Remember when it was fun to fly?

Two things Canadians love.  Their BlackBerries and hockey.  They testify about both, because they’re homegrown.  Funny that all the teams are south of the border, because the passion up north is palpable.  I’m on the shuttle to the airport and the woman with an unidentifiable ethnicity starts speaking with the driver.  Are you Russian?

And this twentysomething starts waxing rhapsodic about Russian hockey players.  She’s got two passions, fashion and hockey.  At least she admitted there was no nexus, but I remember when people said the same thing about music.  But music no longer drives the culture.

Get old enough and everything changes.  The country turns Republican, it’s not what can I do for the country, but what can it do for me, even though I don’t want to pay it.  And everybody’s got a smartphone.  And suddenly, the fashion shows in Paris and New York are more important than the new record releases.

When did the music business become the movie business?

You know the movie business…  We know if a flick’s a hit in a day and no movie plays for more than a week or two.  It’s an endless tsunami (sorry for the use of that word on this sad day) of crap that you end up ignoring. They keep raising the prices, fewer people are going to the theatre.

And it seems like fewer people care about the overhyped crap albums put out by our so-called stars.  You mean you really want me to listen to seventy minutes of music by someone who probably doesn’t even have one good song in him?  The whole music industry has become presumptuous and out of touch.  A gig is an overpriced vacation.  And all the execs and acts can do is complain the public isn’t paying more.

People would rather work on their style than buy music.  Hell, the music’s meaningless.  Ever listen to the Black Eyed Peas?

So in just a handful of minutes, five?, we’re at the terminal.

Or so I think.

I mean yes, it’s close to downtown.  But when I go to check in, the attendant (at a Mac!), says I’ve got to get on the ferry.

Huh?

And the water is roiling.  I feel like I’m getting on the Edmund Fitzgerald.  And it’s only a two minute trip, but the boat rocks enough to make me feel a bit seasick.  But I’m lovin’ it, and I’m not talking about that jive burger stand hyped by Justin T.  (You want me to believe in you after you sold out to McDonald’s?)  I mean going to new places is all about the adventure.  And I’m feeling it strong up in the Great White North where it’s raining but there are still traces of snow and the places the planes go to most Americans could not pick out on a map.

And when I emerge on the other side of the river, there’s a plethora of attendants.  Friendly!  And they don’t charge me for my overweight bag.  And everything’s clean.  And the flight attendants are dressed up like it’s still the sixties.  And when I get through security, which is tight, but also friendly, I go down the escalator to this lounge where the wi-fi is free and so are the refreshments…  Coke, orange juice, apple juice, coffee, cookies…

And there are more seats than people.  And they’ve got tables to eat and work.  And the guy next to me is Skyping.  And it makes me wonder why everyone says the United States is so great.

I mean I’m at dinner last night and Tanya’s talking about going to the doctor and it’s FREE!  Whereas in America people don’t get medical help because it’s too expensive and end up in the overpriced emergency room or die.

Travel really opens your eyes.

But what opens my eyes most is a company believing in giving you more, being nice, focusing on service.  I didn’t want to fly into Newark, hell, when I booked I didn’t even know I was going into Newark, but I’d take Porter every time in the future.  Not only because it’s close to downtown Toronto, but because they make me feel like a human being, like I deserve respect, like we’re all in it together.  And I haven’t felt that way in the United States for a very long time.  The bankers have got all the money and the corporations have got all the influence and unless you’re connected you can’t get a good concert ticket and even the crummy ones are overpriced.  How did we go so wrong whilst telling ourselves we were going so right?

Greetings from Toronto!

I’m glad to be here.

Literally.

I’m flying in the back of the plane with the flotsam and jetsam, especially the guy wearing the suit coat with the name tag still sewn on the sleeve, and the aircraft banks to the left.  Just a little too suddenly for my taste.  Then again, as if to avoid something.  And we’re bouncing around, but it’s been a bouncy flight and suddenly we’re below the clouds, I can almost reach out and touch the snow-covered buildings and just as the rear wheels hit the tarmac and I’m about to turn on my BlackBerry and breathe a sigh of relief the engines roar, the nose of the plane points to the sky and we go back up again?

WTF?

And I’m sitting there, contemplating this, waiting for an explanation, which, when it comes, is not confidence-inspiring.  The pilot says sometimes things just don’t feel right.  Well yeah, but I’m not landing an airplane with 100+ people inside, you’ve got a responsibility to get me down!  And if the snow’s so bad, it’s probably bad in Ottawa too and where the hell else are we going to land, never mind get to Toronto from there?

And we’re bouncing around in the sky, and you can’t see a damn thing and finally the pilot comes back on to tell us he’s gonna give it another shot, that they’ve switched runways. What, is it wind shear?  What was wrong with the first runway?

And it takes longer than the proffered five minutes but we do eventually touch ground and stay there, except for some slippin’ and ‘a slidin’ when the commander lays on the brakes…

Your anxiety dissipates quickly and hours later you’ve forgotten the ordeal but during the experience you always wonder, especially now that they fly these planes with so little fuel to save weight and money.

We ended up at a sushi bar whereupon Vince extolled the benefits of Getty Images and the chef asked Jake if he could get him tickets for the UFC.

No, that’s not a new band inspired by U2, that’s the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the tightest ticket in town, this chef was willing to drop $500 a ducat, he just wanted to be inside.

And then we ensconced ourselves on the couch in the lobby of the Royal York Hotel.  Where if you wait long enough, the whole world walks by and you learn a few things.

The first to come by was Jeff Price of Tunecore.

Most fascinating was the scams.  The people who use the service to put up tracks they do not own.  Like Taylor Swift and the Beatles.  And Jeff told us about this DJ scam pulled on iTunes.  The performers put up the tracks and bought their own music via stolen credit cards, 750k worth.  Scotland Yard got involved in that one, but if you’re operating online you’ve got to be your own policeman, you’ve got to have security measures in place, it’s a headache.

We heard the story of Jeff’s previous enterprise, spinART Records.

It went bankrupt.

Not immediately, but…

And part of the reason it went down is that its major-label distributor tanked and they got only seventy cents on the dollar.

And the lesson of all this is it’s almost impossible to make money in music.  Certainly on a sustained basis.  Consider it a privilege to work in entertainment, not a right.  Respect those with careers both on stage and off because to be able to maintain is almost impossible. There are always new bands and nobody really needs any of them.  So if you’re getting tattooed to look cool…hold off on the ink.  Then again, Nikki Sixx did a keynote and was surrounded by adoring fans.  Inside I laughed at his get-up, with the tousled hair that probably took him an hour to perfect and the expensive downscale threads…  But it’s working for him, he’s still getting paid.  And is doing syndicated radio.  That’s how lame radio is.  It’s all about stars spinning records as opposed to pros doing it right.  I loved Bill Maher’s comment about Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosting the Oscars.  Like anybody can be funny. Like anybody can read the cue cards and get a laugh.  No, comedy is a profession, you need a pro!

Gladwell in action.

And Tunecore is getting into publishing.

And then Ralph Simon came by.

Ralph used to be Clive Calder’s partner.  I’ll let Ralph tell you how that ended.  But now Ralph’s a king in the mobile space.  He told us that the head of Vodafone doesn’t give a shit about music.  But he also told us about a conversation with Troy Carter about breaking GaGa around the world.  Ralph said to get her to sing in Hindi.  Troy said to wait a sec.  He picked up his phone and got off and said yes, she’d do it.  That was Stefanie, she made an instant decision.

You’ve got to act fast, instantly.

Then again, GaGa has yet to record her big tracks in foreign languages.

But if she ever does, Ralph is wired in Asia and Africa.  He can get her exposed in India.

That’s where the action is, in the developing nations.

But unfortunately, most of the excitement is in tech.  That’s what everybody wants to talk about, music occupies the back seat.

So I moderated a panel on ticketing earlier today.  Bottom line?  There’s a lot of money in it, with a lot of players, the venues, the ticketing company, the promoter, the act…  And all people complain about is they just can’t get a good seat.

The chap from StubHub went on to say only 800 LCD Soundsystem tickets were available on the service, when supposedly 15,000 went on sale?

Even the acts don’t know where the tickets go anymore.

And I’m doing a keynote at 5.

And I’m out of here tomorrow.

But once again CMW  has proven a nexus of thinkers, people telling their stories sans the attitude south of the border.

I love it.

Now that’s a rock star.

A rock star is not someone with money who flies in a private jet.

That’s a banker.

A rock star is someone who speaks from the heart and puts her fans first.  Who won’t do anything for a buck.  Who uses her bully pulpit to highlight injustices and lobby for change.

Come on, in an era where everybody is greedy and handlers tell you that you can’t make it without tying up with corporations GaGa leaves money on the table?

In order to succeed in this business, for more than a few moments, you’ve got to stand for something more than money.  Or else you’re seen as a chump in the endless parade we laugh at.

Oh, we’re laughing.  Don’t you read TMZ?  That’s the Internet era.  We make fun of the famous, they need attention, they were the drama queens in high school who didn’t get the acclaim they deserved.  And too often are of limited talent.  Meanwhile, the faceless fat cats behind them laugh all the way to the bank.  The execs keep their jobs, curating the endless parade of wannabes.

Wanna know why classic rock is classic?  Because in that era rock stars were leaders.  You listened to them if you wanted to know what time it was.  And they were beholden to no one but themselves, not even the label.  They had contracts wherein they could record the music themselves at a location picked by them with a producer of their choice and deliver an album that the label was required to release.  Those were the good old days.  Before the execs started believing they were the talent.

Sure, GaGa is on Jimmy Iovine’s label, but when was the last time Jimmy took a stand for anything but money?  Good business breaking Beats headphones but is that what the world really needed now?  No, the world needs leaders, and Jimmy is championing wannabes on "American Idol".  That’s heading in the wrong direction.

Who is going to hold Wall Street and the corporations responsible?

THE ARTISTS!

They’re the ones with the power.  Which they’ve abdicated in this decade where you can do it all yourself and all they can do is complain that they’re not making enough money.

This is not the first time GaGa has taken a stand.  She also voiced her opinion against the "Don’t ask, don’t tell." policy.  And lo and behold, it was eviscerated.

It’s not about results today, it’s about results eventually.

But everybody wants their money today.

It’s not about that Target exclusive today, it’s about your CAREER!

That’s how you truly make money in this business.  When you’re no longer signed to a label, when radio isn’t interested and you’re supported by fans. Who keep you alive on the road, who buy your new music.

GaGa knows who her fans is.  She’s been playing to her Little Monsters since Day One.

Maybe because she’s so much like them.  Not classically beautiful, struggling.  She didn’t forget where she came from.  And they love her for it.

You want to make it?  Stop complaining you can’t get paid.  Stop complaining how hard it is to make it.  GaGa got dropped from a previous label.  She struggled.  It all wasn’t peaches and cream.

Meanwhile, now that GaGa’s paved the way, can’t some of the other artists out there take a stand?  You think you’re alienating people but what you’re really doing is bonding your core to you, and we all know it’s about the core.  Stand for something or you don’t stand for anything.  Pick your issues.  And know that you’ve got power.  And it’s your turn to lead.

JIMMY’S VIDEO

Jimmy Iovine describes the start of Beats by Dre

I want you to watch this, you’ll learn more about the music industry than you will in four years of college.  You’ll see why Jimmy Iovine wins.

He’s smart.

And he’s a motherfucker.

What did John Hummer so famously say? "Before they close Napster they’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers."  Well even though he played in the NBA, Hummer couldn’t win in this street game.  You don’t fuck with the music industry.  They’re not gonna give up without a fight.  It’s not about the music, it’s about the MONEY!

Jimmy rewrites a bit of history here, but what he exudes more than anything is confidence.  And if you’re an artist, if you want someone to fight for you, you want the most confident guy on the block.  Jimmy’s confidence and track record ensure that he continues to win.  Will he continue to win in the recorded music realm?

I believe he’s been in it so long that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.  All these guys who grew up in the pre-Napster era think big, too big. It’s about marshaling money to open lanes and drive music into the heart of America.  But so many Americans are no longer listening.  The days of the country being glued to MTV are done.  Now everybody is living in their own niche.

Not everybody…

Jimmy’s got experience and rights on his side.  Rights ensured that he beat Hummer.  But so busy teaching everybody a lesson, the music industry lost touch with its audience.  It’s now about trust and honesty.  And if you ask me, Beats headphones don’t sound that good.  I’d go for Sennheisers any day.

But Sennheiser thinks quality is enough.  Give Jimmy credit, he created a whole new genre, upscale headphones when the market for such was moribund.

That’s the power of music, that’s the power of Dr. Dre.

Listen to Jimmy tell the tale of breaking Lady GaGa.  When he talks about beats you realize he knows a thing or two about music.

But he’s old school.  Old school is about using leverage to convince.  Bending rules.

New school is about leading with quality and building behind that, however slow it might go.

Whereas Jimmy wants it fast.

Now it sounds like I’m decrying Jimmy, giving him shit.

But that’s not my intention.  I just want to paint the other side.  Because watching this video Jimmy Iovine scared me.  He did not tone down his personality for public consumption, this is the real guy, mess with him at your peril.

(Meanwhile, the video may be a year old, but in the new era everything lives on online, just waiting to be discovered.  Watch to the end where Jimmy talks about the industry giving advantages.  New services are not going to succeed on their merits, the music industry, the old rights holders, are going to decide who to enable.  And they’re gonna go too slow and they’re gonna get it wrong more than right and they’re gonna charge too much money but to say that Jimmy’s got no idea what’s going on in the modern tech world would be wrong.)

P.S. The volume on this video is low, don’t let that deter you from cranking it up and listening.

THE TIRE IRON AND THE TAMALE

The Tire Iron and the Tamale

This is SO good, I want you to stop what you’re doing right now and read it.

It’s all about people, not money.  Would Jimmy Iovine stop and help the disadvantaged if there was nothing in it for him?  I doubt it.  But I don’t want to single Jimmy out, too many of today’s winners are so busy winning, they can’t stop and help those who are losing.

And sometimes it’s just not your fault.  You get sick.  You have an accident.  Then you learn who your friends really are.

I’ve got no statistics.  But I will tell you I’ve always found those with less are the ones you can count on most.  Sure, rich people can throw down their money, and that’s great, but society is based on humanity.  Can you really reach down and help your brother?

This is an amazing piece of writing.  Irrelevant of where you stand on immigration, read it.