Who’s the biggest act in England?  Maybe the entire continent?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Huh?

Yes, in the U.K., Flea and the boys are gods.

But they don’t mean much in the U.S.  Oh, they’re a solid act.  But every date doesn’t go clean, they’re don’t sell as many records as Mimi, not even close.

You see the RHCP followed the money.  They had a beachhead overseas, and they went for it.

Great for the bank account.  How is it for the ego?  Do you want to walk around your hometown a secondary character, or as GOD!

Robbie Williams don’t mean shit in the U.S.  He’s putting all his effort into his hometown.  Overseas.

In one fell swoop, Howard Stern marginalized himself.  Made himself irrelevant.  By going for the money.

Oh, there was that b.s. about the FCC.  How they were hamstringing him.  To believe this is to be frustrated that you can’t take a dump on the table at a charity dinner.  There are rules.  You play within the rules.  Really, was most of Howard’s act SO out there that it couldn’t be done under the aegis of the FCC?

No.

Sirius ain’t the web.  Freely-available to everyone.  Sirius is a private club, which you can join if you want to pony up the cash, but if you’re not a member, you’re left COMPLETELY OUT OF!

Howard Stern is like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  He went for the money.  Hey, you’re entitled.  The point is, what does it do to your career, your INFLUENCE!

Howard is gonna fade.  Just like the Red Hot Chili Peppers in America.  He’s just not in front of enough eyeballs.

When the Peppers’ last studio album came out did they tour America?  No, they immediately started playing OVERSEAS!  Shows where their interests lie.

Make no mistake, Howard is PHENOMENAL for Sirius.  He single-handedly rescued a dying company.  But, it’s SIRIUS’ image that has been burnished, not Howard’s.

Sirius has three million subscribers.  And over 100 channels.  How many people do you think are actually going to hear Howard each day?

I mean do you want an arena act, a STADIUM act, or a theatre act?

Imagine if U2 charged $100 an album (and there was no burning or P2P!)  And concert tickets cost $1,500 apiece.  Would they be selling out arenas worldwide?  Adjust the numbers, you could scale them so U2 could make as much dough.  But they’d be LIMITING THEIR AUDIENCE!  They’d no longer be a PEOPLE’S band.  Rather something more akin to Wayne Newton in Vegas.  A guilty pleasure of a coterie.

It’s time for a funeral for Howard.  He’s as done as Jack Paar after leaving "The Tonight Show".  Oh, not quite as done as Shelley Long leaving "Cheers", but still, he went from being a wreck on the freeway to a fender-bender on a back street.

Let this be a lesson.  If you go for the quick money, there’s a cost.  If you go for the big money, there’s a cost.

If you want longevity, you must think of your fans first.

Howard Stern didn’t think of his fans who weren’t about to plunk down in excess of $100 a year to hear him.  He abandoned these people.  He DISSED them.  Do you think they’re still believers?  Howard’s now like a summer camp girlfriend, fading in the rearview mirror.

It’s about growing your audience.  The larger the number of people who are following you, that dig your act, the longer your career, the more influence you’ll have.

Then again, if you’re only interested in money, do what’s expedient.