. People can sweat, think, dance and be merry and stay in a ski condo and get a shower.

For us, it was always about creating intentional community, a experience where people could gather around shared beliefs and practices. We tap into these bubbling little wellness communities everywhere we go. I can't believe 2,500 people come out in Santiago, Chile to do yoga with a DJ, but they do.

We found our little corner of the universe. We don't need headliners. People are just coming for the experience and to be with their community. Right now, there are so many different niche experiences that pull people together that share a common passion — be it food & wine, mountain biking, surfing or God.

It's not that different than recorded music. It used to be that plenty of bands went platinum. It's not that less music is being consumed or made. It's just a mile wide and an inch deep. You can make a record in your bedroom and anyone that shares your esoteric passion can find it. There is a downside to this fragmentation. Because recorded music doesn't generate revenues like it once did, we've lost the ability to do big things - like record orchestras or big horn sections or even real drums.

Similarly, the era of the big festival may be waning (the blue chips notwithstanding). It may become more difficult to launch huge productions and pay the big headliners seven figures. A new era of creative, scrappy experience-focused promoters will need to figure out how to make smaller niche events work financially.

Best -

Jeff Krasno
Co-Founder, Wanderlust

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Subject: Re: Peak Festival

Hi Bob,

Thanks for this. I've been following you for many years, however, this will be my first ever 'reply' back..

I work in the festival industry, where I began as a free-lancer, traveling the country working some of the largest-festivals in North America (Bonnaroo, Coachella, Jazzfest... even Pemberton). As somebody in their 20's - it was a dream come true, the best job you could ask for. You felt like a rock-star, being out on-the-road and meeting cool people and experiencing cool shit along the way, I have some of the best experiences and memories from those days.

I then went on to work for CID Entertainment, leaders in 'VIP' packaging and crafters of 'boutique' experiences for many of these festivals. It was an interesting time in the festival space, where people were demanding more and more amenities - VIP lounges, Super VIP lounges, catered food, air-conditioned bathrooms -- essentially, trying to build a Ritz Carlton at a festival venue in the middle of nowhere, and making sure those folks dishing out thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars, got their moneys worth. It was no longer about just providing 'comforts', but about excess luxury. Despite all of the critics (then and now) who talk about how VIP has ruined these events, I never really saw the downside to it, or saw it as a 'exclusivity' thing, but more about how certain people (typically older) don't want to schlep in the mud, pitch a tent, wait in long porta potty lines, etc. - who does? They want certain comforts that will still allow them to enjoy their experience, check out the bands they like, eat well, drink well, and sleep well, and...they have the money to do it, so why not? They're happy, and the college kids camping in the mud with their best friends, wandering around on psychedelics and eating heady grilled cheeses are happy too, so it all works.

I couldn't agree with you more about how we don't need any more festivals. I've already started to become jaded towards festivals and they've slowly been losing the same magic and excitement that they once had (of course, the High Sierras, Lockns and other special few have managed to retain it), but overall... its over. I think the new shift will be towards 'travel' or 'destination' festivals. Travel is extremely important to my generation (yes, we may desire Instagram pics, but it's also Instagram that helped sparked our wanderlust). Travel is also an industry that is growing rapidly, across all ages. I truly think that people are beginning to crave 'experiences' over stuff - which is a good thing, and I am all for it. Many of my friends who used to travel to 5-10 festivals in a summer are now saving their money, and splurging on a 1 or 2 'destination' festivals, where they get so much more out of the experiences, instead of seeing a favorite band a knocking one thing off of their bucket list, they get to knock of 3 or 4 things off. I know work for a company called Everfest - a platform for discovering 'festivals' from all around the world, and we get an amazing amount of traffic, because people want to learn about what's out there.

There is a festival in Iceland called Secret Solstice, and there entire marketing strategy was to push an 'exotic destination' that just so HAPPENED to be having a festival. The festival was secondary, but they were able to entice young people to come out to the event through images and highlighting the beautiful landscape of Iceland and incorporating that beauty into their events (performances and parties were held on glaciers, in caves, etc). I think its genius, and its where I see the 'festival' industry heading.

I love your articles and insights, thanks so much for always providing unique perspectives on the entertainment industry.

Andrew Goodwin

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From: Jason Flom
Subject: Why Rock Died

Bob-??As someone who grew up watching and worshipping (and then working with) many of the greatest rock bands and rock stars of all time (I even lost my virginity at a YES concert at Madison Square Garden!) this is a subject to which I have devoted a great deal of thought. My thesis is that the 60s and 70s were basically a period of counterculture renaissance and from this era emerged not only the most important music since probably Beethoven but also some of the greatest pop art and film of all time (Warhol, Picasso, The Godfather, etc.). And it wasn't just the music that reigned, it was the magical, mystical, iconic and sometimes even dangerous characters who were making it. Back then it mattered, a lot, who each band member was and whether or not each or all of them contributed to the writing/creative process: the artwork mattered, the liner notes mattered, fuck…..everything mattered! And when Led Zeppelin came to town you knew some left field kinda shit was going to go down. Back then I could (and did) go see a true genius live onstage at MSG at least once a week-if it wasn't the Beatles or the Stones it was Queen or Sly and the Family Stone (who, btw was the definition of a rock star) or Pink Floyd or The Who or Elton John or Aerosmith or Bob Dylan or Stevie Wonder or Alice Cooper-the list goes on and on!??

My theory is that musical trends are dictated by shifts in musical creativity-the artists making the best music always win and the trends follow them which explains why disco had it's heyday and then there was grunge and ultimately hip hop took over-it's because each of those genres was the best music of it's time! And while perhaps the last true genius to emerge in rock was Jack White there have been some amazing records and artists-Kid Rock's talent must be recognized. But there is no doubt that there is now and there will always be incredible new music being made and I would argue that today we have genius in the form of Drake, Jay-Z, Kendrick and many other rappers who not only create music that will stand the test of time but who also take principled stands on issues that matter-just as the rock legends of the past did!

??I am committed to helping bring back the ethos of rock and the sound of guitars so here's my pitch: I recently founded the Church of Rock and Roll which is a life style brand devoted to the values I believe in: the first "commandment" is "Be kind to yourself, to other people, to animals and the earth" and it kind of flows from there but in a nutshell it stands for personal freedom and social consciousness. It's my way of connecting people of good will around a shared theme of positivity, togetherness and activism and all are welcome to join-we welcome all!

And the other very exciting news is that we just released the debut record from a band called Greta Van Fleet that I believe is going to awaken this generation to the sounds and the vibes that we all loved so much and that made us want to be a part of this industry that I love.

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Subject: Re: Re-Mike Caren/Why Rock Died

Bob

After reading all the responses to when Rock died, I immediately called my 26 year old millennial self appointed music expert daughter Elisa. I asked her when Rock died. Sounding bored and indifferent she replied. "It started to die years ago when you and mom started to borrow my CD"s. It died when I bumped into my parents on the dance floor at a concert at the Beachland". Just now before she hung up the phone I could hear Link Wray playing in the background.

Terry

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From: Harry/thablackparade
Subject: Re: Re-Mike Caren/Why Rock Died

And you wonder why the younger generation has no interest in rock. I've lost count of the number of posts complaining that the younger generations don't put in the work and everything is fixed. First off, who the fuck are the ones actually signing and funding artists of this decade? It sure as hell isn't millennials. If you have a problem with poorly written, auto-tuned, robotic music - then STOP SIGNING AND PROMOTING IT!

Seriously. At what point will boomers realize that millennials hate their guts? That millennials hate the major labels and have no interest in paying for music because 1. most of them don't have any money and 2. the majors keep putting out crap. Sure, those just looking to 'fit in' will ride the latest fad and listen to the mindless drivel pushed on radio and now Spotify. Maybe some of them even like it. Maybe it serves a purpose - they can get high to it, fuck to it, drive to it.

Define rock in 2017. Define punk in 2017. Define DIY, alternative, electronic, EDM. Is it an attitude? A look? A sound?

Stop looking for the next big thing - the next era - because it's not going to happen. Things move too quickly and music is no longer separated geographically, so music doesn't sound markedly different from region to region, at least in the U.S. It has become an amalgamation and I doubt you'll see enough of a collective shift like that of the 5-10 year waves of the 20th century.

Billy Corgan put it best, to paraphrase, explaining that he used to study a specific subject, style, or technique very deeply, whereas he believes millennials are much more likely to skim a variety of topics or ideas and take what they want, kind of like browsing images on Instagram. As a millennial and a multi-instrumentalist, I don't necessarily disagree. It's unlikely I would spend a year focusing on one technique or style - not because I'm not interested enough in it or don't want to understand it - but because it shouldn't take that long.

You have to understand, we grew up with unlimited access to different types of music. Whereas the boomers were limited to records at home, the radio, and live performances, we've be listening to music constantly through our childhood, teen years, and now, twenties. iPods (and then iPhones) on throughout the school day, and then home to music on laptops, TVs, cars, etc.

So for the millennials who became musicians, if they are genuine fans of music, then they've been exposed to way more music than boomers were at the same age. I can tell you, as an artist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, engineer, whatever - it has been invaluable. It's made me a better musician and a better songwriter and has allowed me to develop as an artist. God knows no one else was going to.

Those who talk about producers. I can't speak for the major label artists, but for the rest of us, it was never a choice. I do everything myself. Why? Because it was either do it yourself or don't bother. Don't you think bands would love to work with Flood, Eno, Lillywhite, Vig, etc. etc. etc.? Of course! But who the fuck is going to pay for that? Labels don't want to develop acts and no one wants to do jack shit until you've developed yourself and are making $$$. It's no wonder artists like Chance and Frank Ocean are giving the industry the finger. The fuck do we owe you? And by the way, good luck trying to use Pro Tools and making a record on your own in a basement with a $100 microphone, motherfuckers. Go on, if you think it's so easy.

What you call the "music industry" is a facade, as Bob has pointed out time and time again. A facade created by you - the boomers - to extend your profits and squeeze whatever else is left out of the catalogue you stole from artists for over half a century. There will always be shitty pop music, just as there will always be sheep who will gladly buy it. The older millennials have turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment in that a fair amount are actually buying into this crap, but perhaps the younger ones will realize what's up.

So the joke is on all of you. We hate you and don't care what you have to say. Fuck your 'rock n' roll' and fuck your 'get off my lawn' mentality. We're not paying for your shit.

Get back to your day job of fucking up the planet why don't ya.

Sincerely,

Every Millennial Ever

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Subject: Re: Re-Paul Anka

Bob,

Following up on my friend Mike Clink's post, I engineered Paul's vocals for a project over the course of a few days in the late 1980's. Over the course of these days, just in general chitchat, he inquired about my life and family. One of the things I mentioned was that I had a daughter just about to start kindergarten. On the last day of our work, as Paul was preparing to leave, I felt a hand go into my pocket from behind. I turned around to see Paul, who had just put a $100 bill into my pocket. I was touched by his gesture and explained that it was neither customary nor necessary to tip the engineer. His response was, "I want you to buy something nice for that daughter of yours". He went on to say that if my wife and I ever came to Vegas, he would have his team set us up with a room at The Golden Nugget, where Paul was performing (as I recall). I've never forgotten his gesture and have remained touched by it over these last many years. I am honored to have worked with him.

John Van Nest

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From: Kevin Shipman
Subject: Re: Re-Paul Anka

I was a friend of both Line Renaud and Lulu Gaste (her composer husband) and I sang with Line at the Casino de Paris in 1966 and '67. Lulu would love to have written the song but the actual composers were Claude Francois and Jacques Reveaux. Paul wrote the english language version of the lyrics.

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From: Richard J. Moylan
Subject: Re: Re-Paul Anka

My Way - Yes. New York, New York - No. That was Kander & Ebb.

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Subject: Re: Re-Stop Selling Files And CDs

Re: Software Subscriptions

As the head of a software development company I want to bring up that while a user may not see the value of the new features and upgrades, the operating systems (OS X and Windows) require constant updates for security and compatibility with the world. These update requirements are pushed to MS and Adobe (and others) and so without a steady income stream, software dies on the vine or becomes so filled with security holes that it is a security risk to all who use it. The "good old days" of running an app for years without update have been killed by the pace of innovation (that we ourselves demand) across the board, as well as bad actors who are constantly exploiting security weaknesses.

Not necessarily defending, just offering that it's not completely arbitrary. Grievous Angel is as good as the day it was released, Photoshop needs constant work.

Bryson Jones

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From: Dan Millen
Subject: RE: Software subscriptions

People complaining about office is crazy. Outlook desktop has always run my life and Microsoft is constantly improving it, especially the windows version.

I subscribe to MS office family plan, which also you five total users of the entire office suite for $9.99 a month mac AND windows. Each account gets a terabyte of document storage in OneDrive though I don't use that I probably should. So two of my employees are on it, myself and my lady. Well worth it for me. I almost quit gmail except their outlook mail has storage limits even though they advertise "unlimited storage with paid account" and when I was using it a lot of emails bounced. Sucks because outlook.com email, calendar, contacts and tasks are fully syncable with desktop outlook and their interfaces are so much more user friendly and uncluttered than gmails. Microsoft while late to the game clearly put a lot of thought into the office 365 product. Their email product still needs work but it'll come around.

I pay $1.99 a month to google for a terabyte of email and google drive storage which I'm incredibly far away from filling up, but I'm sure a few years from now I'll need to add more...

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Re: We Don't Care

it may be niche, but i don't give a fuck. The new Styx album "the Mission" is the freshest sounding thing I have heard in years. Concept album, progressive, full of great playing and singing, AND filled with hooks and catchy and deep as hell. Getting some pretty great reviews too. I spend a lot of money every year on music still Bob (yes, cd's and dvd's) and it is all on bands both new and old that can still actually play and sing. You need your eyes and ears opened and need to go to some of the big European music festivals and see what is actually popular over there besides pop and hip hop. Big and growing traditional hard rock and progressive rock movement.

David Resch

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Thanks Bob
We're getting the best reviews perhaps ever. Seriously, you remember some of Hilburn's classic zingers back in the day. None of those (of course Rolling Stone has not chimed in yet so there's always that). Hope you'll get the LP and give it a spin. Or listen on line just don't shuffle!
I have to tell ya, it feels pretty damn good. We are playing two songs from The Mission on our current tour and getting a great reaction.
We're loving it all, and will follow wherever it leads.
Thanks again for passing on the cool review

Tommy Shaw

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Subject: Thoughts On Haim/Music Management Today

Hi Bob,

I've found Haim's career choices to be perplexing, at times very circumspect from themselves if that's possible. For example take all the hype leading up to the release of "Days Are Gone; the Forever" EP (Falling and Don't Save Me were great too) brought a lot of attention, I happened to really dig the sound and so did many in the business. But man, when they dropped the full length I was disappointed, it felt anemic and full of time spent "reading" about how to make a great album and what goes into one as opposed to actually doing it, in short it was disconnected from itself. The main producer Ariel Rechtshaid has arguably has done some really great work (Carly Rea Jepsen's album, etc..), his indie cred and the buzz from the fans wasn't enough for an earnest production of work, the album had all the right pieces and still missed the mark.

Taking a broader scope in today's music business needs
Artistic talent (you've touched on this very well)?
Great producers/collaborators, this is especially true in Pop/Indie/Electronic realms
The Music Manager is the missing piece and often undervalued/appreciated ?

As we move forward talent and the right people/pieces will maintain their importance, we currently live in the era of the Producer who have an enigmatic impact on the sound/tonality/success of the final product. Pull any top 100 list today in popular music and 90% really owe success to the sound often crafted by someone other that the artist. However going forward the Manger will play an ever important part in the success of an act. Most personnel involved in making a record only think about themselves, what they are trying to do, and the part they play; but to have someone ideally low key taking all into consideration, how they play off of each other, and what the endgame is in the moment and down the road will be ever more crucial. As you know this is vastly different from A&R.

At the end of the day I want a great album built from expansion not by filling in, start small and start from the heart, not from how you want the audience member to look at you. What you want in others must first be exuded from yourself, communication, a sense of humility (tough in this business), and an unwavering compass with a smile set from determination. This is where management today should start and reaffirm itself.

I digress back to my first paragraph. Haim has a new album coming out and I can only approach it with trepidation because I feel like they haven't learned from prior experience and it misses the mark. Listening to the three pre-release songs I found myself distracted by what could be some good songwriting, it just felt wrong. Here's an analogy, it's like some scruffy kids from Pittsburgh move to LA and instead of saying "Hey LA, let me tell you about Pittsburgh" they are saying "Hey LA, what sound will you be most receptive to?"
Yeah pretty negative on Haim, and I really don't mean to be, it's just the truth. They just don't seem to have anyone tying their own pieces together and it shows.

John

________________________________________

Subject: Re: Kid Rock For Senate

I went to Rock's show last year... I was dragged by my ex wife. He's a twat! Have you gone to one of his abysmal shows?!

Hear me out, everything you say above regarding the business being a game is spot on. Because that's exactly the hand he showed in full force!

Remember his $20 dollar per ticket jive? That's what we paid. But lest anyone think that douche took a hit for them they're as dumb as... well, as dumb as a Kid Rock fan!

He played that godforsaken Born Free song and it broke into a 4 minute add for Chevy. It was sponsored out the ass. His biggest (and heaviest) hits were consolidated into a goddamn medley like he was Kenny Rodgers, only 30 years younger (maybe more).

He may sell cheap to fill the seats (while dragging along Foreigner for good measure) but he was paid!

His moronic fan base not realize they got a show with an enormous coast to coast add campaign for Chevy. But anyone there with a brain knew full well how he covered his cost!

I agree with everything you said above about Dems taking the bait; sort of like every Trump tweet. But for crying out loud, don't pay his back! He's in it for the money. Like every other Rock asshole is anymore. He got paid! Trust me! It might not have come totally from the fans but it certainly was covered by his coast to coast commercial for Chevy that ran at every show and on TV ALL YEAR LONG!

This is why I dumped the stupid ass I was married to! She wasn't bright enough to recognize ANY of this sham, has-been asshole's scam!

Eric

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