Just because you believe in yourself doesn’t mean I should.

I’m constantly inundated with people frustrated that they haven’t made it. Everybody says how great they are, their family, their friends, how come they can’t break through? If only they were on the radio. Won’t someone invest in them?

You’d think that record companies are the enemy. I know, I know, they’re not what they used to be, but do you really think they don’t want to sign stuff that sells? That’s easy to sell? Do you really think you’re being given the brush-off unnecessarily, that the big bad man is out to screw you? Not only the record company man, but the radio guy too?

And sure, both those outlets are now only interested in a narrow category of performer. Probably a pretty face with a number written by a song doctor or the latest urban delight. You’re right, that’s fucked. But the reason they don’t want to sign you isn’t because they’ve got a personal vendetta against you, but because they can’t SELL YOU!

And what’s worse, they can’t sell the records of an established act either. Do you think you’re as good as Elton John? He’s gone on record that he’s not going to release any more albums because no one cares, no one wants to buy them. But since you’ve dedicated your life to music, somehow you think you’re entitled!

Chances are you’re not that good. Or, if by some weird quirk of fate, you are, you’re making music that most people just aren’t interested in. Please accept this. And stop acting wounded. Frustrated that you haven’t gotten your chance. Talk to the big time managers, the ones you wish were pushing you, they’re flummoxed too, they’re having a hard enough time keeping legendary acts working.

But no, the system’s out to get you.

If you’ve hit a wall, chances are most people just don’t care. And I don’t care either. Do you think if I write about your little ditty it’s going to insure mega-success? NO ONE has that power. It’s like the world’s brain-damaged, and the neurons are not firing properly, it’s hard to get a message from one end to the other. You think you’re one gatekeeper away from worldwide acceptance, accolades and dollars, and Madonna’s new album tanks sixty four percent the second week out and she’s getting more publicity than you EVER will.

If you want instant success, write a hit tune. A hit tune is one that’s not very different from what the radio, TOP FORTY, is already playing. If you’re trying to convince the system to come over to your side of the fence, to see how your music is unique and deserves a chance, you’re living in the sixties, and even though you were probably never exposed to free form radio, that’s what you want…AND THAT DOESN’T EXIST!

A hit tune has a catchy chorus. Memorable verses. Today, it’s heavily rhythmic. STUDY THE CHART and deliver this exact sound. And be good-looking to boot. Sure, it would be great if it were different, but IT’S NOT!

If you want to take the other path, your music has to be able to be understood, digestable, HOOK PEOPLE on one listen. I mean one damn listen. I’m not talking about falling in love with someone over time, there’s not enough exposure in this world anymore. Your one chance at being heard, you must deliver a Michael Jackson or a Joni Mitchell performance. You must positively blow people away! They must not want to leave, they must buy your CD, your merch and if you were playing the next night in town, your audience would be double, because they brought everybody they knew down to the club. If you’re not getting this response night after night, you’re not good enough to be rich and famous! Maybe you can be a working musician, but you’re not going to float above the fray, you’re not going to be on the cover of "Rolling Stone", as if that mattered.

You think there’s a system. There’s no system anymore. Just a lot of people fighting for their slice of the pie. Warner Music cuts its dividend, Clear Channel can’t be sold because the buyers can’t lay their hands on the cash, superstars release albums that don’t go gold, but the system is out to screw YOU!

No one cares about you.

And I don’t either.

I’m not going to listen to your crap, I’m not your lackey. If you’re that good, I’m going to hear about you from someone else, who I trust, who does not have an investment.

Hell, we’re all frustrated. The listeners as well as the acts and businessmen. There’s no coherence in the system. How do we separate the wheat from the chaff? How do WE find out about great new music?

In the future, a trusted filter, like record companies and radio in the past, will emerge to do this job. Right now, in a time where everybody can create recordings and a label, the landscape is chaos. It’s chaos for EVERYBODY!

If you love to play music, and you’re willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING to make it, play on. But please stop bitching that you haven’t gotten your turn. The road is littered with acts light years better than you that haven’t gotten their turn. Some gave up, some retreated to journeyman status, some, like Randy Newman, went into the movie soundtrack world, where life was easier.

Maybe you love John Hiatt. But he didn’t write "…Baby One More Time", someone else did. Nor did he write "Save The Best For Last". I’m not saying he should be unhappy, just that he’s a bit of a square peg and he’s having a hard time fitting in the round hole.

You can’t even see the hole. And your peg is flaky at best. But somehow YOU deserve success.

Fuck off.