Big Doesn't Necessarily Mean Bad

Or nothing is forever...

People have been e-mailing me this twenty minute anti-Vail YouTube video. Yeah! Let's beat up on Vail! And while we're at it, let's beat up on Spotify! And Ticketmaster is why concert prices are so high!

I'd say I sound like a Republican, but now the Republicans want to go back to the past just like these wanker Democrats.

As for antitrust policy...

Have you used Google recently? Used to be you'd scroll down the page for an answer. Now AI generates one right up top and there's no scrolling involved. And it's getting damn good.

And all those musicians who are starving, can't we take care of them?

I mean Trump is right when he talks about common sense.

Skiing has never been cheaper.

WHAT????

That's a fact. Equipment has not risen proportionately with inflation. Meanwhile, you can get a season pass for a multitude of ski areas for a grand.

BUT YOU'RE PUTTING THE LITTLE GUY OUT OF BUSINESS!

No, students of the game will know those areas were failing and closing long before the Epic and IKON passes. Why? BECAUSE PEOPLE WANTED TO GO TO THE BIG RESORTS!

Where they complain about lines and then when you try to build a new lift they want to preserve the old days. Park City protested a new lift and Vail ended up moving it to Whistler. It was already built, ready to install...but Vail is the big bad wolf.

Is Vail perfect?

I've got complaints since Rob Katz handed over the CEO job to Kirsten Lynch, but...

Vail has invested heavily in lift infrastructure...

BUT THE DAILY LIFT TICKET!

Well, right now you can buy an Epic daily lift ticket for under a hundred bucks, as low as fifty in some instances. Sure, you have to buy it in advance (it's not tied to a single day), but you have to buy concert tickets in advance...

BUT REAL ESTATE, THEY'RE SQUEEZING OUT THE LITTLE PEOPLE!

This is a problem, but it's not Vail's fault. As a matter of fact, Vail is the first ski conglomerate that is not real-estate based. You've got the same problem with Manhattan. Those with money buying up real estate. Address income inequality, don't blame it on the wrong entity.

But that's America today. Misinformation.

And everybody's an expert. But the truth is there are people who've been in the trenches forever who know the truth and they've stopped fighting the falsehoods.

Do you think Ticketmaster gets anxious with all this blowback? They know they're taking the heat for the acts and they are the best at selling the most tickets simultaneously. And I doubt the antitrust suit is going to continue under Trump.

That's what happens. The public is so out of touch that the targets of their hatred detach, they stop listening.

You want change?

Try to level the economic playing field of America.

Let's lower concert ticket prices! Leave all that cash to the secondary market! Or tie the ticket to the buyer who hates this, who wants flexibility/the ability to resell.

And Spotify! How dare you rescue the recording industry! All this b.s. about vinyl, it's streaming that's keeping the business alive and healthy, that caused a rebound.

I got streamed and I made a pittance! Isn't that terrible?

Well, it's just like the high daily prices of a lift ticket. You couldn't plan in advance at all (very few people pay the daily rate, you can even buy online in advance during the season and get a discount)? You can't make music people want to hear? This is kind of like Lake Wobegon..."where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."

Speaking of which, "A Prairie Home Companion" couldn't survive without Garrison Keillor. They had to change the name and ultimately it got canceled. Shouldn't Chris Thile be entitled to the same audience and the same compensation?

This is the fallacious logic that has you demanding pay for artists whose music is not listened to.

Once again, there are real problems in America. But when you pick the wrong target you ensure that nothing changes, because those with the ability to foment change ignore you.

And change keeps happening. We thought Google search was forever...but now it doesn't look that way. And if I want information on products I go to Amazon or the Wirecutter... Meanwhile, "Consumer Reports" is publishing less frequently, it's fading.

But no one can re-evaluate their beliefs. They feel one way. They want to be a member of the group, not the dreaded outlier.

But not me.


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