Mailbag

From: Peter Mensch Subject: Re: More Wind Of Change Podcast Date: June 8, 2026 at 4:58:32 PM PDT That Winds of Change Podcast is a joke with the exception of the episode on Doc/Moscow Peace Festival which I found fascinating. Patrick Radden Keefe (one of if not the best non fiction writers out there) should be embarrassed. I’ve managed the Scorpions (pre Doc) and known them for 46 years…there is no chance anybody but Klaus wrote that song. The whole spirit and ethos of the song is completely Klaus’s personality…easily one of the nicest human beings on the plant (despite firing Cliff and myself…ha) _____________________________________ From: Dennis Arfa Subject: Re: Comedy Is Hot Date: June 26, 2026 at 11:03:07 AM PDT Bob, Def Leppard does all size venues including stadiums. The reason for this mid-sized success was that they recently did a 12-show sold out residency at the Colosseum at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas.   _____________________________________ From: Michael Dorf Subject: Re: Comedy Is Hot Date: June 26, 2026 at 4:53:30 AM PDT Bob, Yes, we have shifted to about 30% of our programming to comedy from what was single digit percentage pre-pandemic.  This is across all 10 of our cities, not just NY—all 350 seat rooms.   Comedy is connecting with our audience because it is some of the only truth people can connect with right now given the Orwellian world we are living in.  Hearing confirmation of the news, enjoying the sad irony of life’s truths with fellow humans in a room seems to be a great antidote for the millions of screens in our lives.   Comedians are not algorithms telling us what we want to hear, in fact, they make us uncomfortable as an anti-algorithm, opening our eyes to the funny reality of our times.  They have become more important than ever and connecting with our audiences.   Michael Dorf CITY WINERY | FOUNDER & CEO _____________________________________ From: Kevin Kiley Subject: Re: New Music Date: June 18, 2026 at 1:57:03 PM PDT Made me think of this great Zappa interview... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UAWqwLjN70&list=PLWfZFuvZVjcdR-ds4W4fSl-m4e-dwmH9w&index=41 _____________________________________ From: Stathis Panagiotopoulos Subject: Re-Rush / Ritchie Blackmore Date: June 17, 2026 at 5:20:50 AM PDT Dear Bob, I have been reading, enjoying and (mostly) agreeing with your letters for many years now, having been advised to follow you by Roger Glover of Deep Purple, who happens to be a dear friend. I am also a big Rush fan, and I have a small bone of contention with Mike Bone’s recent letter : Ritchie Blackmore is definitely not a prick. He may not be the easiest fellow to work with, but he’s a really shy, smart, funny guy once you get to know him, plus he’s gotten much mellower in his old age. Mike Bone has his facts wrong re: the photoshopped Rush sign : Rainbow’s label in 1978, Polydor Records, appropriated the photo (which was indeed taken at a Rush concert), changed the sign’s text to “Long Live Rock n’ Roll”, blacked out the fans’ t-shirts and used the “modified” photo in the inside gatefold of the “Long Live Rock n Roll” LP. Blackmore had no idea until it was pointed out to him years later, and he wasn’t too pleased about it. Just trying to set the record straight :-) Thanks for your work, please keep it up. All the best from Greece, Stathis Panagiotopoulos A scuba diver. _____________________________________ From: Barbara Barna Abel Subject: Re: The Culture Club Movie Date: June 15, 2026 at 7:13:40 AM PDT Happy you wrote about this! I was Virgin Record's first-ever college intern in London in 1983 (staffers shocked I was working for free would take me aside and insist "Richard's exploiting you!") It was a thrill to be there in the heyday of Culture Club (+ Human League and the 10th anniversary of Tubular Bells). George was a frequent, larger than life presence in the Vernon Yard offices but what's truly memorable was how kind and respectful he was, without fail, to the receptionist, Lolly, and to his fans - girls just a little younger than me - who would gather outside. George would bellow, "American girl! Fetch me some records!" and I would dutifully scamper so he could sign them and give them away to the girls. Growing up with arena rock, I had never witnessed a performer behave this way towards his fans (I didn't know any country artists at the time). I still happily have - and play - my original 12-inch of Do You Really Want to Hurt Me that the Epic college rep gave me. best, Barbara _____________________________________ From: Paul Flattery Subject: Re: Carl Wilson Playlist Date: May 29, 2026 at 1:09:40 PM PDT Great Carl Wilson playlist.  Back in 1989, my partner, director Jim Yukich, and I were doing a music video for "Somewhere Near Japan" - a chronically overlooked Beach Boys track IMO. Brian was shot in LA but we went to Florida to join the Beach Boys on tour to shoot their parts. They were all great to meet and work with. Being an accomplished musician himself, Jim always engaged the artists we shot about their music. When he asked Carl about the chord sequences for a track from his second solo album ("Youngblood" I guess), Carl lit up in excitement and said "I didn't think anyone knew I did a second solo album!!"  A cool guy and under-appreciated talent as your playlist shows. Paul Flattery _____________________________________ From: Waddy Wachtel Subject: Re: Playlist 2-Favorite Solo Song From A Band Member Date: June 2, 2026 at 9:05:20 PM PDT bob just a quick comment about leo.. i was in europe doing a show w a gal … judi pulver she was in the band i moved to LA with… she sadly departed our realm recently and left a beautiful mark on do many whose lives she touched she was a very special lady  she got a solo deal and a short tour..  the most amazing part of the tour was we actually opened for Mott the Hoople.. so weird to have little band backing up a girl no one had heard of… in front this huge stage setup for Mott .. i loved “all the way to memphis” so i was blown away to be near them .. i met ian then and im so happy to say we have collided over the years  saw him at a pArty after R&R hall of fame one night inNY.. he did “the only tray on o came to this party was cuz you were gonna be here!”  we traded phone numbers after grinning and i met trudi his lovely wife it was a gas gas gas!! i played on three songs of his latest records i was soooo honored  to do so!  love you ian! blew me away that he asked  me to play! back to leo… we were in germany doing one of those music shows and right before we did judi’s song .. all of a sudden on a tv monitor was the clown … and when he started to ring i was hypnotized ..”the show must go on”!!!!!! i almost couldn’t post judi’s font cuz i was so knocked out by leo i played on his record he did w richard perry and we have crossed paths a few wonderful times ..what a guy and WHAT A SINGER!! love him…!! dynamite !! good to be in touch again bob!! xxx waddy w²:)  _____________________________________ From: paul clegg Subject: Re: More Wind Of Change Podcast Date: June 8, 2026 at 7:08:55 PM PDT Bob  I cannot say anything about CIA influence merging with hard rock ballads but I can comment with authority on the FSO influence upon Gypsy Punk. Scariest moment of my life was at the ironically titled Creation of Peace Festival in Kazan, Russia. Midway through a Gogol Bordello set, a motorcade of military G Wagons pulled up backstage. A squad of FSO soldiers soon appeared side stage and their Captain proceeded to ask who was in charge and someone referenced him to me. This terrifying beast of a man then walked over and pointed his flyweight machine gun in the direction of my torso and simply said in broken English ‘band stop now’ We obviously complied and the moment the stage went silent,  the then ‘President’ of Russia - Dmitry Medvedev emerged from another of the vehicles, walked on-stage and gave an impromptu ten minute propaganda speech before the FSO troops cleared a huge space in the middle of the crowd so The Prez could go down and take pictures of himself dancing in the ‘fan zone’ As soon as the newly restarted song was finished, they all left as quick as they came. At least they didn’t ask the band to whistle any intro's - that must be a CIA thing! Peculiarly, this was nowhere near the strangest thing that occurred on our many expeditions to the Wild Wild East! Bribing a visa agent with Britney tickets and an ill-fated show inside the Kremlin itself both spring to mind!  Dasvidaniya Comrade.  Paul Clegg  _____________________________________ From: Bob Cayne Subject: Re: More Wind Of Change Podcast Started writing the other night but I’m traveling.  Glad someone else replied, I don’t need to be anonymous but I’ll admit one step removed from this gibberish. I worked for Doc very frequently from 1988-1994.  Did 3 Scorpions tours, BJ New Jersey and was in Moscow in 1989. I distinctly remember Doc talking to the Band and Klaus and Rudolf going on and on “Doc, listen to this song, listen to this song” while they played it over the telephone. While anything might be possible, this whole CIA thing sounds like bullsh*t sandwich w crappola on top.   And Doc being Doc, I’ll just guess that he could be on that podcast thinking “I won’t deny, or confirm…” just to see what happens and amuse himself. Just noting Doc’s mantra “If you’re not the Lead Dog, the view is always the same.”    PS - the stadium was packed with almost as many soldiers as fans.  Ozzy and Scorps stole the show and when Scorpions started laying it down, I saw multitudes of soldiers just rocking their asses off. That was a moment. _____________________________________ From: tom werman Subject: Re: Doc McGhee Date: June 9, 2026 at 7:12:54 AM PDT Bob,  While it may be true that Motley Crue "never got respect", at least 5 of their songs are "evergreens" and are still    in regular rotation at classic rock stations ("Home Sweet Home", "Kickstart My Heart", "Girls Girls Girls" and several others). I know little of Doc McGhee's pre-Motley Crue history, and even less about the Russia gig -- but managing, controlling, directing, promoting, safeguarding, booking, defending and bailing out Motley Crue required a load of patience, perseverance and creativity. Doc is a smart, resourceful, generous and wonderfully entertaining guy, successfully shepherding these "bad boys" whose reputation was accurate. Of the more than 30 managers I worked with, Doc was the one who achieved the almost impossible. Tom Werman  _____________________________________ From: Stephen Knill Subject: Re: Comedy Is Hot Date: June 25, 2026 at 9:31:18 PM PDT In the mid 90’s I managed the Miller beer sponsorships of two Nashville based acts, Brooks & Dunn and Jeff Foxworthy. Jeff was sponsored by Red Dog Beer, one of the countless that just didn’t make it. Foxworthy was hilarious, saying every night on stage about the beer, “ That Dog Can Hunt. He shilled.   I was talking to Ronnie Dunn once, (on their bus I think,) about Foxworthy, and Ronnie, half serious,  felt he needed to share a comparison about their different lives on the road. He said something like, “I’ve got 20 trucks, and a crew of 50 out their riding buses from show to show and Jeff gets up at home in Nashville, gets driven to the private airport, lands, goes to his hotel. Then he is chauffeured to the gig, has a snack in his dressing room, goes on stage talks for however long his show was, goes back to the hotel gets up and repeats. In short hop situations, he went home after the gig and and started all over. Dunn said something like “ Look at the money he gets to keep without all  those costs. I want to be a comedian and lose all this stuff. He was joking but kind of serious. Ronnie is actually funny enough to be one and Kix not too far behind him.  No wonder comedians are in the top of the Pollstar charts and, keeping much more bank than the music acts at the same level. Who are the smart ones now?  _____________________________________ From: Bob Cayne Subject: Re: More Wind Of Change Podcast Started writing the other night but I’m traveling.  Glad someone else replied, I don’t need to be anonymous but I’ll admit one step removed from this gibberish. I worked for Doc very frequently from 1988-1994.  Did 3 Scorpions tours, BJ New Jersey and was in Moscow in 1989. I distinctly remember Doc talking to the Band and Klaus and Rudolf going on and on “Doc, listen to this song, listen to this song” while they played it over the telephone. While anything might be possible, this whole CIA thing sounds like bullsh*t sandwich w crappola on top.   And Doc being Doc, I’ll just guess that he could be on that podcast thinking “I won’t deny, or confirm…” just to see what happens and amuse himself. Just noting Doc’s mantra “If you’re not the Lead Dog, the view is always the same.”    PS - the stadium was packed with almost as many soldiers as fans.  Ozzy and Scorps stole the show and when Scorpions started laying it down, I saw multitudes of soldiers just rocking their asses off. That was a moment. _____________________________________ From: johnny daredevilproduction.com Subject: Re: New Music Date: June 19, 2026 at 12:33:36 PM PDT Bob, YOU ARE 1,000% CORRECT!!   When you look at the fundamentals of marketing 101, Reach & Frequency, the problem that labels are having breaking new music is obvious…  Repetition.  Repetition.  Repetition.   There isn’t enough repetition in their promo strategies to break an egg, much less an artist.  The Spotify playlists are long.  The average Streams/Listener metric for an emerging artist on a playlist is 1.3 to 1.5.  Everyone wants to conflate streaming numbers with promotion and market success, which was the truth with radio spins, but that’s not the case for streaming numbers on emerging artists.  If an emerging artist gets 10,000 streams, the 1.3 to 1.5 streams/listener metric shows that 7,500 heard the song once and around 2,500 people heard it twice.  If they get on a bigger playlist and amass 100k streams, they’re making 10x the money but with the exact same, horrendous market penetration…75k heard the song once, and 25k heard it twice. Same for an even bigger playlist that generates 1 million streams…750k heard the song once and 250k heard it twice. More streams doesn’t mean "more popular" or "more market penetration". The artist gets more money, but nobody has a relationship with the song.  It's going to take A LOT more repetition to make that song memorable for the consumer.  It’s astonishing to me to watch the dichotomy in the fundamental marketing strategies between a major label’s approach to promoting a radio single vs. a digital promotion.   Radio Single They open the purse strings for at least 6-9 months. They know it’s a grind They push to get adds Then push for rotation to create repetition  Then push for heavier rotation to increase repetition They know it takes time to develop the drive and that single will stay on the radio playlists for months on end. They move the ball enough each week to “get a new set of downs" Digital Promo They stroke a $50k-$100k check If it doesn’t go viral in 2 weeks, it’s a failure.   Where’s the repetition? Where are the marketing fundamentals? Where’s the GRIND? Bob, imagine an artist or artist's management berating their label’s radio promo team because the single has been out for 2 weeks and they’re not #1, they’re not famous yet.  That’s laughable, yet this is exactly how labels manage promotion on digital platforms.  Everybody still remembers the massive singles “Fancy Like” and “Old Town Road” because they broke on TikTok.  The details on how they broke were because of UGC dance content…but the fundamentals of why they broke, and why we’ll never forget them is REPETITION.  How many times did a consumer hear these song hooks as they swiped through endless TikTok posts of people dancing?  Repetition is the key. How is it that these brilliant label promo people will budget and tirelessly work a radio single, an effort that is firmly anchored in the fundamentals of marketing, and completely ignore these same fundamentals on the digital platforms?   On the surface it doesn’t make sense…until you realize nobody working at a major label wants to see a successful digital promotion and CERTAINLY nobody at a major a label wants to see digital promotion success become as repeatable and reliable as radio was BECAUSE THEY’D BE OUT OF A JOB.  It’s simple. They all have mortgages, car payments, and college tuitions to pay for.   It’ll play out just like the taxicab companies. Yellow Cab was probably the most recognized livery brand on the planet in 2014. They could’ve spent 1/10th of the money they wasted trying to eliminate Uber, on adapting by creating their own app and competing.  Now they’re irrelevant. The rank & file at the labels behave the same way…they aggressively shun all things digital instead of embracing the massive upside… Whoever owns the traffic, rules the road.  That’s the credo for the digital age.   If you think about it, that was the credo for the radio age too…The labels had the supreme power to put an artist on the radio and take an artist off the radio.  They OWNED the traffic…or at least access to the traffic and that domination manifested itself in crappy record deals because the artists didn’t have a choice.  They had to play ball or not play at all.  But now the music business is literally the last vertical on the planet that still doesn’t know who their customer is.  The artists do; but they don’t do anything about it.  The DSPs do but they don’t own the traffic. Nobody goes to Spotify for Spotify, they go for Jay-Z, Van Halen, U2, etc..  In a 2020 NYT article, Jimmy Iovine said, “Hail to the artists, your time has finally come. It’s no longer the artist’s problem to worry about making more money for the label or the DSP. It’s the label’s problem and the DSP’s problem to worry about better serving that artist”.   This is true because the artists own the traffic. The power and reality of this was brilliantly demonstrated by Taylor Swift during her Master Recordings vs Taylor’s Version debacle with Scooter Braun. Who won that one? The labels will never have the leverage over artists they once had, but they could adapt and reposition themselves to break new talent digitally and build up caverns of consumer data that could be very lucrative.  Can you imagine how many email addresses an artist like Blake Shelton, U2, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, or Ariana Grande would get if they offered a free download of a new song?  Thank you for making me feel like a rockstar, I have a gift for you…you can only get this gift by going to this website and telling me where to send it”. How easy would it be for a label to break an artist if they had the millions of email addresses from their top selling artists?  Email is practically free when compared to the cost of a P1 radio single promotion. Digital is MORE EFFICIENT! A #1 on radio used to be a bankable metric of market penetration.  When the Whitesnake 87 record came out, “Still of the Night” was the leadoff single, and it went Top 40.  That was enough for Coverdale to leave the support slots and embark on a headlining tour.  When they released “Here I Go Again”, it went to #1 on radio for like 14 to 16 weeks!  Coverdale RENEGOTIATED his deal with the promoters and the promoters were willing to negotiate because BOTH SIDES KNEW they were gonna sell more tickets! That’s what I mean by “bankable”.  Radio wasn’t the “magic” that happened in a marketplace to take an unknown, shy, singer-songwriter and break him, turning him into Bruce Springsteen; an iconic artist that sells albums and tickets (and creates a catalog the labels are still living off of).  Radio delivered the magic, Bob. The actual magic was market penetration and market penetration happens from REPETITION. Can you imagine having a #1 single on radio and knowing who heard it? Who Liked it? Who didn’t like it? You can achieve market penetration on digital for pennies compared to what it costs on radio.   You instantly get ROI (Return Of Information) with data on who likes the single. Who doesn’t like the single. Who might like the single but isn’t ready to come into the market yet…and you can adjust your budget accordingly, only spending the money to create the repetition necessary to achieve market penetration on consumers that you KNOW are liking it. Bob, I haven’t had a broadcast TV hookup in my home for the last decade. If you set the VERY new subscription + ad business models aside for the sake of my point, that’s the last time I saw a tampon commercial. They KNOW I’m not a buyer!  The feminine product manufacturers spend exactly ZERO DOLLARS and ZERO SECONDS marketing their product to someone who isn’t a buyer.  That’s a crazy and massively lucrative concept when you compare it to the label’s obsession with radio promo today.  Universal will spend about $1 million per single to take every Luke Bryan song to #1 on radio.  Luke is a huge star, but not everyone listening to country music radio is a Luke Bryan fan. This means that Universal is regularly spending massive amounts of money to put their product in front of people they know don’t like him…when you’re an artist at the top of the food chain like Bryan, the juice is worth the squeeze for Universal. But when you’re a new artist, that means a very short runway.   _____________________________________ From: Lincoln Myerson Subject: Re: Hi from Lincoln Date: May 22, 2026 at 2:42:58 AM PDT Hi Bob- Ya know... life on the other side of the world... it's pretty damn good! It's a quieter life to be sure. And I do miss the copious live music intake that I enjoy in LA... and the after-show hangs. I miss that a lot. And family and friends. My social circle is waaay smaller over here. But I don't miss the low-level despair that I experience when I return to LA and see my people. My sister lost her home in the Eaton fire. My best friend lost his home in the Palisades. I have in total 10 friends who lost their homes last year. They're grieving still. Life is too expensive and every day is an assault on their psyche. Life is expensive here, believe me. But I'm not seeing or feeling the despair. I have it good. I'm still madly in love. I hit the jackpot with Helena. We own a house and it's paid for. We have a dog—first time I've had a dog since I was about 9. I'm working in a vintage guitar store. I make decent bread. Health insurance is basically free. Last year I had some kidney stones and I spent a day in the hospital, with a few doctors, got a CT scan, a bunch of tests... total cost—$12. Twelve bucks! And get this—I met an agent at a party and she started booking me in a few TV shows and commercials—my American accent is a niche commodity it seems—and I just finished a commercial directed by Taika Waititi (!) playing a... politician! Go figure! Oh and it truly is a beautiful country. My boiler plate joke: This place makes Yosemite look like Culver City. And the people are cool. I had this conversation with a Kiwi some time ago. He says America was founded on the premise of religious freedom (actually he says the settlers wanted freedom to religiously persecute, but I digress!). That's what's baked into the American DNA: Freedom. Any grifter in the states can make a buck by throwing the word Freedom ® in front of whatever they're selling and there's a minimum of 2 million folks who will buy it sight unseen. He's not wrong. New Zealand, he says, was settled by small farmers who lost their farms to British land barons—essentially corporate farming—and left to find a fairer deal. So what's baked into the Kiwi DNA is fairness. And you can feel it. Fairness is the guiding principle amongst the folks here for the most part and it shows up in everyday society, and that was a refreshing adjustment for me to get used to. Folks are pretty straight up and do what they say they'll do. No one flakes on sh*t over here. They have a great relationship to work/life balance. I don't really see any grind culture here. People are polite and laid back and unpretentious for the most part. But I will say this. The attitude toward the US has cooled. Trump used to be seen as a funny clown who bemused the folks over here. The drunk uncle at the party who says inappropriate stuff to the host. Now he's the asshole who wrecked the global economy. There is a recession here and the tariffs hit hard and gas is just over $7/gal and this country is a poor country. Our economy is basically farming. People are getting squeezed and they blame the US. When folks ask where I'm from, I say California. The government took a rightward turn last election and the general consensus is they'll be run out of town in the upcoming election in November. We'll see. Fingers crossed. They are borrowing from the Trump playbook and running on culture war nonsense because the economy is in the sh*tter on their watch. But enough of that. You should come over sometime, Bob. Life is good here. We're flipped in the southern hemisphere so it's winter now, and as a skier, you'll enjoy the South Island this time of year. Queenstown is the Aspen of NZ—it's where Peter Thiel and the billionaires are building their bunkers, so there's that, unfortunately. To be honest, the powder isn't world-class, but the scenery is truly amazing and it is pretty otherworldly down there. And if you find yourself in Auckland, to the north, look me up and I'll show you around. I know a guy. Well, this turned out longer than I expected. I had planned on a quick reply and here we are, a full letter later. How about that? Hope you're doing ok. I read most of your letters but miss a few along the way. Not sure if I'm up to speed on your health issues, but I hope they're looking better and that you are alright. Take care of yourself, and as always, I look forward to reading what comes next. Lincoln PS—I saw the Split Enz reunion here. They're the friggin' Beatles of New Zealand (there are postage stamps of their album covers. They are truly beloved). And man, let me tell you, that band in this country for a long-awaited reunion? No hyperbole—one of their best shows I've seen in YEARS! I was a casual fan... I knew their hits that got played on KROQ when I was a 20-something... but their catalogue is deep. It goes back to 1974 when they were a prog/art rock band in the mold of ELP and the early Tubes, if you can believe it, and I am really enjoying discovering them for myself after all these years. They're touring Australia now and if the Finn brothers can keep from killing each other, they might take this show to the states and you absolutely should see them if they do. PPS—Sparks play tomorrow. Can you believe I've never seen this band? Neither can I! -- 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