Saint Motel – Spotify

I’ve got this friend in Nashville, he sends me all the new country tracks.

And the old ones too.

He’s the guy who turned me on to Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy” and Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer.” I trust him implicitly, he’s my go-to resource.

And he just sent me a bunch of tracks. The most intriguing were by this unsigned guy Mike Ryan, I heard it immediately, especially “New Hometown.”

And he confirmed my love of Luke Combs’s “Hurricane,” told me the man was blowing up, was becoming a juggernaut, so I downloaded Luke’s whole album, synched it to my phone.

And I was intrigued by Ashley McBryde, who just might break out.

And I was excited that an act like Greensky Bluegrass could sell so many tickets, made me hopeful that listenership was widening, that other genres besides hip-hop and pop were gaining traction.

And then I stumble on to Saint Motel.

It was nearly midnight. I’d listened to sixteen country tracks all the way through, giving them a good shot, none were bad, I understood them all, but none gave me the same twinge as I got with Saint Motel.

Which is not a country act.

Yes, this gentleman appended a bunch of pop/alternative/mainstream acts at the end of his list, and it was Saint Motel that blew my mind.

I’ve got to admit, the previously heard “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man is a phenomenon, a well-deserved left field hit. And the Old 97’s/Brandi Carlile “Good With God” was my favorite track by the band in eons. And the Ryan Adams number “To Be Without You” is almost a complete return to form, just needs another change, an improved chorus to bring him back, and we agree that “When The Tequila Runs Out” is the best cut on the last Dawes album.

But Saint Motel was UNDENIABLE! A one listen smash. Which got your feet moving. A cross between what once was and now is that is exquisite.

Yes, imagine blending the new wave of the 80’s with the modern movement of dance, without sacrificing any credibility whatsoever.

Yes, remember the excitement of the English bands on MTV, who wiped the slate clean of corporate rock and vapid disco and infatuated all of us?

Saint Motel is just like that, without sounding dated whatsoever, it puts a smile on your face, makes you a believer once again.

MOVE!

You’re implored to do this, not long after the advent of the song.

And then the fanfare of the (fake?) brass grabs you in the private parts.

This man, this dutiful man has got this sense of devotion
One look, one touch of a hand can set the spiral in motion

And it’s the attitude, the vocalization that hooks you, kinda disinterested yet omniscient, the viewpoint of acts too cool for school who were not interested about techie titans, certainly not bankers, because they knew they had much more influence and fun than either of them.

And then we come to the chorus!

Gotta get up, I gotta get up
Move

You jump up, start dancing around, even if there’s no one else there, even if you never dance in public, the song gets inside you just that fast.

And then the playlist slid into “My Type,” somewhat similar, yet different, but every bit as infectious.

Take a look around the room
Love comes wearing disguises
How to go about and choose
Break it down by shapes and sizes
I’m a man who’s got very specific taste

It’s almost otherworldly. Not a diss track, just about life, the one we’re all living, it resembles nothing so much as an ABC cut.

You-you-you’re just my type

“My Type” is just the kind of track you play to psyche you up, for an athletic event, to get up and ask that person for a date.

The third cut, “Getaway,” was of the similar oeuvre, but different. Had an element of Depeche Mode, the early stuff, like “Just Can’t Get Enough,” but an imploring vocal that gets your head threading through the air…

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

And they are guys. And they’re not from the old country, but Los Angeles.

And these tracks are not new.

“Move” is from 2016.

“My Type” is from 2014!

And “Getaway” is from 2016 too.

Now it’s not like Saint Motel is completely unknown. “My Type” has 75,287,192 streams on Spotify, “Move” has over 16 million and “Getaway” nearly 2 million.

Hell, “My Type” even made it to #5 on AAA, showing how important and impactful that format is, as in NOT!

How does such great stuff go unrecognized?

They were on Parlophone which was in limbo and is now part of Elektra, so maybe they got lost in the shuffle, maybe the label didn’t do its part, WHO KNOWS?

That’s the modern era. WHO KNOWS?

There is great stuff in the marketplace, but you’re not aware of it. Until someone tells you, and then you find out you’re not the only person in the club.

We need a better system than this, because these three Saint Motel songs are one listen gets, THEY’RE SMASHES!

You sell in the fourth quarter.

You stream all year-round.

Once again the music business is on the cutting edge, the canary in the coal mine. Movies are fourth quarter dependent. What are people gonna see during the holidays? Thanksgiving to Christmas? They’ve got free time, they’re oftentimes not working, they’ve got to get out of the house, why not go to a movie?

And during the summer, when kids are out of school.

But they listen to music all twelve months. And one could argue the holidays are when they listen to new music the least.

The record business has been focused on the fourth quarter for nearly a century. Hold back your heavy hitters. Market like crazy. Get those discs into people’s hands. Their parents have to buy gifts. It’s a cornucopia of consumption.

But now the wheel has turned.

Just like Bob Seger and Taylor Swift are now on Spotify, soon the physical and file paradigm will die. There will be no reason to fourth quarter load. If anything, you want to stay out of the maelstrom, when the tsunami of hit product is released. And accounting has changed. Labels shipped in the fourth quarter and got returns thereafter, making their numbers and then dealing with the detriment in the aftermath.

If you’re releasing new music today, your best bet is to do it when no one else is. Assuming you’re going to get press attention to begin with.

And the way you cut through the clutter is not with front-loaded publicity, but marketing after the fact. Music has turned into curling. Sliding the stone is only the beginning, then the brushpeople start doing their work, reducing friction, making a good slide go into the appropriate spot.

And the sweeping looks insignificant. But it’s oh-so-important.

Now you create the record and see if it responds. If it doesn’t, if there’s no data to support your story, you’re screwed. It all comes down to the data. Do people save it on Spotify, do they listen to it again and again. And then it’s a long hard slog to the top.

Release date is just the beginning, arguably the least important part of the journey.

There was a story on Randy Newman’s new album in every publication known to man. But not a single track has eclipsed 100,000 plays on Spotify, not even close. This is ass-backwards. The man needed a one listen single, which he arguably had with his Trump song, which he left off the album, but now his new work is already in the rearview mirror.

Whereas those acts without airplay, who are not part of the broken media scene, are the ones that are triumphing on streaming services, like Logic.

This is a sea change.

The fourth quarter is about to be history.

It’s about streams, not sales!

Never forget that.

You never punch down.

So this is the second strike out by Jack Antonoff, after Lorde’s “Green Light,” Jack’s no Max Martin. Martin releases no track before its time, Martin has his finger on the pulse of music culture, he knows the hit parade and adjusts his sound accordingly, Antonoff is a niche player with talent who gets undeserved accolades, because if you’re the go-to producer of follow-ups…

You’ve got to deliver.

“Royals” was a phenomenon. It’s got 424,344,664 streams on Spotify, and it was released before that platform blew up. “Green Light” only has 172,029,805, a huge come down. It’s only the media which still believes Lorde is a pure heroine…

She’s peaked.

As for Taylor Swift…

She’s winning the battle for mindshare. In today’s world, it’s hard to get everybody’s attention, only Trump seems able to do this.

But she bunted. Criticizing Kim and Kanye? Isn’t that like Paul McCartney trashing Peter Noone? Or Steph Curry going on about some hater in the crowd?

Kanye’s a bipolar nitwit. Married to a nincompoop. To focus on them only brings you down.

And the only reason Taylor got into this tiff is because she lost perspective. She was so busy being everywhere and fabulous that when someone pointed this out, took her down…

She couldn’t take it.

There’s nothing worse than a sour grapes celebrity, complaining that they’ve been done wrong.

But this has been Taylor’s MO for eons. But it used to be a guessing game, in the old days the targets weren’t famous, now she’s in feuds with other celebrities, when what we’re really looking for is guidance, for her to float above and tell us what to do, instead of illustrating she’s no different from the hoi polloi, living in the gutter of social media.

As for the line about Taylor Swift being dead… Didn’t Miley Cyrus do this act years ago? This is not Madonna excavating a niche trend and making it mainstream, like with “Vogue,” rather Taylor Swift is beating a dead horse and we’re supposed to care.

And the Swifties will.

This is where statistics fail us. Believe me, “Look What You Made Me Do” will rack up streams, expect to see stories about broken records soon. It will be a hollow victory lap. Because at the center is this pleasant track about dissing folks that does not cry out for endless repeats unless you’re a dedicated fan.

But there are enough dedicated fans to make this look like a hit. They’ll eat up everything Tay Tay does. So where does this leave us?

Looking for some truth.

John Lennon was in the biggest band in the world, then he goes solo and opens a wound and testifies in a personal way heretofore unheard on Beatle records.

U2 is fearful of repeating itself and therefore brings in Brian Eno to switch up sounds, ultimately successfully. And when the band was experiencing its backlash, after “Rattle and Hum,” when Bono was excoriated on both street corners and in the press, what did the band do? They went to Berlin and cut an album with industrial sounds that was a distinct departure from what had come previously. One that delivered more rewards the more you listened to it. The more you listen to “Look What You Made Me Do,” the less you want to.

But they’ll spin it in clubs. And we’ll all be told what a success it is…

And there you have the modern world. Why so many dismiss the music business. It’s a producer’s medium. This sounds nothing like what Taylor Swift made her bones on. That was closer to countrified Joni Mitchell, this is of the moment disposable dreck. At least “Shake It Off” was catchy.

So now I’m part of the problem. I didn’t buy in. Like the rest of the somnambulant groupies and critics who have become cheerleaders, who can say nothing negative.

What we’re looking for is someone to push the envelope. And those with the greatest attention have the greatest responsibility. That’s one of the reasons we still marvel at the aforementioned Beatles, they took left turns, they didn’t give us what we wanted.

Then again, Taylor Swift is a woman of her times. Embattled, self-righteously taking on all detractors, just like the President.

And by pointing this out I’m seen as part of the problem as opposed to part of the solution.

But someone has to stand up for truth.

And I’m not worrying about payback, SHE ALREADY WROTE A SONG ABOUT ME!

Just when I thought the Soho House was jive…

I went for a meeting with a Canadian. That was what the Soho House was pitched as, a home away from home, a place you could do business when you were on the road.

But then Soho House came to L.A. And after the usual suspects signed up, the wannabes descended. And the funny thing is someone’s got to vouch for you, you’ve got to pass inspection. And just when I’m thinking that the joint is full of thirtysomethings, when I see nobody I know, which is a first, this twentysomething guy leans over and tells me he’s a big fan.

Hell, we all like compliments. He said his boss told him he had to do two things when he got the gig, sign up for the “Lefsetz Letter” and book a national tour.

For Logic.

Logic. I never write about him because a guy from the label has hammered me so hard on him. It’s a people business. And when you come on like a bulldozer, it turns me off. Especially when all the data is up close and personal for you to see.

Like on Twitter.

That’s where Chris Zarou, head of Visionary Management, found Logic.

You see he’d been a soccer player. But Chris realized he just wasn’t good enough. That’s what’s funny about getting older, it separates the men from the boys (and the women from the girls!), and the smart people realize this and get out of the way, drop out and find something better to do.

For Chris, it was music management. It was the only other thing he was interested in.

So he started to study, he combed the net. That’s when he saw the tweet about Logic. Chris checked out the video, he was bowled over, he made contact with Logic via his Facebook page, and then took the Megabus from New York down to Maryland to visit him. Chris said he wanted to be Logic’s manager. That Logic didn’t have to sign any paper. That the act could judge by the results.

So Chris went back to Long Island and started to hustle, while working at Abercrombie & Fitch, his dad didn’t believe this music thing was gonna work out.

But they put out a mixtape. And then four video “singles” on YouTube. Chris traded out with a nascent director, who Chris said would get on screen credit in exchange for his free work.

But it wasn’t an overnight success. Those still steeped in the last decade believe if you build it, they will come. But they won’t. There’s too much noise, too much clutter. So Chris allowed free use of Logic’s music in gaming videos. His goal was to get people exposed to the music, he believed they’d like it if they only heard it.

This is the antithesis to the baby boomer/Gen-X paradigm, where it’s all about the Benjamins, thinking about money first. Chris thought about audience first.

And there was another mixtape and then a deal with Island/Def Jam in 2012. They needed the money, they could not take the next step without it. Zarou and Logic had been working together since 2009, the next step was a tour, but how could they float it, they couldn’t get any advances from the venues!

That’s when they made the deal with IDJ. And went on the road with a rented minivan and an Altima, all across this great nation of ours.

Enterprise said the automobiles could not leave New York. But Chris thought if they returned them in New York, how would Enterprise know?

They didn’t. You’ve got to bend the rules to get ahead.

And Logic sold out clubs across the nation. The bookkeeping was manila envelopes, one for each gig, with the cash stashed and every withdrawal noted, when someone needed twenty bucks for weed, it was written down. And at the end the net was $60,000.

That’s right, no major label record and no radio airplay… THERE HASN’T BEEN ANY AIRPLAY TO THIS DAY!

And then they went to Europe.

WHO BOOKED THIS?

Some guy at an independent that no longer exists who is now at Paradigm. Although Logic is at WME. You see, you’ve got to start at the bottom, with people who are hungry and wet behind the ears just like you, they’re interested, they want to make their bones with you.

And Chris needed help. And he found Harrison Remler, a club promoter from Vassar, and signed him up as an intern, this is the guy who tapped my shoulder and told me what his boss told him to do.

His boss, Chris, is now 27.

Harrison is 24.

That’s right, it’s a new music business. Peopled by the young and hungry. They’re excited, they’re doing it their way and they don’t care about where we’ve been, but only where we’re going.

Chris studied Spotify in its infancy and saw that the key to streams was getting on playlists. He gave Spotify Logic exclusively if they’d work him on their playlists. There are always angles, but can you see them and figure them out?

And when the first IDJ LP came out, after a two year wait, when Chris told the label not to even tell anybody Logic was signed, it disappointed, Chris about cried. Not because it was a failure, it went Top 5, but because Chris believed it would have been number one, if only the label had put enough product on the street. IDJ just did not believe it. That a band that existed only on the internet could be so big.

But they learned their lesson. Said Zarou was right.

Before this Logic sold out Irving Plaza. Not one single IDJ employee showed up. And this is when Zarou realized he had screwed up, he had failed to work the company!

You see he’s learning on the fly.

Now that’s the music business I love.

It’s not like a typical profession. Where you study and apprentice. No, you look yourself in the mirror and say you’re worthy and go forth and prosper. By your wits. Getting screwed, getting an education along the way. No school can teach you how to do it, no way. It’s always individuals with desire, who can operate on their wiles, who can figure out the angles, who win.

And I’m talking to Chris and he smiles and his perfect teeth shine bright and his hair is perfectly parted and I realize this guy would win at whatever he wanted to do.

But he chose the music business.

Which makes me believe the business is healthy and will have a future. Because where else can someone with no CV triumph and make bucks?

So last time through, Logic sold out two Wilterns.

And now IDJ is getting ready to push the radio button. Which excites Chris, because where else can you make 100 million impressions? Worldwide on Spotify, what do you get, 50-60 million?

Chris couldn’t do it without IDJ. They’re fully on board now.

And Chris has a pop act on Capitol too, named Jon Bellion (with one cut on Spotify with 216,731,231 streams and four others at 52,43, 38 and 27 MILLION!)

And everything you thought you knew that you’ve been bitching about never crosses his mind.

His world lives on the internet. That’s where you discover, that’s where you spread the word, that’s where you make bucks. Logic’s top cut on Spotify has 163,334,570 streams. The next four are all in double digit millions, at 72, 60, 32 and 15. Do I hear Logic and Chris bitching about recorded music revenue? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

And, once again, this is completely without radio. Radio can only juice these figures. Whereas many acts get radio play and get nowhere near this number of streams. You see the audience is pushing these acts forward. With some help from the team, in this case Chris, his two other employees and IDJ.

That’s right, Chris is not overstaffing, they’ve been woarking in the basement.

Chris graduated from Adelphi, after attending three previous institutions. And Harrison went to Vassar. And I’d put both of them up against an MBA from Harvard or Stanford. Because they’re hungrier, they don’t feel entitled. AND THEY’RE PASSIONATE!

So, Chris and Harrison had to leave for a meeting at Live Nation. They told me to watch Logic on the VMAs.

And as I was descending the staircase I said to myself…I NEED TO COME TO THE SOHO HOUSE MORE OFTEN!