Re-Spotify

I have to say that during the early 2000's my royalties dwindled greatly with the loss of physical sales. In the past several years as the popularity of streaming grows, the royalties are now as equal, if not greater than the heyday of CD and record sales… 90% from streaming, 10% from physical sales. That is all...

cheers … ed

Ed Stasium

_________________________________________

Here's the one questions I've never received an adequate answer to from the naysayers. If streaming services are bad for the overall music economy, then how come the business grew from $6.7B to $11.1B (US sales) from 2015 to 2019, the EXACT same time that streaming was growing into the dominant way that people consume music? This tracks what happened in the Swedish music business in the early part of last decade by the way. If artists are not getting paid, then they should investigate the deals they are entering into, and not try to crucify the platforms that have resurrected the business (not that they are perfect, mind you). I don't even want to think about where the recorded music business would be if it were dependent on transactional purchasing rather than the utility model of streaming during this pandemic.

Best-
David Macias
Thirty Tigers

_________________________________________

The real problem for most "non-star" musicians isn't streaming, it's the lack of live venues. There are few clubs like there used to be...no Cafe Wah, Bitter End, Electric Circus, etc. Bands could support themselves playing live, even if just locally in Boston, Philly, Chicago, etc. That was also a situation where the cream rose to the top, because there was a finite number of clubs, and the owners could pick the best bands. From there, it was a short step to getting a following, selling albums, opening for major acts, and moving up the ladder based solely on whether you were a draw.

There are still some live music venues like bars, but they're often a "tip jar" situation. Band members are lucky to make enough to cover the expenses of playing. Unfortunately the days of seeing a band like the Mothers of Invention or Cream in a club that holds 1,500 people, with a support act working its way up in the biz, are long gone.

Craig Anderton

_________________________________________

A smaller slice of a bigger pie that is bigger than, a bigger slice of a smaller pie.
Do you want 50% of a million dollars or 1% of a billion Dollars

Steve Hutton

_________________________________________

I feel I want to screen shot the Facebook convo I had today.. basically saying the exact same thing. I got into a lot of trouble at a conference once by saying "just because you make music doesn't mean you have a right to make a living at it". It's so short sighted to say, "I make no money off streams".. but at the same time are not making competitive music, or only making it for a small niche or only marketing locally or putting stuff out and waiting for the world to discover it. There is more opportunity than ever before but the number 1 problem I see is clients trying to do things the old way and expecting the same results as then. It's just not possible. You have to stay educated. The music is just another tool for the brand. The money is all connected in one way or another. Music, merch, YouTube, ad money, touring. One feeds into the other. Bands that would never have a chance now get heard on Spotify and find fan bases. And the reality is.. you might yes indeed get to a point where you can't make real money at it anymore and you might have to get a regular (or different) job.. just like many other people in many other fields. My friend was an architect for 20 years.. he and his designs are no longer in demand.. he is not as relevant and never got big enough for a legacy to see him through. So he is moving on and finding a new thing to do. It's life. I read in the thread on Facebook by one person " if we paid for 6 or 7 albums a month and spent 60 bucks why can't Apple Music charge 49 bucks a month and give 30 to the artists. That statement says it all.

Chad richardson
@thesongspace

_________________________________________

It's a tough ask. Artists want both - a song not to depreciate in value over time and also be purchased multiple times. The physics have changed. So has the job. Like everyone else's. There are even more new jobs than streaming for them to perform with their art however. The future is big.

Mark Iannarelli
Endless Riff

_________________________________________

I'm with you on this one Bob, especially the moniker "wankers". Making a living doing what you love – music or whatever – is a noble goal, but rarely achieved. Lots of people grow up with big dreams, but dreams are a lot different than reality, and just because one discovers that they possess musical talent, and are told that with practice, patience, and perseverance they can make a career for themselves, doesn't mean it's true. The basic problem is that the the idea that the world needs more working musicians is absurd.

If you were alive three hundred years ago, what would be the best job you could get as a musician? Forget rambling and carousing, you'd want a steady gig in the court of the king. Accepting the fact that you go on right after the jugglers and before the belly dancers is a humility lacking in most rock star aspirants. The ones who can accept it work in cover bands and have day jobs because even if they're lucky enough to get a gig, they know there's only so many kings and so many courts and tastes change. How many many talented people strung out on their own ego do you know?

This dovetails nicely with your piece last week about artists and songs that have a message and this piece today (yesterday). What's the message? I want fame and fortune? Yawn. I want you to 'hear my music' – puke! As you pointed out, what musicians really want today is devoted followers, subscribers, fan base, mailing list, and the accompanying income. And what are they willing to do to achieved their goal? Uh…anything boss, it's the entertainment business. Lots of reverb (there days), awful-tuned vocals, posing, and spirit fingers. Pit Bull is on record saying that music is about fifteen percent of what he does. At least he admits it!

Everyone (thinks they) can be their own label, their own network, but despite some success stories, that's less than one percent (calculated from personal experience) of everyone who pursues a musical career. The other ninety-nine percent, the reason Guitar Center exists (existed?), are on Spotify.

Victor Levine
Studio City

_________________________________________

I invested in Spotify about two years ago, post IPO. You were the primary reason why I bought $SPOT because of the way you described the potential it had to disrupt an antiquated industry. Today it's my second largest position and I've more than doubled my initial investment.

Thanks for your letters. Keep them coming. You should now put them on a podcast on Spotify or Youtube. I'll subscribe.

Cheers,
Arindam Das

(Note-As stated many times previously, I own no stock in Spotify nor am I on the company's payroll.)

_________________________________________

It's good to hear this. I feel bad for the old guard. I was one of them in age, but didn't start music until 1989 (I'm 69). The key for low level folks like myself is to own everything (Masters.publishing, copyright) so income isn't divided up. I have 108 million streams on Pandora and do less well w spotify (I don't understand how total streams are added there but I have about 7,000 followers a month (Or what ever U call it)

The bad thing for us is that if you have a weak left brain, controlling the massive amount of knowledge U need (Controlling all web sites, social media etc) is overwhelming at times

I tell friends that were on major labels and don't own all or part publishing to release independently free of the shiney shoes. Their old history will make finding followers easier than starting off new, and U keep all royalties

paul adams

_________________________________________

Pardon us for belly-aching. In the past five years, artists like me have watched their cash flow disappear almost completely. Niche acts used to be able to release a new album a year, hit the road and sell decent numbers of CDs after shows. 5000-10,000 of a release sold annually, plus whatever catalog on top of that created an income with which one could raise a family. The era of iTunes killed the single but the payout was still respectable. Now? Consumers of the world love free music and are happy to put the majority of musicians out of business while they are streaming away. Your examples below ring hollow…if no one was enjoying recorded music anymore, no one would be entitled to anything. But more music is consumed than ever. Now we have to be on the streaming services or we're invisible. Ownership is over. For the time being, live music is over. .003 cents a stream? Us small-time artists are on the streets or considering other career paths.

All my kids are musicians. I'm not recommending this industry to any of them.

Sam Glaser
Glaser Musicworks

www.samglaser.com

_________________________________________

I like when Bobby gets mad. I am a producer, drummer, keyboardist, performer, DJ. And one time manager. I am not in the top echelon of the music biz, but am a testament to the hard yards and hustle you must engage in to carve a career in the biz. You won't hear me complain about streaming revenue, though mine is quite small, it amazes me every time when I see in my stats that someone in Russia, or freakin' Zambia streamed or bought a track. This is something I couldn't do by myself, and the reach of it is endless. Whereas that couple hundred cds I have left in the garage (I won't be printing anymore runs..) has no chance of getting to a listener in Zambia. I love the potential, and I too get a bit mad at the smallfry's who think they are owed a living playing music.

Thanks for firing me up Bob, back to mixing a track for a guy who will likely never be famous, but lives for playing, makes a bit of money and surfs in his spare time. That's the life money can't buy.

Matt Aitchison

_________________________________________

Thanks for the clear view from 20,000 feet of how to chart a course as a modern musician to share in the modern and future income streams available to musicians who know how to write, record, and control their intellectual properties, build a loyal Audience, a brand and share in the bounty that puts a writer or artist in the music BUSINESS, not just someone who "does music".

I've been a subscriber to your letter for 5 years now, have paid attention, and along with the many established artists who work with and for me, I am working to monetize my BRAND, Which includes books I write ( which still sell as print and eBook downloads) the apps I develop with Filemaker, the teaching I do, (songwriting, recording production, Pro Tools, entrepreneurship, small business start up, marketing, web content strategy) and social justice work with local and national MN politicians on causes that include Homelessness, Immigration, and criminal justice reform. It is and will be my OTHER non-music copyrights and services that comprise my near as far future income because they reinforce and build my music brand.

Best,
Zannman
Minneapolis

_________________________________________

As a struggling musician/songwriter in his 60s I get weary trying to explain to my younger colleagues why Spotify and other streaming platforms are good for ALL of us. I don't recall ever hearing musicians singing the praises of record companies in the pre-Spotify era, either. There's never enough; if it's money you seek, look elsewhere. We can now record an album in our bedrooms, release it for free on streaming platforms and, with a little social media effort, have at least some people other than our parents and spouses and kids hear it. That's a miracle if you were a musician 25 or 30 years ago! Focus on the music and the money will find you.

Jim Caroompas
Seattle, WA

_________________________________________

We can't turn back the clock, and anyway the "good old days" weren't so good. Forcing people to buy an album for two decent songs was a sucky model that was destined to die a deserved death at some point. Was having a handful of labels and maybe 2-3 decent FM channels in a media market choosing winners a better model than streaming/YouTube/satellite radio? Seems as if some are upset that something closer to a meritocracy has replaced a lottery.

"Not as big as you think you are" sounds like my grandmother, but she was right!

Adam Keller

_________________________________________

Two things that I point out to artists are these...

1- Spotify is revenue that artists never made, ever, in the history of recorded music. Revenue from people making mixed tapes/Cd's for fun and playing those endlessly. In fact it's revenue for unknown artists that never would have made a penny. I just don't think anyone born less than 8 years before Napster understands this. Why? Because they've never had to pay for music. These are the same people that were saying "music should be free" now they're saying "why don't I make more money from my streams?" These same people would still complain if they were making 10x. Why because they still wouldn't make money because they have no idea how to market.

2- Music is your business card to attract your fan base. As you stated, the real revenue is made everywhere else. Sync, merch, live shows (someday again), shoutouts, cameo, endorsements, influencer gigs, product placements, it's really whatever you can think of, you can monetize it.

There are absolutely no successfully monetized artist social media accounts that ONLY post about the music they are selling, none. The audience only cares a tiny bit about the music. What they really want is YOU, the artist, and to know and be a part of their lives. I do social media, I have very large artist accounts, and I can blow up anyone on social media that is interesting, the music is always secondary.

Any artist out there that thinks it's all about music, they're wrong and in the wrong business.

I'm Done!

Best,
James Lucente
Nashville
James Lucente, GSD/SMD
Lucente Social Media
Lucente Entertainment

_________________________________________

As a musician who plays, writes, and records music for my own fun and sanity, never trying to make it big or make it a career, just doing it because I love to do it, I never quite understood artists complaining about Spotify, especially if the artist has an audience that listens. Why? Because people are listening to your music! The point is for people to listen to your music. That's it, end of story. Making a living is secondary to the opportunity to have more people listen. I never understand artists and labels who would hold back from Spotify. I would go to the artist's page with a hunger to listen to their new album and...It's not there. So guess what I did? I didn't listen! Dollars should be less important than access because musicians want to be heard. I understand they have to make a living, but the paradigm has changed. The old ways are dead, so why not get as many people listening as possible? I would be filled with absolute joy and wonder if my music was heard by even a minor contingent. It's not my goal, but just imagine...sounds better than a million dollars, let alone a thousand or two...for a voice to be heard...for an album to be listened to...

-- Dan Grgas

_________________________________________

Hey Bob - the bigger point the entire industry is missing on this topic is podcasts and their long term effect. It is why the market has been driving the value of Spotify up after every recent announcement.

The artists get their share of plays, as a trickle down from the labels getting their share of plays, as you eloquently explain here. But as podcasts (ie owned content) become a larger share of plays (and they are 5-10x length of a song), the effective rev share to the labels goes down, and Spotify's gross profit margin goes up.

Everyone said Spotify "could never be a label", by which they meant "own the content". However they are now doing this through the backdoor, in a Netflix-like transition.

Patrick Murphy

_________________________________________

The elephant in the room is as they spend hundreds of millions on podcasts, they are diluting the recorded music royalty.

It's all a meritocracy island on Spotify. Exclusive Podcasts are good for Ek's stock but bad for the musical artists living on the island.
Ash Avildsen

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Spotify Economics

"Because as Spotify subscription numbers increase, so do payments. So, what DJ Khaled gets for a stream today is more than what Ed Sheeran got in the past."

Ah, the nitpickers are out in force. I hate to interact with them, but I'm wary of misinformation being spread.

What I wrote above is loose language, you can even say it is presently technically wrong. Because the truth is PER STREAM PAYMENTS have been going down, not that that is written in stone, BUT STREAMS HAVE GONE UP so the resulting payment for a hit is higher.

My point is very simple. The greater the number of Spotify subscribers, the larger the pool of money to be distributed.

BUT THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE WANKERS!

First and foremost, Spotify does not have a per-stream rate. Never did, still doesn't, and never will.

The per-stream rate is math done to interpret the modern world for those still living in the past. They're used to percentage royalty rates on physical. For some reason, they can't understand pool percentages.

FURTHERMORE, these same people complaining, and just like Daniel Ek said, it's not the big artists who are complaining, who are rolling in dough from streaming payments, IT'S THE LITTLE ARTISTS! Which makes no sense, because if the per-stream payment is going down, that means more tracks/artists are getting paid, which is exactly what Daniel Ek said, once again:

""Gone are the days of Top 40, it's now the Top 43,000" – referring to the fact that the streaming service's 'top tier' of artists – those accounting for the top 10% of its streams – now number more than 43,000, compared to 30,000 a year ago."

https://bit.ly/2XdO02h

Funny how those who lean left, the majority of the artists, those who believe the little musician should make more money from streaming services, nitpick just like those on the other side of the political spectrum do. They cannot handle the spirit of the statement, they have to cherry-pick and twist to make their point.

And to beat a dead horse, as Spotify increases in subscribers, more artists are sharing the wealth. Somehow that's a problem? Because each and every stream might be worth less?

This is the basic rule of scale. Which, ironically, Spotify doesn't have (scale, that is).

Let me explain...

These internet companies become more valuable because more people use them. And the cost of acquisition per customer drops, because users tell other users, people want to get in on the game. And costs can be spread over more people, therefore lowering them per user.

Spotify becomes more valuable as more people use it. That's why its stock is high (along with the venture into podcasts).

However, Spotify still has to cough up approximately 70% to music rights holders no matter how big it gets.

Going back to the past to explain this to the brain dead...the reason record companies were so profitable in the past is because recording costs were a set figure. And, as a record caught fire, fewer marketing efforts were needed to sell each subsequent album. So, doing little more than pressing and shipping the product, at a certain point almost everything was profit. Sure, you can amortize the costs over each and every album shipped, but most records' costs are never recouped anyway.

Once again, it's sad to have to describe the music business to those agitating for results that are impossible. Spotify can't lay out more cash to artists, who are paid by their label anyway, if they've got one, because then it would GO BROKE!

I remember a conversation with Lucian Grainge. He lamented the artist blowback on Spotify because THEY'RE HIS BIGGEST CUSTOMER! The healthier Spotify is, the healthier the labels are. And there's no point in putting Spotify out of business, because it would hurt the labels.

If you know anything about retailing, about concert promotion prior to the Sillerman roll-up, you know that the first rule of these businesses is TO KEEP THEIR BUYERS SOLVENT! Which is why manufacturers extend terms to retailers, why acts give back money to concert promoters, which they still might do with indies.

But the problem with the internet is it's flat. Everybody gets a voice and everybody's can be amplified. And then this misinformation, or twist of information, gets picked up by the ignorant with an agenda and you end up with a paper tiger. What next, Lucian and Rob Stringer running a child sex ring out of the dressing rooms in Madison Square Garden?

So, you hate the big boys. I get it. They're up here and you're down there. You want more. And I believe in a safety net for everybody, a roof over their head and food on the table, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE EVERY ARTIST IS ENTITLED TO THE SAME THING! And just so the nitpickers won't bite back, there should be a government safety net for these people, but as far as their artistic work...NO WAY!

What next? Do we get rid of all pool percentage deals?

Once again, I don't want to go too deep here, giving those on the other side cracks they can burrow down into...

However, do you know if you buy more you pay less? Which is why if you buy from a one stop you pay more than you do buying direct? Ever try to sell to Wal-Mart? It's only interested in products that can scale, that can sell zillions. They don't want to stock any product that won't, because it's going to eat up shelf space that could go to a more valuable product. Then again, in the virtual world, like SPOTIFY, there's unlimited shelf space, so there is more room to play!

Creating music is a social experience. Not one of hard facts. Whereas the business side is. Which is why you see a clear division between the two. The artists need the business people and vice versa. Hell, most musicians couldn't even work at the 7-11, they couldn't show up on time. And you can't sell the music of the execs, believe me, many tried, they gave up.

But your response to my screed has the chance to not only reach as many people, but more.

And I get it, you're mad that I have a bigger audience than you do. But you truly aren't aware of what it cost to garner that audience in blood, sweat and tears, sheer work. Without ads or promo, without buying followers. Furthermore, I'm not getting paid for my writing. I choose to do this. Because the wider my reach, the richer the opportunities to make bank. JUST LIKE SPOTIFY!

Which is why if you're a nobody and you've got a paywall, good luck, your odds of making it are low. Like all those people on Patreon. If you're making a living, more power to you. But spreading the word, growing, gaining significant mindshare...NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!

There's plenty of money out there, tons. And if you're interested in cash, figure out a way to make it.

The biggest artists make most of their money from brand-associated income, perfumes, makeup, clothing, tchotchkes. And it's not that streaming pays so bad, but you just can't make as much as Jeff Bezos from it. And you can try, but it's literally impossible to do, no one makes triple digit billions in music. But music gives you the right to speak truth to power, to have an impact...THAT'S ITS ESSENCE!

Believe me, if you're great, people will find you. But the process is slower than ever before, because the channel is overwhelmed with junk. So, you've got to work longer and harder to make it, and you still may never make it. How many people have that gumption? Maybe you had an interest in medicine, but you didn't want to study and get good grades and therefore get a good MCAT score, never mind spend all those years in school and as an intern and resident, so you're closed out. What next, should everybody be allowed to be an MD? Should the amateur MDs be paid more proportionally for each visit/operation, because they see fewer people? And what about the CUSTOMER! The customer won't want to go to the amateur MD, no way, they want to see the big, licensed MD, so the amateur MDs get online and tell everybody how this is unfair.

This is the way it is. Who knows, I'm completely fried, I might have left a hole for a nitpicker to enter, to blow back. But the spirit, the essence of the above, is true, definitively.

Oh, one more example. There are always people lamenting their act won't get signed to the major label, or the company released the music and have stopped marketing it with tons of bucks. EVER HEARD OF OPPORTUNITY COST? Record labels want to give themselves the biggest chance to make more money. They don't want an album that can sell 10,000 copies, even if you give it to them for free. Because it's gonna take up too much time and effort marketing said product and supporting it in other ways.

So you can decide right now which side you want to be on. Do you want to amplify the words of the losers, who don't understand the business, or do you want to align yourself with those who are successful and learn from them? Believe me, in a business like music, it's almost impossible to get a job and keep it. Not only can you not skip a day, YOU'VE GOT TO WORK ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AND MAY NOT GET PAID EXTRA! It's a life commitment, and most people are not willing to suffer that much, and most people are not that great either. Do you think people want to pay to see castoffs from Little League as opposed to the Yankees?

I'm done.


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Daniel Ek On Streaming Royalties

"There is a narrative fallacy here, combined with the fact that, obviously, some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can't record music once every three to four years and think that's going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realise that it's about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans... I feel, really, that the ones that aren't doing well in streaming are predominantly people who want to release music the way it used to be released."

https://bit.ly/2XdO02h

Bingo!

I thought this case was closed, but never underestimate oldsters in control of old media perpetuating the canard that streaming is the devil and if Spotify were just somehow equitable, they'd be rolling in dough.

"What tends to be reported are the people that are unhappy, but we very rarely see anyone who's talking about… In the entire existence (of Spotify) I don't think I've ever seen a single artist saying 'I'm happy with all the money I'm getting from streaming.' Stating that publicly. In private they have done that many times, but in public they have no incentive to do it. But unequivocally, from the data, there are more and more artists that are able to live off streaming income in itself."

I was watching "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and one woman asked a newbie how she got so wealthy. This new woman didn't want to tell, she said she'd grown up in the south, all she'd reveal was her first husband was rich.

In a country where the president doesn't want to reveal his income/taxes, do you think musicians want to either?

According to HitsDailyDouble's Song Revenue Chart: https://bit.ly/30bt7qy last week's #1, DJ Khaled's cut "Popstar," featuring Drake, was streamed 25,705,000 times, or for the math challenged, in excess of 25 million times, and generated $172,352.

25 million streams might sound like a lot, but the biggest Spotify streaming track of all time is Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You," and it has 2,555,000,000 streams (in excess of 2.5 billion to the math-challenged), AND THAT'S JUST ON SPOTIFY!

Let's extrapolate. Using the metric re DJ Khaled, Ed Sheeran would have earned approximately $17,235,200 (once again, that's $17 million) FOR ONE TRACK! That's beaucoup bucks! And Ed Sheeran also has the #8 all time Spotify track, with 1,574,000 streams, and he has #12 and #16...as the Violent Femmes once sang...ADD IT UP!

Now those numbers re Sheeran's "Shape of You" are fallacious. Because as Spotify subscription numbers increase, so do payments. So, what DJ Khaled gets for a stream today is more than what Ed Sheeran got in the past (approximately, Queen Jane, as Dylan would say, there are other factors, but generally speaking this is true). HOWEVER, we are only talking SPOTIFY numbers, not Apple, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, even YouTube, which would increase the payment.

As for the most-streamed Spotify tracks of all time: https://bit.ly/317rIQS #100, "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer, has 992 million streams, so when you have a few million and believe you should be making millions, you're wrong.

So, first and foremost, you're probably not as big as you think you are.

Second, the metrics of old don't apply today. In the old days it was about sales, today it's about streams. You get paid for consumption until the end of copyright, which never seems to end in the U.S. anyway. As for talking about that royalty from physical...chances are, you weren't even in royalties, you owed the label money, unless you were in the equivalent of the Spotify Top 100 of all time. Yes, you got advances from the label, but there's a good chance that's all you got. You went on the road and lost money, the label supported you. Sure, eventually you might make some money on the road, and that's good, but there were fewer avenues of additional cash. You may or may not want to have sponsors, do endorsements, sell merch and perfume and... But all those opportunities now exist. You can monetize in so many ways.

Also, streaming tells the truth, just like Soundscan in the physical era. I mean how big are you really, forget the hype, are people really listening to your music? That's what Spotify and the rest of the streaming giants tell you. So, you got ink in all the major newspapers and magazines, well, that doesn't mean people care. As for radio...you're still getting paid on that. And in the internet radio world, you're getting paid on both the song and the record, same deal on satellite, whereas in the U.S. previously these were nonstarters generating no cash.

But you made more money in the past!

Well, thirty five years ago, computers cost $3 grand and were only a fraction as powerful as they are today. The rules of economics should apply everywhere but in the music business?

As for all the money going only to the elite, the most-streamed...

"Gone are the days of Top 40, it's now the Top 43,000" – referring to the fact that the streaming service's 'top tier' of artists – those accounting for the top 10% of its streams – now number more than 43,000, compared to 30,000 a year ago."

Once again, maybe you're not as big as you used to be.

Would payments be different if everybody's subscription was allocated to what they actually listened to? Economist Will Page reported that this would not be the case. Meanwhile, Deezer wants to attempt this, but so far the labels haven't agreed.

The labels...

It's kind of like Ticketmaster, both the ticketing giant and Spotify get all the heat when the blame lies elsewhere. Ticketmaster just does what the acts tell them to do, and since the big acts take virtually all of the ticket revenue, the fees represent profit for Ticketmaster, which it also has to share with promoters, venues and potentially other entities, sometimes even including the act itself! As for Spotify, it pays in the neighborhood of 58% of revenues for recordings and 6% for mechanicals and 6% for performance. So, the more Spotify makes, the more it has to pay out. Maybe you have a bad royalty deal with the label. Or maybe you're one of twenty writers on a song and you don't own any of the publishing and you're quoting royalties for streaming RADIO, which pays a lesser rate than on demand.

"The artists today that are making it realise that it's about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans."

The game changed. Like it did when we went from singles to albums. Once again, why should the music business get to stay in the past when every other business does not, what makes artists so special that they never have to adjust to business change?

"I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you
In my lessons at love's pain and heartache school"

"Fountain of Sorrow"
Jackson Browne

The history of the past twenty five years is the mainstream trying to adjust to the present, never mind the future. Go back to network news, it's on YouTube, people laughing about the future of the internet, how it's never going to happen.

So what you've got is aged know-nothings pontificating and getting ink because they mean something to the oldsters controlling big media but nearly nothing to those actually streaming music. Like David Crosby.

And never underestimate the complaining of the wannabes and losers. Come on, just go to your local bar (when it opens after Covid-19), and you'll hear so many stories of inequities...I was gonna play for the Yankees but I got injured, someone stole my glove and I couldn't afford a new one, my girlfriend dumped me and I was emotionally troubled...it's the nature of the world, everybody's got an excuse, everybody believes they deserve to make it.

But music is close to a lottery.

You're not entitled to a living in art. Just like you're not entitled to a living in professional sports. There's a limited number of qualified people. Who make a lot, while you're shut out. Be thankful in music that there's no barrier to entry, that you can play at all.

So, when MTV started, the classic rock artists ruled. But them came Duran Duran and hip-hop and...they were squeezed out.

At the turn of the century, during Napster, the focus was on the past, to a great degree these same classic rock artists, unearthing old gems, rarities.

But today it's about the present, what people want to listen to TODAY! And the truth is a lot of that is hip-hop. And if you're a rock fan, listen to the songs on the chart, do they really deserve a wider listenership? And you used to have to buy them to hear them at all, now they're all included in your streaming package, so if there's something good, you can check it out.

The Beatles wiped out so many acts. From Perry Como to Fabian to Bobby Rydell... But only in the twenty first century do old acts believe they're entitled to a large share of the pie of recorded music revenues.

Once again, youngsters are not concerned with this at all. They've accepted and bought into the new paradigm. It's only the old people and the losers who are complaining, AND THEY ALWAYS COMPLAIN!

Ignore the next person who tells you streaming is the enemy. Spotify INCREASED recorded music revenue. And chances are, if there weren't streaming services, your material would not be able to be heard whatsoever. David Crosby? Do you really think the retail stores of old would have stocked all your new albums? NO!

I'm a fan of David Crosby's music. I like that he's pushing the envelope artistically, but that does not mean his opinions are inviolate.

Sometimes you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but never forget, the world is run by new dogs, accept it.


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Don Passman-This Week's Podcast

Attorney Don Passman literally wrote the book on the music business: "All You Need to Know About the Music Business." Here we delve deeply into today's deal landscape, as well as Don's story, how he got to be one of the foremost lawyers in the music business. If you want to know about record deals, and publishing deals, and 360 deals and touring deals...this is the place!

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/don-passman/id1316200737?i=1000486591472

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7oR3ofoKloiMTtIa7VCehz

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=76557115


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Queen Songs-Songs With "Queen" In The Title-SiriusXM This Week

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/334LrUa

Pandora: https://bit.ly/3hWuwYb

Tune in today, July 28th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive  

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive 


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November

You ain't seen nothin' yet.

If Trump wins the election, there will be riots in the street.

The right believes by countering the protests, by waving the flag of law and order, they're winning. What they don't know is decades of tilting the playing field and working the refs has come back to haunt them.

If I talk about politics, and I'd rather not, like the rest of America I'd rather vote and get on with my life, paying cursory attention, those on the right get up in arms, they bite back, they tell me I'm wrong, but they don't unsubscribe, whereas those on the left say nothing and if they're sick and tired of being sick and tired they unsubscribe quietly and head into the night. Oh, then there are those on the right who want to make a point, they respond UNSUBSCRIBE when they know very well there's a link at the bottom of each e-mail to do this, they just want to get their opinion heard. You see the right is working the refs and getting a disproportionate share of the left to question their numbers and beliefs, when each and every poll indicates the public overwhelmingly despises Trump and his policies.

That does not mean he won't win. He's helped by gerrymandering and voter suppression, and an expressed willingness not to accept the result if it doesn't go his way. Then what?

This is not the America of 2016, never mind 1980. The problems of the underclass, of what's left of the middle class, have festered to the point where people cannot take it anymore, they're hopeless. That's another reason Hillary lost, she represented more of what we already had, which wasn't working for so many people. If I hear one more talking head or writer laud Obama my head is gonna explode. I've got nothing against the man, but he didn't solve the underlying problems of America and Timothy Geithner succeeded in not only rescuing the banks, but paying them handsomely while the regular folk lost their homes and tried to stave off bankruptcy.

In other words, there's no poll that will truly tell you the national mood, what's blowin' in the wind. But I'll tell you it's dissatisfaction, anger at minority rule for far too long. That's right, Trump loses the popular vote and still gets in the White House. Gerrymandering results in a disproportionate number of Republicans getting into Congress, and the idea that less populated states like North Dakota and Wyoming get as many senators as California and New York is sticking in people's craws.

Yes, everything is up for grabs.

There's a belief that we adhere to a system, that the entire country buys in and we all play by the rules. But the Republicans haven't played by the rules for decades and the Democrats have been too scared to stand up to them and the end result is people, not only the young, and of all colors, have taken to the streets to protest the state of America. And the only way to keep them down is through the use of the military.

You keep hearing the canard on the left that Trump won't stay in office because the military is not on his side. I don't see the federal law enforcement employees refusing to step up in Portland, what makes you think this is true, especially in a country wherein the commander of an aircraft carrier stands up for his coronavirus-infected sailors and he loses his job. Yes, that was political, just like the recent incarceration of Michael Cohen. As for Roger Stone, that's no longer on the front page, unfortunately, but do you think America has forgotten about it? NO!

While the right oppresses, the left does nothing. Covid-19 rages and all Democratic governors and mayors can do is blame Trump. No one will stand up to the man, no one will outline a plan, a solution. Meanwhile, just yesterday Trump said we've got to push to reopen states. Do you think the public is ignorant, that they've got no clue as to what is going on? The news outlets and those in power keep blaming the young 'uns, for partying. But the truth is these same young people stayed home under lockdown in March and April, and what was the result? NOTHING! There was no plan to transition from closed to opening, which should have been done slowly with testing and contact tracing, but those were absent.

In other words, it's a free-for-all. And you expect the public to obey the law?

Back when music ruled the world, back when people listened to artists, before it was all about their brand and the number of streams and money, the bard from Hibbing sang:

"When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose"

You just can't make it in America anymore. I just finished reading this book "Want," by Lynn Steger Strong. It's about the plight of a millennial couple. The wife's got a Ph.D., but she can't get a full-time professorship. Her husband leaves the bank because it's soulless and unfulfilling and...they end up declaring bankruptcy. Student loans, dentistry problems, the vagaries of life...they happen to everyone and the only people who can survive them are those with rich parents or the thin layer employed on Wall Street and maybe in tech. Where is the hope for these people? They did everything right and it turned out to be wrong.

We didn't expect the death of George Floyd to result in spontaneous combustion, not only protests in the blue cities, but the red, even overseas. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, enough is enough.

So, federal troops, essentially secret police, rounding up people in the night...I'll protest that to the end of time. The Holocaust taught us you stand up early, you just don't let heinous activity continue in plain sight. Yes, there were news stories back then, but people shrugged and said it can't be that bad, I don't believe it, and then the camps were liberated and the photos came out and...

People still don't believe it. Yes, the Jews are scapegoats. Are you following what happened with Wiley in the U.K., never mind Nick Cannon in the U.S? Sure, it's anti-Semitism, but you get scapegoats when people feel oppressed and need someone to blame, no wonder it's increased dramatically under Trump.

So, the people protesting/rioting/whatever believe they are powerless and the only way to stand up to the oppression is to take to the streets. They don't care about the consequences. They're willing to be gassed, get arrested, have their bones broken. They're the last line of defense. This is the history of revolutions, if you studied them you'd know, and if Trump steals the election, or refuses to accept the vote, these protesters are going to go berserk and will be joined by many more, and the protests will not stop and it will not be business as usual.

Trump and Fox and Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing bloviators believe law and order will win the day, that if they keep denigrating the protesters, focus on destruction, they'll remain in power. NO WAY! No one wants buildings burned down, businesses trashed, but the truth is it's a result of Trump bringing in the feds. Before he did, the protests were not violent. In other words, it's Trump who poured the gasoline on the smoldering ashes. Of course, if you're in the right wing bubble, you believe just the opposite. That the public is scary and uncontrollable and must be kept down. That's another thing the protesters have had enough of, social media that allows disinformation to run rampant. Just because Republicans are ignorant, that does not mean everyone else is. Do you have the equivalent of QAnon on the left? OF COURSE NOT!

Like Leonard Cohen sang, everybody knows.

But what the young and oppressed know, those who didn't succeed in getting theirs after Reagan trashed taxes and before the cost of higher education went through the roof, is the game is rigged and they've lost and they're no longer going to stand for it.

So, Trump wins. There are hosannas on Fox News. And just that quickly, they're truly rioting in the streets, setting fires, overturning cars. And they're not gonna stop, just like the protests haven't stopped since May. And chaos will reign and the end result is Trump will declare martial law and the transition will be complete, we'll live in an authoritarian state.

Blame the Republicans. Who are complicit, the Vichy regime.

Blame Fox and the rest of right wing news outlets, who did it for the money.

But don't blame the protesters, the hoi polloi, the regular people. They've given up on the system, the law. They're willing to sacrifice everything they've got because they don't have that much. You can only push people so far before they'll react.

So, read the news about the horse race. It's irrelevant. The only people paying attention are those invested in the game. But most of the public opted out long ago. They just can't win under these rules. And if you push them any further...

They're gonna go wild in the streets and won't stop until Trump and his cronies, including the spineless senators, either cave or crumble.

Come on, the rule of law didn't save all those companies disrupted by the internet. And the record labels sued their customers, how did that work out? Just because you're rich that does not mean you have power. Nothing can compete with the masses other than armor.

Beware of that.


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Re-Peter Green

Peter Green. As a guitar player, he is just about my biggest influence. I think I might have every record, bootleg, live recording, out take, etc that can be found. I started listening to Fleetwood Mac when I first started playing guitar in the 5th grade, about the time I discovered BB King. I read some articles and found out Peter was Jewish(real name Peter Greenbaum), kind of an outsider, like me, made me think maybe I could do it, too.

l think Peter was the absolute best of the British blues guys. I may sound like I'm going overboard, but his singing and guitar playing have always been and will always be a part of my life. I spend a lot of time in the studio, and I'm always trying to channel his vibe. If I'm playing a solo and get stuck, or start to overplay, I think, what would Peter Green play. He was a master of economy. Seriously…….

We all know Albatross, Oh Well and Black Magic Woman, but check out Stop Messin' Round and Rollin Man from the Mr Wonderful album, Or better yet, his first solo and opening vocal verse from Sugar Mama. And his vocal on Rattlesnake Shake is as badass as it gets. But you have to be patient, because he's not featured on every song on the Fleetwood Mac records. He let the other guys, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan play and sing. No disrespect, but that stuff is kind of average. You have to go deep and search out the cuts featuring Peter. Same with the live recordings. The Boston Tea Party is a good place to start. Again, not every cut is good, but the ones featuring Peter are stunning. His playing is just the deepest well. Some musicians are really good at imitating the real thing. Peter was the real thing.

He may have passed on, but his music lives.

Kenny Greenberg

__________________________________________

My first every album was Mr Wonderful . A great gatefold sleeve of a very tall Mick Fleetwood . But you didn't mention a superb song called " Man of the World " I think the follow up up Albatross .. classic

Steve Lillywhite

__________________________________________

Peter Green was massively important in the whole Blues movement in the UK.

As you know the band were originally called Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Their first album "Fleetwood Mac' released in 1968 was an immediate UK hit reaching No 4 in the UK album chart. Tracks like their version of Elmore James 'Shake Your Moneymaker' and Robert Johnson's 'Hellhound on my Trail' were foundation stones of the British blues/rock movement and awoke a whole generation to the giants of American blues.

Then came the hit singles 'Black Magic Woman' and 'Need your Love so Bad' followed by the totally unexpected 'Albatross' which sounded like something from another planet. 'Albatross' seemed to live at No 1 in the UK singles chart and was followed by 'Man of The World' and 'Oh Well' both of which reached No 2.

The great thing about the UK music scene over the past 60 years has been the BBC. BBC radio and TV would play all this stuff nationwide. The BBC are one of the main reasons that the UK bats so much above its weight and will continue to do so, if the BBC continues to exist.

As you say, Peter Green was a hugely inspirational and talented guitar player singer and writer. In the late sixties he was right up there with Clapton and Hendrix. His passing is a very sad day for music. I just hope people will now go back and listen to his work and appreciate just how important he was.

David Stopps

__________________________________________

Dear Bob
Incredibly for me I met Peter Green several times around about the time he had been persuaded by Peter Vernon-Kell of PVK Records to return to recording and playing. Peter was a sweet man. Yes he had been damaged by his experiences in life, but he remained a good guy with a gentle side. He spoke eloquently about his time with John Mayall (saying he was 19 when he started playing with Mayall), forming Fleetwood Mac, jamming with The Allman Brothers and Santana on stage, meeting his number one hero BB King and so many of his blues heroes in Chicago. He was proud and satisfied with the singles he had written for Fleetwood Mac, on which he said he played everything except the drums (this might not be true?) mentioning that the second part of Oh Well in his head was a serious piece of classical music. He absolutely knew how good he was compared to all the other white blues singers and guitar players of his era but he would not accept that what he did was anything except copying BB King. Clapton was "alright" Duane Allman was " a good slide player" but he knew he was at the very least their equal. At the time I recommended drummer Dave Mattacks as someone he could work with and Dave was hired. After the experience Dave, one of the very best drummers in the UK if not the world, told me that even in the state that he sadly was his ability to play slow blues was the best he had ever witnessed. He had perfect timing.

Later on, in the mid 90s, my band toured with Fleetwood Mac. I talked with Mick and John about Peter a lot. Peters' illness was still something that affected them both very deeply. They loved the guy to bits and their greatest wish still was that Peter somehow recovered and regained at least some of what he had -which in their opinion was genius in the true sense of the word. John was still so very very angry with the cult Peter had met outside Munich. Mick especially did so much for Peter over the years but it was all to no avail. The illness had no cure and Peter was so easily taken in by people who used him for their own purposes.

If you listen to that string of Fleetwood Mac singles (Albatross, Oh Well, Green Manelishi, Man Of The World) they were unique. They came out of nowhere. Nobody had ever done anything like it before. He was unique. A genius. And a gentle soul.

Alex Cooper

__________________________________________

Bluesbreakers with Clapton was the holy grail and I suspect that many other guitarists who were lucky enough, and old enough, to be musically active during the 60s and thereafter would agree.

I feel compelled to interject that while the original Fleetwood Mac might never have had "hit singles", still, every guitar player on the planet and many other rock fans wore the grooves off the vinyl playing "The Rattlesnake Shake". Rattlesnake Shake was as iconic a rock recording as there ever was.

I am sure I sound like an old man shaking his fist on the front lawn and while I am not literally on the front lawn at this moment, in every other respect, that's who and what I am, ..... but for my money, none of the tapioca put forth by the second coming of Fleetwood Mac embodied the good old organic gut level bluesy greasy rock and roll of the Peter Green era.

My opinion is when Duke Ellington said "it don't mean a thing if it aint got that swing", it didn't go far enough and applies double when it comes to the blues. The original band brought the blues. I think connoisseurs would be hard pressed to make that claim that for the "Buckingham Nicks" era reincarnation which to my ears, was more like one long "jingle date" regardless of the magnificent revenue it generated.

Larry Brown (guitarist)

__________________________________________

It's too bad that (comparatively) few Americans know about Peter Green and his music. I rate him highly.

Listen (again) to Need Your Love So Bad to experience how good a singer he was. Note that on Man of the World he sings, "I just wish I'd never been born." That's what I call the blues.

FYI there's a UK DVD documentary, Man of the World (2007), parts of which are on YouTube. I bought it at Tower Records in London, because it said that the region was "0." It turns out it was not watchable on NTSC players.

Harold Bronson

__________________________________________

Hey Bob, Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight. It means a lot to some of us. I will never forget meeting him one night in New York. At some gig, can't remember the details, but not his or mine. We just shook hands and I told him it was an honor to meet him and that was that. I know it is cliche to say, but he was a shadow of his former self. Not that I had known him before, but you could just tell. But you could also tell that the genius was buried down in there somewhere. You could feel it somehow. Anyway, his grit, his economy, his purity, and his raw emotion shone through on all those tracks you mentioned. I wish I could have seen him play live in his heyday. May he Rest In Peace and may the kids of today take a few minutes to find him on their fancy phones and listen.

Best, George Kilby Jr

__________________________________________

Hey Bob,
A true legend has passed.
Not just for guitarists but songwriters and singers, Peter Green had all those gifts.
In bucketloads.

A little story I can share is the honour I had of being at a studio session with him.
It was 2003 and Peter was guesting on a cover of his Albatross by a chill artist called Chris Coco.
For the dual lead guitar part, he wasn't happy with the first take, nor the second.
The third take he played from start to finish- the magic was still there.
Same magic with the slide part( he told us he played all the parts on the original recording)

I watched the fingers play that moved a million hearts.

And he used my slide .
Which will now be passed down as a family heirloom.

We all knew we had greatness in the room that day.

Mickey Wynne

__________________________________________

Just a point of aging baby reference points...my introduction to Oh Well and FM was the Warner Brothers two-fer, the Big Ball. Those two dollar two-fers from Warner Brothers. Introduced me to everyone from Ry Cooder to Wildman Fischer! I only wish I kept Schlagers!

Chip Lovitt

__________________________________________

Fantastic piece on Peter Green. Thank you.

Imagine starting Fleetwood Mac AND influencing The Beatles (as you know, Sun King was inspired by Green's Albatross) and still being mostly unknown.

Ain't life a bitch?!

Terence Reilly

__________________________________________

I saw Fleetwood Mac and Van Morrison at the Fillmore East around in February 1971.
Van opened and I was excited to see him but he spent nearly the entire set reading ( yes, reading) reviews of his 5 star albums In Rolling Stone magazine. He was cursing them out while reading and I thought it was pretty funny but I would have preferred that he sang!
Fleetwood Mac then came out and announced that their guitar player for the evening was former founder and leader
Peter Green. Peter left a year before, replaced by Jeremy Spencer who had just gone AWOL after being "kidnapped" on tour by the Children of God cult on the west coast. Peter came to the rescue to help the band finish out their tour dates.

I was so glad to see his one of his last shows with the band. His playing was steller and I knew that I was watching greatness.

I used to tell friends of mine over the years who told me I was crazy and he didn't play that show but in the recently published book Jennifer Juniper, Jenny Boyd, ex wife of Mick Fleetwood, tells the story of Peters brief return to help the band after Spencers departure.

Jay Jay French

__________________________________________

Excellent article Bob, thanks for giving one of the absolute greatest a fitting tribute. The '59 Les Paul with the pick ups out of phase gave him a signature sound- in fact the greatest sound of any guitar. Gary Moore bought it- used on Parisienne Walkways and virtually everything else he did solo and with Thin Lizzy- and is now owned and (pleased to say) gigged by Kirk Hammett.

When the baton is that good it needs passing on.

Ade Crane

__________________________________________

Duane Allman was a huge fan of Peter Green. I saw where he passed at age 73. There was a huge jam at Filllmore East in 1970 with members of the Dead, Fleetwood Mac and Allman Brothers Band with even a photo from the stage to prove it really happened. Allmans also played with Green and Mac in New Orleans at The Warehouse. Amazing days!

Willie Perkins

__________________________________________

Thanks for writing about Peter Green. I always felt that I was in on a secret: Peter Green was amazing - in all the ways you described. As a matter of fact not only in the same league as, but dare I say somewhat better (at the time) than E.C?
About 15 years ago when I was roughly 50, I had a chance to see him with Splinter Group playing at the Fillmore in SF. I was probably the youngest guy there! So, clearly the secret had long been out but only if you were an aging Boomer. What a treat it was that night.

David Epstein

__________________________________________

Thanks, and spot on. BUT I wish you'd mentioned Peter Green's solo album, 1970's The End of the Game, which is one of the greatest instrumental rock albums of all time. - Mark Towns

__________________________________________

Loved the original Fleetwood Mac. Bought all the albums when they came out and even Kiln House, but gave up after that Still listen to Then Play On, a really great album
Glad Reprise kept the band on until the Buckjngham-Nicks incaranation came along and sold all those millions , but still prefer the Peter Green version of the band
Did sound for them around 71 at the Capitol Theater in Portchester. Maybe you were there....

Mark Linett

__________________________________________

Another one you obviously get - he was a notch above. Their show at The Whisky in the early 70's was a revelation. No disrespect to what followed, but that was an awesome, soulful band. Nearing an end of an era where you could travel from the Whisky to The Troubador to The Ash Grove ( and many others) and be inspired and transported by the musianship and the passion ...

A troubled journey ... a brilliant artist

John Frankenheimer

__________________________________________

I saw early Fleetwood Mac at the Boston Tea Party/Ark complex by Fenway Park in Boston. The first time Peter Green was with them, the second time he had departed but Jeremy Spence was still playing with the band.

A few years later I went to see Fleetwood Mac in Newport, RI at Cliff Manor restaurant's small ballroom. When I arrived, I was greeted by the bogus version of the band. I returned to the promoter's office the next day to get my $20 ticket price refunded.

-Steve Gavigan

__________________________________________

Fleetwood Mac
Men of the World 2002
Black Magic Woman (Live)
at the End of the song you hear Peter say "First Time!" To this day, this version is on my number one play list.

Rest In Peace Peter Green

Bob Edwards

__________________________________________

I jumped on that first Fleetwood Mac album. In the USA , it had the garbage pail cover. I actually saw them @the Fillmore East & Central Park. Might've been a free WNEW Fm radio show @ the Park. Not sure due to psychedelics . Haha.
Peter was excellent at the Fillmore East Here's a link to an excellent version of "Rattlesnake Shake " from Playboy After Dark ( Hugh Hefner tv) Enjoy https://youtu.be/0FJ17x0IoKs

Alan Childs

__________________________________________

A friend sent a text message this afternoon, "You probably already know" with a link to a report of Peter Green's death. I opened it and gasped. Gasped. I don't think I can ever recall doing that before.

Fresh out of the Service, in Feb. 1970 my older brother bought me two albums, Abbey Road and Best of Cream. I already knew the songs on Abbey Road, but knew nothing other than Sunshine and White Room from Cream. And quickly became enamored with the sound of the (mostly) British Blues, although by Disraeli Gears they were already moving far afield. I had to have more and shortly after that I bought Savoy Brown's Raw Sienna and Super Session. Although not British, Mike Bloomfield and Albert's Shuffle was, and still is, heaven on earth.

And my Blues journey continued with albums like Fleetwood Mac in Chicago added to my meager but growing collection. That did it! Of course there was the excellence of that kid Danny Kirwan, but it was the Peter Green show for me and I still had to have more. The accompanying Otis Spann's Biggest Thing Since Colossus, Memphis Slim's Blue Memphis, Duster Bennett's first. And of course the limited Fleetwood Mac catalog. Sadly, by the time I hopped aboard and saw F.M. it was the Kiln House band and Peter Green had already departed.

I go in and out of phases where I can't get enough of the fabulous Jeff Beck, early Kim Simmonds or Duane Allman and his progeny of gifted guitarists, Clapton of course, Carlos from the get-go, and on and on. But I always always came back, came home to Peter Green. His haunting out of phase guitar sound along with his guitar phrasing and that voice. He was living proof that the silence between the notes, as well as the sustain, were as important as the notes themselves. One need look no further than "Man of the World" and "A Fool No More" to understand.

I can't say that I'll miss Peter Green because of the body of studio work left behind and the recorded live shows, although not enough of either. But I'll miss knowing that Peter Green is still alive. He was the embodiment of what the Blues are and a towering figure.

AF/Quindici

__________________________________________

That's beautiful Bob. The teenage aficionados of Brit blues loved Peter Green. I saw "God is Green" painted on the wall of an east end street.Post Clapton's deification.
I also opened for the fake Fleetwood Mac in my first band Silverhead. None of the original members were in the band. We didn't find out till the third gig of the tour when people started to throw bottles at us because they knew that this was a bullshit event.
Peter Green was an ethereal bluesman casting spells for us kids to play with.

Michael Des Barres.

__________________________________________

Peter Green, in his prime, was the VERY best of the very best. And even in his later projects, when truly he was a mere shadow of his former self, his sensitivity, honesty and soul resonated in every note he played and every word he sang. R.I.P. Peter Greenbaum. And thank you kindly!

Bill Mumy

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I was deeply saddened today to learn of the passing of Peter Green, one of the greatest, if not the greatest Blues guitarists in history. I first became aware of Peter when I became a partner in Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label. Peter Green had co-founded Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood, and even at this early stage one could see Peter's unique and expansive skills as a guitarist.

The recordings by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac were produced by Mike Vernon for Blue Horizon. Vernon was a great talent himself, who also produced early recordings by John Mayall (again featuring Peter Green), Eric Clapton and David Bowie's first album, all for British Decca.

I first saw Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac perform at Klook's Kleek in West Hampstead, a club around the corner from the Decca Studios. As I said in my autobiography, Peter Green had more soul, magic, and creativity than any of the other English bluesmen.

As a partner in charge of North American releases for Blue Horizon, and later as the owner of the label, I was proud to have been involved in the release of both of the early Fleetwood Mac albums – 'Fleetwood Mac' and 'Mr Wonderful' - recorded with Peter Green, and of course the compilation of singles 'The Pious Bird of Good Omens' which included the all-time classic 'Albatross,' which is still a favorite to this day.
I was so proud to have Peter Green sit at my table, when Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We reminisced about the early days of the band. It was a most memorable evening.

I'm so sorry to learn of Peter Green's passing, to my ears, the greatest blues guitarist ever!!

Seymour Stein

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This is my Peter Green story.

I met Peter in 1969 at the old Boston T Party club on Berkley Street in Boston. My brother Stanley and I went to almost every show at that club. We saw Led Zeppelin, BB King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull and almost every other Blues man and band that was touring back them. I was a 19 year old fledging guitarist and the inspiration that poured out of that club on any given night of the week was unbelievable and I feel so fortunate that we got to see so many of the greats playing live in a small 300 seat club but seeing Fleetwood Mac in 1969 on their first tour changed my life.

I had heard almost all the great guitar players of that era and most of the white guys were not as impressive to me as the originals cats like BB King, Albert King, Freddy King etc. But then came Peter Green. It was the first time I ever heard a Sunburst Les Paul and in fact I went out the very next day and bought one just like his for $500. Today they are worth $250K, I wish I hadn't sold mine on one broke Christmas in 1981. but that's a different story. Fleetwood Mac floored me. Their groove, their authenticity and the contrast between Jeremy Spencer's Elmore James to Peter's more deep meaningful songs. Well except for a few like "Rattlesnake Shake" which we all know is about wanking off. Peter did have a great sense of humor.

When Fleetwood Mac finished their set, my brother and I were walking through the club right by Peter who was on his way to his dressing room. My brother, boldly said, "hey Peter my brother has a Les Paul too". (I actually had a 52 Gold top at that time). Peter turned to us and said, "hey why don't you guys come to our hotel we're having a party". So, we followed Peter and ended up with a few other people in his room. We talked music and guitars and through that we had a connection.

Fleetwood Mac played in Boston a bunch of times and every time they came, I would hang out with Peter. One time he and I went to see BB King play and he ended up sitting in. After the show we were back stage and BB turned to me and said, "no one plays me as authentically as Peter". I never forgot that. Another time I was standing in the audience watching Fleetwood Mac and standing next to me was Carlos Santana. Carlos was a huge fan of Peters and that might have been the moment he heard Black Magic Woman for the first time. I like to think so anyway.

After Peter quit Fleetwood Mac, I called him in London and asked him if he wanted to come over for a visit and to play music with my band, The Act. We were living in a house in the middle of the woods in South Berwick Maine. I figured it was a long shot but he said sure. I couldn't believe he said yes. A few weeks later I picked up Peter, his suitcase, his Sunburst Les Paul and his Fender six string Bass at Boston's Logan Airport and drove him up to Maine. My memory is vague at how long he stayed with us but it might have been a month. I do remember a few days after he came that we found out that Jimi Hendrix died, so that would put him there on September 18, 1970. I remember him looking stunned and very saddened. He told me that a few days before he was in London hanging out with Jimi.

Every day we would get up and play very long one chord jams with Peter leading the way. I think I played three notes over and over and just listened to him. I can see him now twisting his mustache as he was contemplating life. I also remember one morning he was sitting on the house steps with his Les Paul jamming with the birds. Not the Byrd's, the real birds in the trees. We did one or two gigs with him, one being at the newer Boston T Party on Lansdown st. . I actually have two tapes of Peter playing with us, one from the house in Maine and one from that Gig at the T Party. For some reason I've never played them for anyone. Peter had a female friend who was going to Goddard College in Vermont and he eventually left Maine and headed up there. Where he went from there I never found out..

Peter's guitar playing did not rely on tricks or fancy licks or runs. Every note he played was connected to his heart. He economical, soulful, authentic and he played with dynamics and pure fire. He would then turn on his super sweet and sensitive side as in his song Albatross. He was a very thoughtful, deep, sweet, funny and open person and his playing was exactly who he was as a person and that is a rare thing find in a musician. I am deeply saddened at his passing. I hope he went peacefully for he was a peaceful soul. I will miss him but am thankful that I got to know him just a little. Oh Well!

Andrew Kastner

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Hello Bob,

Thank you for your post regarding Peter Green.

I am the agent that brought him back to the US in 1998 after a 28 year gap as well as all the subsequent US tours after that of which there were two or three in the early 2000's before he went underground again. It seems to be a forgotten chapter of his story and I think it needs to be brought up. Not because I was involved, but because it was Peter Fucking Green.

It was and is something that I am very proud to have been a part of. To be able to bring him back over and give people the opportunity (myself included) to see him perform as well as many people who thought that they would never see him perform again. I'll never forget watching him at the 1998 Long Beach Blues Festival (and what a GREAT festival that
was for many years!- Gary Chiachi was a great programmer!) and being in the crowd watching people cry overwhelmed with emotion just seeing him. It was very powerful.

We also put together a jam that day with John Mayall and his band that day and threw in Mick Taylor and Kim Simmonds. Keith Emerson
showed up with some of his biker buddies and sat in on B-3. David Hildago and Cesar Rojas from Los Lobos (one of the great american bands) standing in line backstage with their old Fleetwood Mac vinyl for Peter to sign. He really meant something to many people and if I didn't know it before that day, I certainly knew it from that point on.

I've read Mick Fleetwood saying recently that when he visited him a couple of years ago that he was not the same Peter he knew back in the
day. No doubt that is true. The Peter Green I interacted with was very childlike in many ways. Absolutely no ego whatsoever. I remember
one time in Boston that he thought it was funny that people wanted his autograph. at that point in time (and I believe for many years prior) he was what we would call a ward of the state (they have another name for it in the UK) and that his management had to clear everything thru the government over there. I always got the impression that they cared for his well being. His road manager Arthur Anderson certainly did and from my vantage point really looked out for him. It's not like he had to be minded every minute by any means but there seemed to be limitations of what he could do or handle. Musically he was inconsistent but the band did a good job of supporting him and there were moments of brilliance every night. Not to mention the songs!!! I still get chills thinking about his solo on Albatross at that Long Beach gig. There was something special every time I saw him perform.

I would venture to say that if you polled the the elder statesmen of US Blues Rock guitarists now you would find him to be the number one influence before Muddy, Howlin' Wolf, BB Albert & Freddie King, etc.

I'll close with one of my favorite performances of him. It's Fleetwood Mac live @ The Boston Tea Party in 1970. The song ironically is not one
of his compositions (it's a Duster Bennett song... another British blues artist that was a contemporary who tragically died in a car accident in the mid 70's) The tune is "Jumping At Shadows" the solo kicks in at 2:37……

As far as I'm concerned every blues rock guitarist went up a notch on the totem pole over the weekend cause the guy at the top just exited the building.

Long live his music……..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j4t3cUmGzc

And the lyrics here…….you would assume that he had wrote them…..

What can you say? There isn't much to tell
I'm going down hill and i blame myself I've been
Jumping at Shadows
Thinking about my life

Everybody points their hand at me
I know I'm just a picture
Of what I should have been I've been
Jumping at Shadows Just thinking
About my life

God have mercy I think I'm going insane
The Devil's been gettin' at me
He's got me down again Got me
Jumping at Shadows Just thinking
About my life

Best Regards,

Jack Randall
President
The Kurland Agency

__________________________________________

Hi bob. Geldof here. Re P. Green - completely agree. WHAT a player. What a voice, what a writer and sadly what a story...hope you and missus stay well and safe. Dublin again some day? Bob g

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Portland Protests Spread

This is what happens when government is out of touch with the people.

America slides into fascism and what do the Democrats do? Tell us to wait for the election. The same way they tell us their hands are tied as Covid-19 ravages the nation. Don't they get it, IT'S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL!

The system has failed the people. And the Democrats no longer represent the people. Rather the party is run by boomer elites who won money and power during the Reagan legitimization of greed and think they know better as their traditional constituency, blue collar and service workers, are told they must shut up and eat it, because the DNC knows better and the big enemy is the Republicans. Huh?

This is not the sixties. This is not the America of the twentieth century. Furthermore, it's no longer the greatest country in the world. Covid-19 has proven this. 2008 demonstrated our country ran on greed, Covid-19 has proven that the government is unprepared for bumps in the road, just like our citizens have no money in the bank.

As for the Republicans...

Trump won because people hated Clinton. It's just that simple. Give the Republicans credit, their hate campaign worked, they defined Hillary over the course of fifteen years and the public bought it. The only problem was they were part of the problem, causing gridlock in D.C. to the point where nothing was getting done anyway.

And they decry Trump, and then get into lockstep behind him when he gets elected. Like an abuser who keeps going home for the punch, who sacrifices her ideals and her safety because she's afraid of being kicked out and ending up broke on the street. As if the only way these elected officials could earn a living is in Congress.

And now we're here.

Can't say you couldn't see it coming.

Scratch that. We couldn't. The spontaneous combustion of the public was heretofore unforeseen by anybody alive. Protests never spread this broadly in the sixties. And it was mainly the youth. And to a great degree, when it comes to Vietnam, the white college age youth.

There's always a trigger event, isn't that what history teaches us? The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand triggered World War I and the Arab Spring was triggered by an overeducated fruit vendor self-immolating. George Floyd is killed and what do the Republicans say, what is their talking point? MORE WHITES DIE! And while you're at it, what about Chicago? Talk about being out of touch. The Republicans speak to their base, which is far less than fifty percent of the public. And they wouldn't be in power if it weren't for gerrymandering and voter suppression, did they think there would be no consequences?

And now Trump is trying to recreate 1968. Believing that law and order will win the day, that that's what America wants. But that was back when hippies were the enemy. Who exactly is the enemy here, African-Americans, the white people protesting in Omaha and Salt Lake City?

At least give credit to the NFL for backing down, realizing the slaves on their plantation had had enough. Colin Kaepernick protests and they excommunicate him, take away his bread and water, isn't that what blackballing and refusing to let him play and make money is all about?. They were teaching the rest of the players a lesson, get out of line and...this could happen to you.

And the funny thing is the NFL, and most notably the NBA, are dominated by African-Americans, and the music charts are dominated by African-Americans, do you think oppression of them is going to resonate with the majority of the public?

But Trump keeps waving the white nationalism flag. And whenever he does Tucker Carlson denies any racism and pushes back, saying everybody on their side is innocent, while he laughs all the while.

Carlson was never this bad before. Bad, but not this bad. He's doing it for ratings.

And Roger Ailes knew you had to give the appearance of being "Fair and Balanced." They don't even use that motto anymore.

Go to the website, watch Fox News, it's an alternative universe. Not dissimilar to the one you find on Facebook. And if you make noise about it they tell you it's about freedom of speech. How did we get here, with the water so muddied that facts are up for grabs and spin is everything?

Meanwhile, our nation is ruled by an uneducated nitwit billionaire. We thought Bill Gates was bad, Mark Zuckerberg is much worse, he's got no conscience, it's all about the company and its shareholders.

We did not foresee the siloing of the news. We did not foresee social media. But that does not mean the ills should be left unaddressed.

But the public at large has gotten the message. Despite all the duplicity. They know that the country is no longer working for them and democracy is up for grabs, so they've taken to the streets.

It was not supposed to go down this way. It was the Republicans who were supposed to fight back, with all their guns protected by the NRA and an inefficient Congress. Instead, it's those without weapons, but numbers, who are leading the charge.

As for the gun club, they are the ones responsible for reopening this country too soon, protesting on statehouse steps. Yup, everybody's afraid of a gun, until EVERYBODY'S AFRAID!

What are they afraid of?

That they're losing their rights slowly over time to the point where the country will resemble a dictatorship in Eastern Europe. They keep telling us it can't happen here, while it does.

As for the news media... It just reports, it doesn't take a side, like a ref in a rigged game it calls the fouls but it doesn't call the game, when the whole enterprise must be questioned.

Workers can't make ends meet while billionaires fly around in private jets.

Relief is given to financial institutions, corporations, while the government can't eke out a few more dollars for the proletariat because it's gonna break the bank. Screw the bank, how about the whole damn country?

Meanwhile, Trump rules with impunity. We make fun of him, books delineating his flaws are published, and there's no change.

The polls say he will lose, but that assumes the election will be held and not rigged and the result accepted. Yes, have you been reading about the "secret powers" of the presidency? Sounds ridiculous, but it's true: https://nyti.ms/2OYrFkM

No one is afraid of the protesters. This is not a riot where they believe they're coming for their goods, that their safety is in question. There's no doubt this is a protest against the government, not fellow citizens. That's what the right does, not the left. So, the public is behind the demonstrators, who just don't stop, who just won't give up.

So, Trump sends federal troops to Portland and says he's gonna send them to more cities and what do the Democrats do? NOTHING! Yup, he tells us exactly what he's going to do, and has a long history of doing what he says, but the elected officials and their bought-in media just accept it.

But the people are not. And the last time I checked, the government was supposed to be by the people, for the people, ain't that a laugh.

Even if the Democrats sweep D.C. in November...what happens in the interim? What happens between November and the inauguration in January?

Oh, let's see, in Wisconsin and North Carolina the outgoing regime attempts to strip the newbie's powers. If you don't think that's a harbinger for D.C...you believe it can't happen here, while it has!

The protesters are standing up for you, whether you know it or not. They're even standing up for the Republican dimwits addicted to Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, because this is exactly what they're afraid of, a government run amok, where their individual freedom is compromised.

Meanwhile, the right keeps yelling about their freedom whilst curtailing ours, like the right to abortion.

As for federal troops, how about arresting anybody who won't wear a mask?

All anybody wants to talk about is this. If you think the country is running somnambulantly, with heads in holes like ostriches, you're wrong. Because people know what is at stake, EVERYTHING!

Don't tell me about the rule of law, don't tell me about precedence. Speaking of precedent, that's how the legal system works, stare decisis. And as for the ultimate arbiter, the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell refused to accept Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland and...he got away with it and now the Supreme Court is stacked to the right and we just pray that Roberts's conscience will save us. Then again, where was he on voting rights, the law protecting minority access to the polls? Now if you're black you have to wait hours to vote at few polling places. Meanwhile, in a raging pandemic you can't even vote by mail.

These protests are heartening. It's the best I've felt in three years. They give me hope. That the entire country just isn't going to go down the drain. Most Americans have been depressed, for decades, but they have felt powerless since the election of Trump. It's good to know some people are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore.

We're the last line of defense, you and me. It's our responsibility to stand up to fascism. Which never sleeps, just like rust.

People have the right to protest peacefully.

But this is intolerable to our whiny, delusional president, who believes he can spew falsehoods and people will accept them. He's not on the people's side, he's on HIS side, just like his hero Putin.

Come on, the guy won't release his tax returns, won't investigate the Russian bounty in Afghanistan while the Republicans defend him and keep blaming it on Clinton's e-mails. Trump tells us Putin is a fine, trustworthy man, why do we keep thinking he doesn't believe it?

This is it, the last line of defense before America goes down the drain.

If you think the election is gonna solve our problems then...you're probably wealthy enough to be enduring this pandemic no problem.

We don't live in 1789. The Supreme Court's embrace of "originalism" is faulty. We saw what happened to this perspective in the music business, it couldn't stop piracy, it couldn't bring people back to CDs. After losing half of recorded music revenue the business embraced the future, in this case streaming, and then revenues went up! It's time for our courts, our government, our entire country to live in the present as opposed to the past, to throw off old precepts and address the issues at hand. Which boil down to America no longer working for most people. And that you can only push people so hard before they'll revolt. THANK GOD!


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