So when I saw this article on Barry Ritholtz's blog today, I considered it much more than just a coincidence. There are those who firmly believe that business is all about making profits and that this must be done no matter what the cost, even if that cost means making inferior products. There's the old saying, "Cheaper, Faster, Better -- pick two!" And there is some truth to this. But at USC Business School we were taught (surprisingly) that quality product really must be the objective. If the product is right, the profits will come. If not, there may be short-term monies to be had but ultimately they must implode. That is what has happened in every economic crisis this nation has ever seen.
This philosophy is particularly relevant to creative industries and that is precisely the point of this article. The author opines that the music world has changed for the worse. In the good old days of rock 'n roll, the bands were interested in making terrific music, not in stardom. Today, stardom comes first and thus the music has suffered. The same is true of film.
So with the coincidental publication of this article, I am announcing that my second hat in life -- that of a filmmaker -- has accomplished a major objective today. I have just completed a one-hour documentary on the life and career of legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz and just mailed the first batch of DVDs to my core group of creative advisors this afternoon. I shot the footage over a two week period last June and have spent the last ten months editing. As soon as I get some initial feedback from my "team," I will be posting it to YouTube and then submitting it to appropriate cable TV channels.
Music First, Stardom Second
Music First, Stardom Second
I can’t get an Apple Watch, but every celebrity
known to man has been seeded one to make them look cool. Who’s using who? And
if you think it’s the musicians who are coming out ahead, you own no Apple
stock.
Used to be different. Players weren’t rich. They
were in it for the dope, the sex, the hang and the music. It was a lifestyle.
What did Donald Fagen sing in “Deacon Blues”…”I cried when I wrote this song,
sue me if I play too long”? There are no blues in popular music today. No one’s
crying, unless it’s about the loss of recorded music revenue as they charge a
zillion dollars for a ticket.
In it
you’ll see how rich Jay Z and Madonna and the rest of the Tidalites truly are.
Turns your stomach, makes you lose sympathy.
Ever know any bluebloods?
I certainly did. Back in Connecticut. They wore
chinos and Topsiders and drove old Fords, they didn’t flaunt their wealth, it
was unseemly. Now it’s all about showing how rich you are. Then again, a lot of
the techies don’t. Zuck wears a hoodie and doesn’t brag about flying private,
that’s for the “artists.”
No wonder no one believes in them.
That’s the Tidal story. It’s got nothing to do
with streaming and everything to do with income inequality. Once upon a time it
was about forming a tribe, a fan base, people who heard your music and followed
you everywhere. No one wanted to follow anybody to Tidal. Why?
The story was completely missed by the media.
Because the goal is to write a book and go on a lecture tour. Used to be
writers were outsiders who were in it for the alcohol and the truth. Now
they’re wannabe stars themselves, who don’t want to offend anyone on their way
up.
Once the artist is divorced from his fan base,
he’s screwed.
Your fans are all you’ve got. Life is long. You
want them in your pocket after your hits dry up. And they will. No one has ever
sustained.
But the players play on.
The classic rockers didn’t know there was that
much money in it. Go back and read the interviews. Ringo figured he’d become a
hairdresser, everybody was out on a lark, having fun before their real lives
began. No one thought being a rock musician was a role you could play to the
end of your days.
But today Ringo hypes Skechers.
Explain this to me Mr. Starkey… Do you want to
buy a baseball team? Don’t you have enough cash? Or are we supposed to believe
you just want the rest of the world to be turned on to a great product.
But that’s food. Something evanescent that
everybody’s talking about. Remember chefs? The unheralded nobodies? Then they
were in the right place at the right time and they became rich and famous. The
stardom comes AFTER!
But today everybody believes it comes before.
They want to be famous, they want to be rich.
They don’t want to be musicians.
A musician is someone who practices, ALONE!
Explain that to today’s social media darlings.
And a musician is someone who is oftentimes
ignored. Sometimes for his entire career. And a musician never bitches he can’t
get paid, he’s privileged to be playing.
But not today! Today everybody with a YouTube
clip feels entitled to be wealthy. They’ll spam you to watch and complain if
you don’t. As if everybody could make it. What, are we living in Lake Wobegon?
How about saying no. How about ending the
fashion parade and the ghost writes and sitting down and hammering it out
yourself. How about testing limits and blowing our minds.
But that can’t happen. That’s too hard. It might
piss somebody off. Remember the Dixie Chicks?
AT LEAST WE DO!
Most of their contemporaries have faded in the
rearview mirror. Because if you don’t stand for something, you stand for
nothing.
We want people who stand for something. We’re a
nation of followers looking for leaders.
They used to be musicians.
No longer.
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