Tune in Saturday August 2nd to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Friday, 1 August 2025
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Dennis McNally-This Week's Podcast
Long time publicist for the Grateful Dead Dennis McNally has a new book "The Last Great Dream: How Bohemians Became Hippies and Created the Sixties." We talk about San Francisco, the Dead and more!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dennis-mcnally/id1316200737?i=1000720007210
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TpfNsny3gsMVdXIW33vcj?si=lViWxdeLRyuuW97ytUu5Ew
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/dennis-mcnally-288181900/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/6bdf3584-e777-415b-99e7-cdd632db2016/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dennis-mcnally
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dennis-mcnally/id1316200737?i=1000720007210
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TpfNsny3gsMVdXIW33vcj?si=lViWxdeLRyuuW97ytUu5Ew
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/dennis-mcnally-288181900/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/6bdf3584-e777-415b-99e7-cdd632db2016/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dennis-mcnally
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What Is The Truth?
This article positively blew my mind, stopped me in my tracks, caused me to exclaim. I'm writing about it from a news analysis point of view. Something we should all be capable of, but too many refuse to do...that's gathering all the information one can and then trying to divine the truth. It's very easy to find information that aligns with your preexisting beliefs, but to investigate and read that which is contrary to them? That is rare.
I get three physical newspapers a day. At this late date, there's less and less that I haven't previously read online. But the physical layout heightens stories that are lost and overlooked in the apps. So...
I guess this is just a long intro to keep you paying attention. Because when I get to the meat of the topic your preexisting beliefs might make you stop reading and move on, after being pissed off.
Now I get right wing blowback to anything I write that references Trump or anything political. And the vast majority is uninformed. Or is a direct quote from right wing news outlets. Fox has been doubling-down on what is described as a riot in Cincinnati and my inbox is full of Trumpers wondering why I don't write about it, why it isn't covered in other mainstream news outlets. What is scary here is not whatever happened in the Ohio city, but the power of one outlet to create an agenda and infect its acolytes with it.
The other big right wing trope/blowback this week has been about the photo of the starving child in Gaza in the "New York Times." I won't say it's equivalent to the nude napalm photo from Vietnam, but it is something that you see once and cannot forget.
But it turns out that the child has cerebral palsy.
Now my response to said right wing naysayers was that the "Times" corrected its mistake, which too often those on the right refuse to do. Hell, Fox News refused to apologize re election falsehoods and got sued.
I know, I know, a correction never reaches the number of readers the first story reached, but...
But, but, BUT!
There is a piece in today's "Wall Street Journal" that as I said above positively blew my mind.
Okay, this is about Israel, the most hated nation in the world. You probably have your own opinion on the country and the Gaza conflict. I certainly do. I know that the goal of the Palestinians is to eradicate Israel entirely. I know that every time the Palestinians have been offered their own state they've refused. But I too was affected by the photo of the starving child in Gaza. It was just TOO MUCH!
But now read this:
"Gaza Starvation Photos Tell a Thousand Lies - Hamas propaganda exploits seriously ill children, and Western media go along."
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/gaza-starvation-photos-tell-a-thousand-lies-palestine-israel-aid-1d689cc8?st=2p5WFe&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Now this writer, Eitan Fischbveger, was embedded with the IDF over the weekend. He covers the photo controversy. But here's the nougat:
"...I stood surrounded by nearly 600 trucks worth of food, water and diapers, all ready to be delivered. The U.N. refused to do the job, saying it couldn't operate safely with Israeli protection. Instead it asked that security be provided by the 'Gaza Blue Police'—a euphemism for Hamas's internal security forces. This is the same group the U.N. has repeatedly accused of stealing aid, including in October 2023, only weeks after the Hamas-led massacre."
"In addition to rejecting IDF protection, the U.N. has declined to cooperate with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, despite its backing by the U.S. The result is that food meant for children like Mohammed is left to rot. Put simply, the U.N. would rather work with Hamas than the Israelis or the Americans."
Wow! Let me reinforce that Eitan Fischberger was actually there, he saw this with his own eyes.
Meanwhile, on this very same day, the Editorial Board of the "New York Times" goes on record saying "Gaza's Hunger Is a Moral Crisis."
Who you gonna believe, the Editorial Board or the guy who was actually there?
Sure, the Israelis shot Palestinians running for food. This is abhorrent to me and seemingly everybody I know. But there appears to be more to the story.
And now the "Times" has driven countries from France to Canada to recognize a Palestinian state.
Hamas is a terrorist group. With a stranglehold on Gaza.
Netanyahu is a flawed character. Who is under criminal indictment. He's no picnic. And prior to this war the politics of Israel were abhorrent. Trying to neuter the Supreme Court...
But Hamas was the attacker, and Hamas refuses to return the hostages and end the war.
But the truth is antisemitism runs rampant. Sure, you can separate Israel and Jews, but most people conflate them. And unknown to many is that Palestinians have infiltrated American campuses with their propaganda intentionally, it was all part of a long term plan, akin to the right and the Federalist Society. Such that when this war began, many college students immediately took the side of the Palestinians.
Now for those who abhor mainstream media, I say the joke is on you. As I have stated numerous times, the difference between the three major news outlets, all newspapers, the "Times," the "Journal" and the WaPo, is that they actually report, whereas online it's almost exclusively opinion, even cable news is almost all opinion. You've got to start with the facts.
But the facts are usually ignored in a world that runs on emotion.
It's not only Gaza, this thinking is rampant in the music business too. Spotify is screwing artists...I heard all these indies complaining they're not making money, this must be true. Ticketmaster is ripping-off the customer, it gets all those fees, it's that company's fault! Both of these takes are categorically wrong, but you can't convince the public otherwise.
So what is the truth in Gaza?
I'm not exactly sure. But I do know I must read both the left and right wing papers of record, the "Times" and the "Journal," to try and divine the truth.
Hamas is legendary for lying. Inflating casualties. Never mind stealing aid to build tunnels that prevent this war from ending.
The Israelis are killing innocent people.
Then again, from the above article:
"Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has coordinated and facilitated the entry into Gaza of more than 1.86 million tons of humanitarian assistance, more than 78% of which has been food. The population of Gaza is about 2.1 million. The only comparable effort in modern history is the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, during which the Allies delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies to 2.5 million West Berliners over 15 months. Even then, the aid was going to an allied population. 'There is no historical precedent for a military providing the level of direct aid to an enemy population that Israel has provided to Gaza,' writes John Spencer of the Modern War Institute at West Point."
I'm trying to divine the truth. And it isn't easy to uncover. But it does require a constant finger on the pulse of legitimate news outlets.
Hopefully you're paying attention to all sides too. And are not stuck in your beliefs and can change if you find out your take was wrong.
Modern life is very complicated. And it's especially worse now that institutions have been neutered...from the media to government, who can you trust?
I'm not sure.
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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I get three physical newspapers a day. At this late date, there's less and less that I haven't previously read online. But the physical layout heightens stories that are lost and overlooked in the apps. So...
I guess this is just a long intro to keep you paying attention. Because when I get to the meat of the topic your preexisting beliefs might make you stop reading and move on, after being pissed off.
Now I get right wing blowback to anything I write that references Trump or anything political. And the vast majority is uninformed. Or is a direct quote from right wing news outlets. Fox has been doubling-down on what is described as a riot in Cincinnati and my inbox is full of Trumpers wondering why I don't write about it, why it isn't covered in other mainstream news outlets. What is scary here is not whatever happened in the Ohio city, but the power of one outlet to create an agenda and infect its acolytes with it.
The other big right wing trope/blowback this week has been about the photo of the starving child in Gaza in the "New York Times." I won't say it's equivalent to the nude napalm photo from Vietnam, but it is something that you see once and cannot forget.
But it turns out that the child has cerebral palsy.
Now my response to said right wing naysayers was that the "Times" corrected its mistake, which too often those on the right refuse to do. Hell, Fox News refused to apologize re election falsehoods and got sued.
I know, I know, a correction never reaches the number of readers the first story reached, but...
But, but, BUT!
There is a piece in today's "Wall Street Journal" that as I said above positively blew my mind.
Okay, this is about Israel, the most hated nation in the world. You probably have your own opinion on the country and the Gaza conflict. I certainly do. I know that the goal of the Palestinians is to eradicate Israel entirely. I know that every time the Palestinians have been offered their own state they've refused. But I too was affected by the photo of the starving child in Gaza. It was just TOO MUCH!
But now read this:
"Gaza Starvation Photos Tell a Thousand Lies - Hamas propaganda exploits seriously ill children, and Western media go along."
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/gaza-starvation-photos-tell-a-thousand-lies-palestine-israel-aid-1d689cc8?st=2p5WFe&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Now this writer, Eitan Fischbveger, was embedded with the IDF over the weekend. He covers the photo controversy. But here's the nougat:
"...I stood surrounded by nearly 600 trucks worth of food, water and diapers, all ready to be delivered. The U.N. refused to do the job, saying it couldn't operate safely with Israeli protection. Instead it asked that security be provided by the 'Gaza Blue Police'—a euphemism for Hamas's internal security forces. This is the same group the U.N. has repeatedly accused of stealing aid, including in October 2023, only weeks after the Hamas-led massacre."
"In addition to rejecting IDF protection, the U.N. has declined to cooperate with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, despite its backing by the U.S. The result is that food meant for children like Mohammed is left to rot. Put simply, the U.N. would rather work with Hamas than the Israelis or the Americans."
Wow! Let me reinforce that Eitan Fischberger was actually there, he saw this with his own eyes.
Meanwhile, on this very same day, the Editorial Board of the "New York Times" goes on record saying "Gaza's Hunger Is a Moral Crisis."
Who you gonna believe, the Editorial Board or the guy who was actually there?
Sure, the Israelis shot Palestinians running for food. This is abhorrent to me and seemingly everybody I know. But there appears to be more to the story.
And now the "Times" has driven countries from France to Canada to recognize a Palestinian state.
Hamas is a terrorist group. With a stranglehold on Gaza.
Netanyahu is a flawed character. Who is under criminal indictment. He's no picnic. And prior to this war the politics of Israel were abhorrent. Trying to neuter the Supreme Court...
But Hamas was the attacker, and Hamas refuses to return the hostages and end the war.
But the truth is antisemitism runs rampant. Sure, you can separate Israel and Jews, but most people conflate them. And unknown to many is that Palestinians have infiltrated American campuses with their propaganda intentionally, it was all part of a long term plan, akin to the right and the Federalist Society. Such that when this war began, many college students immediately took the side of the Palestinians.
Now for those who abhor mainstream media, I say the joke is on you. As I have stated numerous times, the difference between the three major news outlets, all newspapers, the "Times," the "Journal" and the WaPo, is that they actually report, whereas online it's almost exclusively opinion, even cable news is almost all opinion. You've got to start with the facts.
But the facts are usually ignored in a world that runs on emotion.
It's not only Gaza, this thinking is rampant in the music business too. Spotify is screwing artists...I heard all these indies complaining they're not making money, this must be true. Ticketmaster is ripping-off the customer, it gets all those fees, it's that company's fault! Both of these takes are categorically wrong, but you can't convince the public otherwise.
So what is the truth in Gaza?
I'm not exactly sure. But I do know I must read both the left and right wing papers of record, the "Times" and the "Journal," to try and divine the truth.
Hamas is legendary for lying. Inflating casualties. Never mind stealing aid to build tunnels that prevent this war from ending.
The Israelis are killing innocent people.
Then again, from the above article:
"Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has coordinated and facilitated the entry into Gaza of more than 1.86 million tons of humanitarian assistance, more than 78% of which has been food. The population of Gaza is about 2.1 million. The only comparable effort in modern history is the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, during which the Allies delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies to 2.5 million West Berliners over 15 months. Even then, the aid was going to an allied population. 'There is no historical precedent for a military providing the level of direct aid to an enemy population that Israel has provided to Gaza,' writes John Spencer of the Modern War Institute at West Point."
I'm trying to divine the truth. And it isn't easy to uncover. But it does require a constant finger on the pulse of legitimate news outlets.
Hopefully you're paying attention to all sides too. And are not stuck in your beliefs and can change if you find out your take was wrong.
Modern life is very complicated. And it's especially worse now that institutions have been neutered...from the media to government, who can you trust?
I'm not sure.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Mailbag
Subject: Re: Passion/Viewpoint/Craft
I've been saying for the past couple of years, the audience doesn't want perfection, they want CONNECTION. Perfection is really impressive — for about 5 minutes. Then you want to know, "Yeah, but what's that got to do with me?"
Tom Rush
www.TomRush.com
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
My coworker and I were having a discussion about Spotify yesterday. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left Spotify. Why? Because they think Spotify's tech bros are evil. Whatever. Now Gizzard isn't on the platform and I just won't be listening to them. I like the band, but a lot of my listening is done on the go, in the subway, and Spotify is the place where I have spent the time finding and organizing my music, downloading the albums I want whenever I want them. I have chosen Spotify. I have put too much work into organizing my library to change -- not that I would want to: it's a good product at a good price.
But this conversation wasn't just about Gizzard. It was about artists getting screwed by Spotify. My coworker made a comment about Spotify not paying their artists anything. He and I are both songwriters. I have put out albums on Bandcamp, albums that no one listens to. And that's perfectly fine, I do it because I love it. It's just what I do. But these musicians complaining about getting screwed by Spotify drive me nuts. I would be ecstatic if an album of mine got, I don't know, 20,000 streams. But these artists complain as if it's their right to make NSYNC CD money. The game has changed. It's done, it's over. Isn't what's most important is that your music is HEARD? It should be. And now there's the potential for your art to be heard by everybody and you don't have to get a contract, you don't need to enter the Record Plant, you can upload it and there's the chance. Isn't that beautiful?
In the 1970s no one would have heard of you. Yet there's money to be made if your music is good. You won't be Led Zeppelin but you might live a good life. Stop complaining, write some songs, and enjoy how easy it is to get your music out there. Everyone has a chance. Get a day job and keep making music. Maybe one day you'll be able to quit that job, but no one owes you anything. Sure, use Bandcamp or whatever else instead of Spotify. But if you want to be heard, get on Spotify and take your pennies.
It's over, it's done, it's changed. Accept it and capitalize on what's good.
Daniel Grgas
___________________________________
Subject: Lord Huron's The Night We Met: The 10-year-old song that keeps getting bigger
Like you say, Bob, " Hold on to your songs."
Great podcast with Don Was, too.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxqxv7y4zo
Robert Bond
___________________________________
Subject: Re: More Ozzy
My first full length album purchase was Diary of a Madman and it was on cassette. I was raised in a very strict religious family and was taught there was evil music out there, and that heavy metal was DEFINITELY evil. I hid the album under my pillow and would listen to it on my walkman at night. I loved it! My parents eventually found the tape, threw it away, and a few days later I bought another copy. This time I did a much better job of hiding it.
I ended up playing in hard rock bands for 25+ years…
You can't kill rock and roll!
Kent Carter
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
Spotify is hugely important for labels, but it has also made millions of dollars for acts with strong legacy catalogs. There are plenty of albums I bought on CD and then vinyl and now I pay to stream almost every time I listen. For artists that made money on records and then CDs and now through streaming, Spotify has been a boon. Today's artists don't enjoy the spoils of the CD world, but high quality music will be a more evergreen source of revenue through streaming.
Andrew Coffman
___________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: More Love On The Spectrum
It's a good show! As for they'll never work:
I have two family members on the spectrum. When they were young their parents were told they would need institutionalization for life. One is now an attorney, the other an HVAC contractor.
Kennedy is a disaster. How fast can he take backwards? The patron saint of polio.
___________________________________
From: Jack Lynady
Subject: Re: Out Of Touch
"Oldsters hanging on to power"….that's it in a nutshell Bob.
I'm x-er. Voted for Trump mostly because the other side looked f*cking old. Biden. Jesus. That was insane. Kamala was just so damn scripted and when she wasn't it was a hot mess of word salad. To Deny that is to deny reality hitting u in the damn face.
Now here we are. It's 2025. And there is an opportunity for the Dems. Will they take advantage of it? Or go back to gaslighting me for voting for Trump? Tell me I'm racist or hate gays? Or hate this that and the other thing bla bla bla?
As if I have time to hate. I'm trying to pay my f*cking bills, save a little for my kids college, have a little fun on the weekends.
I don't know the answer. I just know I haven't seen it yet from either side.
___________________________________
Subject: Mario Medious
What a blast from the past! Remember him from early '70's as very hip Atlantic promo man. Duane Allman had just arrived in Boston from King Curtis funeral to play big outdoor show at Boston Common for Don Law. Manager Phil Walden told me to give Duane $200/300 in cash to give to Mario as a gift from the band to buy himself some street clothes. Mario was a sharp dressed hipster who knew how to get those new fm stations on a band and he did a great job for the ABB.
Willie Perkins
PS: Great live recording of that concert released years later.
___________________________________
From: Toni Tennille
Subject: Re: How AI Changes Music
I like this one, Bob. And I believe you are right. I remember when musicians in Las Vegas went on strike because they were being replaced by synthesizers and drum machines. I knew that wasn't gonna work out well for them, having watched my former husband create whole tracks that sounded good, but didn't have a single real instrument in them. I always felt there was something missing when he did that… Heart? Soul? Any kind of emotion?
I was very lucky that, as Captain and Tennille wound down, I was able to make a kind of separate career for myself, singing with Symphony Orchestras and big bands, all around the country and in Canada. My father Frank Tennille, was the band vocalist for Bob Crosby and his bobcats in the late 30s and early 40s. That was the music he raised me on and I loved it. I remember the immense joy I always felt when I took the stage backed by some of the finest Symphony Orchestras in the country who accompanied me with their incredible skill and musicianship, playing the great arrangements that Sammy Nestico wrote for me over the years. I really don't know how AI is going to create that feeling of total joy through making music. Maybe MY joy is different from the people creating music with AI.
You probably won't believe this, but I read every email you send out. Your perspective makes me think about my musical choices over the decades. All in all, I have had a wonderful, creative and mostly joyous career.
"With every note I play
I play with love
With every word I sing,
Its coming from my heart
And so I sing a song of joy for you
With all the happiness this melody brings"
SONG OF JOY by BILLY PRESTON
TONI TENNILLE
___________________________________
Subject: Re: How AI Changes Music
Steve Miller just had a cover with a Kia SUV commercial with Rockin Me. AI enhanced and reconstituted it with cleaner definition. Remixed and remastered and sped up a little. It's Steve's original lead vocal but the reverb was stripped away and it sounds crisper and more contemporary. Like you said, AI can live alongside the original art and augment rather than try to clone.
I'm in as long as it behaves.
Kenny Lee Lewis
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
I am thankful for the clear, no bones about it, honest writing. This is particularly sharp and on display in this note on Spotify. I feel a little sad, angry, duped etc. I've always been in awe of the LABEL of course. It's part of my culture growing up to understand that they seemed to control everything. When I worked at labels, I felt I had arrived. Somehow, I made it. It was a beautiful business. I used to see that quote somewhere and the romantic notion of it, much to my peril in my 20s for sure. Some of the grand illusion of the industry that you describe was there, a bright light visible behind a door that no one wanted to acknowledge let alone turn the knob to open. This entity of change was inevitable and moved into the room slowly and then, somewhere right before 2008 was on top of you. Quite a number of folks, including family members, thought I was completely bat-sh*t crazy for leaving my label gig to go work for Spotify. A start up? Streaming??? I can't claim mystical prescience or inside knowledge or any advantage, but soft skills, lifelong passion for music discovery. hustle, interest and a willingness to understand the new thing and that got me into the next room. Looking back, at least to me, I'd been sitting in comfortable quicksand doing radio promotion and very soon, I was going to choose to walk through the door or have it crush me. I wasn't at big green for a long time but long enough to get through the IPO, extend the lead over other services and create something I'm proud of that continues to stand. I have a feeling though that streaming can see something in the distance that's slowly coming its way, devouring everything on its way to them as well.
The two sided business model concept where Spotify eats its own freemium tier users that could drive ad revenue has always been awkward. I mean if you have enough bucks for the premium service (which most of the world doesn't) you would because it's so good. But it's hard not to see the top end of paid conversions. However, if Spotify can make free better than good enough and figure out the paradigm for ad revenue growth, this is the hedge and the crucible. I feel bad for all the post Barry McCarthy CFOs because the gig is ruthless given where the company sits. They can replace the CFO every year for all I care if they need to because I, along with other investors believe that it's when, not if, they really crack that code. Spotify will have hooked 3/4 of a billion people soon onto the platform because it "just works" and there is demand from users for it to be many things because of this. The hiccups are little sideshows into a story that's already ended. Daniel often would use a Baseball metaphor (which I found amusing from a swede) in that Spotify was in the early innings of a baseball game. To me, that's not even close. The closer came in and the game is over. They just played and ended the game in a different time zone and you weren't watching it.
John Butler - former Spotifyer
___________________________________
Re: C.T.E.
Bob, I read this email to my boyfriend who recognized that you've echoed my sentiments exactly. However, I am complicit and I do feel guilty but it's not enough to change. Just today we passed grade school and highschool kids out practicing football in Tuscaloosa Alabama. I've always said who puts their kids in football, hockey or soccer anymore? Isn't golf the way to go? It seems so much safer for the kids. Who chooses to shorten their kids lives? Why aren't people thinking this way? I'm already Debbie Downer in my friend group, pointing out the emergency exits, asking if they've thought about the players futures and how they'll probably be broke and broken shortly after retirement. No one wants to think this way. There's no recycling down here. My golf club is called Indian Hills for Christ sake. The big ask from my (adult) kids is to bring some plastic straws home to Canada. Going to a football game doesn't feel like a crime yet but I do want that to change. I say all this and I'll be at two SEC games this fall and I'll be at the Bills season opener. Do you think because we pay thousands for tickets we feel elite? I think that's part of it. I wondered if witnessing a horrible injury at a game would make us think again about supporting the sport but nope. It was just a chance to hit the bar for another beer. I went to Talladega in the spring and everyone said the big one was going to happen. I was thinking that meant photo finish or an underdog winning. I was completely wrong - it means a big crash. That's the excitement at the races - a big crash!!! And it happened and the cheering was louder than the engines! You've got me thinking again about my choices and thank you. I feel like a loser for having these feelings about the sport and the damage it does to the players and still partaking. I'll let you know if I can sort out how to be true to myself and boycott.
All the best,
Sue Schreider
___________________________________
From: Kevin Cronin
Subject: Re: In The Big Room
Hey Bob,
Early in the Pandemic, I dug out my '70s McIntosh stereo amp and pre-amp, and my wife and I set up a little vinyl bar in the Family Room. We were faced with the dilemma of choosing which album to play first. Lisa had worked at Geffen back in that label's glory days, and had a promotional copy of Peter Gabriel's "So". We both agreed it was a stone masterpiece, and a perfect choice as our children's maiden voyage into the magical world of album listening. So, we gathered our family around that glowing blue McIntosh gear, cranked it up, listened, and watched as all of our attention spans was stretched across this entire LP. "So" held us, mesmerized us, and gave Mom and Dad an opportunity to remind our kids about the lost art of album making.
The first album I ever owned was a copy of the newly released, American version of "Rubber Soul", the playfully titled Beatle album that Santa left under the tree on Christmas Day, 1965. Sixty years later, I know and love every song on that record, and place that delicious slice Licorice Pizza on to my turntable on a fairly regular basis.
I wore out two copies of the first Crosby Stills and Nash album, and am currently working on my third. When I got my first brand new copy back to my high school girlfriend's house, (she had the best stereo), I picked up the needle, and replayed "Suite, Judy Blue Eyes" twelve times before I even got to "Marrakesh Express"! And even as I was curious to hear how our 1978 "You can tune a Piano, but you can't Tuna fish" would hold up, it would not be my first choice.
I was amazed at how "So" was received by my little family audience. They all stuck around through the album flipping ritual, and we devoured side two together. I feel very lucky to have grown up and lived through the Golden Age of the Long Playing record. And I do my best to expose my younger brethren to take part in and enjoy the experience of listening to an artist's fresh batch of songs, in their intended order. (We used to spend days sequencing our albums, and deciding just how many seconds between tracks.)
Anyway thank you, Bob Lefsetz, for your passion in keeping this art form vibrant and helping to save it from extinction … kc
I've been saying for the past couple of years, the audience doesn't want perfection, they want CONNECTION. Perfection is really impressive — for about 5 minutes. Then you want to know, "Yeah, but what's that got to do with me?"
Tom Rush
www.TomRush.com
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
My coworker and I were having a discussion about Spotify yesterday. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left Spotify. Why? Because they think Spotify's tech bros are evil. Whatever. Now Gizzard isn't on the platform and I just won't be listening to them. I like the band, but a lot of my listening is done on the go, in the subway, and Spotify is the place where I have spent the time finding and organizing my music, downloading the albums I want whenever I want them. I have chosen Spotify. I have put too much work into organizing my library to change -- not that I would want to: it's a good product at a good price.
But this conversation wasn't just about Gizzard. It was about artists getting screwed by Spotify. My coworker made a comment about Spotify not paying their artists anything. He and I are both songwriters. I have put out albums on Bandcamp, albums that no one listens to. And that's perfectly fine, I do it because I love it. It's just what I do. But these musicians complaining about getting screwed by Spotify drive me nuts. I would be ecstatic if an album of mine got, I don't know, 20,000 streams. But these artists complain as if it's their right to make NSYNC CD money. The game has changed. It's done, it's over. Isn't what's most important is that your music is HEARD? It should be. And now there's the potential for your art to be heard by everybody and you don't have to get a contract, you don't need to enter the Record Plant, you can upload it and there's the chance. Isn't that beautiful?
In the 1970s no one would have heard of you. Yet there's money to be made if your music is good. You won't be Led Zeppelin but you might live a good life. Stop complaining, write some songs, and enjoy how easy it is to get your music out there. Everyone has a chance. Get a day job and keep making music. Maybe one day you'll be able to quit that job, but no one owes you anything. Sure, use Bandcamp or whatever else instead of Spotify. But if you want to be heard, get on Spotify and take your pennies.
It's over, it's done, it's changed. Accept it and capitalize on what's good.
Daniel Grgas
___________________________________
Subject: Lord Huron's The Night We Met: The 10-year-old song that keeps getting bigger
Like you say, Bob, " Hold on to your songs."
Great podcast with Don Was, too.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxqxv7y4zo
Robert Bond
___________________________________
Subject: Re: More Ozzy
My first full length album purchase was Diary of a Madman and it was on cassette. I was raised in a very strict religious family and was taught there was evil music out there, and that heavy metal was DEFINITELY evil. I hid the album under my pillow and would listen to it on my walkman at night. I loved it! My parents eventually found the tape, threw it away, and a few days later I bought another copy. This time I did a much better job of hiding it.
I ended up playing in hard rock bands for 25+ years…
You can't kill rock and roll!
Kent Carter
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
Spotify is hugely important for labels, but it has also made millions of dollars for acts with strong legacy catalogs. There are plenty of albums I bought on CD and then vinyl and now I pay to stream almost every time I listen. For artists that made money on records and then CDs and now through streaming, Spotify has been a boon. Today's artists don't enjoy the spoils of the CD world, but high quality music will be a more evergreen source of revenue through streaming.
Andrew Coffman
___________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: More Love On The Spectrum
It's a good show! As for they'll never work:
I have two family members on the spectrum. When they were young their parents were told they would need institutionalization for life. One is now an attorney, the other an HVAC contractor.
Kennedy is a disaster. How fast can he take backwards? The patron saint of polio.
___________________________________
From: Jack Lynady
Subject: Re: Out Of Touch
"Oldsters hanging on to power"….that's it in a nutshell Bob.
I'm x-er. Voted for Trump mostly because the other side looked f*cking old. Biden. Jesus. That was insane. Kamala was just so damn scripted and when she wasn't it was a hot mess of word salad. To Deny that is to deny reality hitting u in the damn face.
Now here we are. It's 2025. And there is an opportunity for the Dems. Will they take advantage of it? Or go back to gaslighting me for voting for Trump? Tell me I'm racist or hate gays? Or hate this that and the other thing bla bla bla?
As if I have time to hate. I'm trying to pay my f*cking bills, save a little for my kids college, have a little fun on the weekends.
I don't know the answer. I just know I haven't seen it yet from either side.
___________________________________
Subject: Mario Medious
What a blast from the past! Remember him from early '70's as very hip Atlantic promo man. Duane Allman had just arrived in Boston from King Curtis funeral to play big outdoor show at Boston Common for Don Law. Manager Phil Walden told me to give Duane $200/300 in cash to give to Mario as a gift from the band to buy himself some street clothes. Mario was a sharp dressed hipster who knew how to get those new fm stations on a band and he did a great job for the ABB.
Willie Perkins
PS: Great live recording of that concert released years later.
___________________________________
From: Toni Tennille
Subject: Re: How AI Changes Music
I like this one, Bob. And I believe you are right. I remember when musicians in Las Vegas went on strike because they were being replaced by synthesizers and drum machines. I knew that wasn't gonna work out well for them, having watched my former husband create whole tracks that sounded good, but didn't have a single real instrument in them. I always felt there was something missing when he did that… Heart? Soul? Any kind of emotion?
I was very lucky that, as Captain and Tennille wound down, I was able to make a kind of separate career for myself, singing with Symphony Orchestras and big bands, all around the country and in Canada. My father Frank Tennille, was the band vocalist for Bob Crosby and his bobcats in the late 30s and early 40s. That was the music he raised me on and I loved it. I remember the immense joy I always felt when I took the stage backed by some of the finest Symphony Orchestras in the country who accompanied me with their incredible skill and musicianship, playing the great arrangements that Sammy Nestico wrote for me over the years. I really don't know how AI is going to create that feeling of total joy through making music. Maybe MY joy is different from the people creating music with AI.
You probably won't believe this, but I read every email you send out. Your perspective makes me think about my musical choices over the decades. All in all, I have had a wonderful, creative and mostly joyous career.
"With every note I play
I play with love
With every word I sing,
Its coming from my heart
And so I sing a song of joy for you
With all the happiness this melody brings"
SONG OF JOY by BILLY PRESTON
TONI TENNILLE
___________________________________
Subject: Re: How AI Changes Music
Steve Miller just had a cover with a Kia SUV commercial with Rockin Me. AI enhanced and reconstituted it with cleaner definition. Remixed and remastered and sped up a little. It's Steve's original lead vocal but the reverb was stripped away and it sounds crisper and more contemporary. Like you said, AI can live alongside the original art and augment rather than try to clone.
I'm in as long as it behaves.
Kenny Lee Lewis
___________________________________
Re: Spotify's Numbers
I am thankful for the clear, no bones about it, honest writing. This is particularly sharp and on display in this note on Spotify. I feel a little sad, angry, duped etc. I've always been in awe of the LABEL of course. It's part of my culture growing up to understand that they seemed to control everything. When I worked at labels, I felt I had arrived. Somehow, I made it. It was a beautiful business. I used to see that quote somewhere and the romantic notion of it, much to my peril in my 20s for sure. Some of the grand illusion of the industry that you describe was there, a bright light visible behind a door that no one wanted to acknowledge let alone turn the knob to open. This entity of change was inevitable and moved into the room slowly and then, somewhere right before 2008 was on top of you. Quite a number of folks, including family members, thought I was completely bat-sh*t crazy for leaving my label gig to go work for Spotify. A start up? Streaming??? I can't claim mystical prescience or inside knowledge or any advantage, but soft skills, lifelong passion for music discovery. hustle, interest and a willingness to understand the new thing and that got me into the next room. Looking back, at least to me, I'd been sitting in comfortable quicksand doing radio promotion and very soon, I was going to choose to walk through the door or have it crush me. I wasn't at big green for a long time but long enough to get through the IPO, extend the lead over other services and create something I'm proud of that continues to stand. I have a feeling though that streaming can see something in the distance that's slowly coming its way, devouring everything on its way to them as well.
The two sided business model concept where Spotify eats its own freemium tier users that could drive ad revenue has always been awkward. I mean if you have enough bucks for the premium service (which most of the world doesn't) you would because it's so good. But it's hard not to see the top end of paid conversions. However, if Spotify can make free better than good enough and figure out the paradigm for ad revenue growth, this is the hedge and the crucible. I feel bad for all the post Barry McCarthy CFOs because the gig is ruthless given where the company sits. They can replace the CFO every year for all I care if they need to because I, along with other investors believe that it's when, not if, they really crack that code. Spotify will have hooked 3/4 of a billion people soon onto the platform because it "just works" and there is demand from users for it to be many things because of this. The hiccups are little sideshows into a story that's already ended. Daniel often would use a Baseball metaphor (which I found amusing from a swede) in that Spotify was in the early innings of a baseball game. To me, that's not even close. The closer came in and the game is over. They just played and ended the game in a different time zone and you weren't watching it.
John Butler - former Spotifyer
___________________________________
Re: C.T.E.
Bob, I read this email to my boyfriend who recognized that you've echoed my sentiments exactly. However, I am complicit and I do feel guilty but it's not enough to change. Just today we passed grade school and highschool kids out practicing football in Tuscaloosa Alabama. I've always said who puts their kids in football, hockey or soccer anymore? Isn't golf the way to go? It seems so much safer for the kids. Who chooses to shorten their kids lives? Why aren't people thinking this way? I'm already Debbie Downer in my friend group, pointing out the emergency exits, asking if they've thought about the players futures and how they'll probably be broke and broken shortly after retirement. No one wants to think this way. There's no recycling down here. My golf club is called Indian Hills for Christ sake. The big ask from my (adult) kids is to bring some plastic straws home to Canada. Going to a football game doesn't feel like a crime yet but I do want that to change. I say all this and I'll be at two SEC games this fall and I'll be at the Bills season opener. Do you think because we pay thousands for tickets we feel elite? I think that's part of it. I wondered if witnessing a horrible injury at a game would make us think again about supporting the sport but nope. It was just a chance to hit the bar for another beer. I went to Talladega in the spring and everyone said the big one was going to happen. I was thinking that meant photo finish or an underdog winning. I was completely wrong - it means a big crash. That's the excitement at the races - a big crash!!! And it happened and the cheering was louder than the engines! You've got me thinking again about my choices and thank you. I feel like a loser for having these feelings about the sport and the damage it does to the players and still partaking. I'll let you know if I can sort out how to be true to myself and boycott.
All the best,
Sue Schreider
___________________________________
From: Kevin Cronin
Subject: Re: In The Big Room
Hey Bob,
Early in the Pandemic, I dug out my '70s McIntosh stereo amp and pre-amp, and my wife and I set up a little vinyl bar in the Family Room. We were faced with the dilemma of choosing which album to play first. Lisa had worked at Geffen back in that label's glory days, and had a promotional copy of Peter Gabriel's "So". We both agreed it was a stone masterpiece, and a perfect choice as our children's maiden voyage into the magical world of album listening. So, we gathered our family around that glowing blue McIntosh gear, cranked it up, listened, and watched as all of our attention spans was stretched across this entire LP. "So" held us, mesmerized us, and gave Mom and Dad an opportunity to remind our kids about the lost art of album making.
The first album I ever owned was a copy of the newly released, American version of "Rubber Soul", the playfully titled Beatle album that Santa left under the tree on Christmas Day, 1965. Sixty years later, I know and love every song on that record, and place that delicious slice Licorice Pizza on to my turntable on a fairly regular basis.
I wore out two copies of the first Crosby Stills and Nash album, and am currently working on my third. When I got my first brand new copy back to my high school girlfriend's house, (she had the best stereo), I picked up the needle, and replayed "Suite, Judy Blue Eyes" twelve times before I even got to "Marrakesh Express"! And even as I was curious to hear how our 1978 "You can tune a Piano, but you can't Tuna fish" would hold up, it would not be my first choice.
I was amazed at how "So" was received by my little family audience. They all stuck around through the album flipping ritual, and we devoured side two together. I feel very lucky to have grown up and lived through the Golden Age of the Long Playing record. And I do my best to expose my younger brethren to take part in and enjoy the experience of listening to an artist's fresh batch of songs, in their intended order. (We used to spend days sequencing our albums, and deciding just how many seconds between tracks.)
Anyway thank you, Bob Lefsetz, for your passion in keeping this art form vibrant and helping to save it from extinction … kc
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Spotify's Numbers
If you read the music business press yesterday's Spotify numbers are a step in the wrong direction, if not a veritable disaster, a wake-up call. But if you read the business press...
"Spotify's Crown Lies Heavy, but It's Still the Streaming King - Latest results trip up expensive stock, but the company still has growth opportunities to tap"
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/spotifys-crown-lies-heavy-but-its-still-the-streaming-king-4d8498ae?st=5XyEJa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Here are the money quotes:
"The Swedish company is on top of the streaming world, with 696 million monthly active users at the end of the second quarter, compared with 310.5 million people subscribing to Netflix's various tiers of service."
And:
"The same survey highlighted Spotify's stickiness, with the lowest percentage of customers saying a $1-a-month price hike would compel them to cancel their subscriptions."
Spotify won the war, it's only disgruntled musicians and their poorly informed fans who don't acknowledge this.
The labels LOVE Spotify. It's their number one account.
As for the Street...
Well, here's one more quote:
"Yet even Tuesday's slip leaves Spotify's market value nearly double what it was a year ago. At around 50 times forward earnings, the stock is also still twice as expensive as the multiples commanded by Universal Music and Warner Music—labels that together control about half of the market for recorded music."
And why is Spotify's multiple so high?
Because investors see potential, i.e. growth. Whereas the labels? I won't quite say they're moribund, their catalogs keep them alive, but as for giant leaps in revenue?
The labels have squandered opportunities for twenty five years. Universal tried to tap television with Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub and although Iovine sold Beats to Apple and is a billionaire he got squeezed out of the fruit company because he's a hustler and that just doesn't work in a world of ones and zeros. Any efforts at building distribution platforms was so hobbled by a perceived need to preserve the past as to fail.
So now we hear all this mumbo-jumbo over AI potential and superfan tiers... And so far, nothing has materialized. As for superfan tiers... How much of a business will there be? Well, right now no offerings of any consequence have been proffered other than superior audio quality on Spotify, fans need incentives bigger than just lining the pockets of acts and their attendant distribution companies.
In other words, there's no innovation at the labels, and furthermore they can't break a record! The traditional recording business has been beaten at its own game. By the influx of indies who can do it by themselves using internet tools that continue to flummox the labels who continue to focus on old means of promotion. Now even the late night video performance slot is dying...how can the major label advance my career other than by giving me a big check? It's hard to see.
As for Spotify... It's amazing to see the company eat its competitors' lunch.
Apple owned podcasting, after all, they call it a PODCAST, but has squandered its lead. Spotify has gone into video podcasts while its competitors have been asleep. Spotify is nimble because its survival is dependent upon it. There is no other business propping up the company, akin to the steady catalog sales which require no investment that fund the bad business of new music creation. At what point does some hedge fund or other entity buy Universal or Warner and turn them into licensing houses? Blackstone now has a deep penetration in copyrights via its acquisition of Hipgnosis...
The world modernized, and the major labels did not. They're still operating like it's the pre-internet era, wherein soft skills are everything and muscle/intimidation will deliver profits.
But that's not the ethos of the technological era.
And who are you going to subscribe to, with Spotify's multifarious offerings for the same price. A place where all your friends are, akin to the incredible penetration of iPhone usage in America, especially by youngsters. Sans the Apple halo, Spotify would have even more marketshare. And going forward... Who are you going to subscribe to, the innovator or the company with a fading brand name like Cadillac?
If anything, the labels have contributed to the decline of music's importance in the culture. Not developing acts of consequence, but purveying trifle pop stars and cartoon hip-hoppers. If the labels were so smart they'd grow their businesses from within, instead of trying to purchase indie distributors. But they don't know how to do this. There's no vision. And little upward mobility to boot. Go to work in tech and the sky's the limit. Go to work at a label and you've got to wait your turn for old fart boomers to retire before you can make any real money. For a fluid business, it's amazing how moribund it is.
We've got a content problem. Sure, brain dead youngsters are buying multiple vinyl versions of the same product, but the overall cultural impact... Let's not forget, all the noise about Taylor Swift concerned the gross, the money she made, not the underlying music.
What we've got here are uneducated nitwits who are creating fodder for the ignorant. And if you think that's a recipe for growth... Let's see, "The Sopranos" built HBO, "House of Cards" built Netflix... Where is the concomitant artistic endeavor that has blown up not only music, but the label responsible for it? NONEXISTENT!
As for disruption, TikTok and YouTube and Netflix have disrupted the music business, because that's where the innovation is and there are only so many hours in a day.
As for the concert business... The population has swelled by a hundred million since the heyday of the seventies but the venues are still the same size. Don't be so thrilled that they're full. Having said that, the story of the summer is how poor ticket sales are for acts other than a few superstars. The legends like the Who and Cyndi Lauper... You don't see this covered in the music business press because everybody's so busy shucking and jiving, stroking each other whilst living elevated lifestyles, that they can't see it or won't cover it or want it pushed under the rug.
But the audience knows... How much to see this act that's been on the road regularly? Are you KIDDING?
Spotify keeps adjusting. Getting into podcasts and then lowering costs, figuring out what works and what doesn't. What do we get from the labels and the musicians? COMPLAINTS! Somebody is screwing us, we just need to figure out who and get the money we deserve.
Well, why do you deserve it? People need to eat, not listen to music, and they certainly don't have to listen to YOUR music!
Now I'm raining on your parade...
No, see this as a wake-up call.
Music's power exceeds everything but sex, but it's been abdicated. If the music says something, if it's innovative and necessary, it not only generates revenue, but changes the culture. In the days of yore EVERYBODY was a music fan. Today?
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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"Spotify's Crown Lies Heavy, but It's Still the Streaming King - Latest results trip up expensive stock, but the company still has growth opportunities to tap"
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/spotifys-crown-lies-heavy-but-its-still-the-streaming-king-4d8498ae?st=5XyEJa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Here are the money quotes:
"The Swedish company is on top of the streaming world, with 696 million monthly active users at the end of the second quarter, compared with 310.5 million people subscribing to Netflix's various tiers of service."
And:
"The same survey highlighted Spotify's stickiness, with the lowest percentage of customers saying a $1-a-month price hike would compel them to cancel their subscriptions."
Spotify won the war, it's only disgruntled musicians and their poorly informed fans who don't acknowledge this.
The labels LOVE Spotify. It's their number one account.
As for the Street...
Well, here's one more quote:
"Yet even Tuesday's slip leaves Spotify's market value nearly double what it was a year ago. At around 50 times forward earnings, the stock is also still twice as expensive as the multiples commanded by Universal Music and Warner Music—labels that together control about half of the market for recorded music."
And why is Spotify's multiple so high?
Because investors see potential, i.e. growth. Whereas the labels? I won't quite say they're moribund, their catalogs keep them alive, but as for giant leaps in revenue?
The labels have squandered opportunities for twenty five years. Universal tried to tap television with Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub and although Iovine sold Beats to Apple and is a billionaire he got squeezed out of the fruit company because he's a hustler and that just doesn't work in a world of ones and zeros. Any efforts at building distribution platforms was so hobbled by a perceived need to preserve the past as to fail.
So now we hear all this mumbo-jumbo over AI potential and superfan tiers... And so far, nothing has materialized. As for superfan tiers... How much of a business will there be? Well, right now no offerings of any consequence have been proffered other than superior audio quality on Spotify, fans need incentives bigger than just lining the pockets of acts and their attendant distribution companies.
In other words, there's no innovation at the labels, and furthermore they can't break a record! The traditional recording business has been beaten at its own game. By the influx of indies who can do it by themselves using internet tools that continue to flummox the labels who continue to focus on old means of promotion. Now even the late night video performance slot is dying...how can the major label advance my career other than by giving me a big check? It's hard to see.
As for Spotify... It's amazing to see the company eat its competitors' lunch.
Apple owned podcasting, after all, they call it a PODCAST, but has squandered its lead. Spotify has gone into video podcasts while its competitors have been asleep. Spotify is nimble because its survival is dependent upon it. There is no other business propping up the company, akin to the steady catalog sales which require no investment that fund the bad business of new music creation. At what point does some hedge fund or other entity buy Universal or Warner and turn them into licensing houses? Blackstone now has a deep penetration in copyrights via its acquisition of Hipgnosis...
The world modernized, and the major labels did not. They're still operating like it's the pre-internet era, wherein soft skills are everything and muscle/intimidation will deliver profits.
But that's not the ethos of the technological era.
And who are you going to subscribe to, with Spotify's multifarious offerings for the same price. A place where all your friends are, akin to the incredible penetration of iPhone usage in America, especially by youngsters. Sans the Apple halo, Spotify would have even more marketshare. And going forward... Who are you going to subscribe to, the innovator or the company with a fading brand name like Cadillac?
If anything, the labels have contributed to the decline of music's importance in the culture. Not developing acts of consequence, but purveying trifle pop stars and cartoon hip-hoppers. If the labels were so smart they'd grow their businesses from within, instead of trying to purchase indie distributors. But they don't know how to do this. There's no vision. And little upward mobility to boot. Go to work in tech and the sky's the limit. Go to work at a label and you've got to wait your turn for old fart boomers to retire before you can make any real money. For a fluid business, it's amazing how moribund it is.
We've got a content problem. Sure, brain dead youngsters are buying multiple vinyl versions of the same product, but the overall cultural impact... Let's not forget, all the noise about Taylor Swift concerned the gross, the money she made, not the underlying music.
What we've got here are uneducated nitwits who are creating fodder for the ignorant. And if you think that's a recipe for growth... Let's see, "The Sopranos" built HBO, "House of Cards" built Netflix... Where is the concomitant artistic endeavor that has blown up not only music, but the label responsible for it? NONEXISTENT!
As for disruption, TikTok and YouTube and Netflix have disrupted the music business, because that's where the innovation is and there are only so many hours in a day.
As for the concert business... The population has swelled by a hundred million since the heyday of the seventies but the venues are still the same size. Don't be so thrilled that they're full. Having said that, the story of the summer is how poor ticket sales are for acts other than a few superstars. The legends like the Who and Cyndi Lauper... You don't see this covered in the music business press because everybody's so busy shucking and jiving, stroking each other whilst living elevated lifestyles, that they can't see it or won't cover it or want it pushed under the rug.
But the audience knows... How much to see this act that's been on the road regularly? Are you KIDDING?
Spotify keeps adjusting. Getting into podcasts and then lowering costs, figuring out what works and what doesn't. What do we get from the labels and the musicians? COMPLAINTS! Somebody is screwing us, we just need to figure out who and get the money we deserve.
Well, why do you deserve it? People need to eat, not listen to music, and they certainly don't have to listen to YOUR music!
Now I'm raining on your parade...
No, see this as a wake-up call.
Music's power exceeds everything but sex, but it's been abdicated. If the music says something, if it's innovative and necessary, it not only generates revenue, but changes the culture. In the days of yore EVERYBODY was a music fan. Today?
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
C.T.E.
This is what happens when government and big business refuse to address a problem or pay lip service and sweep it under the rug.
Roger Goodell makes in the neighborhood of $65 million a year, do you think he's going to do anything that challenges the financial success of the NFL?
Ditto United Health.
The public is disillusioned. If I hear one more Democrat tell me to wait until 2028... If you believe there will be a fair election that year you're delusional. Trump has already requested the voter rolls from every state. Furthermore, it has been documented that Republicans deleted many legitimate Democratic voters from the rolls in 2024. I'm not saying Trump didn't win, but I am saying that once you control the apparatus of the system, you can put your finger on it to tip the result. And who wants to give up their job anyway, the Republicans in Congress are so afraid of Trump that they refuse to challenge him, because if they do they'll be primaried and out of a job.
Now I'll get e-mail from Republicans saying I'm wrong. But one of the big problems is they're reading different news, which intentionally leaves out anything negative about their party or its officials.
Ditto the NFL. Are you going to see reports on C..T.E. during the game? OF COURSE NOT!
Actually, C.T.E. has been well covered in the "New York Times." As has the deletion of legal voters. But when you have an autocracy, the first thing you do is hobble the legitimate press. To the point now where those on both the left and the right refuse to believe anything in the "Times," never mind the "Wall Street Journal" or the WaPo.
Unlike ABC and CBS, the WSJ is never going to cave. Rupert Murdoch knows if he settles with Trump his entire staff will revolt, there will be no paper. Furthermore, if you know anything about legitimate news outlets as opposed to online blather, the price to pay for willingly printing a falsehood is so high that they fact-check stories up the yin-yang before they run them. But Trump says he doesn't doodle and sues. Even though many of his doodles have now surfaced.
What's a poor boy to do? Certainly not play in a rock and roll band. That's for chumps. Everybody starving becomes an influencer, because that's where the big, easy money is available.
Or believes they'll become a sports star.
Now I'm not saying the rest of the sports are injury free...
Anytime I write about the NFL, people ask me about skiing. Did you see that Italy just passed a law making helmets compulsory?
But that's an apples to oranges comparison anyway. Skiing isn't based on hitting your head repeatedly, violently, which football is.
John Madden, who may be dead but whose name still fronts a mega-successful video game, said that your body would never be the same after just one game in the NFL. Many of these men can barely walk, never mind think. But the game continues.
Not for me. I've opted out for years now. I'm boycotting. I'll watch the Super Bowl because it's a national holiday, but nothing else.
I'M UNAMERICAN!
Yes, our tribal country denigrates anybody who won't go along with the herd. This is what artists and musicians used to do. But now everybody's so afraid of alienating a potential fan that they refuse to. They're business people, not artists. They're not leaders, they're cash registers.
My inbox is going to go WILD with pro-football people.
But do we still have gladiators?
And how about AK-47s... But you do need those to hunt, PEOPLE!
Our entire society is hypocritical. And if it makes a buck, you do what is expedient, you don't challenge power at the risk of your enterprise.
That's what the big law firms said... If we don't settle our rainmaking attorneys will quit. Thank god the underlings, the associates with no power, are leaving these firms for their stance. Ditto law students who are no longer applying for jobs.
And then you've got ABC and CBS... Isn't it funny that the Skydance merger was approved after Colbert was fired? If you don't think this is a factor, you don't believe football causes C.T.E.
Then again, RFK, Jr. is busy contradicting science every day. Science is now up for grabs. It's what you believe, having done your own biased research, if at all... As for herd immunity...THAT'S FOR SUCKERS!
But you don't play football and you immunize your kids so you have a hard time getting upset.
That doesn't make it right, that just makes you complicit.
Meanwhile, the Chinese will own the car industry within ten years, but let's focus on combustion engines and gasoline, THE PAST FOREVER!
Make America Great Again?
When the effect finally hits the individual, when you lose your Medicaid, when there's no hospital in your neighborhood, what are you going to do.
Be disillusioned.
But there will be some who take action.
This is exactly what happened in the Arab Spring. An overeducated fruit vendor just couldn't take it anymore. Like the guy who shot the United Health executive and this latest shooter. No one is standing up for the little guy, no one is addressing the problems of the hoi polloi.
So eventually someone revolts.
Don't tell me they're mentally ill, OF COURSE THEY ARE! But if you write off these two killings that way, you're missing the point.
Notice how we haven't gotten the true reason for Ozzy Osbourne's death, was there a suicide solution?
I don't know, I'm only speculating, but people take their lives because of ongoing pain on a regular basis. And oftentimes it's nobody's fault, but other times there's glitch in the health care system and...
Don't say I'm being hysterical, don't unsubscribe and think you've triumphed.
I am one, just like Pete Townshend sang. Back when you got your lessons from musicians. And one can make a difference. And one made a difference here. And he's not they only one.
Because when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose.
Never mind being angry at the rich whose taxes just went down, who run rampant all over this country. Bezos is so stupid that he has an over the top public wedding not realizing that he's one of the most hated men in America. Man, if you've gotten rich milking the system you're better off hiding today. Or maybe the Kiss Cam will come to you!
Just a little sunlight. Does anybody have any sympathy for the Astronomer canoodlers?
No, because they're offended on a moral basis.
I'm offended on a moral basis that football has not been banned in America. From kids to adults. You want to play flag football, be my guest. But the full contact sport we now enjoy kills. You just won't admit it.
But famous players from Jason Seau to Dave Duerson have shot themselves because their brains were so injured. Never mind the walking wounded still alive.
Just ignore what I have to say. Enjoy your Sundays and beer. But if you think bad behavior goes unnoticed and unchallenged...
You're just putting your head in the sand. An uninjured head.
People feel no one is looking out for them, that they're powerless, therefore they're talking matters into their own hands.
Hell, isn't that what America is all about, the rugged individual? Ha!
Think about all this and justify the status quo.
A thinking person can't.
Are you wearing blinders?
Don't say you've got no power, a movement starts with one and then engulfs many.
Is a movement coming?
I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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Roger Goodell makes in the neighborhood of $65 million a year, do you think he's going to do anything that challenges the financial success of the NFL?
Ditto United Health.
The public is disillusioned. If I hear one more Democrat tell me to wait until 2028... If you believe there will be a fair election that year you're delusional. Trump has already requested the voter rolls from every state. Furthermore, it has been documented that Republicans deleted many legitimate Democratic voters from the rolls in 2024. I'm not saying Trump didn't win, but I am saying that once you control the apparatus of the system, you can put your finger on it to tip the result. And who wants to give up their job anyway, the Republicans in Congress are so afraid of Trump that they refuse to challenge him, because if they do they'll be primaried and out of a job.
Now I'll get e-mail from Republicans saying I'm wrong. But one of the big problems is they're reading different news, which intentionally leaves out anything negative about their party or its officials.
Ditto the NFL. Are you going to see reports on C..T.E. during the game? OF COURSE NOT!
Actually, C.T.E. has been well covered in the "New York Times." As has the deletion of legal voters. But when you have an autocracy, the first thing you do is hobble the legitimate press. To the point now where those on both the left and the right refuse to believe anything in the "Times," never mind the "Wall Street Journal" or the WaPo.
Unlike ABC and CBS, the WSJ is never going to cave. Rupert Murdoch knows if he settles with Trump his entire staff will revolt, there will be no paper. Furthermore, if you know anything about legitimate news outlets as opposed to online blather, the price to pay for willingly printing a falsehood is so high that they fact-check stories up the yin-yang before they run them. But Trump says he doesn't doodle and sues. Even though many of his doodles have now surfaced.
What's a poor boy to do? Certainly not play in a rock and roll band. That's for chumps. Everybody starving becomes an influencer, because that's where the big, easy money is available.
Or believes they'll become a sports star.
Now I'm not saying the rest of the sports are injury free...
Anytime I write about the NFL, people ask me about skiing. Did you see that Italy just passed a law making helmets compulsory?
But that's an apples to oranges comparison anyway. Skiing isn't based on hitting your head repeatedly, violently, which football is.
John Madden, who may be dead but whose name still fronts a mega-successful video game, said that your body would never be the same after just one game in the NFL. Many of these men can barely walk, never mind think. But the game continues.
Not for me. I've opted out for years now. I'm boycotting. I'll watch the Super Bowl because it's a national holiday, but nothing else.
I'M UNAMERICAN!
Yes, our tribal country denigrates anybody who won't go along with the herd. This is what artists and musicians used to do. But now everybody's so afraid of alienating a potential fan that they refuse to. They're business people, not artists. They're not leaders, they're cash registers.
My inbox is going to go WILD with pro-football people.
But do we still have gladiators?
And how about AK-47s... But you do need those to hunt, PEOPLE!
Our entire society is hypocritical. And if it makes a buck, you do what is expedient, you don't challenge power at the risk of your enterprise.
That's what the big law firms said... If we don't settle our rainmaking attorneys will quit. Thank god the underlings, the associates with no power, are leaving these firms for their stance. Ditto law students who are no longer applying for jobs.
And then you've got ABC and CBS... Isn't it funny that the Skydance merger was approved after Colbert was fired? If you don't think this is a factor, you don't believe football causes C.T.E.
Then again, RFK, Jr. is busy contradicting science every day. Science is now up for grabs. It's what you believe, having done your own biased research, if at all... As for herd immunity...THAT'S FOR SUCKERS!
But you don't play football and you immunize your kids so you have a hard time getting upset.
That doesn't make it right, that just makes you complicit.
Meanwhile, the Chinese will own the car industry within ten years, but let's focus on combustion engines and gasoline, THE PAST FOREVER!
Make America Great Again?
When the effect finally hits the individual, when you lose your Medicaid, when there's no hospital in your neighborhood, what are you going to do.
Be disillusioned.
But there will be some who take action.
This is exactly what happened in the Arab Spring. An overeducated fruit vendor just couldn't take it anymore. Like the guy who shot the United Health executive and this latest shooter. No one is standing up for the little guy, no one is addressing the problems of the hoi polloi.
So eventually someone revolts.
Don't tell me they're mentally ill, OF COURSE THEY ARE! But if you write off these two killings that way, you're missing the point.
Notice how we haven't gotten the true reason for Ozzy Osbourne's death, was there a suicide solution?
I don't know, I'm only speculating, but people take their lives because of ongoing pain on a regular basis. And oftentimes it's nobody's fault, but other times there's glitch in the health care system and...
Don't say I'm being hysterical, don't unsubscribe and think you've triumphed.
I am one, just like Pete Townshend sang. Back when you got your lessons from musicians. And one can make a difference. And one made a difference here. And he's not they only one.
Because when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose.
Never mind being angry at the rich whose taxes just went down, who run rampant all over this country. Bezos is so stupid that he has an over the top public wedding not realizing that he's one of the most hated men in America. Man, if you've gotten rich milking the system you're better off hiding today. Or maybe the Kiss Cam will come to you!
Just a little sunlight. Does anybody have any sympathy for the Astronomer canoodlers?
No, because they're offended on a moral basis.
I'm offended on a moral basis that football has not been banned in America. From kids to adults. You want to play flag football, be my guest. But the full contact sport we now enjoy kills. You just won't admit it.
But famous players from Jason Seau to Dave Duerson have shot themselves because their brains were so injured. Never mind the walking wounded still alive.
Just ignore what I have to say. Enjoy your Sundays and beer. But if you think bad behavior goes unnoticed and unchallenged...
You're just putting your head in the sand. An uninjured head.
People feel no one is looking out for them, that they're powerless, therefore they're talking matters into their own hands.
Hell, isn't that what America is all about, the rugged individual? Ha!
Think about all this and justify the status quo.
A thinking person can't.
Are you wearing blinders?
Don't say you've got no power, a movement starts with one and then engulfs many.
Is a movement coming?
I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Sunday, 27 July 2025
Re-E-Books
I stopped doing paper books four years ago, and haven't regretted it for a nanosecond. Regarding economics, it's important to remember authors can leverage a *much* higher royalty than print. And with no paper, postage, shipping, warehousing, etc., even with a high author royalty the publisher *also* makes more than with print.
My world of writing technical books is different from writing something like romance novels, and there are two unique advantages. First, I can update them as technology changes. Aside from keeping books current for years instead of months, this makes it difficult for the "information should be free" folks to keep up. Piracy seems to be minimal, but that may also be because my books are $19.95 regardless of page count or subject. People seem averse to stealing something that inexpensive.
Second, there are ways to encourage ownership. When you buy one of my books, you're entitled to free updates when new versions come out. The ebooks also include supplementary material like audio examples, presets for gear, and the like. Because of the extra material, the books can sometimes run into hundreds of megabytes. I can't see libraries wanting to store all that stuff, they'd probably just go for the PDF. Also, if you own the book, you can mark it up, make notes to yourself, etc.
And of course, eBooks are a whole lot better for the environment.
Craig Anderton
______________________________________
Big user of Libby and kindle unlimited here. So cool to be able to borrow books from different libraries and not have to make the drive:)
Wendy Waldman
______________________________________
So right, Bob.
Been using Libby since the pandemic. I had been purchasing books digitally on Amazon, but when Covid sequestered us, I was reading 3 books a week and spending a fortune. Then I discovered Libby. I don't even bother with the Kindle. I read everything on my phone with the Kindle app. The vast majority of my friends refuse to go digital. I still love browsing in bookstores. Interestingly, Barnes and Noble just opened in a neighboring town. But I'm not going back. I'm a Libby lover.
Oh, and my aging eyes can read endlessly with digital.
Vicky Germaise
______________________________________
You said it, Bob. Long live Libby. There aren't many things anymore that are good and free and just there to make you happy and make your life better, without any catch. Libby is one of those things though!
Bill Higgins
______________________________________
Libby is fantastic! There is also Kanopy, which we access through our local library. It's a streaming video platform that offers films, television shows, documentaries, etc. The depth of the catalogue of available titles is outstanding. Only a library card is needed for full access.
John Schimmelman
______________________________________
Libby is a god send.
In the DC area, there are reciprocal agreements between different libraries around the region...so you can get the best of a number of libraries.
Libraries are real gifts.
Dave Wakeman
______________________________________
I LOVE Libby for ebooks and audiobooks. The speed and convenience of browsing and borrowing is unbeatable.
My wife still swears by hardcopy books – but she gets them from the library. She checks them out by the dozen because our local library has done away with late fees. She'll get the same titles as audiobooks to get through them more quickly (she drives a lot for her job).
More generally, we just love our library as a community resource. I've gone there to work during power outages, I use their printers (cheaper than Staples or owning a printer), we've borrowed their hotspots for travel, I access LinkedIn Learning and the Times through them, on and on. During COVID, I got my elderly aunt – a voracious reader – a Kindle and sent books directly to it using my library account. That capability converted her to ebooks.
CK Barlow
______________________________________
I read Libby on my phone, same as your letters.
Best thing since sliced bread.
And best of all, I'm reading books again . . .
Cheers
Paul Holdom
Aotearoa New Zealand
______________________________________
I have been taking advantage of getting ebooks for my Kindle from the library for years. The only ebooks that I buy are Michael Connelly novels since I don't want to wait for them.
Robert Paris
______________________________________
Funny you should mention it. My son goes to BCIT here in Vancouver and he mentioned it to me as he's been using Libby, along with most other students today, since it came out. I love it and just got signed up after I got a library card from my local library this week and wouldn't you know it, here's your take on it.
Once again you hit the mark on tech, technology and how everyone should at least be aware of what there missing out on.
I, like you, am a little long in the tooth and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who is excited for what comes next.
Mike from Mission
______________________________________
Love this, Bob.
I was THE physical guy. From books and magazines to pen and notebooks. The first shift for me was the Kindle, but now it's all iPad Mini. Which, I think is the best content device ever created. For ebooks, digital magazine, newspapers, comic books/graphic novels but especially video. You need to add a "paper like" screen protector but once you do, the Apple Pencil and writing experience is brilliant.
I'm also a huge Libby user. Through my library we also get PressReader which is a ton of newspaper, magazines and more books. It's incredible to have access to to magazine like Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock and countless others. All free. Wild.
Lastly, every morning, on Amazon under Kindle section, they have daily deals where ebooks can be as low as .99 cents and it's just fun to browse those daily deals as well.
Keep reading and learning…
MITCH JOEL
Six Pixels Group
______________________________________
Can't live without access to my e-books. In fact, my library is quite extensive.
Khila L. Khani, Esq.
______________________________________
Gen Xer here and I've been an audiobook lover for over a decade since my job involves driving, as as much as I love music, some shifts I need more to stimulate my brain. Podcasts are my main thing but audiobooks not far behind. Discovered Libby probably 5-6 years and love it. Sure I may have to wait a while for a popular title, but it's a minor inconvenience for free access we collectively pay for like other public services like fire, police, parks, healthcare(Canadian here).
Now about the library streaming service Kanopy…..shhhhh!!!! ??
Michael Moniz
______________________________________
I joined the Enoch Pratt Public Library (that's our main library here in Baltimore City) a few months ago, and I'm totally hooked. I haven't read this much in decades.
My preference is Kindle, but if something's available sooner in hardcover, I'll go for it. I just had a two-week e-book loan for Long Island Compromise expire before I could finish it. So to renew, I got back in line for both the e-book and the hardcover. The hardcover came through first, and I'm reading it now.
So guess what? I can now officially attest to this: Kindle is fifty times better.
Rich Madow
Baltimore, MD
______________________________________
I am a recent Libby-ite too, though my preference is audio and some books are available only as text.
Yes, with Libby you may have to wait for a title (I am currently 14th in line for Peter Wolf's "Waiting On The Moon" - I started at 73rd a couple weeks ago. In the meantime I read 7 other books that had little or no wait and would have cost me over $100 on Audible (which is worth keeping for immediate access and titles that are unavailable on Libby).
Also, you can read or listen directly on Libby, you don't need to use Kindle, though you can if you want to.
Love going back to the library again!
Judie Gregg Rosenman
______________________________________
I've been using Libby for years. I love it! And there's Kanopy - library videos. That match all the DVDs they offer. Its interface is not as seamless as Kindle but it's pretty good.
The other great thing is, you can highlight sections of the book or mark them up in your Kindle, and it will save them. Before you return it, you just download all those sections if you want to use them in something – such as having ChatGPT, write an essay for you. :-)
John Parikhal
______________________________________
I love reading and I'm as dedicated a lover of books as you'll find. In fact, every shelf in my house, and there are lots of them) are cram beyond belief with printed matter
But for the past two maybe 2 1/2 years, every book I've read has been on The Kindle or the Kindle app on other devices. Look, the fact that I can enlarge the text, read at night and not have to worry about where I put the book down are compelling arguments. I read plenty of classics, too. Companies like Delphi make brilliant editions of classic authors – complete works of Dickens, less than two bucks, well organized and proofread. The early days of substandard additions of Project Gutenberg are far behind us.
For the record, I'm a boomer and I've never been down on e-books. Why be stupid about it?
Last book finished, all on Kindle:
"London: the Biography" by Peter Ackroyd
Currently reading: "Walden, or, Life in the Woods" by Thoreau
Up next (unless I change my mind): "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety" by Eric Schlosser
Happy reading!
David A. Basskin
______________________________________
Libby rules. My experience mirrors yours, re the "long estimated wait", and then much faster actual availability. I agree that perhaps the library rental model needs a royalty tweak but there is NO going back. E-books allow me to bring a MUCH wider diversity of reading materials with me on travels. I used to have to pick 1-2 for size and weight, and like you would get "stuck" with a dud, because that was the only book I had with me.
*They are positively transformative for guidebooks- Michelin/Lonely Planet, et al.. I can have 2 or 20 on my phone and/or kindle now. And can use the phone for maps and Kindle for guidebooks and content. Just sayin'…
I assume (I'm sure) you have used Hoopla as well? The 5 instant d/l's are good for back catalog, or a deeper dive into a rabbit hole if you can't get it right away on Libby. Some of the other A/V content is decent as well, especially if you are chasing foreign series, and don't want to join every Scandinavian or Spanish version of Britbox (ha), but then the 5x limit is terrible if it's a longer series.
I didn't realize that we were at the Fanning to Ek tipping point (re publishers), but I should have guessed! My children only wanted d/l's or e-books for HS and College instead of paper. Even though they read paper frequently, they all said "Will I ever read this again? And if so I can get it…" And to be fair, only very few of the many textbooks I kept (from my K-xxx education path) have proven to be evergreen. Well framed!
Do keep up the reading rec's, I'm sure they not your biggest fan favorite, but as you have frequently pointed out - we lack viable and accurate curation (in all media and news). I'm happy to poke at something that someone literate and learned is passionate about, even if we diverge on some authors or genres.
Best-
Jonathan Pines
______________________________________
And no silverfish to eat the bookbinding glue!
Lesley Bracker
______________________________________
Thanks for turning me on to Libby, Bob. You're the greatest!
Alicia Etchison
______________________________________
Hey, thanks Bob! Now instead of 8 weeks wait it'll be 6 months.
Joseph Lazar
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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My world of writing technical books is different from writing something like romance novels, and there are two unique advantages. First, I can update them as technology changes. Aside from keeping books current for years instead of months, this makes it difficult for the "information should be free" folks to keep up. Piracy seems to be minimal, but that may also be because my books are $19.95 regardless of page count or subject. People seem averse to stealing something that inexpensive.
Second, there are ways to encourage ownership. When you buy one of my books, you're entitled to free updates when new versions come out. The ebooks also include supplementary material like audio examples, presets for gear, and the like. Because of the extra material, the books can sometimes run into hundreds of megabytes. I can't see libraries wanting to store all that stuff, they'd probably just go for the PDF. Also, if you own the book, you can mark it up, make notes to yourself, etc.
And of course, eBooks are a whole lot better for the environment.
Craig Anderton
______________________________________
Big user of Libby and kindle unlimited here. So cool to be able to borrow books from different libraries and not have to make the drive:)
Wendy Waldman
______________________________________
So right, Bob.
Been using Libby since the pandemic. I had been purchasing books digitally on Amazon, but when Covid sequestered us, I was reading 3 books a week and spending a fortune. Then I discovered Libby. I don't even bother with the Kindle. I read everything on my phone with the Kindle app. The vast majority of my friends refuse to go digital. I still love browsing in bookstores. Interestingly, Barnes and Noble just opened in a neighboring town. But I'm not going back. I'm a Libby lover.
Oh, and my aging eyes can read endlessly with digital.
Vicky Germaise
______________________________________
You said it, Bob. Long live Libby. There aren't many things anymore that are good and free and just there to make you happy and make your life better, without any catch. Libby is one of those things though!
Bill Higgins
______________________________________
Libby is fantastic! There is also Kanopy, which we access through our local library. It's a streaming video platform that offers films, television shows, documentaries, etc. The depth of the catalogue of available titles is outstanding. Only a library card is needed for full access.
John Schimmelman
______________________________________
Libby is a god send.
In the DC area, there are reciprocal agreements between different libraries around the region...so you can get the best of a number of libraries.
Libraries are real gifts.
Dave Wakeman
______________________________________
I LOVE Libby for ebooks and audiobooks. The speed and convenience of browsing and borrowing is unbeatable.
My wife still swears by hardcopy books – but she gets them from the library. She checks them out by the dozen because our local library has done away with late fees. She'll get the same titles as audiobooks to get through them more quickly (she drives a lot for her job).
More generally, we just love our library as a community resource. I've gone there to work during power outages, I use their printers (cheaper than Staples or owning a printer), we've borrowed their hotspots for travel, I access LinkedIn Learning and the Times through them, on and on. During COVID, I got my elderly aunt – a voracious reader – a Kindle and sent books directly to it using my library account. That capability converted her to ebooks.
CK Barlow
______________________________________
I read Libby on my phone, same as your letters.
Best thing since sliced bread.
And best of all, I'm reading books again . . .
Cheers
Paul Holdom
Aotearoa New Zealand
______________________________________
I have been taking advantage of getting ebooks for my Kindle from the library for years. The only ebooks that I buy are Michael Connelly novels since I don't want to wait for them.
Robert Paris
______________________________________
Funny you should mention it. My son goes to BCIT here in Vancouver and he mentioned it to me as he's been using Libby, along with most other students today, since it came out. I love it and just got signed up after I got a library card from my local library this week and wouldn't you know it, here's your take on it.
Once again you hit the mark on tech, technology and how everyone should at least be aware of what there missing out on.
I, like you, am a little long in the tooth and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who is excited for what comes next.
Mike from Mission
______________________________________
Love this, Bob.
I was THE physical guy. From books and magazines to pen and notebooks. The first shift for me was the Kindle, but now it's all iPad Mini. Which, I think is the best content device ever created. For ebooks, digital magazine, newspapers, comic books/graphic novels but especially video. You need to add a "paper like" screen protector but once you do, the Apple Pencil and writing experience is brilliant.
I'm also a huge Libby user. Through my library we also get PressReader which is a ton of newspaper, magazines and more books. It's incredible to have access to to magazine like Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock and countless others. All free. Wild.
Lastly, every morning, on Amazon under Kindle section, they have daily deals where ebooks can be as low as .99 cents and it's just fun to browse those daily deals as well.
Keep reading and learning…
MITCH JOEL
Six Pixels Group
______________________________________
Can't live without access to my e-books. In fact, my library is quite extensive.
Khila L. Khani, Esq.
______________________________________
Gen Xer here and I've been an audiobook lover for over a decade since my job involves driving, as as much as I love music, some shifts I need more to stimulate my brain. Podcasts are my main thing but audiobooks not far behind. Discovered Libby probably 5-6 years and love it. Sure I may have to wait a while for a popular title, but it's a minor inconvenience for free access we collectively pay for like other public services like fire, police, parks, healthcare(Canadian here).
Now about the library streaming service Kanopy…..shhhhh!!!! ??
Michael Moniz
______________________________________
I joined the Enoch Pratt Public Library (that's our main library here in Baltimore City) a few months ago, and I'm totally hooked. I haven't read this much in decades.
My preference is Kindle, but if something's available sooner in hardcover, I'll go for it. I just had a two-week e-book loan for Long Island Compromise expire before I could finish it. So to renew, I got back in line for both the e-book and the hardcover. The hardcover came through first, and I'm reading it now.
So guess what? I can now officially attest to this: Kindle is fifty times better.
Rich Madow
Baltimore, MD
______________________________________
I am a recent Libby-ite too, though my preference is audio and some books are available only as text.
Yes, with Libby you may have to wait for a title (I am currently 14th in line for Peter Wolf's "Waiting On The Moon" - I started at 73rd a couple weeks ago. In the meantime I read 7 other books that had little or no wait and would have cost me over $100 on Audible (which is worth keeping for immediate access and titles that are unavailable on Libby).
Also, you can read or listen directly on Libby, you don't need to use Kindle, though you can if you want to.
Love going back to the library again!
Judie Gregg Rosenman
______________________________________
I've been using Libby for years. I love it! And there's Kanopy - library videos. That match all the DVDs they offer. Its interface is not as seamless as Kindle but it's pretty good.
The other great thing is, you can highlight sections of the book or mark them up in your Kindle, and it will save them. Before you return it, you just download all those sections if you want to use them in something – such as having ChatGPT, write an essay for you. :-)
John Parikhal
______________________________________
I love reading and I'm as dedicated a lover of books as you'll find. In fact, every shelf in my house, and there are lots of them) are cram beyond belief with printed matter
But for the past two maybe 2 1/2 years, every book I've read has been on The Kindle or the Kindle app on other devices. Look, the fact that I can enlarge the text, read at night and not have to worry about where I put the book down are compelling arguments. I read plenty of classics, too. Companies like Delphi make brilliant editions of classic authors – complete works of Dickens, less than two bucks, well organized and proofread. The early days of substandard additions of Project Gutenberg are far behind us.
For the record, I'm a boomer and I've never been down on e-books. Why be stupid about it?
Last book finished, all on Kindle:
"London: the Biography" by Peter Ackroyd
Currently reading: "Walden, or, Life in the Woods" by Thoreau
Up next (unless I change my mind): "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety" by Eric Schlosser
Happy reading!
David A. Basskin
______________________________________
Libby rules. My experience mirrors yours, re the "long estimated wait", and then much faster actual availability. I agree that perhaps the library rental model needs a royalty tweak but there is NO going back. E-books allow me to bring a MUCH wider diversity of reading materials with me on travels. I used to have to pick 1-2 for size and weight, and like you would get "stuck" with a dud, because that was the only book I had with me.
*They are positively transformative for guidebooks- Michelin/Lonely Planet, et al.. I can have 2 or 20 on my phone and/or kindle now. And can use the phone for maps and Kindle for guidebooks and content. Just sayin'…
I assume (I'm sure) you have used Hoopla as well? The 5 instant d/l's are good for back catalog, or a deeper dive into a rabbit hole if you can't get it right away on Libby. Some of the other A/V content is decent as well, especially if you are chasing foreign series, and don't want to join every Scandinavian or Spanish version of Britbox (ha), but then the 5x limit is terrible if it's a longer series.
I didn't realize that we were at the Fanning to Ek tipping point (re publishers), but I should have guessed! My children only wanted d/l's or e-books for HS and College instead of paper. Even though they read paper frequently, they all said "Will I ever read this again? And if so I can get it…" And to be fair, only very few of the many textbooks I kept (from my K-xxx education path) have proven to be evergreen. Well framed!
Do keep up the reading rec's, I'm sure they not your biggest fan favorite, but as you have frequently pointed out - we lack viable and accurate curation (in all media and news). I'm happy to poke at something that someone literate and learned is passionate about, even if we diverge on some authors or genres.
Best-
Jonathan Pines
______________________________________
And no silverfish to eat the bookbinding glue!
Lesley Bracker
______________________________________
Thanks for turning me on to Libby, Bob. You're the greatest!
Alicia Etchison
______________________________________
Hey, thanks Bob! Now instead of 8 weeks wait it'll be 6 months.
Joseph Lazar
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More Love On The Spectrum
These people are STARS!
And it's all based on credibility and honesty.
Whilst RFK, Jr. is saying autistic people will never work, many do... Connor works at the market, as does Tyler White, Tanner works at a hotel and is loved by all, he adds joy to the experience.
Never mind Dani Bowman making a living teaching animation.
Autism is like homosexuality. It exists in every family. To varying degrees. There are those who are nonverbal and those who are just a little bit different. But now we have a label for it. So what we see on Netflix is not completely foreign, we empathize with not only the cast members but their families. It's a constant struggle having a family member on the spectrum, but the rewards!!
Now I don't want to generalize, it's a big spectrum, but many of the people on it are honest and forthright. A welcome antidote to our duplicitous society. And then there is the expertise in certain verticals. Connor Tomlinson is always coming out with factoids that I didn't know, never mind his mother.
Yes, Connor and his mother have a running series of TikToks/Instagram Reels wherein they're in the car and discuss certain topics. It's fascinating to get Connor's take on things, but it's also heartwarming.
Which is the word for Madison and Tyler's relationship.
Now if you're not on these platforms, you don't know that sponsors are all over these people. James talked about his Weber grill, and he got sent a new one.
Now James appeared to be trolling for said grill, and then there's Madison getting tickets to see Katy Perry and asking whether backstage passes are included, and when they are not, she's disappointed.
We are seeing the truth of fame in an unfiltered, unvarnished way. Believe me, these people dig being famous, getting the perks. And no one begrudges them, because otherwise what chance do they have of getting them? It's kind of like Howard Stern's Waack Pack...and if you're a listener, you know that Wendy the Slow Adult is always asking for money...
So this is the third season of "Love on the Spectrum." I've watched all three, and they've all been heartbreaking and heartwarming, but it wasn't until this season that it clicked in the culture at large. Probably because there was finally love, however unanticipated.
It's kind of like a musical act, with three albums. Today everybody expects to hit on the first, that's what the labels want, but your product has to percolate in the marketplace, for years, until people discover it and you ultimately find the winning formula.
Now it is very easy to be completely oblivious to this phenomenon.
First and foremost, you have to have Netflix. And not absolutely everybody does. And although the big shows get reviewed in the media, there is none of the overblown hype of the music and movie businesses, no scorched earth publicity. Rather the show plays and either it clicks with people or it doesn't. It grows via word of mouth.
Now it's not like these cast members were not on TikTok/Reels prior to this season, but once the mania hit, they were ready. You've got to be in the marketplace, have a plethora of material ready for people to explore if they're interested.
Prior to this season I got served Abby Romeo's clips. Where I found out that she made hats. And got more information about her relationship with David.
And then I saw Tanner meet Jack Black on the Kelly Clarkson show. You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oxjr265r78
Then there's the episode of the series wherein Madison and Tyler test each other on their knowledge of country music. It's astounding, they're savants, they know EVERYTHING, more than many people working in the business!
These people are fans.
So today I was served up a video of Connor and Tanner at a Toto show:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMkuYU1saJm/?igsh=MXFzN295N2UxNTFzNA%3D%3D
And I sent the clip to Steve Lukather.
And then I got served up another clip of Tanner actually meeting Luke:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMkqB4wuP4t/?igsh=MWpuZ2d1cGU2eHltbw%3D%3D
I told Luke what a big deal this was, how famous these people are.
And in reply he said:
"Hey Bob,
I know them.
Just met.
My oldest daughter Tina followed Tanner.
You know my youngest son Bodhi is autistic.. It's close to my heart!
Tina told me this sweet kid loved our band, showed me a clip of him seeing us last time and I reached out.
And invited them out.
I did not know I was being filmed.
I don't do stuff like this for press ever!
But happy to make anyone happy."
And I'm sure Luke is not thrilled that I've included his words, but every time we get together he tells me about his adventures with Bodhi. It's like I know him, and I've never met him.
How long does this phenomenon last? Will we be wondering "Where are they today?" in the future?
Well, I think the mania will die down. Then again, these clips are just about their lives, there's no trick involved.
This is what America is all about.
--
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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And it's all based on credibility and honesty.
Whilst RFK, Jr. is saying autistic people will never work, many do... Connor works at the market, as does Tyler White, Tanner works at a hotel and is loved by all, he adds joy to the experience.
Never mind Dani Bowman making a living teaching animation.
Autism is like homosexuality. It exists in every family. To varying degrees. There are those who are nonverbal and those who are just a little bit different. But now we have a label for it. So what we see on Netflix is not completely foreign, we empathize with not only the cast members but their families. It's a constant struggle having a family member on the spectrum, but the rewards!!
Now I don't want to generalize, it's a big spectrum, but many of the people on it are honest and forthright. A welcome antidote to our duplicitous society. And then there is the expertise in certain verticals. Connor Tomlinson is always coming out with factoids that I didn't know, never mind his mother.
Yes, Connor and his mother have a running series of TikToks/Instagram Reels wherein they're in the car and discuss certain topics. It's fascinating to get Connor's take on things, but it's also heartwarming.
Which is the word for Madison and Tyler's relationship.
Now if you're not on these platforms, you don't know that sponsors are all over these people. James talked about his Weber grill, and he got sent a new one.
Now James appeared to be trolling for said grill, and then there's Madison getting tickets to see Katy Perry and asking whether backstage passes are included, and when they are not, she's disappointed.
We are seeing the truth of fame in an unfiltered, unvarnished way. Believe me, these people dig being famous, getting the perks. And no one begrudges them, because otherwise what chance do they have of getting them? It's kind of like Howard Stern's Waack Pack...and if you're a listener, you know that Wendy the Slow Adult is always asking for money...
So this is the third season of "Love on the Spectrum." I've watched all three, and they've all been heartbreaking and heartwarming, but it wasn't until this season that it clicked in the culture at large. Probably because there was finally love, however unanticipated.
It's kind of like a musical act, with three albums. Today everybody expects to hit on the first, that's what the labels want, but your product has to percolate in the marketplace, for years, until people discover it and you ultimately find the winning formula.
Now it is very easy to be completely oblivious to this phenomenon.
First and foremost, you have to have Netflix. And not absolutely everybody does. And although the big shows get reviewed in the media, there is none of the overblown hype of the music and movie businesses, no scorched earth publicity. Rather the show plays and either it clicks with people or it doesn't. It grows via word of mouth.
Now it's not like these cast members were not on TikTok/Reels prior to this season, but once the mania hit, they were ready. You've got to be in the marketplace, have a plethora of material ready for people to explore if they're interested.
Prior to this season I got served Abby Romeo's clips. Where I found out that she made hats. And got more information about her relationship with David.
And then I saw Tanner meet Jack Black on the Kelly Clarkson show. You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oxjr265r78
Then there's the episode of the series wherein Madison and Tyler test each other on their knowledge of country music. It's astounding, they're savants, they know EVERYTHING, more than many people working in the business!
These people are fans.
So today I was served up a video of Connor and Tanner at a Toto show:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMkuYU1saJm/?igsh=MXFzN295N2UxNTFzNA%3D%3D
And I sent the clip to Steve Lukather.
And then I got served up another clip of Tanner actually meeting Luke:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMkqB4wuP4t/?igsh=MWpuZ2d1cGU2eHltbw%3D%3D
I told Luke what a big deal this was, how famous these people are.
And in reply he said:
"Hey Bob,
I know them.
Just met.
My oldest daughter Tina followed Tanner.
You know my youngest son Bodhi is autistic.. It's close to my heart!
Tina told me this sweet kid loved our band, showed me a clip of him seeing us last time and I reached out.
And invited them out.
I did not know I was being filmed.
I don't do stuff like this for press ever!
But happy to make anyone happy."
And I'm sure Luke is not thrilled that I've included his words, but every time we get together he tells me about his adventures with Bodhi. It's like I know him, and I've never met him.
How long does this phenomenon last? Will we be wondering "Where are they today?" in the future?
Well, I think the mania will die down. Then again, these clips are just about their lives, there's no trick involved.
This is what America is all about.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
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Out Of Touch
"Inside the Rise of the Multiracial Right"
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/24/opinion/minority-voters-trump-right.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk8.UsOJ.lYWoS2WHSg0N&smid=url-share
This is the most important article you will read today.
When I wrote about Maggie Q in "Ballard," I was accused of Asian hate. Not by an Asian woman, but by a white man. If I mention anything negative about a woman, I get blowback from white males, not women.
That's the Democratic party in a nutshell. Elites defending those who don't ask for it. People who think they know better who have no idea what minorities and women really think.
Israel is dropping food aid and halting some military action in Gaza. Was it because people protested in the street? No, it's because the "New York Times" has been on the country's case. for months now. And yesterday published an article saying that the Israelis admitted that Hamas was not stealing U.N. aid.
We live in a two-tiered system. The mainstream and the internet.
If you want to affect those in power, you must address them in the mainstream, most particularly in the "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal," although the "Washington Post" does have some influence.
Those in D.C. read the opinion pages of these newspapers and the letters in regard thereto. That's how they take the temperature of what is going on. The world is run by print, not TV.
The other tier lives on social media. And the irony is the two rarely meet. It's not very often you get those in power living in both camps.
So if you want to effect change on a grand scale, you're probably better off with a top down effort. If you want to reach the Democratic brass/elite, tell them the truth in the "New York Times."
If you want to build a movement, from the bottom up, you do it online, and in podcasts.
Yes, at this late date the powers-that-be don't understand podcasts and TikTok. All they know is they have power. Why and how to utilize them...they're clueless. They just know they have to be on them. But sans understanding of the culture, their efforts are fruitless.
Now we see a similar thing in the music business. The major labels have been out of touch with what the public wants. It still believes that the vast majority of people are interested in the shenanigans of rappers who shoot each other and glorify violence. Sure, the world is a dangerous place, but in truth homicides have gone down. Hip-hop has become a cartoon, akin to Marvel movies, and if you follow the box office those are no longer a slam dunk. Some succeed, but a whole bunch don't.
Which is one of the main drivers to country. Although the banal lyrics about family and church turn off large segments of the public too.
And if you say anything against hip-hop you're a racist.
And if you say anything against country, you hate the South and traditional values.
The fact that hip-hop might be out of touch and unappealing and country music may have no edges to catch you is completely discarded, the knee-jerk people on both sides are defending their fiefdoms.
What does the public really want in music?
Authenticity, credibility. Which is why Zach Bryan can sell out multiple stadium dates and many in the Spotify Top 50 can barely sell a ticket. Whilst those at the top of the chart are busy building brands, making deals with the Fortune 500, those with more credibility are not. We've heard for eons that the public doesn't care about brand endorsements, the same way we heard that Blacks and Latinos would never vote for Republicans, but they did!
Another must-read this week comes from the "Wall Street Journal":
"It's Not Just You—There Are No Good New Songs This Summer - Hits from 2024, and even 2023, continue to rule the charts"
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/top-songs-2025-benson-boone-shaboozey-justin-bieber-swag-133fd33f?st=HAZeCB&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The headline says a lot, but the truth is a bit deeper.
Yes, the industry is out of touch with what the public wants. It created the construct of "Song of the Summer" which no fan ever cared about. The truth is the day of the ruling pop song is in the rearview mirror. Because everybody no longer likes the same thing. And the major labels and the media refuse to acknowledge this. They're still waiting for new stars akin to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to emerge. But Swift started in the aughts and Beyoncé in the nineties, eons ago! The world has completely shifted today. Today it's no longer about the hit but the career. Not worrying about chart numbers but a dedicated fan base.
But if this is true, the major labels have much less power. As does the attendant media that propped up their hype/b.s. It's akin to the Democratic party, rather than a redo, a rethink wherein the entity gets in touch with the real movers and drivers, those on the street, there's a belief that they still rule, in a changed world.
The Democrats are f*cked. Kamala lost and all they can do is beat up the Republicans, they can't look at themselves and see what is really going on. They were afraid not to run Kamala because Blacks would resent it. The same Blacks who voted for Trump? They kept to the canard of Bidenomics, that the economy was doing well for everybody when nothing could be further from the truth. They catered to fat cats with money when income inequality has never been worse in our lifetimes and the rich are resented. Jeffrey Katzenberg? Who the f*ck cares what he thinks, who put him in control, pushing his Biden agenda? Everyone on the street could see that Biden was too old, it was only the insiders who couldn't see or admit the truth.
You might find the above uncomfortable. But we live in a changed world where the old tropes and techniques no longer apply. Fads, trends, movements happen online, period. And almost all of them happen on TikTok. Instagram Reels with an inadequate algorithm is a distant second. As for YouTube...do not mistake its competition in viewing hours with Netflix for its impact on trends. Visual podcasts are a thing. But trends don't start on YouTube, they start on TikTok, and then move over to YouTube and/or Spotify.
And it's almost impossible to game TikTok, although the labels continue to try and do so.
But it's outside their wheelhouse, they think TikTok is akin to MTV, that you only have to be on. That's wrong, today everybody can be on, it's about creativity. Unique clips that engender virality.
And then you've got the oldsters criticizing the successful youngsters on TikTok because their songs may only be thirty seconds long. But that's the way you do it today, money for nothin' on the device that's in everybody's pocket.
The Democrats don't want to believe they've lost control of their constituents. Ditto with the labels. What is their response? That the audience is dumb! Voters are voting against their interest and the music that works on TikTok is tripe. But to quote Journey, who's cryin' now?
The Democrats can't adjust, they need a rewrite. An expulsion of the out of touch oldsters hanging on to power and a takeover by the youth who are in touch with what the public wants.
As for the music business... In truth, the promoters have taken up the slack, they know that you don't need a hit to sell tickets.
However, like the Democrats, the entire music community has been tainted by lowest common denominator cartoon music that has turned off a majority of the public.
If you said you didn't understand Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance the problem was you. You were racist and out of touch, you didn't get the references. But in truth it's the reverse... Most people didn't get either the music or the references, to them it wasn't powerful. But to say that is racist!
But is it? Is that how far we've come, you can't speak your truth because an elite cabal says so? This is why Trump got elected and one of the reasons there are no hits. I've got no problem with Kendrick Lamar, good for him and his audience, but don't tell me everybody else must love his music and what it means or STFU!
You can't speak truth anymore. You're shouted down by institutions. Your only hope is to go online and find like-minded people. That's the essence of the Joe Rogan podcast and those who've followed in his footsteps. But all we hear from the educated elite is we must read and watch Heather Cox Richardson. Fine if you do, like those who like Kendrick Lamar, but if you think the average person can relate to educated Richardson and her analysis, you're plain wrong. They need someone they can relate to, on their level, who speaks their truth. Sure, Trump may be out of control testing laws and norms, but what does that matter if I lost my job and I can't make ends meet. Who is speaking to me?
And the minority voters who switched to Trump in the "Times" article above have not let go of MAGA yet. That's not how change happens. You can't change people's minds that fast. Just like in music, we keep being told we want radio and Spotify Top 50 hits when the audience is looking for something deeper and more fulfilling. And we need a number of these out of the box successes before public perception changes to the point people believe new music is worth listening to.
But it's easier to just believe one is always right and bury one's head in the sand and resist all change.
The world has changed, and too many in power don't know it, never mind admit it.
But the joke is ultimately on them. Like the Democrats. They think it's about the system and elections, whereas the public no longer believes in the system or elections. You've got to start there.
But they refuse to do so. That means everything they've invested in is now wrong.
But that's the truth.
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Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/24/opinion/minority-voters-trump-right.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk8.UsOJ.lYWoS2WHSg0N&smid=url-share
This is the most important article you will read today.
When I wrote about Maggie Q in "Ballard," I was accused of Asian hate. Not by an Asian woman, but by a white man. If I mention anything negative about a woman, I get blowback from white males, not women.
That's the Democratic party in a nutshell. Elites defending those who don't ask for it. People who think they know better who have no idea what minorities and women really think.
Israel is dropping food aid and halting some military action in Gaza. Was it because people protested in the street? No, it's because the "New York Times" has been on the country's case. for months now. And yesterday published an article saying that the Israelis admitted that Hamas was not stealing U.N. aid.
We live in a two-tiered system. The mainstream and the internet.
If you want to affect those in power, you must address them in the mainstream, most particularly in the "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal," although the "Washington Post" does have some influence.
Those in D.C. read the opinion pages of these newspapers and the letters in regard thereto. That's how they take the temperature of what is going on. The world is run by print, not TV.
The other tier lives on social media. And the irony is the two rarely meet. It's not very often you get those in power living in both camps.
So if you want to effect change on a grand scale, you're probably better off with a top down effort. If you want to reach the Democratic brass/elite, tell them the truth in the "New York Times."
If you want to build a movement, from the bottom up, you do it online, and in podcasts.
Yes, at this late date the powers-that-be don't understand podcasts and TikTok. All they know is they have power. Why and how to utilize them...they're clueless. They just know they have to be on them. But sans understanding of the culture, their efforts are fruitless.
Now we see a similar thing in the music business. The major labels have been out of touch with what the public wants. It still believes that the vast majority of people are interested in the shenanigans of rappers who shoot each other and glorify violence. Sure, the world is a dangerous place, but in truth homicides have gone down. Hip-hop has become a cartoon, akin to Marvel movies, and if you follow the box office those are no longer a slam dunk. Some succeed, but a whole bunch don't.
Which is one of the main drivers to country. Although the banal lyrics about family and church turn off large segments of the public too.
And if you say anything against hip-hop you're a racist.
And if you say anything against country, you hate the South and traditional values.
The fact that hip-hop might be out of touch and unappealing and country music may have no edges to catch you is completely discarded, the knee-jerk people on both sides are defending their fiefdoms.
What does the public really want in music?
Authenticity, credibility. Which is why Zach Bryan can sell out multiple stadium dates and many in the Spotify Top 50 can barely sell a ticket. Whilst those at the top of the chart are busy building brands, making deals with the Fortune 500, those with more credibility are not. We've heard for eons that the public doesn't care about brand endorsements, the same way we heard that Blacks and Latinos would never vote for Republicans, but they did!
Another must-read this week comes from the "Wall Street Journal":
"It's Not Just You—There Are No Good New Songs This Summer - Hits from 2024, and even 2023, continue to rule the charts"
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/top-songs-2025-benson-boone-shaboozey-justin-bieber-swag-133fd33f?st=HAZeCB&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The headline says a lot, but the truth is a bit deeper.
Yes, the industry is out of touch with what the public wants. It created the construct of "Song of the Summer" which no fan ever cared about. The truth is the day of the ruling pop song is in the rearview mirror. Because everybody no longer likes the same thing. And the major labels and the media refuse to acknowledge this. They're still waiting for new stars akin to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to emerge. But Swift started in the aughts and Beyoncé in the nineties, eons ago! The world has completely shifted today. Today it's no longer about the hit but the career. Not worrying about chart numbers but a dedicated fan base.
But if this is true, the major labels have much less power. As does the attendant media that propped up their hype/b.s. It's akin to the Democratic party, rather than a redo, a rethink wherein the entity gets in touch with the real movers and drivers, those on the street, there's a belief that they still rule, in a changed world.
The Democrats are f*cked. Kamala lost and all they can do is beat up the Republicans, they can't look at themselves and see what is really going on. They were afraid not to run Kamala because Blacks would resent it. The same Blacks who voted for Trump? They kept to the canard of Bidenomics, that the economy was doing well for everybody when nothing could be further from the truth. They catered to fat cats with money when income inequality has never been worse in our lifetimes and the rich are resented. Jeffrey Katzenberg? Who the f*ck cares what he thinks, who put him in control, pushing his Biden agenda? Everyone on the street could see that Biden was too old, it was only the insiders who couldn't see or admit the truth.
You might find the above uncomfortable. But we live in a changed world where the old tropes and techniques no longer apply. Fads, trends, movements happen online, period. And almost all of them happen on TikTok. Instagram Reels with an inadequate algorithm is a distant second. As for YouTube...do not mistake its competition in viewing hours with Netflix for its impact on trends. Visual podcasts are a thing. But trends don't start on YouTube, they start on TikTok, and then move over to YouTube and/or Spotify.
And it's almost impossible to game TikTok, although the labels continue to try and do so.
But it's outside their wheelhouse, they think TikTok is akin to MTV, that you only have to be on. That's wrong, today everybody can be on, it's about creativity. Unique clips that engender virality.
And then you've got the oldsters criticizing the successful youngsters on TikTok because their songs may only be thirty seconds long. But that's the way you do it today, money for nothin' on the device that's in everybody's pocket.
The Democrats don't want to believe they've lost control of their constituents. Ditto with the labels. What is their response? That the audience is dumb! Voters are voting against their interest and the music that works on TikTok is tripe. But to quote Journey, who's cryin' now?
The Democrats can't adjust, they need a rewrite. An expulsion of the out of touch oldsters hanging on to power and a takeover by the youth who are in touch with what the public wants.
As for the music business... In truth, the promoters have taken up the slack, they know that you don't need a hit to sell tickets.
However, like the Democrats, the entire music community has been tainted by lowest common denominator cartoon music that has turned off a majority of the public.
If you said you didn't understand Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance the problem was you. You were racist and out of touch, you didn't get the references. But in truth it's the reverse... Most people didn't get either the music or the references, to them it wasn't powerful. But to say that is racist!
But is it? Is that how far we've come, you can't speak your truth because an elite cabal says so? This is why Trump got elected and one of the reasons there are no hits. I've got no problem with Kendrick Lamar, good for him and his audience, but don't tell me everybody else must love his music and what it means or STFU!
You can't speak truth anymore. You're shouted down by institutions. Your only hope is to go online and find like-minded people. That's the essence of the Joe Rogan podcast and those who've followed in his footsteps. But all we hear from the educated elite is we must read and watch Heather Cox Richardson. Fine if you do, like those who like Kendrick Lamar, but if you think the average person can relate to educated Richardson and her analysis, you're plain wrong. They need someone they can relate to, on their level, who speaks their truth. Sure, Trump may be out of control testing laws and norms, but what does that matter if I lost my job and I can't make ends meet. Who is speaking to me?
And the minority voters who switched to Trump in the "Times" article above have not let go of MAGA yet. That's not how change happens. You can't change people's minds that fast. Just like in music, we keep being told we want radio and Spotify Top 50 hits when the audience is looking for something deeper and more fulfilling. And we need a number of these out of the box successes before public perception changes to the point people believe new music is worth listening to.
But it's easier to just believe one is always right and bury one's head in the sand and resist all change.
The world has changed, and too many in power don't know it, never mind admit it.
But the joke is ultimately on them. Like the Democrats. They think it's about the system and elections, whereas the public no longer believes in the system or elections. You've got to start there.
But they refuse to do so. That means everything they've invested in is now wrong.
But that's the truth.
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