Fascinating that on a day Steve Jobs introduced iPhone 4.0, it was reported that digital track sales in the first quarter actually declined.

Oh, there’s some mumbo-jumbo about SoundScan reporting periods, but even if you adjust to the old window for comparison, sales would still be down .09% instead of 1%.

In other words, the dream is over.  You know, the dream that digital would replace physical.  Or that iTunes would stop piracy.  Or that the major labels would keep control of the music business.

It’s back to the drawing board, it’s time for innovation.

In other words, when more people are listening to more music than ever before, how can sales be down?  BECAUSE WE’RE NOT DELIVERING MUSIC THE WAY PEOPLE WANT IT!

Are Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and Zach Horowitz gonna stand on their high horses and decry pirates, refuse to license new business models as their revenues continue to slip?  Or maybe they’re going to come up with 3-D CDs, requiring special headphones.  I mean what’s the solution?

Number one…  Eviscerate piracy.  Make it so it’s just not worth it to steal.  Hell, people may even forget how to steal…

But, but, but…if we lower the price so everybody can get in, we’re going to lose that extra revenue from our best customers!  Cable providers don’t care how much you watch TV, it’s just about signing up.  And cell providers have unlimited plans.  And both have great anti-piracy measures so there’s no direct comparison, but the point is today’s paradigm is giving a lot for a little, not being pecked to death by ducks, micro-payments of  $1.29 for every track.  Who could survive on a system like this?  Not car companies, who sell accessories in packages.  The key is to come up with a bucket of tracks, for a reasonable price.

Or license Spotify.

Now is the time to try.  Before EVERYBODY stops paying for music!

I mean you’ve got it on MySpace, YouTube, Lala…and you’re paying for a 3G connection on your handset so you can sample there too.  Come on.  We need a better mousetrap.

Lasso everybody into a free Spotify.  And then either make the upsell so enticing that people will fork over cash or cut off access after people are addicted, like a drug dealer.  Shit, doesn’t the drug dealer give the first taste free?

Desperate times are here again, even worse than 2000 and the advent of Napster.  If rights holders have any hope of getting people to pay for music access, they’ve got to throw the long ball now, got to come out of the huddle and let it fly, even though there are so many defenders…because you can’t win if you don’t play.

iPod sales start to fade and Apple introduces the iPhone.  And now there’s the iPad.  And in the music business we’ve raised the price to $1.29 at a store that broke in 2003…  Shit, that’s ancient history in tech terms.

It’s not about finding more places to SELL music, it’s about finding better ways to deliver access to music.  Get cracking.

Q1 2010: Digital Drops, Non-Traditional Sector Rises

Did your life work out as planned?

I try not to think about it.  But occasionally it hits me right in the face.  My dreams and my reality.

I had an unscheduled detour this morning.  Felice’s brother was suddenly leaving town.  If I wanted our skis, I had to go to his house now.  Which frustrated me, since I already had a tight schedule.

I don’t do anything different.  What I mean by that is I’m a creature of routine.  I don’t want to waste a moment.  I’m overworked and I’m underpaid, and I’m not complaining, just telling you I want to be in front of the computer screen, with the world at my fingertips, I don’t want to go to lunch, usually not even dinner, and if you want me to come see your band they’d better be awfully good, or you’d better be an awfully good friend of mine.

I’m in a groove.  It feels good.  Unlike the title character in "Greenberg", which I saw last Saturday night.

Don’t go.  The movie is really pretty bad.  Turns out, like a band, Noah Baumbach only had one good film in him, "The Squid and the Whale", but that doesn’t mean I took nothing away from "Greenberg", what I took away was thank god I’ve got a life.  I’ve got more shit I want to do than time, and it feels fucking great.  Then again, today I had that detour.

I turned onto Mulholland and went left instead of right.  On one side was the Valley, with mountains in the distance, Baldy still holding snow, on the other side, lush greenery, Beverly Hills.

And a matron in a Range Rover drifts across lanes and that’s when it hits me.  Do you have any idea what a Ranger Rover costs?

I’ll look it up.  To be definitive.  Wow, I thought it was more, it’s only $78,425.  It’s the Sport model, which I see regularly, that costs 95k.

Who can afford a poorly built hundred thousand dollar four wheel drive vehicle, especially when they live in Los Angeles, where there’s no snow and if it rains, most people stay home?

I drifted down past Cielo Drive, and that’s when it became clear.  Who I used to be.  The guy who arrived in the seventies and checked out all the neighborhoods, caught all the rock references, who was integrated in the scene without really being a player.  I had hopes, dreams, aspirations.  My life was in front of me.

Now it’s behind me.

Did you know they replaced the sheik’s house?  You know, the one with the painted statues, that burned down decades ago?  There are two giganta-mansions side by side where his dwelling used to be.  Who can afford that?

Sure, some people arrive rich.  But most don’t.  They come to the City of Angels to leave their mark.  They cut corners, make deals until they amass a pile of money and live like kings.

Then again, there are many living like kings who can’t afford it.  Driving exotic convertibles when their income is barely six figures.  I feel sorry for these people, they think it’s solely about image, they can never win.

Then again, not everybody’s a hedge funder, not everybody’s making eight figures a year.  Most people in Hollywood earned their money in entertainment, which doesn’t pay nearly as well.  They struggled.  And their desire delivered…

A house?

A car?

Two kids in private school?

How much money does it take to live this lifestyle?  And why don’t I have it.

I was struggling with that as I drove east on Sunset Boulevard, on an abnormally warm morning that demonstrated that summer was truly coming.  The seasons revolving ever-faster.  Stop the world.  It’s not that I want to get off, but I want time to get my priorities in order, to give it a good go.

What happened to me?  My father started from nothing.  Jumped from being an engineer into sales.  He provided for all of us.

Maybe it was my college education.  Nobody I knew at Middlebury got rich, unless they arrived that way.  Then again, is that east coast ethos bullshit.  Saying it’s all in your brain when really, you don’t have the balls to come to the city and compete?

I turned left on Cory and saw endless house after house.  Do you know how much these cost?

And when I arrived at Chris’ abode, I caught the view.  All the way to the water.

But that’s when my mood changed.  My car loaded up, I got a smile on my face.  It was Ozzy Osbourne’s "Flying High Again". Suddenly I liked my piece of shit four wheel drive turbocharged car, this is what it was made for, the winding roads of L.A.

And then I heard U2’s "One".  And even Journey’s "Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’".  Everything sounded good.  I’d gotten out of my comfort zone.  I hadn’t taken a cruise through the city at this hour in eons.  Oh, what a wonderful world it is.

And then, after dropping the skis at Felice’s, I got back on the 405.  And despite hearing gems, like Def Leppard’s "Bringin’ On The Heartbreak", with its searing guitars, nothing was special, everything was flat, I was on the usual drive, on my way back to the computer screen.

World domination used to be extremely hard.  Music didn’t drive the culture and every territory played a different kind of music. Ubiquity occurred now and again, but it wasn’t until the Beatles that one sound dominated, that everywhere you went you heard the same records.  The Beatles gained that attention and then delivered upon it.  Then everybody realized you had to listen to music if you wanted to know which way the wind blew.  And MTV was a final victory lap, we were all fascinated by videos until it imploded.

Now what?

It’s like we’ve got an endless game of Home Run Derby.  Played in ever smaller stadiums.  First on network, then cable and now the Internet.  In other words, we’ve got plenty of people swinging for the fences and few in the stands paying attention.  Where does this leave the creator?

Creators like to be heard.  More than they like to be paid.  Don’t listen to Gene Simmons, he’s got enough money to retire.  Yet, he insists on being on TV, in commercials so we won’t forget about him.  Then again, he hasn’t done anything worth our attention in eons.  Kiss toured to the point "Rock and Roll All Nite" broke through, got a victory lap with "Beth" and then the rest of us tuned out upon hearing the crap thereafter.  In other words, Gene Simmons squandered his moment.  When everybody was finally paying attention, Kiss came up short, failed to deliver.

So how do you get everybody to pay attention?

Took the death of Jerry Garcia and Napster to cement the Grateful Dead in the consciousness of the public.  Oh yeah, that was the band that let the audience tape, that made all the money on its live show, that’s the paradigm of the future.  Before that?  Many people though the San Francisco group created music befitting its name, heavy metal.  It would shock them to know "Uncle John’s Band" was by the Dead.  And, when very few people were watching, the Dead created their masterpiece, "American Beauty", when they finally got a chance on the world stage they delivered…"Touch Of Grey"?

Give Jay-Z credit.  He delivered "Empire State Of Mind", an anthem, at the Video Music Awards, one of the few times many are watching.  The track caught fire.  Jay-Z didn’t choke, he delivered.

But Jay-Z had over a decade in the business, he had chops that newbies don’t.

Used to be you started.  And then you had your moment.  Now, you’re lucky if you can even start.  And that might be the biggest moment you ever get.  Your initial hit.  Give that "Rico Suave" guy credit, he disappeared when the going was good.

So on one hand, we’ve got the Beatles delivering "Sgt. Pepper", the Eagles delivering "Hotel California", and today’s evanescent bands.  Who?

And this makes it tough if you’re an artist.  You might never get enough traction in order to seize your one big moment.  Because it’s hard to get people to pay attention.

And I don’t have the answer.  I don’t know if you keep playing in your backwater, like Wilco, waiting for the rest of the world to come to you, or tell yourself your tiny audience matters or…

Everybody wants to work with Timbaland, Dr. Dre or Rick Rubin.  They want a shot at the big time.  But what compromises are involved?  And if you work with Rubin, who famously tries to make the band’s record, and the album stiffs, then what?

Everybody in my generation knows the line: "Are you with me so far?"  Right smack dab in the middle of "Life In The Fast Lane", we heard it so many times that it’s in our DNA.  But the Eagles also seized the moment.  They were coming off the biggest album in their career, they knew everybody was paying attention.  And when "Hotel California" met and/or exceeded expectations, it became a cultural milestone.

So where does this leave us?

In a cultural quandary.

Maybe a musical revolution, a sound so new comes along and wipes the slate clean.  Disco killed corporate rock.  And rap triumphed over hair bands.  Maybe music becomes vital once again.  Then again, do you get the urgency of the English New Wave when you see those bands shilling at SXSW?  No.  You don’t believe them.  They seem somehow inauthentic.  With their stylized sound and carefully chosen outfits.  It seems fake.  And therefore, few care.  But we cared about Johnny Rotten, he truly seemed to be freaking people out.  And hell, Sid Vicious died.  And the band broke up.  No one breaks up after their hit debut anymore, they don’t want to forgo that cash!

Maybe we’re in the dark ages and music will never recapture the zeitgeist.  And at best you’re a journeyman.  Sorry.

Then there’s Lady GaGa.  But too much of her success is not about the music.  There are the outfits, and the videos.  And it’s not like the music means much.  But, she’s got our attention, what does she deliver now?  Hell, that’s what was great about Madonna, she didn’t repeat herself, and for this we paid her in the one thing she loved, attention, we wanted to see what she did next.  Maybe we’re interested in what GaGa does next.  Or are we more interested in what Steve Jobs introduces next?

Society needs cohesion.  That’s what iPad mania is about.  It’s not about sales, hell, they only moved a few hundred thousand.  But the product, like a great band, was new.  And exciting.  And the media believed everybody was interested.  And the story’s been playing out endlessly, everyone’s got an opinion, whether it’s thumbs up or thumbs down.  Then again, the iPod and iPhone paved the way.

Music used to be a rallying point.  Can it be so again?

This is about more than hits.  More than gate receipts.  This is a cultural question.  Have we somehow squandered music’s power to lead the public?  Have we become so much about money that we’ve sacrificed the essence?  Or are we living in a cultural Middle Ages and it’s hard for anything to break through?

So, when you sit down to create, when you type, when you rev up Pro Tools and start recording, and you lack motivation, I get it. You’re working for very few people beyond yourself, very few care, very few may ever care.  And, like I said, what inspires people to create great work is when they’ve got eyeballs, attention.  Not everyone delivers when the spotlight is upon them, but when there’s no spotlight in evidence, it’s bad for all of us.

When we were all in it together, the key was to be first.  Now we’re all grazing in different locations, stumbling upon things, and what might be new to us is actually old, but does anybody care?

That’s a long-winded explanation for the fact that you might be wincing right now.  Lefsetz, you don’t know about 37signals?  You don’t know about "Rework"?  You’re a retard.  I’m unsubscribing!

Be my guest.

Because with an attitude like that you’re positively stuck in the last century, and the 37signals crew is all about residing in this century, to your advantage.

I stumbled upon 37signals and "Rework" in the new "Newsweek".  And I kept reading the article because of the introductory paragraph, wherein it was stated that Mint.com was sold to Intuit for $170 million and Jason Fried of 37signals responded, "Is that the best we can do?  Become part of the old generation?  How about kicking the shit out of the old guys?"

Whew.  This goes contrary to America’s business philosophy, wherein the corporation is bigger than any personality and the goal is to cash out so…

So what?  So you can go lie on the beach?  Do you really think this will be satisfying to an entrepreneur who’s worked so hard for a toehold?  No, that’s when the going gets interesting, when you’re finally big enough to roll the dice against the big boys, to see what you’ve got.  Never mind that the landscape is littered with companies that were decimated when sold to a larger competitor. Remember when Snapple was a scrappy upstart?  When you chugged the bottle and felt part of a team?  Do you even drink Snapple anymore?

In business, many argue it’s about the cash.  But is it really about the cash in music?  Isn’t your career based on more than a P&L? Don’t credibility and believability count in music?  In other words, should you be looking for the big check, or is that going to ruin you?  Especially after the company that ponies up the money tells you how to run your business/make your music.  How many of the original concert promoters rounded up by Bob Sillerman are still involved at Live Nation?  Those were fierce independents, they couldn’t report to anybody but themselves.  Furthermore, it’s simple to argue that the concert landscape would be healthier, at least from a consumer standpoint, if the SFX roll-up had never occurred.

As for bands…  Think about Snapple.  People loved the drink when the company was an independent renegade.  But once it was sold by the man, they were done.  It’d be like Apple selling out to IBM, never mind Microsoft.  Fans like the story.  Of the written-off upstart who triumphs.

The whole music business infrastructure, the baby boomer infrastructure anyway, is about selling out.  The manager and the lawyer want their commission.  Make that deal with the label, we’re gonna get a check!  Do that endorsement deal, we’re gonna get paid! As for the agent, he’s not about investing in the future, he’s not about leaving money on the table.  Oh, don’t argue with me, there are exceptions, but the agents are the biggest whores out there.  And why not, with acts jumping ship willy-nilly.  Then again, the longest agent/act relationships are when the agent invests in the act’s future.  Then again, how much of a future do today’s acts have?

Anyway, at the bottom of this "Newsweek" article, there’s a list of ten precepts.  Which first made my jaw drop, and then had me nodding my head in agreement.

1. Avoid Workaholics

If I hear one more asshole telling me how little sleep he gets, I’m gonna explode.  You need sleep to be productive!  Furthermore, outside influences not only give you perspective, but inspiration!  Live in a vacuum and you’re Microsoft, thinking you’re the best, getting your ass kicked in Smart Phones, not even seeing the MP3 player market until it’s way too late.

2. Hire The Better Writer

Wow.  Maybe I’m talking out of self-interest.  But I judge you on your typos and if I can’t understand it, I don’t care how great your idea is.

3.  Forget Formal Education

Ever notice the bigwigs in the music business don’t have MBAs, didn’t go to music business college?  Formal education teaches you how to think like everybody else, when in a cutthroat business like music you’ve got to think for yourself.  You like rules, but rules imprison you, they’re the enemy.

4. Drug Dealers Are On To Something

Or, as Ahmet Ertegun once said, a hit is a record that gets a listener to jump out of bed, put on his clothes and go to the all night record store to buy it after hearing it on the radio.  I listen to the radio in my car all day long.  But it’s rare that I have to write down the title of a song and rush to my computer to download the track.  Happened with Gnarls Barkley’s "Crazy".  And, in the CD era, with Alanis Morissette’s "Hand In Pocket", I had to go home and rifle through hundreds of CDs to find "Jagged Little Pill".  And then there’s Walt Wilkins/Pat Green’s "Wrapped"…  Point is, hit records sell themselves, like drugs.  If your record is not selling itself, you’re never going to make it.  In other words, if you’re working me, you’re in trouble.  Your track should be so great I hear about it from someone else!

5. Emulate Chefs

They give their secrets away.

Interesting, I’m still thinking about this one.  But, if you break an act, and it’s signed to a long term deal, why not tell everybody how you did it, for the overall health of the business!

6. Retire The Term "Entrepreneurs"

Separates the company into creatives and worker-bees, leaders and followers.  Everybody can innovate, and should.  Why do the best ideas have to come from the top?  Just because that guy’s paid the most?  Maybe the kid on the bottom is more in touch with the street!

7. You Need Less Than You Think

Do you need business cards in a virtual world?  When you can just e-mail your newfound client immediately, or instruct him how to add your name to his BlackBerry?

Do you need an office?

Do you need a zillion employees?

Image might be important with an act, but in business, your product, your success is your image.  No one cares how clean the factory floor is.

8. Pick A Fight

I LOVE this one!

I was listening to Richard Roeper on Howard Stern, he lamented the guest hosts from Hollywood who co-starred with him on "At The Movies" would say nothing negative, for fear of alienating some potential business contact.  But it’s when you say something negative that you endear yourself to a group!  And if you’re offering a better product…

I beat up Ann Powers the other day.  I feel a bit guilty.  But first and foremost, she should move back to L.A. or be fired by the L.A. "Times", second she should know her writing is so dense and overwrought as to make me quit reading it each and every time.  If I don’t say she sucks, who will?  How will she ever improve?  Then again, if I’m saying she sucks, I’ve got to be better.  And I’ve got to believe you’re going to rally around me, the independent, and agree.

That’s risky.  Are you willing to take that risk?  Are you willing to state your truth and own it?  Elton John talks shit about other people. But most acts demur.  I’d like Jon Bon Jovi if he just said SOMETHING or SOMEONE sucked.   But he’s so busy sucking the public’s dick I miss no chance to beat him up, point out his band’s foibles, because he’s not real…and I know many people agree with me. Then again, most people are indifferent!  And only by taking a side can you get them to care!

9. Build An Audience

Build it, don’t try to nuclear bomb people into submission.  Advertising slides right off of us.  Be real.  Online.  Win our hearts. Consistently.

10. Be A Curator

This is about deciding what’s in and what’s out.

Talk to a great creator, he’ll tell you sometimes you’ve got to leave the best stuff out, because it doesn’t fit, it ruins the whole.

And then there’s Apple.  Simple, simple, simple.  It’s easy to add a button.  But can you leave that button off and have the device do everything it needs to, without requiring a read-through of the manual?

Oh, there are so many other great points in the book.  Like no meetings.  Ever been on a conference call?  What a waste of time.

No, I haven’t read the book.  But I went to the Website, and I read the excerpt.  And I’m glad to have someone on my side.  Yup, these guys closed me just that fast, by stating their truth, by not pussyfooting, by not being afraid of alienating people, putting it out there so I can identify.

And I think you can too.

"Newsweek" article: "Chaos Theory: The new rules of management for people who hate rules. And management."

Signal vs. Noise (37signals blog)

"Rework" (scroll down to download the PDF)