In a long running thread about “monetizing the new music industry” on LinkedIn the other day, David Robbins Jr. from Extra Musical commented: I remember when there were live concerts on the radio and I could copy my friends tape until I got my own copy, concert ticket and tshirt. Continue reading
This is an experiment. I’m about to give away my book (shhhh! my publisher doesn’t know) in the hope of increasing sales. Continue reading
I WRITE MY BOOK AND I HAVE MY SAY AND I DRAW CONCLUSIONS The following is from the Hollywood Reporte r : Why did Billy Joel cancel his memoir a little more than two months before it was slated to hit shelves? One music industry source tells The New York Post his failure to confront his past — including his battle with alcohol and a high-profile divorce from Christie Brinkley — likely played a role. “He never fully confronted the 800-lb. Continue reading
Tour Link Session “We’re just a bunch of roadies,” production manager extraordinaire Charlie Hernandez said. He then demonstrated how powerful a bunch of roadies could be. After the Haitian earthquake last year, Hernandez got on the phone, got the use of a private jet from one client/acquaintance, got building materials, supplies, food, volunteers, and was on the ground in Port au Prince working while most organizations were still mobilizing. Roadies work quick. Roadies build cities. Every night. Around 500 roadies and people who support the road crews spent three days in Scottsdale for the Tour Link Conference last week, and the power of the roadie was in full effect. Everyone involved in putting on a concert, with the exception of the artist and the promoter attended, and did what they do best – partied hard. They also learned, networked, and met some of the legends in their field. Folks like Dinky Dawson, who has been on the road since the early 60s, and Benny Collins, who worked on Michael Jackson’s road extravaganzas for years. This is one of the high points of Tour Link. Everyone is available and accessible, and a maximum of two degrees of separation from you. The show is intimate – even a first timer like myself (albeit working on the staff) – could meet and talk with pretty nearly anyone there. No one thinks of themselves as “too important.” It was not unusual to see younger tour personnel hanging out with people who have come up through the ranks to positions of responsibility and their own companies. Put on by the folks who put out the Road Book , Venue Book , the Mobile Production Monthly , and the Larry Smith Holds Court mobileproductionpro.com website (in the interest of full disclosure, I’m one of them) this is all the brainchild of Larry Smith, who was Senior Director at Performance Magazine and the Summit Conference back in the day. To hear everyone tell it, this year’s Tour Link eclipsed the old Performance conferences in scope, spectacle, and attendance. Most people don’t think of the professionals behind the scenes when they go to a concert, but these are the guys who make the modern concert experience what it is: The truckers and freight companies that haul everything, the bus drivers, coach companies, and private jet charter companies that haul everyone, the hotels where they stay, the riggers, lighting peeps, video peeps, backline techs, caterers, tour designers, tour managers, tour accountants, two-way radio companies, and on and on. That’s who Tour Link celebrates. And celebrate they did. The highlight of the concert is the Top Dog awards show. Here, the best caterers, video and lighting companies, hotels, road managers, everyone who puts the show on, has the opportunity for recognition. Like the Grammys, The Top Dogs are voted on by their peers. The tour that took the most awards this year was Bon Jovi. The party ran until three in the morning, and beyond. Continue reading
In the Portable Closet Continue reading
Yowsah! The Biography Channel is finally rerunning the Billy Joel Biography based on my book, Billy Joel, Life and Times of an Angry Young Man. It will be on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 10PM. I’m one of the many talking heads, as are a bunch of people I interviewed for the book. Check it out! By the way, the second edition comes out via Hal Leonard in April. Lots of new information, six new chapters and lots of updates! Continue reading
Pei R Triangular: The Rock Hall Building Often, I have issues with the Picks the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame makes for their inductions. I won’t go into them now, except to say that they are mostly sins of omission (Ohio Players anyone? The hall is in Cleveland). This year marks the Hall’s 25th year, which means, according to it’s bylaws, it can induct itself. Don’t put it past them. He's in the Hall… At the 25th anniversary induction ceremonies, Darlene Love, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits and Dr. John will enter the pantheon as performers, Jac Holzman alnd Art Rupe as non-performers, and Leon Russell as a sideman. These are great, and in a couple of cases even heroic selections. For, while Neil Diamond turned into the kind of schlock later in he career, the period Chuck Klosterman describes as “cool in the kitschy, campy, ‘he’s so uncool he’s cool’ way…”, he also had some of rocks more enduring hits, hits that transcend generations, like “I’m A Believer,” “Red, Red, Wine” (which also transcends genres) or, if you’re a Red Sox fan (Booooooooooo!), “Sweet Caroline.” Similarly, Tom Waits s a great choice, despite a lack of “hits” or sales. A musicians musician (like fellow inductee Frank Zappa), he has explored some of the far reaches of rock. … And they're not. As to Darlene Love and Dr. John, they fall into the “it’s about bloody time” category. Both have had long careers, might hits, and epitomize all that is right about rock. On the same note, Jac Holzman has been at the forefront of the popular music business from the time he founded Elektra to his current project Cordless Records, Warners “E-label” (was “Elektric Records” taken?), half a century give or take a week or two. The brickbats are going to start flying, but I want to offer at least one “Bravo.” Pei R Triangular: The Rock Hall Building Continue reading
Spent yesterday afternoon dodging miniature ghosts, dinosaurs, vampires and the like in Greenpoint, on my way to the set up for a 3D shoot of Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion this week. Spent a good part of the afternoon with Pat, as well. If you haven’t seen it, you can check out Pat playing it and explaining it here: Pat Metheny – Orchestrion Uploaded by patmethenymedia . – Watch more music videos, in HD! I’m not sure exactly what the producers, Pierre and Francois Lamoureux, and Pat have in mind for the shoot, but the set up demands 3D and it’s great that everyone agreed on that. The Lamoureuxs were at the forefront of HD, so it makes sense that they pioneer long form music in 3D as well. You really need to see the Orchestrion at work to appreciate what’s going on, and keep in mind – nothing here is pre-recorded (in fact, it’s immediate genesis is a reaction to playing with tapes) or even greatly pre-programmed. Pat creates pretty much everything on the fly. I rather hope that they decide to show the “Demonstration Mode,” Pat creating a fugue for the elaborate Orchestrion to show how the instrument (and it is one, very large, very elaborate instrument) works. The whole thing is pretty amazing and should make for a terrific 3D musical documentary. Continue reading
… say it in broken English. When I was 19, and interning at the late, lamented … as tears go by. Record World Magazine , I walked past the office of the person responsible for the album reviews, Sophia Midas. The music I heard stopped me in my tracks. The sound was new wave cool, but the voice had a quality I can still best describe as scarred – pain came through that voice. I asked Sophia what it was, and she said, “That’s Marianne Faithfull’s new record, Broken English .” “The Marianne Faithfull of ‘As Tears Go By’? Mick Jagger’s girlfriend?” “Uh-huh.” “Jeez, what happened to her? I mean I love this record, but her voice sounds like it’s been through the mill.” “It has. You can’t expect someone who has lived like her to sound like she did in her 20s.” “In a way, I like this better. I always found ‘As Tears Go by kinda bland.” Sophia smiled, “You would.” This impression coalesced that weekend when she appeared on SNL. She missed notes, opened her mouth and nothing came out once or twice. She wore every line on her face like a badge. She was amazing. Whitney then… This bit of ancient history came to mind while researching a possible project on … and more recently Whitney Houston. The press throughout Europe, particularly in England, seems to relish the fact that Whitney in her 40s isn’t Whitney in her 20s. I think Liz Smith has it right. Can anyone be expected to perform in their 40s like they did in their 20s? Can anyone be expected to look as good? What do my English compatriots expect? Sure, Whitney abused the instrument, and would be the first to admit that.But look at Frank Sinatra, Elvis, or David Crosby (ever expect to see those two mentioned in the same sentence?) — even after abuse, weight gain, vocal changes, all the things the for which Whitney is being derided they went on to have long careers. So maybe this is ageist as well as sexist? Continue reading
This comes from today’s (Cinco De Mayo) CMU Daily: MORE RESEARCH SAYS FILE-SHARERS BIG MUSIC CONSUMERS There’s been loads of research over the years that shows that those pesky file-sharing kids are also some of the entertainment industry’s best customers. But hey, there’s always room in your CMU Daily for another report saying much the same stuff as all the other ones. That file-sharing music fans might invest their pocket money into gig tickets, t-shirts and other more tangible band-related gubbins is unsurprising, though the latest bit of research on this issue suggests file-sharers are also pretty big customers of the sorts of content-based products they are actually nicking off the net, which presumably backs up the much touted theory that many use file-sharing for the purposes of previewing before purchase. That said, the new research from the University of Amsterdam says that file-sharers subsequently spending money on content-based products is more common in the film and gaming space than with music. But even in music, where easy access to free tracks via online sharing networks probably is in part responsible for declining record sales, money consumers save by nicking digital versions of albums is often then spent on other music products, or so reckons Professor Nico van Eijk. Although based primarily on a study of Dutch file-sharers, his report also looked at the Swedish industry, where record sales have, until recently, been steadily declining amid rampant online piracy. But, van Eijk says: “Total revenues [in Sweden] from recorded music, live concerts and collecting societies remained roughly stable between 2000 and 2008″. Of course, a boom in live and merchandise revenues is no good for record companies, whose interests are solely in recorded music, but, as we have rambled on many occasions before, that’s mainly the fault of labels for not diversifying their interests ten years ago when it first became clear that record sales were going to go into terminal decline. Looking back at the record industry’s initial mad panic when the internet arrived on the scene, van Eijk is predictably critical, writing: “Labels tried to stem the tide of unlicensed music file-sharing with their conservative strategy of abstaining from innovation, promoting legal measures against supposed offences, and digital rights management. This strategy resulted in the current backlash, providing space for a new entrant establishing a major brand in the online music business: Apple’s iTunes. Reinvention of the business model looks like the only way out for the traditional players in the music industry”. Of course, such reinvention has been underway for a few years now, even if it’s taking quite a bit longer than everyone would like. It’s certainly too soon to say which sorts of new business models are going to work, and van Eijk doesn’t give any real opinions on that issue, except that current digital price points are almost certainly too high. Continue reading
No Such Thing As A Green CD A quick thought uniting Earth Day with downloading music: According to Earth 911 : Discs are considered plastic #7, a catch-all category for many different kinds of products. They are not generally accepted in most community recycling programs. Jewel cases are plastic #6 and pose a similar recycling conundrum. The CD creates an enormous amount of non-biodegradable material when it’s disposed of. Downloads just disappear into the magnetic ether. Continue reading
His Prices Were Insane I Couldn't Get a Bone Through My Nose … When CDs first came to America, I was in retail managing a store for Crazy Eddie in the affluent West Village. At that point, everything on CD was imported from Germany and Japan. We were the only store that had ‘em and the early adapters had to come to us. My district manager and I went out to lunch at the Waverly Diner on Sixth Avenue to talk over this new development. He asked, “What do you think?” I had a chance to listen to them, and just the lack or surface noise was strange and amazing. I considered for a moment. “They sound great. I worked in a recording studio, and this is what the music sounded like when we mastered it.” I thought some more. “I just wonder if all the weird music I love will come out in it. I mean, I suspect a lot of my favorite records, like 801 Live (Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno, among others) or the Residents won’t be commercial enough to make the format jump.” Well, I needn’t have worried. Eventually, I owned CDs of both 801 Live and the entire Residents catalog. Not all the music I love made it, but a great deal of it did, even if just for a few weeks! Now, the recorded music business has long enjoyed the pleasure and profit of reselling its catalog whenever a new medium for music comes out. My favorite example of this concept is in the movie Men In Black when Tommy Lee Jones is showing off alien technology to new recruit Will Smith. He picks a small, shiny round object off a stand and says, “Well, looks like I’m going to have to buy The White Album again.” This all came rushing back to me this week because I had a yen to hear Richard Thompson’s “A Bone Through Her Nose” and could not lay my hand on my copy of Daring Adventures. The yen became so overpowering that, despite lean retroeconomic days, I figured I could put 99 cents toward it. So, I tried to find it on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, even Walmart. Not there. I went to the Pirate Bay and couldn’t even find a pirate copy. The best I was able to do were 30 second clips on La La and AllMusic. In response, reader Gail Balfore sent me a link to the live video below. Audio isn’t great, but the solo at the end will rot your socks! So, now that old worry from my Crazy Eddie days, fully a quarter century ago, came rushing back: Will I be able to download my favorite music, even grey market? In this case, it’s very strange, as it costs next to nothing to make a down-loadable file available. Just ask the pirates! Richard Thompson, One of the Worlds Greatest Guitarists (and Snarkiest Lyricists)! Continue reading
Alicia Keys Reaches Out To Her Fans. Do you? Alicia Keys has made big news with her search for a new blogger for her website. Beyond demonstrating the might of Keys’ publicity machine, the story casts Keys as a clever artist and savvy business person. She recognizes that her music career is her business. What about you? If you make music for people to listen to live or on recordings, like it or not you have joined the music business. Congratulations. Now you have to start to think differently about those people listening to your music. You can call them fans, but you must call them customers. These days, artists must take a lot of their career into the hands of their immediate circle. One of the keys to success that Keys sees is customer outreach through her blog, and the need for the best blogger to do that task. And as Bryon and Jesse Eisenberg of Future Now Marketing say in their excellent book, “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark,” “…Customers want to enter into dialogs with businesses, to establish relationships, participate in the conversation, and be more in control of the exchange.” Keys reaches out to her customers, gets them involved in the conversation. What have you done to reach out to your existing customers – AKA fans? What steps do you take to get new customers? What do you know about your customers? Do you have a website? A blog? A twitter account? MySpace and Facebook page? When did you last update your content? Do you have a space for your customers/fans to interact with you? Can your fans/customers navigate your website easily to find what they want? What do you do to make people want to come back there? Once upon a time, record companies took care of this, but that bucket has sprung a leak. Now, your team has to look after itself. Even a major label artist like Alicia Keys realizes that. While you may not have the resources at her disposal, you have some very important assets: Your intelligence, your abilities, and your creativity, the things that got you making music in the first place. You need to channel some of those resources into building and maintaining a customer base. Get started today. Continue reading
For the first time in my experience, John Fogerty looked like he was having fun on stage. Continue reading
