The music Jay-Z made with Samsung may have already been forgotten, but the deal has not.

That’s what we’ve been hearing since the advent of the Internet music era, when the labels were bled by Napster. You’ve got to sell out to make it. It’s no longer about the music, but the brand. Just like nitwits saw Mariah Carey perform in the early nineties and believed a singer was about melisma as opposed to…belief, nuance and emotion, today music takes a back seat as everybody dreams of getting a clothing line and a plethora of deals with the Fortune 500. Like the one with Fitty and Vitamin Water…then again, thank god he made that money, he’s been forgotten ever since.

You know the drill. Where can I sell out?

And the agents and managers get a commission. And labels with 360 deals too, they know acts come and go. So uneducated artists always say yes, sell their souls to the devil and fans are cool with this.

Or are they?

Over the past two days, my inbox has been overflowing with the “Daily Show”‘s takedown of Jay-Z. And you’ve got to watch it, it’s more memorable than anything Jay-Z has cut in years. When Larry Wilmore says Jay-Z doesn’t care about black people, and asks how you can criticize a brother for buying a belt…if you don’t howl, you’ve got no pipes.

Here’s the story. Jay-Z did a deal with Barneys, but it turns out Barneys is arresting black customers…AFTER THEY’VE MADE THEIR PURCHASES!

And merch at Barneys ain’t cheap. One guy bought a Ferragamo belt for $350.

Now what?

Jay-Z is waiting for a full investigation, he doesn’t want to make a snap judgment.

Huh? Now Jay-Z is acting like the government, which everybody hates. What he’s saying is I’m gonna wait to see if this blows over, and I’m gonna make sure in my ultimate decision I hurt no one who’s loyal to me, and certainly not myself. This isn’t someone you believe in, this is someone you mock, kind of like the Rap Insider:

“Rapper Jay Z Found Dead Inside At 43”

Used to be the machine was on your side. Just printing your press releases. Looking for backstage passes as payment. Criticism went out with the seventies. But suddenly everyone’s realized that stars don’t lift up their brethren.

White people have been doing it forever. They make it and leave everyone behind. Live behind gates and fly private and want no conversation, only your money.

Now black people do it too.

First it was the athletes, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

Now it’s the entertainers.

But the difference is Jay-Z made it based on what’s inside. What he stands for is important. And now we know he stands for one thing only, money.

We may have a black President, but that does not mean racism has been eradicated.

And mega-corporations may pay you a mint, but that does not mean credibility isn’t king for a long term career.

People are all about loyalty. They want to believe they come first.

Now we know money comes first with Jay-Z.

So what have we learned?

That contrary to what everybody says, music and commercialism, selling out, don’t always mix. If you’re speaking from the heart, the message gets muddled when you bring in the wallet.

Isn’t it funny that the Eagles can still fill arenas, and they do no corporate endorsement deals, and everybody who recently made it thinks it’s a good idea to sell out.

And then there’s virality. There’s a belief that the artist controls his message. But that fiction disappeared when Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s couch. Sure, that was a mistake. But what made it so big was the endless story online. I.e. virality. Yes, you want your peeps to build you up, but once you’ve made it, be very careful they don’t pull you down.

“Jay-Z Penney”

(I gave away a couple of the jokes, but that’s because no one clicks through anymore, hell, even I didn’t, not until I got the link multiple times. It’s worth the 6:45 investment, but if that’s too much for you, start at 3:00, when Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore kicks in.)

P.S. Jon Stewart and troupe are creating every day, testing limits all the while, they’re feeding their audience and keeping it loyal, something musical artists should learn how to do.

It was better than breaking a band.

In other words, what kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where not only does tech steal our money, but our thunder too? Where the geeks know marketing better than the entertainment pros?

Unlike the music business, Twitter realized it had to build a base. Do we really care about the left field twits the labels promote on a regular basis? They’re so young they don’t even have pubes, and they come and go in a flash. Whereas Twitter percolated in the market for years. It burbled underground, gaining adherents and causing the curious to kick the tires and play.

And when it hit critical mass, it went public.

And going public is all about money, it’s got very little to do with the enterprise at hand, especially today, where the sideshow has become the main show.

First there was the drama. Who started it, who ran it, what’s the backstory?

Is Jack Dorsey an evil genius backstabber or the next Silicon Valley hope?

The story was timed to peak just before the stock went public. With a new book, excerpted in the “New York Times Magazine” no less. But unlike in music, where the “Magazine” is the linchpin, if not the entire edifice of the campaign, the “New York Times” Twitter story was just an element of the conflagration, details for those who go deep. You provide data for those who truly care, who then talk about a subject and grow it. This is what the music business does at a very elite level. It gets the Miley story in “Rolling Stone.”

But unlike Miley, Twitter reigns on! People are tweeting as we speak. Millions of them. That’s what the music industry has wrong, it doesn’t know that the spike is just an element of the campaign and not the whole damn thing.

The music business is all about the first week debut, then everybody moves on to the next thing. Tech realizes it’s about usability, being constantly in your face. This is gonna come to music, just you wait, it’s what’s after the album, when streaming rules and everybody is hungry for new product by their favorites.

Product. Who cares if Twitter is good or bad? Just like Katy and Gaga and Miley. If you’re talking about them, they’re making money. Hate is as good as love. Haters were out in force in the Twitter going public story. Naysayers are rampant in the money game. The WSJ even wrote a whole damn story why you shouldn’t invest in Twitter, just index funds, because despite all the press, the game is not for amateurs, but pros. But somehow, via publicity/marketing, Twitter got us all to care.

And now the company’s got this insane valuation. Which is never gonna last. Because most people can’t figure out how to use the service and never will.

So to repeat…

1. Try a million things, when a band gets traction, let it percolate, don’t push it too soon. Wait possibly years to reach critical mass. This is what Warner did with Gary Clark, Jr. and it was a good idea. Because insiders couldn’t stop talking about him, couldn’t stop spreading the word. He appeared at Coachella and you told everybody how great he was. Since the album’s been out, buzz has been minimal. Clark needs new product. Instead he’s hamstrung, trying to figure out what to do next, making sure it’s the right move. The quality of the move is almost irrelevant, it’s all about staying in the game!

2. Pick a target date. I.e. when you’re going to go public, when you’re going to release. Your publicity should not start too soon, if you’ve done your job well, percolation has established a base, publicity is about getting those not interested previously to pay attention. The Twitter frenzy was insane. The number one topic in America. Especially when we’ve got a can-do tech company and a can’t-do government. In today’s marketplace, if you’re not reaching everybody, you’re not doing your job. That’s what Miley did so right. A short sustained publicity campaign that got people who don’t even care about her talking about her, she got the public discussion going.

3. Don’t worry about the quality of the feedback/story. This worked for Lana Del Rey. Unknown went to known overnight, primarily because haters said she was a no-talent fraud. Don’t micromanage stories/responses, that’s old school. Just keep pushing. Once you become ubiquitous, you’ve won, you’re beyond criticism. Hating is a national sport. If people are hating you, that means you’ve made it.

4. Grant access. People want the insider story, the juicy details. We do this so wrong in music, everybody in a suit believes they’re entitled to their privacy, which is ridiculous in this age, especially considering the stuff they’re selling. Why was the act signed by the exec? Who passed? Who got screwed? These are the details that build a story. Sure, the music has to be good, but today the focus is on money and gossip, feed the machine.

5. The press is your tool. They need stories. Make them juicy.

6. Focus on everything but the essence. Little of the Twitter hype was about the service, it’s not easy to understand and even more difficult to use. In other words, if you’ve got an act with quality music, the hype is all about the penumbra. Hell, what can you say about great music other than you like it anyway? The key is to make people aware so they sample.

7. Constantly in the marketplace. That’s what Kim Kardashian does so well. Not a day goes by without a story. And does she restrict access, say she wants the photogs to stay away? Of course not. She’s in business with them. So they write about her. And you may deplore her, but everybody in her target audience, who might watch her TV show or buy one of her products, is aware of her. Awareness levels on musical acts stink. Because they don’t use the media to their advantage. Gaga used to do this. But she forgot that the underpinning is music, she waited far too long to release new tracks.

8. Sure, it’s about the hit song. But fans want more. This is what Metallica had wrong over a decade ago. Fans want to hear the work tapes, the discards. Everybody else doesn’t care. So continue to satiate fans with new music. If Twitter were a band, it would close up shop after going public, making everybody search the archives with no new tweets, maybe in a year or two it would allow tweeting again. Huh? You’re a musician, make music! Stop complaining you can’t make money, that you’ve got to go on the road. Do covers on YouTube (Kelly Clarkson has done this, the credible stars believe this is beneath them, why, are they only fans of their own music?) Rearrange your songs. Make it new and different. Know it’s less about your track than your overall persona.

9. The goal is to get everybody talking about you.

10. It’s about winners and losers baby. And when you’re winning, strike. Facebook waited too long to go public, the story became about the company staying private, the mercurial Zuckerberg, the anticipation killed us. Twitter knew exactly when to pounce. And there’s not a hundred successful social networks, and there won’t be a hundred successful bands. And social networking might become as passe as hair bands. Yup, social networking is a fad. Hell, even classic rock is a fad. You build it and milk it as long as you can. To think Twitter is forever is to believe the Eagles can have a number one record. At least that band is smart enough not to make it about new music, unlike Paul McCartney. Eagles ticket sales are up because of their “History Of The Eagles” Showtime airings and DVDs. They thought outside the box, can you?

I just heard this on Sirius XM.

It’s getting to be that time of year again. When the days get shorter, and colder, and you hole up with your favorite fourth quarter album releases.

At the end of 1964, it was hard to believe the Beatles had just broken in January. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” exploded out of car radios, transferred to the transistor and became imprinted upon baby boomers’ brains when the band performed on the Ed Sullivan show. What was most incredible about that telecast is that it was really them. Fifty years ago, stars were not real people. We had almost no access. You could go to the show, but concerts didn’t really become big until the Beatles broke. So to dial up your black and white set and actually see the Liverpool lads inside…was positively staggering.

And the hits were followed up by the movie.

And in November, there was yet another new album, “Beatles ’65.”

Oh, I know it was different in the U.K. There it was entitled “Beatles For Sale” and it includes my favorite Beatle track of all time, “Every Little Thing,” but we had to wait for “Beatles VI” to get that on an album in the U.S.

And what drove the sales of “Beatles ’65” was “I Feel Fine,” which wasn’t even on “Beatles For Sale.” To hear that feedback on the radio was like watching Neil Armstrong step down on the moon, it was an even more giant step for mankind, at least music.

So, people bought “Beatles ’65” in droves. And the opening cut…

The breathless John Lennon vocal of “No Reply.”

That’s the difference between the Beatles and the wannabes. The delivery. We had no doubt that Lennon had lived the story. It was directly from his lips to your ears. The track took off like a shot and you were instantly hooked.

And what came next, “I’m A Loser,” was equally good, in what we’d now call a Mumford-influenced style, but fifty years ago the Beatles delivered a better song.

And “Beatles ’65” did not have the incredible hit “Eight Days A Week” featured on “Beatles For Sale,” but both albums concluded with the Carl Perkins cover “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.” Which meant there was not a baby boomer alive who did not know the cut, that’s how pervasive Beatle albums were.

Not that Mr. Perkins truly originated the song, listen to Rex Griffin’s song of the same title from 1936.

Even closer is Roy Newman & His Boys’ 1938 take.

Who knew?

And that’s just the point. “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby” was an album cut, from 1957. But back then musicians were not so much wannabe fame-mongers, but musical fanatics. The average person might not have been familiar with the Perkins track, but the Beatles sure were.

They played it in Hamburg. Even played it at Shea Stadium.

It was sung by George Harrison and bathed in reverb and it was purely magical.

That’s the power of a hit act, they can shine the light on the progenitors.

Now we knew “Blue Suede Shoes.” I don’t know how, classics just permeate through the ether. But it was the Beatles who illustrated Carl Perkins, the Sun star whose light had already dimmed by this point, was a rock and roll titan.

And when you listen to Carl’s original take, there’s a swing and some sex and it’s so infectious, you just want to get up and jitterbug, twist and smile.

That’s the power of rock and roll. Back when it was new.

It was a sound.

But still song-based.

We’re going back in the tunnel again. November is beyond nascent. And what gets us through the long dark season is numbers like “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby,” which inspire us, that illustrate the possibilities of life!

Rhinofy-Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby

Rex Griffin

Roy Newman & His Boys

Beatles

You know I go every year, to Jim Lewi’s Aspen Live conference.

It’s the peak of the annum. Primarily because of the hang. Most other conferences are focused on breaking bands, most of which you don’t want to hear, and there’s little cohesiveness, you’re either part of the inner circle or you’re left out.

Aspen is different. There are no bands. And there’s limited attendance. And although there are cliques, everyone’s open to conversation.

And that’s what it’s all about. Conversation. That’s why the skiing element is so important. You get to know someone on the lift in a personal way, which cements bonds for eons thereafter. We’ve been doing this since 1996, and if you’re an alum, you’re part of my inner circle. And I’m sure my fellow conference-goers would agree.

But the reason I’m writing this is Lewi has secured Anita Elberse as a speaker at Aspen Live this year.

Here’s her Wikipedia page:

Anita Elberse – Wikipedia

Here’s her Harvard faculty page:

Anita Elberse – Harvard

Yes, Anita Elberse is a Harvard Business School professor, the one who wrote “Blockbusters,” which I quoted on October 16th, you know, the one stating that the odds of selling your track if you’re not a star…are abysmal.

“The Most Important Thing You Will Read All Day”

This is the turning tide. This is what all the hope-givers, the people mooching off the wannabes, won’t tell you.

It’s getting really cold out there for newbies. Few make it, and most depend upon money.

Because money is power. Money buys mindshare and influence.

Kind of like this Obamacare thing.

As superior as Obama’s team was in utilizing data to get the President reelected, that’s how bad they are in explaining the Affordable Care Act. Instead of defining it and showing its advantages, the Administration is constantly in a rearguard position. Apologizing for this and that. To the point where even smart people are not in the know. My doctor today talked about people losing their insurance. Even the vaunted Edie Littlefield Sundby of “Wall Street Journal” fame is telling half-truths. She had a catastrophic policy and her insurer left the state. She’s going to get cheaper and better service under Obamacare, never mind being able to get a policy to begin with, since preexisting conditions won’t prevent her from getting one.

And don’t e-mail me with your right or left wing position. That’s not my point. My point is the Republicans and the right wing media, the WSJ and Fox News, have defined the debate. They’re winning the information war. To the point where my admittedly Democratic physician is anti-Obamacare based on misinformation.

And what kind of topsy-turvy world do we live in where politics, which is show business for ugly people, is more advanced than entertainment?

Politics realizes it’s about data and money and message.

And right now it’s the same in music.

The power of data is just beginning to be understood. And if you don’t have the money to make your message ubiquitous, good luck. Chances are you’re going to be sitting on the sidelines for the rest of your life, no matter how good you are. Virality is now for the rich and supported, not you at home. Believe it.

And Anita Elberse wrote the definitive book.

Which you should read:

“Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment“

But not only is Ms. Elberse going to be there. But Lynda Obst, the movie producer who wrote

“Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business“

Ms. Obst’s productions include “Sleepless In Seattle” and “Contact” and now she’s moved into television with “Hot In Cleveland,” she’s changing with the times, are you?

Lynda_Obst – Wikipedia

Life is what you make of it.

If you want to come to Aspen with a Missouri attitude, i.e. the Show Me State, and cross your arms and be uninvolved, maybe your time won’t be so good.

But if you’re willing to integrate, to make friends, it could be the experience of a lifetime. Or the beginning of a new life.

Now not anybody can go. You can click on the Contact link and get ahold of Jim Lewi to find out if you can attend:

Aspen Live Conference

And yes, my picture is on the homepage, but I’m not doing this to help Lewi so much as I am excited about hearing Elberse and Obst and so many more, see the agenda here:

Aspen Live Conference agenda

And what I like about Elberse is it’s not generalities, it’s not feel-good hope, but cold hard facts. The studios make these big time movies because it makes economic sense.

Which is the same reason labels are not interested in your band.

Check out the book, even if you don’t show at 8,150 feet. It’ll depress you, but it’s the truth.

P.S. In case you’re interested in the Edie Littlefield Sundby health care debate, I’m providing the links below. But notice he who strikes first usually wins the information war, meaning publicity people and marketers are the new powers in entertainment. Carefully craft your message and spread it!

“You Also Can’t Keep Your Doctor: I had great cancer doctors and health insurance. My plan was cancelled. Now I worry how long I’ll live.”

“A closer look at the WSJ’s newest Obamacare horror story”

“The Real Reason That The Cancer Patient Writing In Today’s Wall Street Journal Lost Her Insurance”