Twenty five years ago, there was a breakthrough, 1984 to be exact. Suddenly this soundtrack was flying out of the stores, even though the movie it came from was a veritable stiff.

That album was "Eddie and the Cruisers". And the reason it was successful, was blowing up months and months after the film had left the theatres, was because HBO was airing the movie.

This was not long after Duran Duran became a household name as a result of expensive videos shot in exotic locations aired on MTV.

So I’m hanging with Dan Steinberg of Square Peg Concerts, asking him what’s selling.

He’s doing very well with Straight No Chaser and he testified about Trailer Park Boys. They’re selling 1500 or 2000 tickets all over this great nation of ours.

Trailer Park Boys?

The only reason I even know who they are is because they presented some awards at Canadian Music Week. They had a long-running show north of the border. But in the U.S., they were meaningless.

Until Netflix.

While film companies are pulling their content, refusing to let Reed Hastings stream it, millions of people have accounts and are looking for something to see. And what they’re finding is Trailer Park Boys. Which is not for everyone, but is a dead center hit for the late night stoners, who stumbled on the episodes while looking for other weed-funny entertainment.

Trailer Park Boys began in 2001, the series ended in 2007, there was a special in 2008 and a movie in 2009. Weren’t they supposed to be frustrated, weren’t they supposed to give up?

You’re establishing a body of work. If you’re good enough, you never know when your moment will arrive.

Meanwhile, Steinberg’s Square Peg Concerts is selling almost as many tickets to see Tim Minchin. I bet most of you have no idea who he even is. He’s a British/Australian comedian who has been on Conan, but is blowing up as a result of YouTube clips. There are all these niche audiences who find this stuff and support it. Comedy is huge in the U.K. and the Internet knows no borders and interested parties track and discover these acts and suddenly they’re burgeoning in new markets. How big? That’s to be seen. They’re making money now, they could become superstars.

In other words, just because you don’t blow up fast, don’t think you’re never going to make it.

And don’t bitch that Live Nation is making it so you can’t get a toehold in this business. There are nimble competitors scouring the fringe trying to help you make it and make money, for themselves and you.

And speaking of the bigger players, Don Strasburg of AEG testified as to the business he was doing with Amon Tobin. I’d like to tell you I knew who he was, but I didn’t.

Amon’s been around a long time. But what has him selling more than a thousand tickets in Denver and Boulder is his show. Featuring 3-D mapping. He set it up in Toronto, shot a video of it, and then sliced and diced it into clips for YouTube. And as a result, he’s boffo at the b.o. People saw it, felt the excitement and wanted to come.

So while the old players are lamenting you can’t do it the old way, nimble players are utilizing the new tools to gain advantages.

These are just a few of the things I learned at today’s session at Aspen Live.

I’d tell you more, but I’m late for cocktails at the Belly Up!

Aspen Live