Launch your project on the weekend.

Seth Godin has this new imprint with Amazon, it’s called the Domino Project. And with regularity, he pumps out business books.

I don’t believe in ’em. I believe in inspiration. The sudden flash of genius. Steve Jobs broke all the rules and became the most successful businessman of his generation, who you gonna listen to? And too often these people are terrible writers. Dan Zarrella might be a good speaker, but he hasn’t put in enough time as a writer. "Zarrella’s Hierarchy Of Contagiousness" is about as boring as that textbook you used as a doorstop, if you want to go to sleep, crack it open. And especially in the creative field, when you get too scientific, you lose your soul. And what we’re selling is soul, humanity, those are the records that last, despite their imperfections.

Zarrella tries to teach you how to game the system. That’s what’s wrong with America, finding the edge and exploiting it.

But there were a few gems in this very short book of barely sixty pages, and one inspired me so much I wanted to tell you about it.

Zarella says he’s taking the myth out of social networking, employing science. And even though it’s counterintuitive, he says it’s best to publish on weekends. If you want people to share. And that’s the essence of virality.

Sure, there’s less clutter then. But it’s also when people take the time to relaxedly surf and clean up their inbox. The pressure is off. Work is done and incoming is reduced.

And thinking about all this reminded me of "In Rainbows".

Radiohead was a cult band, albeit a very large cult, who created the biggest marketing buzz of the last decade by any band extant. Not only did they reach everybody, many who didn’t care, the story had legs, it kept on being told over and over again, to this day, even though we know that it was ultimately a stunt and pay what you want formulas don’t work.

My BlackBerry started going wild in Gelson’s, a supermarket for the non-L.A. savvy. And with surfing on a BlackBerry legendarily poor, I couldn’t wait to get home, to log on to my computer and see what was up.

The story was just breaking. News items were slim. "The New York Times" was about to go to bed, it wouldn’t be in the next day’s edition. I was experiencing the story in real time, it was exciting. And with no other distractions, I could focus my complete attention.

You may not remember that Van Halen launched its breakthrough project, "1984", on January 1st of that year. Traditionally the music business was in hangover mode at that time, belief was that people had no money, it was a bad time to sell. But with absolutely no competition in the marketplace, with nothing new available, "1984" gained traction and blew up.

Don’t release your record on Tuesday. That’s when everybody else releases their project. People are at work, how many other titles are you competing with? You’re gonna get lost in the shuffle.

But if you launch on Saturday morning… You’re gonna own the weekend. And not only will your potential audience have the time to marinate in your work, that’s when they share the most. That’s what the science in this book says.

It’s not about the SoundScan number. Just like MP3s disintermediated the album and streaming is killing the MP3 the concept of weekly sales figures is an anachronism. The concept of getting a big first week number so retailers will reorder is especially ridiculous. There are no inventory issues in the online world. As for stimulating press, you lead with your music, not the advertising.

But, but, but, my UK brethren are chiming in that they’re eight hours ahead. And that "In Rainbows" actually launched in the wee hours of the morning!

Zarrella addresses that too. If you want something to go viral, send the message early in the day, that’s when bloggers are looking for ideas to post, they comb their inbox and trawl for news to write about…

Friday at 4 PM is the most retweetable time. That’s when the weekend begins. Retweeting in general is much more prevalent later in the day. Your odds of going viral at 10 AM are below 1%. Around 4 or 6 PM they’re around 6%..

Facebook shares are 40% higher on Saturday than they are in the middle of the week.

The book goes deeper, delineating what is shared and why.

And fascinatingly, it addresses the "Tipping Point" issue. That you might pooh-pooh Twitter, saying no one plays there, but those who do are incredible influencers, they spread the word.

So I’m loath to tell you about this book, because it’s a tough read and I’m sick of lowest common denominator marketing techniques infiltrating the world of the arts. That’s why we get "The Voice" and no new Beatles or Bob Dylan. But if you create in a vacuum, following your own muse, and then create your marketing, you’ll find some tips here.

And like I said, "Zarrella’s Hierarchy Of Contagiousness" doesn’t even make 70 pages…and the book is only 5×7"!

The Domino Project

You can’t buy the kind of buzz below. Everybody wrote out of passion.

I was aware there was a Newport Folk Festival, I was aware it was hipper than ever, but whatever marketing and promotion there was either I didn’t encounter or it slid right off of me, I’m immune to hype, as are so many.

But I’m not immune to buzz. I can tell when something’s happening. And when a bunch of people e-mail me about something unsolicited, when I don’t even write about it, I pay attention, I know something’s going on.

Doesn’t matter if it’s on TV or in the newspaper, they’re there last, and they’re so easily bought. It matters what real people, trusted sources, have to say.

And I wasn’t going to print all this, although I was thinking that I missed out and should go next year, but today I heard from Jay Sweet, who I don’t know but the below writers testified about. He was testifying about Marc Geiger. And the important thing is Geiger was totally on this, the Newport Folk Festival, even though it hasn’t yet broken through on a mainstream level. (Sweet’s e-mail is at the bottom.)

The point is there’s a following for this type of music and these acts.

It’s not all Top Forty all the time.

I’d posit that the fans of niche artists are more passionate than those of Top Forty hitmakers. They own these acts, they buy all the music and go to the shows, and they allow for missteps the same way you forgive a child’s mistakes, they’re in it for the long haul, they want to see how it all turns out.

The passion of a fan is stronger than any record company president, more powerful than any under the table payment. It’s love, it’s real.

Something’s happening here. It bubbled up on my radar. I figured I’d let you in on it.

I just got back from the Newport Folk Festival.  Two sold out days, probably 50,000 tickets.  Very few acts on the bill get any radio play at all.  Also, I am not sure if any of the acts are on anything but a small independent label.  These fans are devoted.  The mainstream media and music business is totally missing what is going on in the Alt Folk world.  Five years ago Amos Lee would have been a superstar.  He really should be one now.  The problem is only his fans ever heard his name.  The demos for this music is basically educated, affluent ,men and women from 20 to 65.  These people will be devoted fans for life.  Advertisers would drool to have access to these folks.  Yet there is really no mainstream media that pays attention to these artists.  Sure college radio plays these artists.  But there is no commercial radio format for these acts. Satellite radio plays them only sporadically.  Wake up.  This could be the future of music for the next ten years.  Just look at what happens when these acts get exposure.  Mumford and Sons and the Avetts are only the tip of the iceberg.  

James Del Balzo

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I spent last weekend at the Newport Folk Festival, which has become one of my favorite events of the summer. They sold out in advance this year for the first time in many years, and I have a feeling that will be standard for them going forward. Even with very limited slots (3 stages, 2 days though music only until 7pm), they really nail it on the booking. They cover a lot of ground, and go out of their way to represent their folk roots (they are a decade older than Woodstock, after all) as well as support developing artists. I saw a handful of really great sets from bands I haven’t been able to see live yet.  It’s very human sized, yet still feels like a major event. And the audience there is younger than you might think. In some respects, it’s a festival for people (and artists) that don’t love the typical experience at much larger events.

Jason Colton

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I agree with your view on festivals. For my money the best festival is Newport Folk. A great mix of legendary and emerging artists playing in the heart of one of the most beautiful cities in the country. It doesn’t get much better than that.

David Griffith
Sony Music Entertainment

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Bob,

For all of the reasons you mentioned, the Newport Folk Festival, the first popular music festival remains the best. 10,000 people a day, not 100,000. An extremely knowledgeable and appreciative crowd. Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris as headliners, not Radiohead and Coldplay. An undercard that features some of the finest young artists out there, along with veterans like Pete Seeger, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and Mavis Staples. City? Well technically Newport is one, but it’s no Chicago or Austin in terms of size. Venue, the most beautiful imaginable. An 18th century fortress surrounded by Narragansett Bay. Artists don’t come there for the money, they come because it’s the Newport Folk Festival, and you’d better believe that still means something. Music budget? Tiny compared to the big boys. In case you don’t think that Newport is still relevant, this year was the first sell out in the festival’s history, and this is the festival where Dylan went electric in ’65.

Maybe I’m just too old for sleeping in the mud or standing in the desert heat, but for me the Newport Folk festival is, was, and ever will be the greatest American music festival.

Ken Shane

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Not sure if you have taken a look at Newport Folk Festival in some time but the 51 year old two day event in Rhode Island sold out during weeks before the event date! That is fairly rare in this day and age. More importantly, it is not just drawing the older crowd from decades past. Today’s NFF with their mix of new and old talent is drawing the youngest crowd it has in some time.

The setting inside of Fort Adams and the fact that they keep the attendance tight to around 10k people makes it one of the more special and grassroots experiences today.

The Decemberists, Emmy Lou Harris, Gillian Welch, Rowlings, Middle
Brother, Delata Spirit, Gogol Bordello, Wanda Jackson and even Pete
Seeger came back for the love.

Did I mention that Newport Folk is now a non-profit?

Here’s a bunch of links if youre interested.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/02/138924113/newport-folk-2011-tradition-remixed

http://www.npr.org/series/newport-folk-festival/

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/08/the-10-best-moments-of-newport-folk-2011.html

Regards,

Jeff Carvalho

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I just wanted to give props to Newport Folk Festival. I was there a couple of weeks back and was struck by the amazing job Jay Sweet has done to mix new and established acts as well as appealing to young and older fan demographics. And because there are only 3 stages and it’s quick and easy to make your way from one to the others, every stage and slot had nice crowds.  

It would be impossible to place one label on the crowd I saw there… Certainly Not hipster or hippy although I saw plenty of both. Maybe the closest would be yuppy but I saw lots of tattoos, piercings and college-guy baseball caps mixed in.

And the coolest part about Jay’s curating on this thing is that it sold out for the first time in its history.  Obviously many less tickets than the 4 big ones you mentioned but still a bright spot in this time when festivals are being cancelled from lack of sales (MTK and Truck Festival in the past week alone) and as you mentioned the bix box festivals seem to going more for whatever will sell tickets.

name withheld

__________________________________________

Your piece on festivals could not have been more timely for me. Just over a week earlier, I attended the Newport Folk Festival here in Rhode Island, as I have for the past 11 years. Many people will be aware of its legendary reputation, but in its 52 year history, this is the first time it has ever sold out both days weeks in advance. Since a new booker, Jay Sweet, came on board a few years ago, attendance has steadily built. The festival is now a non-profit organization and has a budget which is barely a fraction of Coachella or Bonnaroo and the like, yet we get amazing talent on the bill. Some of the folk purists might complain that it’s not strictly folk music anymore, but I disagree. It’s a very broad genre, and there’s something here for everybody. Some of the artists might be lesser-known, and others will just make it work because they want to play here. What they all have in common is quality—they can all play. We know we’re going to see real magic created up on those stages. Additionally, a strong online community has been built via Facebook, which thrives year-round—you can actually see the excitement building there in the weeks leading up to the festival. This year, early-bird ticket sales were strong, despite the line-up not even being announced until several weeks later. My faith in their booking policy is such, that when I see a bunch of names I don’t recognize, I get excited because I know I’m going to find several new artists who I’ll love. In the week since the festival, I’ve been checking out their stuff on Spotify and have bought several albums and a DVD from artists to whom I was introduced at this festival. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Sarah Heaton

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Hi Bob,

I’m a long time reader, first time writer. I co-founded Partisan Records and run Knitting Factory Records and also founded management companies indie outlaw and Figure Eight Management. On the label side, we put out records by Deer Tick, Mountain Man, Middle Brother, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, and more. We handle management for Deer Tick, Middle Brother, Wye Oak, and most recently Ben Kweller.

I agree with most of your points here regarding festivals and the impact they’re able to have on the visibility of an artist, provided of course that the artist is legit– writing great songs and performing them in a way that’s at least convincing enough to get their point across to a large audience… Or moreover, an artist that is able to leave every single audience member feeling exactly the way they want them to by the end of a set. An artist has to play an undeniable set that will generate significant word of mouth, which new converts will then post clips of to Youtube in order to share this experience with their friends (via Facebook and Twitter). It’s a viral world, and this routine is one of the few strategies in the industry that’s still proven to WORK!

However, I think your focus here seems to be a bit narrow. There are many smaller festivals in the US that serve to introduce fans to new artists… And do so in a really beautiful way– encouraging collaboration, placing more of a focus on developing artists than the headliners, treating every performer virtually the same. Their goals aren’t to please sponsors and advertisers– it’s to please fans and the performers themselves. Case in point– Newport Folk Festival. Over the last few years, Jay Sweet has taken the legendary festival– traditionally thought of as strictly a "folk festival", mostly due to the ongoing involvement of George Wein and Pete Seeger and of course the name– and transformed it into a weekend of music discovery and collaboration. The talent buying has shifted from acts that should fit strictly within the "folk" idiom to acts that simply write great songs and perform them in a way that’s genuine. While Jay has had to work within some confines (performers should have some loose connection to "folk", at least within their songwriting), he’s done a stellar job of incorporating the new generation of rock ‘n’ rollers into the festival… After all, Newport is where Dylan went electric, and that’s one part of Newport history that Jay wants to emphasize. Jay has created an environment of forced exposure– where the traditional folk crowd can watch Pete Seeger perform with Elvis Costello and Jim James– three generations of songwriting, all born in folk, all coming together to share songs.

I had three of my bands play the festival this year. One, Middle Brother, was one of the most anticipated sets of the festival. However the others, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside and Mountain Man, got just as much out of the festival. They spent the weekend collaborating with the other artists there. John McCauley, singer of Deer Tick and Middle Brother, led a singalong featuring Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem, and a whole bunch of artists that very few have ever heard of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =wB7q6DjtqOk). All of those artists, together on one stage… No one is thinking about how many records those guys have sold compared to one another. There’s no status there. Everyone is an equal. They are there to share songs and that’s it.

Jay is solely responsible for that. Yes, he books artists that no one has ever heard of… And he markets those the hardest leading up to the festival– even going as far as to help land them press in Paste, Spin, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, etc… He wants to develop talent. And when the festival rolls around, he puts those baby acts up on stage with Elvis Costello, Decemberists, Jim James… He understands the value there. He knows that if he can create a situation where a David Wax Museum, who no one has ever heard of, can play a song with The Decemberists, who no one can escape– that will become a YouTube video and a story that fans will share with their friends. He also understands the value of that YouTube video having "Newport Folk" in the title.

Further, Jay doesn’t have the convenience of mega-sponsors. He books the festival on a very modest budget, and very recently the festival has received 501(c)3 status making it a not-for-profit venture. The fees paid to my bands that played the festival this year were not slim by any means… Certainly not as much as one could expect to see from a C3, but what Jay offers beyond financial compensation– in genuine grassroots marketing and old-fashioned cheerleading, is well worth taking a little less cash. While the major festivals have sought to expand the number of bands playing with the idea that that will enable them to squeeze more dollars out of sponsors and boost ticket prices, Jay has sought to keep essentially the same number of bands but to generate more situations for artists to collaborate and create a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans. Further, as I mentioned earlier, his talent buying decisions in recent years have enabled him to build possibly the youngest audience the festival has ever seen– artists like Jim James, Delta Spirit, M Ward, Gogol Bordello, Dawes, and more have attracted a younger crowd to the festival and given them the opportunity to witness said collaborations which keeps them coming back year after year and bringing more friends each time. The festival sold out for the first time in 30 years last weekend. Jay and I threw after-parties each night at Newport Blues Cafe– another first. We put together 4 benefit events that raised over $20,000 for a variety of causes. Artists played for free, and every single artist I spoke with said it was one of the best weekends they’ve ever had playing music. And you know how artists talk to each other– they’ll surely spread the word.

Yes, festivals do still work. But it’s not just the C3s and Golden Voices who hold the power. Guys like Jay Sweet are recognizing the void of something real and genuine in the festival circuit, and giving power to the artists that play that noon set on the small stage.

All the best,
Ian Wheeler.

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Two years ago when the outside world didn’t know Newport Folk still existed. Marc Geiger tracked down my number and called me up himself.

He said that the buzz he was hearing directly from his artists was that something truly different and unique going down in Newport, and he wanted to know about it first hand.  He not only asked about our philosophy but he asked my WHY I was doing it personally.

He actually listened, and then asked if he could put me on speaker.  I guess WME was having a retreat in Palm Springs and he wanted his people to hear about our three year plan.

Again, they LISTENED and since then Marc has helped convince a lot of people and artists when it comes to Newport even though there is no real money in it for them.

The only other big leaguers (and their direct team) who have taken the time to reach out, make a personal connection and back up their talk,  Paul Tollett and Coran Capshaw.

Go figure.

Jay Sweet
Producer        
Newport Folk Festival

My father came from nothing. What’s worse, when his dad died he left all his money to his first family. My dad couldn’t go to school full time, he had to support his mother.

So education was primary in our life. My dad may not have been a millionaire, we were solidly middle class, but we didn’t sacrifice, learning came first.

But my father never lost touch with his hardscrabble upbringing. He knew what it took to get ahead. He was constantly asking questions. And I was embarrassed.

He’d talk to seemingly anyone. Tell them his life story, try to connect. To the point where I became shy and withholding. Occasionally, I can turn it on and be the life of the party, like my mother, but if I’m feeling in any way uncomfortable, I hold back.

Last night we met Daniel Glass and his family at Nobu. Traffic is hell and I don’t like to be late so we ended up getting there a few minutes early. Daniel, being a New Yorker, is always on time, so I went into the restaurant to see if he was already there. He wasn’t. So we went back onto the sidewalk where there was a sudden frenzy. The paparazzi were shooting pictures.

It’s gross. Especially with today’s Steve Jobs fiasco. If we lay off of Owen Wilson after he attempts suicide and the blowback on the Jobs photos is so heavy isn’t it obvious that the paparazzi can hold back, that we don’t have a need to know, that we can observe people’s privacy?

Well, not in Malibu.

The paparazzi stay forty feet away, there must have been a lawsuit or a gentleman’s agreement. But when someone emerges, they go berserk.

And Nobu is a looky-loo’s paradise. In attendance last night were Warren Beatty and Chad from the Chili Peppers and Russell Simmons dropped by to say hi… But this couple who the paparazzi were shooting, I couldn’t recognize them.

So I asked the twentysomethings nearby. They’d gotten a better look. But they shrugged their shoulders too.

Took a lot of effort for me to bridge that gap, to ask these kids. But they were barely more than kids and we had the camaraderie of experiencing a train-wreck, it brings people together.

And about ten minutes later Daniel and company arrived. I told them the story, how we had no idea who these people were.

And Daniel walked straight over to the paparazzi and asked them. It was Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

I know Garfield from "The Social Network". I know he’s the new "Spider-Man". I thought I would have recognized him if I got a good heads-on, which I didn’t. Then I saw the pic on TMZ today and there’s no way I would have known it was him. As it was, I confused Emma Stone with Emma Watson, but Daniel’s kids set me straight.

Daniel Glass is from Bensonhurst. He came from nothing. He’s had to fight for what he’s got. He might run the most successful independent label today, but he’s had a checkered career, been at so many labels, Doug Morris once let him go. But like my dad, Daniel soldiered on, believed in himself. And look at the result.

Meanwhile, today I had lunch with Dan McCarroll. President of Capitol & Virgin Label Group.

Dan was a drummer. For so many people I can’t list ’em. Most notably for Sheryl Crow, he played on "The Globe Sessions". Then he worked for Lars, running his label. And after a brief stint at "Hits" he got a gig at EMI Publishing and today he’s a big cheese.

But a couple of stories Dan told were fascinating.

He was a member of this band the Grays. With Jon Brion and Jason Falkner. They were signed to Epic. They were on the road, and Dan was constantly calling Richard Griffiths, head of the label. Complaining. That they were on this tour, traveling ten hours a day, but there were no records in the store!

I wouldn’t have the balls. Especially knowing Richard. I do as I’m told. I learned that in school.

And Dan told another story. About backing up Jay of the Americans. The original Jay, Jay Trainor. They used to do these weekend gigs. Fly outs and backs. And on a trip back from the midwest, Dan sat next to Jay. And told the singer that his business was all screwed up. And Jay said Dan should be head of a record company.

That was decades ago. But when Dan got the gig at Capitol, Jay tracked him down. It’s a small business. Jay heard about Dan’s gig from another player.

I always get a laugh when people e-mail me they’re gonna give it another year and then go to graduate school. They never make it as musicians, they’re just not willing to struggle.

And then there are those who go to music business college. As if you can learn how to ask questions and stand up for yourself in school. You can learn how royalties work, but if you think that’s what it takes to be successful, you’ve never met Irving Azoff or Lyor Cohen.

I’ve carved out my own tiny niche through perseverance. But I’d have gotten still further if I asked questions, if I stood up for myself. Life is not like school. There are few rules and you don’t get a grade at the end. Life is for real. You’ve got to fight to get ahead any way you know how.

These people atop the totem pole got there for a reason. You may envy their status, their income, say you can do what they do, but can you really?

Most of what makes them successful you can’t even see. Both Daniel and Dan can tell stories that make your hair stand on end. It wasn’t a cakewalk to the top.

I told them they should call it "William Morris"…AND THEY FREAKED OUT!

Take everything I say below with a giant grain of salt, because I was paid. There, you’ve got the disclaimer up front. Hell, Geiger didn’t even want me to write this, or to run it by him first if I felt the need, which you know was never going to happen. But I explained that I wanted to write about the vibe, the experience, to tell you what I felt, to give you a peek inside.

The office is in Beverly Hills. On the corner of Wilshire and Camden. And there’s not enough room, so at this point some departments are across the street, like music.

And when I jetted up the elevator to the third floor I was confronted with a reception desk that had the look of officiality. It was like "Entourage" but without the attitude, without the humor. The help was friendly and I thought how receptionists are pooh-poohed, but to start here would be a privilege.

And then, over my shoulder, I caught the conference room.

I expected something different. Four walls and no windows. A bit of detritus on the floor. Something well-worn, like a schoolroom, where the tenants are temporary but the edifice remains. But this was clean and contemporary, with a skinny white table seemingly stretching to infinity surrounded by blue chairs, hell there were even bleachers, an elevated row of black seats on either side for overflow. My heart started to thump, it was clear, this is where it…happens.

Where does William Morris stand in the hierarchy?

Oh yeah, that’s right, WME!

They kept testifying about Ari, about what Endeavor brought to the picture. It would be like a man insisting on taking his wife’s name. They were bending over backwards to sing Endeavor’s praises. The insight they got, how Endeavor was all about playing on a team.

And that’s a bit different from the record business, where it’s dictatorial, from the top down. The execs pay lip service to the peons, but that’s what they are. There’s no future at a label. But at an agency…

That’s one of the questions Geiger asked me. Could agents be disintermediated?

And I spoke about the Buchwald case, how a California manager can’t book gigs. And how a thin layer of superstars would be poached by Arthur Fogel. But someone needed to book the up and comers. It was now incumbent upon the agent to break bands.

Peter Grosslight protested that this is always what agents have done. And I agree. But now the spotlight is upon them. That’s the question, who’s going to break bands now?

The labels have abdicated their power, or operate in the tiny niche of Top Forty.

The other question is how you convince people to listen to new acts. That’s a biggie. One the artists just can’t understand, they think they’re great, that they’re entitled to success. But every great artist needs a businessman. In other words, to quote Lynda Obst, if the writer gives good meeting, he’s a shitty writer. If the artist is great at business, he’s a shitty artist.

But it was the vibe that impressed me most. That this is where it was happening. Sure, there were a couple of people on their BlackBerrys, but most were paying attention.

And Miami, London and Nashville were conferenced in. They were on the big screen. There were no glitches. NBC/Versus can’t broadcast a bike race from Colorado, there’s constant freezing, but at WME you could conference the world seamlessly.

And they’re all about the world. Bringing Nashville to Europe. Opening up South America.

And it’s fascinating that Geiger runs the operation. Because he’s half techie. And tech is all about innovation. And this is a marked contrast with the old guard, which believes you build ’em and book ’em. Sure, you do that. But it’s like a train set minus a few pieces of track. The public and the Internet have ripped apart the old system. How are you gonna connect the parts again? And what are the connectors?

Geiger could sell ice to Inuits. He’s charismatic. You should have seen him lording over his troops. Some are born to lead. Not me, I’m a loner, I’ve got to get out of the way. He picks up the charge naturally, it was fun to watch.

Not that it was all lovey-dovey. He kept challenging his troops to ask questions. And he wanted controversy.

He asked me to speak about the perception of WME on the preparatory phone call.

And WME has become a formidable competitor to CAA. But what’s with the name? It doesn’t roll off the tongue right, the same way WWE is no match for WWF. And why throw away a century worth of good will. Everybody knows "William Morris", can’t they just jettison "Endeavor"? Names count. Look at AT&T, the worst cell service imaginable, but since it’s got the trusted name, it survives. If it was called something else, it would be in serious trouble.

And this is where the minions got angry. I still stand on my point, but the vociferousness astounded me. They believed. They’d take a bullet for Ari.

And Marc took me to see the man in charge, but Ari was unavailable. Not that I had an agenda, not that I had something to say, but it’s always fascinating to meet the grand pooh-bah.

Who’d you like to meet in the record business? I was thrilled to spend time with Ahmet, Mo radiated intelligence, now you’ve got a bunch of rich, self-centered wankers playing for themselves. You know why recorded music is in such trouble? Because the execs are all nearing retirement and they don’t give a shit what happens in the future.

But WME does. They’re looking for their problems. They’re investing in new areas. You got the feeling there was something happening here.

And everybody wasn’t wearing a suit. And everybody wasn’t radiating an air of superiority, like they do at that agency across town. But they were quite ready to play. They had their game down. It was not about killing their competitors as much as snatching the ball and running down a field of their own creation, one no one else could see.

Now Geiger failed at ArtistDirect. The idea was good, the timing was bad. So he can fail here. Then again, failure is a badge of honor in tech. You learn from your mistakes, you’ve been there and done that.

The barrier to entry in the agency business is nonexistent, same as in concert promotion. But both have gone through a period of consolidation. And one can argue strongly this is good in the agency field. Instead of doing one thing, they can do everything. It’s harder for indies to compete. Where’s the Web development team? Can you cross your act with sports and social media, never mind TV and movies? WME has all those departments.

You want to play for a leader. It’s about sacrificing and giving your all to someone you believe in.

Geiger’s troops believe in him. And they certainly believe in Ari. They’d take a bullet for each. There’s no grumbling, just a percolation of ideas. So different from the doldrums at the labels and Live Nation.

If you were a young ‘un, you’d want to sign up.

We used to want to work at the record label.

Now no one wants to do that.

Working at WME might not be a bad option.

Then again, I got paid to play.

But not paid to write this.

But I had to.

Because my adrenaline is still pumping, I can feel the vibe.