AOL

Makes online easy.

But it turns out online is much more than their walled garden and that cable and telephone companies utilize pricing pressure to get people to sign up for a bundle that includes internet access. Turns out that access is king. All of AOL’s content was no match for high speed access to everything.

AOL survives as a lame portal that gets way too much attention from Wall Street. And if you’ve got AOL e-mail, switch immediately. The truth is you’re missing out on so many messages, with AOL’s spam filters so tight and ever-changing.

GOOGLE

Made search work. Create comprehension from chaos, make the world understandable and usable for a huge swath of people and you’ll get rich.

But you won’t stay rich. In mobile search is secondary, it’s all about the app.

But what is most interesting about Google is it got a pass. Utilizing its mantra of “Don’t be evil” to market itself as a new kind of company (that only lasted until earnings faltered), Google’s history is about the public and press giving it a chance when it does not deserve one. Sure, Google gave us Gmail, a slightly better Hotmail, but it makes no money on YouTube, Google Plus is an invasive disaster and Google Glass was a sideshow that got a ton of publicity while WhatsApp and Snapchat got all the glory.

Just because someone is good at one thing, do not assume they’re good at everything. Furthermore, just because someone is rich, that doesn’t make them smart and indomitable.

UNIVERSAL MUSIC

They said Doug Morris could not be replaced.

But they were wrong.

Lucian Grainge is younger and hungrier and knows, like Doug, it’s ultimately about hits, but today it’s also about so much more. Grainge is plumbing the digital universe. How successfully, we’re not sure, but at least he’s trying. Furthermore, Grainge is empowering the younger generation, most specifically by making John Janick head of Interscope. Doug Morris helped revitalize Sony, but there’s no new blood, no one to lead the charge once he’s gone.

JIMMY IOVINE

Learned it was about attaching yourself to a winner.

Whether it be Stevie Nicks or Bruce Springsteen or U2 in the old days.

Or Ted Field in the middle days.

Or Dr. Dre in the late days… Jimmy learned that if you’re not a genius, you sidle up to geniuses, pave the way for them to create, being their best friend all the while. Come on, would the headphones have been as successful if they were called “Jimmy I’s Beats”? OF COURSE NOT!

IRVING AZOFF

It’s about survival. And Irving has. Survived, that is.

Respect he who lasts, it’s a skill unto itself.

EVAN SPIEGEL

Who? Mr. Snapchat, who’s now a billionaire.

It’s easy to be a one trick pony. But now Spiegel has pivoted Snapchat into a content company, something prognosticators did not foresee, increasing dramatically the value of the enterprise. Like Mark Zuckerberg before him, Spiegel refused to sell out at a low price, he believed in himself and his vision. Those who take the short money, however large, are losers.

MARK ZUCKERBERG

Facebook is an advertising company, not a social network. After his HTML5 mistake, Zuckerberg pivoted and made Facebook the king of mobile advertising. It’s like a klezmer band deciding it’s better to make pop music. Well, a very successful klezmer band. Proving, even if the Winklevosses came up with the idea, they never could have turned Facebook into the juggernaut it has become.

TAYLOR SWIFT

Realized to win big today it’s about marketing. Tunes are essential, but with it being so hard to reach everybody, he or she who owns the marketing skills becomes known worldwide. Assuming this is your desire…

KANYE

Is so busy complaining he forgot it’s about music. Taylor Swift, his nemesis, never forgot that music comes first.

BILLBOARD CHART

Once you manipulate the statistics, you’re history. We don’t want formula, we want easily understandable facts. Which is why YouTube views and Spotify listens are so valuable. Once you start weighting, people’s eyes glaze over and they tune out.

AMAZON

It just works and it’s trustworthy. Hate Jeff Bezos all you want, but who else do you trust? Bezos always put the customer first, and then he sold them more things. It’s like Walmart with its low prices but with even more. If you hate Amazon you don’t use it.

COSTCO

Part of the fabric of America. Sold by its users. Not everything can be delivered by UPS or FedEx. Costco is about high quality, low prices and treating its workers and customers right. Rep is everything today. And he who forgets this ultimately loses. Sure, prices are low at Walmart, but not only does the Bentonville giant kill downtowns dead, they put their employees on welfare. Furthermore, Walmart was so inured to their profits they could not see the future, i.e. the internet coming. You’re never the winner forever. Sleep with one eye open. Always.

ELON MUSK

PayPal was not sexy, but it laid the foundation for Mr. Musk’s reputation.
We all need people to believe in, heroes shall we say. They used to be musicians, because they spoke the truth and were beholden to no one. But musicians have been devalued because their me-too music is bland and they’re whored out to corporations, the enemy in the public’s mind, bitching all the while. Whereas techies strike off into the wilderness and come back with gold. They innovate and titillate us and we believe in them. If you’re not doing something different, if you’re not reinventing the wheel, stop making music, we’ve got no time for you.

MICROSOFT

Yesterday’s king, today’s common man. Everybody peaks, nothing is forever. People are gunning for your throne. And the more you’re invested in the way you’re doing things, the more vulnerable you become. Disruption is easier with digital tools. Therefore, you must disrupt yourself. But it’s hard for the rich and comfortable to do this.

BILLIONAIRES

Money used to be inherited, now it’s usually made. We must educate our young rich to give back. Many of them do.

POLITICS

An inside game of gotcha that’s so ridiculous, that only serves the insiders and the corporations who pay for it, that the public has tuned out. Ask not what your government can do for you, it’s too busy doing it for itself. (No, this is not right wing pabulum, the government should employ more people, it should enhance the safety net, but the poor don’t serve and they’ve got no voice and you can vote all you want, but the gerrymandering and corporate donations mean the game is stacked against you, the whole country is stacked against you unless you’re smart and educated, so you can’t bitch unless you have a degree and understand the landscape, which rules out so many.)

I discovered this in a ski video:

JaPaos ski video

One of the great things about the internet is you can pursue your passion, I’m combing skiing sites incessantly, and knowing they got 48″ in Taos last week I clicked through to see what was going on. And I heard a track playing in the background which infected me. So I pulled out my iPhone and Shazamed it and lo and behold it was Hozier. You know Hozier, the guy with the international hit that all the girls liked, the sensitive guy I was overworked on and didn’t get until now.

Maybe because the iteration synched with the video was a live take and the immediacy stung me, that’s life, when it’s just lived and not premeditated. That’s what’s wrong with the modern music business, nothing sees the light of day before its time, and by that time, after they’ve added so much and streamlined it, you no longer relate to it, all the humanity has been eliminated.

If you listen to this iteration of “To Be Alone” you’ll know what it was like back in the midsixties when we discovered Clapton and the bluesbreakers. Not that Hozier exhibits Slowhand’s prowess on this track, but the soul, it’s there. Along with a dash of Cat Stevens, before he got too cute.

Check it out.

P.S. How am I supposed to find this stuff? It’s not like Hozier hasn’t been in the news, but the two tracks they promoted didn’t do it for me. There’s something radically wrong with the music business infrastructure, and it’s got nothing to do with piracy or Spotify payments. It’s become so money-focused that the music takes a back seat. We’re promoting what appeals to the head but not the heart. Music lovers don’t count. Not that I give the makers a pass. Their bitching and self-promotion turns me off. But thank god for the youngsters who’ve got enough time to dig deep and uncover this stuff. And synch it to their homemade productions. That’s right, technology is not the enemy. Remix culture is good. It raises that which deserves attention above the surface. If only we could have a weekly playlist of what we need to hear as opposed to what we’re supposed to hear. But blame corporate radio too, read this story in “Billboard” how Brandy Clark didn’t have a chance on country radio:

“Why Must Country Singles Be ‘Worked’ By Labels to be Played on Commercial Radio”

P.P.S. I’m including the studio take and the live Spotify Sessions take in this playlist. The studio version is close, but just doesn’t capture the magic. The Spotify iteration is very close. Because if you’ve got it, you can replicate it, all you need is yourself.

P.P.P.S. All you oldsters bitching that this is not new, that the lyrics are good but not spectacular…remember that the English blues cats were a sore imitation of the Delta bluesmen at first. You’ve got to start somewhere. Once again, there’s positively someone real singing this song, no machines. And this is only something music can do, only music can touch you in this way.

More like this please.

Hozier “To Be Alone” Spotify

Life doesn’t unfold like you expect it to.

Oh, I’m not talking about accidents so much as expectations. That’s right, people die before their time. You get sick and you never really recover. You don’t get into the school you want to…

But you meet people who change your life. They take hold of your hand, mostly your mind, and pull you in an unforeseen direction. All the hopes and dreams of your youth evaporate and you end up somewhere different, that you could not perceive, which feels uncomfortable but just right all at the same time.

That’s the funny thing about people, they have an influence.

Or maybe you’re an influencer. You know who you are. You’ve got big plans. Nothing’s gonna get in your way. You’re a leader, not a follower. But without a flock, without someone to pay heed, you’re lost, you feel empty inside. And when you gain adherents, suddenly your path starts to wobble, you’re no longer going in the right direction.

That’s what they don’t tell you about life. How plans can be laid and hoops can be jumped through and still it doesn’t work out as you planned. I’m not saying to give up and go with the flow, certainly not today, in these challenging, economic times, but the truth is you never know what will be built upon the foundation.

The foundation… That’s important. Who you are. Both morally and your resume. People can tell if you’re honest and trustworthy. And even if you’re not, there will be people who will appeal to you, who’ll grab hold of your avarice and take you right down. That’s right, you’ve got to beware of who you hang with. Which is quite the conundrum, because you get nowhere without other people, and how are you supposed to choose? You think you know what’s right, but then your mother and father pooh-pooh these people, or they reject you. What do you do when the person you put all your hope and faith in abandons you? How do you handle that? You just march forward like a zombie and re-evaluate who you hang with. Do you want the person who can make you laugh all night or the one who’ll come to your rescue when your car breaks down, when you need a friend…

Friends are everything. And loyalty counts too. We want people we can depend upon. If there’s no one you can depend upon life gets lonely. And the truth is so many people don’t know this, that we’re looking for trustworthiness. Not only someone to pick us up when we’re down, but to listen to us without judgment. Not without feedback, no one gets to pass through life without hearing opinions on their efforts. But we’re all so insecure and vulnerable and our desire is to reveal ourselves and if we don’t feel we can with you we’re always gonna keep you at a distance.

So we end up with people who we trust, who tug at us, who pull us in directions we could never foresee. This is how you go on the journey of life.

And the truth is money makes the trip easier. And everybody has to make some. And you envy those who inherit it but you cannot see the burden they carry. Just like you cannot see the burden of the beautiful. With every advantage comes a cost. And the goal is to feel comfortable in your own skin. To know that there’s something in you that shines as brightly as another’s bank account or looks. And until you truly believe this, you’re at a disadvantage. Always believing you got the short end of the stick and if you could only be them…

But the truth is you can only be you.

Maybe it’s your eyes. Maybe it’s your compassion. Maybe it’s the way you can turn everything into a joke. Maybe it’s your disposition. Embrace it, and let others hang on to it.

But maybe other people scare you. You’ve been burned too many times. That’s the downside of age. As you get older you’ve got less angst, you know how the game is played, but you’ve had so many losing experiences that they hobble you. And it happens to everyone. Maybe you married your high school sweetheart, had three perfect children, but then your spouse gets cancer and dies and you haven’t been on a date in decades and you suddenly understand all the loneliness others spoke of. You thought they were weak when they were only human.

And you yearn to connect, we all yearn to connect. But somehow our humanity doesn’t square with a world where money and fame are paramount and who you know is about getting ahead as opposed to making a life.

I don’t know everything. Nobody does. But a lot of people act like they do. Then again, many people want to impart wisdom that will prevent pitfalls. But pitfalls are the way of life. If it all worked out we wouldn’t be happy.

And you know what happiness is. When you’re driving in your car or walking down the sidewalk and a tune is playing in your head and there’s nowhere you’d rather be, you’re thrilled to be alive.

But it won’t last forever. Neither the mood nor your life.

So get up off that couch. Roll the dice. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Because good only comes from bad. Motivation comes from adversity. You ascend mountains you thought unclimbable. To find on the other side things you could never foresee. Where your parents didn’t want you to go, where you didn’t want to go. Where you’re thrilled and comfortable until…

It all goes topsy-turvy again.

Anne Tyler Author

A Spool of Blue Thread: A novel

DLD15 – The Four Horsemen: Amazon/Apple/Facebook & Google – Who Wins/Loses (Scott Galloway)

Scott Galloway is on the road to being a bigger star than Kanye. Because Galloway is smart, he oozes intelligence, he doesn’t have to tell us how great he is, we can see it.

I got this video from Vince Bannon. A music business refugee. That’s right, Vince ran out of options. He went from concert promotion to label (Sony Music) to retailer (Best Buy) and then he got out. Or maybe he was forced out. But the truth is now Vince survives, because he saw the writing on the wall, he realized music ain’t where it’s at, Vince went to work for Getty Images, that’s right the company that eviscerated the prices for photos and made everybody a professional. Vince acquires companies. He sent me this video.

Ian Rogers told me about an app. Called NextDraft, I’d never heard of it before. It’s Dave Pell’s compilation of the top ten stories of the day. And not only does Dave curate, he gives an introduction, he gives context, NextDraft is warm and addicting, you feel you’re getting a phone call from a friend, and you can sign up for e-mail or put the app on your phone, as I did, nothing is a better time-filler. That’s right, downtime is history. When we’re waiting for the Uber, when we’re in the doctor’s office, we spend time on our phone. Who owns that time? Dave Pell is making inroads.

And the point of the above is that entry points are delivered by friends. That’s your currency, who you know. People you trust will lead you to wealth. And Vince has done that here.

The clip above was posted on January 20th of this year. Only the music business is idiotic enough to believe it’s all about the launch date, the first week. How many people are listening to the hyped albums of last year? Few. But when something is great, people find it and it gets its time. Like this clip.

I had to watch it twice. I wasn’t paying close enough attention the first time through.

You know how you watch recommended videos…while you’re doing something else. So you can tell your friend you checked it out. And you’re never honest and say it sucks because that would engender conversation, and you don’t have time for that, especially over opinions about what is good and bad, that’s so last century. We just have time to gravitate to the great and partake.

And what I like about this clip is right up front Scott Galloway says he gets it wrong. This is so different from the entertainment world wherein everybody tells us they’re the greatest when it’s obvious they’re not. And when a flaw is revealed they apologize profusely and go to rehab for stuff we didn’t know there was rehab for. Whereas in tech you admit your mistake and pivot. And I could poke holes in a number of Galloway’s theses, but his presentation is so stimulating you realize why Troy Carter pivoted from music to tech, why every entertainment company from WME to Universal Music makes tech investments, because tech is where the action is.

How did this happen? How did getting an MBA deliver more opportunities and stimulation than being a musician? Few want to screw the itinerant broke musician crashing on the basement floor, whereas they’re lining up to have sex with the techies with brains.

Galloway makes a bunch of sexual references. They’re staggering. But what he does most is analyze the big four tech companies and prognosticate.

You remember prognostication, the concept of looking to the future? All we do in music is try to put on the brakes. We’ve got me-too musicians bitching about change. And if you think that’s a recipe for success, you’re probably still addicted to your Palm Pilot.

Anyway, does Amazon have to get into physical retail?

Turns out their shipping costs are enormous.

Furthermore, did you catch the announcement of Shyp? Wherein parcels are delivered by regular folk, replacing UPS just like Uber replaced taxis? This video is six weeks old and just last week Shyp blew up. Pay attention.

As for Facebook… The amazing thing is how they have pivoted. Told you to invest in your page and are now telling you your organic reach should be assumed to be zero. That’s right, you’ve got to pay to play. And unlike Google, Facebook is mobile-ready.

As for Yahoo… Galloway is the first person I’ve heard talk about the Tumblr disaster. It went from cool to irrelevant, a backwater of porn, never mind lacking profitability. What you buy is more important than the price you pay. As for Twitter and Pinterest…irrelevant according to Galloway, they just don’t have scale.

And it’s been the buzz for a year, how Google’s search monopoly is…dying and irrelevant. Facebook search is up, but the truth is on mobile apps are king.

As for Apple… It’s a luxury brand and in one year it’s going to be the biggest watch company, old watchmakers are in denial. Galloway makes a big point about that.

And I don’t want to just repeat what Scott Galloway says, I just want to say we live for stimulation. That’s what got me listening to Frank Zappa and the rest of the icons, especially the Beatles. They weren’t happy where they were, which was pretty damn good, they kept testing limits. How do you test limits today in music? Focus on new distribution methods, new marketing methods, play privates for your bottom line? It all comes down to the tunes and innovation has taken a back seat, or it’s not being done by someone with the brains of Mark Zuckerberg, never mind Scott Galloway.

How is it going to turn out?

How are we going to get our information?

And the rise of data’s importance is staggering. NYU developed an algorithm. You use the new tools just like musicians use Pro Tools. How long did we have to hear about the death of recording studios? In music it’s all about decay, then someone makes a track in their bedroom that blows us away proving it’s all about conception, that execution takes a back seat, and in music it’s about humanity not perfection

That’s right. In tech if it’s imperfect it’s toast, we don’t want it, we expect everything to work right out of the box. But when a fat girl sings great songs well we’re drawn to her, Adele doesn’t look like Beyonce but she’s bigger than everybody. Ain’t that interesting. Meanwhile, she’s gone away. With nothing new to say why stay in the public eye?

I wish I could inspire musicians to take the other path, a new road to riches wherein you’re poor before you make it. Guns N’ Roses wasn’t successful out of the box. Sure, their album was, but there were years of struggle before that. No one wants to pay their dues in music anymore. The dues are paid by the producers and songwriters behind the scenes. The performers are just front people.

But Angela Ahrents is a bigger star than Nicki Minaj. She just may have more influence than Taylor Swift.

And I’m kidding when I say that Scott Galloway is gonna be bigger than Kanye, but if you’re having a conference I’d call him. Because the goal is to get people thinking.

And my synapses are firing like the Fourth of July.

P.S. Stay to the very end. Especially to the heat maps of OS users.