Is anybody other than the major labels complaining the Internet has made music worse? That free music has ruined the incentive to create? That if we don’t overpay we’ll get lousier tunes?

This fiction has been created by a well-compensated class that doesn’t realize it’s involved in an epic battle between the haves and the have-nots. One they cannot win until they come down off their perch and get into the pit with their customers.

How does it FEEL?

That’s what Bob Dylan sang.

I ask you, how does it feel to get ripped off, paying $12.99 for a CD with one good tune?

How does it feel to be a fan of the band but find out that you’ve got to pay far in excess of the printed price to attend the show?

What is end game here? What do labels and promoters think is going to change? Do they think they can put all the customers in reeducation camps where they’ll be happy to fork over all their cash to a ruling class?

Yes, that’s how the fans see the artists. As rich. Why should I buy that guy’s music when he’s constantly flying around on his private jet, when I read online he grossed double digit millions last year? I’m struggling, he can afford it.

Of course that’s an oversimplification of the issues, but that’s how the customer sees it, ignorant or not. Wouldn’t it be best to educate the customer? And you can’t educate him by telling him you’ve got to make all this money to be much richer than he is. The fan has to be seen as doing you a favor, investing in you to keep you alive, to hear great new music. Buying music and going to a show are completely different from buying broadband service, or milk or eggs. Most people don’t even know what brand of eggs they consume, but try to get them to go to a show of an act they don’t enjoy, or don’t even know, it’s impossible.

Lady Gaga has got this right. From the very start, she positioned herself on the side of her fans, her Little Monsters. She fought the big bad Target on behalf of her homosexual followers. Gaga is about doing what’s right instead of what’s expedient.

Honesty, transparency, access and trust. Those are the bywords of business today. But where are they found in the music business?

You want the album but if you buy it at iTunes or Amazon or Target it’s different, you can’t get all the tunes you want. Huh? This is good for the fan how?

You’ve got to join the fan club or get an AmEx card to get a shot at a good seat. That’s like having to buy a personal seat license to go to the supermarket.

How did we go so wrong?

A culture of greed. And people ascending the ladder and feeling entitled to their new lifestyle.

This is hampering not only music, but all of America. People want jobs. When Goldman Sachs complains about regulations no wonder the people hate them, they’re so rich!

Do you see Steve Jobs posting about his wealth?

How about Warren Buffett. Actually, he testifies for higher taxes, for more equitable distribution of wealth, he’s pledged to give his fortune away, isn’t it interesting that he gets a public pass, even though some of his dealings are questionable.

The content industries get no pass, because of their horrendous record of egregious behaviors.

The customer is king. He’ll pay a fair amount for what he wants. Don’t try to trick him into buying crap through subterfuge, the Internet was built to ferret out such duplicitous behavior.

Being a successful act is about pleasing fans. Sure, you might employ radio and press to get to this spot, but if you think that radio and press are your friend, just call them up when you’re broke and on the bottom. A fan will come right over, buy you a meal, cover you in his blanket. The fan believes you’re still number one.

A fan does not care if you’re rich if he believes you earned it, and he helped build you. But don’t be greedy. That turns off the rank and file.

There’s an illusion in this country that because corporations control the government, because the rich employ lobbyists and get their way, that the elite run this country. This could not be more wrong. The people run this country, the rank and file. Who now have access to information on the Internet.

People don’t feel bad about stealing movies or music. It’s not like any of these companies have gone out of business, and look at the outrageous salaries paid Lyor Cohen and Irving Azoff, you’re gonna feel sorry for Warner Music or Live Nation?

If you believe the public is an ungrateful bunch of thieves you’re gonna get the biggest wake-up call of your life. You’d better cash out now and hide your money, go live on a desert island. Because it’s all going topsy-turvy. You’re either with us or against us. Either you’re giving us free material to go with the stuff we pay for, either you’re getting me into the show at a fair price, or you’re the enemy.

The public is ahead of the businessmen and the acts. If you want to survive, get on the people’s side.