Bob you are 100% right about spatial audio. I learned a lot about this during my time with the ill-fated QSound.

Not only do we only have 2 ears but they’re programmed to turn and FACE the source of sounds. It’s a primitive, autonomic survival mechanism – can’t be bypassed or tech-tricked into not working. New sounds from behind us or off to the side make us want to turn to face them.

While we can use that mechanism to create feelings of surprise or to focus attention on certain things in an environment, what we can’t do is make the limbic system stop functioning.

So these technologies that put sounds all over the place – around, behind or beside us – are like a carnival ride: fun and cool, but fundamentally so because they disturb our natural state.

Experiencing music is a visceral and very natural process. We “hear” it with our ears, brains, hearts and bodies. It is most effective when we let it wash over us and we invest our entire selves in the process. But when we are distracted, even unconsciously – when peripheral sounds put us in a state of limbic high alert – we simply cannot connect with it completely.

Add to this that a lot of the spatial trickery has to do with playing with phase which imposes a kind of diaphanous quality on some elements of mixes and what you have is a fundamentally uncomfortable way of experiencing music.

From my point of view these are cool technologies in search of a valid reason to exist beyond the commercial one. The geek in me loves playing with them – but the music lover in me finds them distracting and counter productive.

Bob Ezrin

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You’re right about Atmos sounding terrible.
I recently finished an Atmos mix of a popular classic hard rock record from the mid 80s. The original mix wasn’t great in the first place, so a stereo remix was absolutely needed before even attempting Atmos. Having listened to dozens of Atmos records, I concluded that it’s not good for music. They all sound terrible. They sound like rough mixes with bad reverbs.
Sometimes spatial audio is the version Apple plays first, rather than the original, which is unfortunate.
Apple headphones can reproduce it to a point, and 99% of the listeners are going to be hearing these on headphones anyway.
Who do you know that has a 14 speaker Atmos set up at home?
When it was first announced and I was approached by people from Dolby and some of the labels, I was very excited. Then I realized what most of the final results sounded like and was disappointed.
Apple Music unfortunately doesn’t do anywhere near the streaming numbers of Spotify. And Spotify has yet to support the format.
When it comes to straight stereo mixes, Apple sounds far superior.

Jay Ruston

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The key point for immersive (binaural) music on headphones, is that it sounds different to LR stereo.  Any consumer can immediately hear it, and it has a wow factor.
Of course it’s not really about music or fidelity, but about presenting an experience.  But unlike Hi-res the punters can hear the difference straight away.  This is certainly Apple’s belief, and why it might take off.

 

Kind Regards

 

Crispin Herrod-Taylor

Managing Director, Crookwood

______________________________________

You sound like me before I actually heard Atmos. Have you heard it – on speakers?

From my perspective in regards to Dolby Atmos/Immersive mixing, I’ve heard many comments both for, and against the format. The two groups of professionals affected by the revolution begun a few years back when Universal began stealthily mixing hundreds of records in Atmos, shape their opinions by and large on how this tech/format switch affects them personally. We can all understand this.

Will this format survive public scrutiny/interest?  Immersive Audio – Dolby Atmos (Apple calls it “Spatial Audio”) and Sony 360R – have yet to register in the consciousness of the general public in a big way, but the same could be said of many technological revolutions that have taken place over the past few decades only 18 months after early adopters discover them. (Apple declared its support of the Dolby Atmos format in June 2021, sparking an industry-wide stampede to mix in this format).

The main players in this shift (consumer electronics manufacturers, pro audio manufacturers, record labels, streaming platforms, etc.) are playing the long game, and because of the software’s unique ability to simultaneously create and stream binaural and speaker versions of a mix, this immersive revolution has a tremendous chance of sticking around.

The obvious reason for this is that consumers do not have to rush out to make an equipment change to listen. We can listen to immersive mixes as we normally would in headphones – ALL manner of headphones now – and this is significant because industry surveys have stated that 80% of streamed music is consumed over headphones. And car systems are beginning to arrive…over the speakers we listen to most.

The LONG GAME: Next time a person moves house, or revamps their system to the latest technology, those audio and video systems will no doubt be Atmos/Immersive capable systems – that’s the long game, and the industry is well prepared to wait for the format to mature. Consumers can stand by!

All my best,

Brian Malouf

Brian Malouf

Producer | Mixer

Associate Professor of Practice

USC Thornton School of Music

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Hi Bob,

I wanted to point out a few things regarding immersive (spatial) audio.

You’re correct in that it’s been tried multiple times, and by any commercial standard has failed. A bit of history – Quad was mainly an experiment, a proof of concept if you will. 5.1 and 7.1 surround (90’s) died due to a number of factors, primarily needing 6 (or 8) loudspeakers with the space to properly place them, and the format war fought out in the industry between DSD and DVD-Audio (later Blu Ray Disc) as the carrier and format of choice. In the Beta vs VHS war, VHS won out despite being an inferior format. In the DSD/DVD-A war, everyone lost out and they all died (BluRay is still around as a niche format). Ambisonics has largely been the domain of academics and universities, but has gained growing acceptance in the game audio industry and has also seen a lot of development lately.

There are a few key factors today that suggest current immersive formats (Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio and possibly Auro-3D being the prime candidates) might have a better chance of succeeding this time around. First is as you note – consumers no longer need a boatload of speakers carefully placed around their listening room (although there are still those individuals with enough space and money to do so, it isn’t required), as research has improved the ability to virtualize a listening room and deliver that experience convincingly over headphones or earbuds. It’s gotten a lot better in only the last few years, and will only improve as time goes on. Many companies are also actively doing research to improve their algorithms and personalize them to each individual listener (both Sony and Dolby offer to take a picture of your pinnae – the outside part of your ears, and head to create a more personalized HRTF, the calculations used to simulate the space as it would sound to you). Second is that we appear to be moving towards a more spatial experience in other areas – gaming and cinema being two prime examples, people are much more accustomed to it and come to expect it more and more. Third is that we have a real battle on our hands in the industry, mainly between Dolby and Sony who are both vying to be the defacto standard across the board, so both are pumping money into marketing, R&D, creating new content and repurposing old (to varying degrees of success as you rightly point out), and with full support of multiple streaming platforms – Apple music, Tidal, Amazon, Deezer. Some of these will play the spatial version by default, unless you tell it not to. The user base is there.

So you’re correct in that people only have 2 ears, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed yourself, despite having only 2 ears, you have no problem hearing sounds all around you, above you, below you, etc. Not just in front of you between where a left and right speaker would be ;-). We can recreate that same perceptual experience in headphones. The better the HRTF measurement, the more accurate the result. Or if you prefer, and you have the space and money, you can buy a bunch of speakers and set up the same experience in your home. It isn’t nearly as mobile or convenient though, and we all know convenience trumps everything else!

As you pointed out, not all of these reissues or new productions benefit from or are improved by being done in immersive. I would argue that the same thing applied back when CDs were new and labels were scrambling to release content, often from the vinyl eq’d masters, rather than going back and doing a proper CD version (ideally with the artist and producer involved). Same thing happened with some of the 5.1 surround material that was released in the 90’s and 2000’s. However, there was also some amazing material released, both remixes and new content, that blew everyone’s mind and really served to spotlight the strengths of the new format (3 of my favorites that were redone in 5.1 are Beck “Sea Changes”, Beatles “Love”, and The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”). I would say the same of Atmos and 360RA, some of the content can sound gimmicky, or just doesn’t really need or benefit from the additional space, but there are releases that are completely riveting experiences as well (check out Fantastic Negrito’s “Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?”, Alicia Key’s “Alicia” , Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej “Divine Tides” or Jane Ira Bloom “Picturing the Invisible – Focus 1” all recent or current Grammy nominees/winners).

Yes, it’s still a niche and a tiny market compared to the overall music market. But it appears to be growing, and there does seem to be a market for it (last I checked Mercedes-Benz has 3% of the automobile market, they seem to do just fine).

Finally and more importantly, it affords artists and creators a much larger, expansive pallet on which to create, play, experiment, stretch and explore in order to bring new experiences to fans which would be impossible in stereo. My experience working with artists is that new ideas, new technology and new formats all tend to be welcomed as additional opportunities to get into a creative space and explore what happens. So far, it seem that is exactly what’s happening in immersive audio, with more to come. More music can’t be a bad thing, can it?

Hope you’re staying dry in all this rain!

Best regards,

Thor Legvold
—
Sonovo A/S
Immersive + Surround Mastering & Production
Stavanger, Norway + Los Angeles, California

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God you are so wrong about Atmos. Yeah we have ‘’two ears.” Put those two ears surrounded by speakers in front, back, center and above and put on Tom Petty’s ‘’Wildflowers” or The Beatles ‘’White Album” or ‘’Abbey Road’’ or ‘’Aqualung” in Atmos and tell me you are not blown away. That you are not ‘’immersed’’ in the sound like never before. It is an unbelievable experience. Not to mention what movies and shows in Atmos can do. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Yes there are crap atmos mixes for streaming music, mostly perpetrated by Warner Music. But the good ones done by Ryan Ulyate and Giles and Steve Wilson etc are unbelievable.

Please stop pontificating about what you obviously know nothing about nor have experienced correctly. It is an insult to professionals who are changing the way we listen to music. And man is it cool.

Sure you won’t print this because I’m not name dropping some celebrity or record biz exec you slobber over, and I don’t really care and rarely if ever do I respond or post anywhere, but this kinda pissed me off. There is enough misinformation out there as it is. On every level. Don’t contribute to it.

Thanks

Jim Cortez

https://amzn.to/3Xl8d3u

Have you ever felt alone, ignored, or that you consistently got the short end of the stick through no fault of your own?

Then the first half of this book is going to freak you out.

Did me, in the middle of the night, or morning, however you label 4-7 AM. I was doing the final stage of my colonoscopy prep and…

I’d wasted too much of the day before on TikTok and Instagram and surfing the web and it became unfulfilling so I decided to go deep during this three hour window.

You see they’ve changed the prep. Well, you can go old school and drink that vile liquid, but now they’ve got pills. But you’ve got to wake up seven hours before the procedure and take the rest of the pills over 45 minutes and then spend two and a quarter hours thereafter drinking fluid accordingly.

Ergo my middle of the night hejira.

As for the colonoscopy… I can’t reckon how these people do the same thing day in and day out. Oh, it pays spectacularly well, and the doctor has a piece of the establishment, but… Well, maybe the doctors also do something else, but I talked to the nurses, this is their gig, the same thing, every day.

I had “mini polyps.” Literally the doctor’s words. Not to worry.

But I don’t expect any prostate problems, my numbers are low and barely change You see we all get something, you’ll realize this as you age. None of us get out of here alive, but if you want to live longer you’re going to have to address all kinds of things, like the Big C, one of my struggles. As for those men afraid to go for a colonoscopy… You’re too macho? With the pills it’s really no big deal. You need to get one.

So I reserved “Demon Copperhead” from the library, even though I couldn’t get into any Barbara Kingsolver book previously. And Felice started it before me and talked about the language. You see it’s written in the style of someone…let’s just say he doesn’t have a full education. Didn’t bother me so much, but I did note it. And I was reading a few pages a night, the book never called out to me. I wondered if I was going to finish it.

And then there was that three hours in the middle of the night, that hooked me.

It was a bizarre book at a bizarre time. I don’t mind staying up until 4 AM, I don’t mind getting up in the middle of the night to go on a trip. But to get up and stay home in the quiet house while it’s dark out…it disorients you.

So what we’ve got here is a story set in western Virginia. Poor people. You know, the Oxycontin belt. And Demon is like too many in America, not nurtured but on his own and then fully on his own.

But I don’t want to reveal too much. As I’ve said before, I read for plot, and that’s what eventually hooked me. To the point where I spent seven hours straight finishing the book yesterday, I just couldn’t put it down, I couldn’t stop.

But if you buy “Demon Copperhead”…

It’s not that it’s hard to read, but the first forty percent or so didn’t call out to me, and that’s what I’m looking for first and foremost, a book I not only want to read, but need to read.

And then…

There are big themes in this book, but it’s not typical literary fiction, caught up in each sentence, so dense it’s unreadable.

And the book ultimately does make you think about some of these issues, interesting to get the perspective of those with a different background.

And one could say it’s the underbelly of the country, those who are sick of being talked down to and voted for Trump. And that’s there, but ultimately “Demon Copperhead” is the story of life, and death.

Where did I read just recently, the key to happiness is relationships?

Which brings me to Bonnie Raitt. I know that’s quite a segue, but I’ve been thinking about this song off “Home Plate” for days now, “Pleasin’ Each Other,” written by Little Feat and now Doobie Brothers keyboardist Bill Payne and his first wife Fran Tate.

“You don’t care about money

You don’t care about time

And our love keeps rolling, rolling along”

Wow have things changed since the seventies. Money was not as important then. Then again, life wasn’t so hard. The financial equation in relationships, at least at first, was not key. You were just looking for the right fit, someone who got you.

And that’s what everybody is looking for in “Demon Copperhead.” Everyone is just living their life. Then again, the lack of opportunity causes the younger generation to turn to drugs and…

I usually only recommend books that are slam dunks, that will grab you from the very first page, and that was not my experience with “Demon Copperhead.” But there came a point…

And I think you’ll get there too.

It is a commitment, 556 pages, but you’ll ultimately want the book to be longer.

You could download it right now and make a dent in it during the holiday before the world starts back up on Tuesday.

Or maybe not…

“Sir Lucian Grainge: Musi Needs a New Streaming Payout Model… And We’re Working On It”: https://bit.ly/3iJw91m

The model changed.

Used to be the major labels controlled distribution and exploitation. It was essentially a closed ecosystem. You needed major distribution or you couldn’t get paid, even if the retailer sold your records. And the majors had their hands deep into the marketing world. They made the artists.

That paradigm no longer applies.

As for Lucian Grainge’s letter to his troops…

Got to give Lucian credit, he’s an incredible executive, who incentivizes his troops, who does not run his operation on fear. And he’s been handsomely rewarded for his work, especially the nine-digit payout after Universal went public.

Most of Lucian’s letter is barely more than boilerplate, delineating Universal’s accomplishments and talking about…spatial audio and streaming payouts.

As for spatial audio, you can deliver it but will people come? Most of the remixes are awful, as for new music, in Atmos from scratch… Last time I checked, people only had two ears. As for an immersive experience, quad failed, never mind the nonstarting digital tape formats, why should today be any different?

Well, no extra equipment is needed to hear it. Well, not exactly, but I don’t want to get into Bluetooth tech, never mind digital audio converters, but Apple can deliver Atmos seamlessly. Do we want this?

Forget that many people can’t hear it and don’t want it, do you really think indie artists are going to pay for these mixes? And indie is burgeoning, a lot of the majors’ market share is as a result of distribution of indie labels.

As for streaming payouts…

There’s a classic expression in the music business…it’s not about the money, IT’S ABOUT THE MONEY!

Sure, Lucian cares about his artists. But not as much as he cares about satisfying his shareholders and lining his own pockets. It’s human nature. I’ve yet to find a corporate guy this rich, and they’re all guys in the music business, who puts himself behind the artists and the company. First and foremost, they didn’t start the company, they’ve got no inherent loyalty, this is not Chris Blackwell with Island or Herb & Jerry with A&M, and second the artists are independent contractors who leave their product, and at best get advances and royalties, never mind that there’s a huge stream of revenue from product that was signed by others and delivers revenue decades later. It’s essentially free money to the labels.

As for artist royalties…

Yes, the labels are now paying artists who are upside down, but most of them don’t have many streams to begin with. And the royalty rates of yore are piss-poor, the label takes the lion’s share of the money. And they’re not giving up any share of their pie today unless the artist has incredible leverage, which is rare. 

So, the label makes you a star… When in truth, today the act makes itself a star. TikTok rules, and so far the labels haven’t been able to game it. Talk to anybody who actually works at a label, they’re completely flummoxed. Radio means less than ever before. The lunatics have taken over the asylum, the audience is in control, and uncontrollable. And the majors did not foresee this, did not prepare for this and have no answer for this.

Meanwhile, you can get paid almost all of the money from a streaming service by using an indie distributor who takes a small fee.

So who needs a major label? VERY FEW ACTS!

And very few acts are signed to the major label.

And Lucian Grainge is trying to do an end run around distribution. That’s what this streaming payout bit is all about. He wants the detritus removed from streaming services, so his artists dominate. Just like labels controlled all the space in record stores… If you can’t buy it, if you can’t stream it, it’s like it doesn’t exist.

So those 100,000 tracks a day… He wants them gone, deplatformed, even though most of them barely get streamed anyway.

But this is going against the tide. On YouTube, Instagram and TikTok anybody can play. Now they’re going to restrict uploading to music streaming services? As bad an image as Spotify has, unjustified, in the artist community, the wannabes would go berserk if they couldn’t get on. Limitation is not the future, welcome to 2023.

As for gaming the system…

Fraud exists.

Now let me see… The labels didn’t pay on promotional records. They take packaging deductions when there is no packaging.

And from time immemorial there was shrinkage, not only outright theft, but retailers who didn’t pay their bills or went bankrupt or completely out of business.

As for pricing… Manufacturers hate to give this up. When you see an album suddenly go up the chart… Oftentimes there was a deal at the iTunes Store, blowing it out for almost nothing, and since sales are inanely weighted more than streams in the insane Luminate chart, the record goes up, especially after the acts incentivize their brain dead fans to buy, oftentimes product they already own!

So bad actors, short tracks… They’re always gonna exist, you’re still getting spam in your inbox decades after e-mail flourished.

Change the model, I don’t care. Do it on listening time, even pay based on what the consumer actually listens to, it’s not going to make a big difference.

As for Spotify, et al, coughing up more dough…

Streaming is terrible business, it doesn’t scale, costs rise in tandem to income, and margins are piss-poor to begin with, which is why you see Spotify in podcasts and books and still swimming in red ink.

In other words, you can’t squeeze blood from a stone. And the English government looked into this and what did it find? The problem lies with the labels and the crappy deals they give artists, not with the streaming companies. Got a bit of ink, but the ignorant who believe streaming is the devil didn’t spread the word, so you may not know this.

However…

It’s all irrelevant.

WHAT?

For over half a century all the revenue was in recordings. And the same brain dead press fed information from the the labels and the RIAA still parrots this falsehood. But the internet has wrought change.

First, a number one hit on the chart reaches fewer people than ever before. You can be a rabid fan going to a show every night and never cross paths with a hitmaker. Believe me, there is money in streaming hits. But, the percentage of market share of hits is actually going down, because it’s harder than ever to break a record.

It’s really about all the other acts in the business, the old ones who’ve graduated from major label deals, and the new ones not doing enough business to gain major label interest. Never mind this is not the nineteen seventies, major labels don’t sign a broad swath of product, they sign less and in fewer genres than ever before. Which means you might be a musician making a living and not only are you not signed to a major, streaming revenue is a small percentage of your income. And Ticketmaster is now the enemy, not Spotify…

Does the public hate Spotify? No, the public LOVES streaming.

They’re bitching about Ticketmaster because they can’t get a ticket. Demand is so great that they’re locked out. They DESERVE a ticket, the same way artists with few streams believe they DESERVE to get paid a ton by Spotify. As for the major label deals of yore, signing a ton with big advances, they’re gone just like coal mining and soon gasoline automobiles, adapt or die.

So the dirty little secret is unlike in record deals, the act gets almost all of the money in live. Which is why the Ticketmaster fees exist to begin with, to generate revenue so the promoter can survive. Promoter margins are a small fraction of those of Universal. As for losing money on developing acts… Promoters can also lose money on hit acts, whose demand suddenly evaporates.

So if you’re an artist…

The dream is no longer to get a major label record deal.

If you’re a rapper, or a TikTok star, and you go viral and can hold up the label for a ton of money, more power to you. But that’s a very thin slice of the pie.

Make any music you want to. Distribution is essentially free, literally on YouTube and other streaming platforms. The challenge isn’t distribution, but how to get people to actually listen to your music and want to continue to do so and spread the word, show up at your gig and buy merchandise and…

There are more ways to monetize than ever before. But first you need an audience, and that’s the hardest thing to achieve. This is what the major labels used to deliver, more important than any cash advance, but now the major labels can’t do this anymore! Records don’t start on radio, radio comes last, at least terrestrial radio. As for television appearances, the only shows that move the needle are SNL and “CBS Sunday Morning.” Go on another show and you can tell your friends, but it’s not going to impact your streams, almost no one will see you!

Just like television is evolving from cable to streaming, the same thing is happening in music, and there’s so much product in streaming that no show is seen as much as “M.A.S.H.,” or even “Game of Thrones.” You may be addicted to Sunday night shows dribbled out by HBO, but the younger generation is not, it’s all about bingeing. And Warner Bros. Discovery has killed development and production and is actually removing shows from HBO Max in order to pay fewer fees. In truth, most hit product cannot be foreseen, which is why Netflix and major labels put out a plethora. You can’t restrict the pipeline. And, once again, the consumer is in control.

And what did we learn from tech?

YOU’VE GOT TO GIVE TO GET!

All these platform/services start off free, to gain audience, market share. They know if they get enough eyeballs, there are plenty of ways to monetize. But somehow in music acts think they should make a living from square one? And most tech platforms don’t succeed, and neither do most acts.

As for bad live deals when you’re starting out… The whole world runs on leverage, but somehow music is immune? I don’t think so.

So, you’re in charge of your own business, you’re in control. If you rail at the distribution systems, the joke is on you. They’re tools, and so many of them are free. Use them to gain an audience. And if you don’t, well so many new businesses fail, music is the same way.

Now if you gain an audience, if you’re generating revenue, your inbox will be flooded with offers. On good terms, since you’ve got what they want, you’ve achieved the hardest thing. If the major label offers you almost all the money and you get your masters back, maybe do the deal. As for pushing your career further… Unless you make hip-hop or pop, the fee you pay isn’t worth it, the major label can’t deliver.

The world keeps getting bigger in music, not smaller. Universal wants it smaller, it wants control, because without control, its leverage lessens.

Yes, the reason the major labels have such clout with streamers is because of their catalogs, every platform needs all the music to function. If it were like tech, and only the new survived, where there was no demand for the old, it would be different, but it’s not.

As for record companies going into the streaming business. Who’d want to? The margins are terrible and they’re all spewing red ink anyway.

No, the majors just want to squeeze the streamers for a bigger percentage of the pie. And knowing that the streamers can barely survive on 30%, they know that the money has to come from elsewhere…the indies, the bad actors, the left field. Come on, did you predict TikTok? Then how are you going to predict the new musical trend? Furthermore, we haven’t had a new trend in decades, we used to get one every few years, with grunge replacing hair bands and… That’s the conundrum of the internet, everything moves faster and slower. Fast if you’re in the channel with traction, slow if you’re building traction.

So if you’re a Universal artist I’d be more concerned with the royalty rate from the record company than from the streaming company. And I’m going to lay it out clearly, if your tracks don’t get streamed, you don’t get paid! It’s basic math, and it’s never going to change.

We’ve yet to see anybody harness the power of the internet into a new music company model. Maybe when the boomers retire. But in truth, it’s risky and there’s not enough money in it. Carolco, the most successful independent movie company, went bankrupt, because it had no catalog. The catalog is keeping the majors alive, without it…the whole model does not work.

So hate on Spotify, hate on Ticketmaster, cheer on Lucian Grainge…

But the joke is on you.

Look in the mirror, that’s your record company. All those influencers, they built it themselves, but it’s different in music? I don’t think so.

The scale has tipped. Recorded music is just a fraction of most artists’ revenue today, and that isn’t going to change. But there are so many other ways to make money, and in a world where we all have the same smartphones, the money is in unique experiences, and that’s what a concert delivers. Hell, if you’re an old hit band or a young hit act go on the road and play the same hits every night. But if you’re starting from scratch, every show should be different. You should release a plethora of product, you should have a relationship with your fans. Don’t be aloof, mystery is history. Everyone is accessible online, you can tweet Elon Musk or Mark Cuban and they’ll respond, but you’re too good to interact? I don’t think so.

Look at tomorrow, not yesterday. You have the tools at your disposal. You can create and distribute and market nearly for free. Why are you complaining? The majors have a hard time marketing, but it should be easy for you? The best marketers are the online stars, the influencers, study them as opposed to the major labels.

And don’t look for a hand to help you.

Trust nobody in entertainment, they’re all out for themselves. If you’re generating revenue, they’re your best friend, if you’re not…

And you only get one shot.

But the good thing is unlike in the past you can make mistakes and move on like they never happened. People don’t remember school shootings, never mind your stiff record or misstep.

It’s a changed world. Own it.

Re: Jeff Beck

Hey Bob,

Hope you are well.

In 1967, Chris Wright and I were two guys just out of college running a booking agency called “The Ellis-Wright Agency,” specializing in booking bands for colleges. One day a guy who looked like a WWF wrestler (he was) burst into our one-room office – a very scary experience! He introduced himself as the renowned manager, Peter Grant. “I manage Jeff Beck,” he announced. “Jeff is represented by the top agency in the UK, but when I look at his date sheet, most of his work comes from you two, so I want you to become his new agents.” We were flabbergasted! It was the beginning of a great relationship. Peter also brought us Led Zeppelin and started us on a path to launching Chrysalis. RIP Jeff.

Best,

Terry Ellis

_________________________________

Re: Jeff Beck

I don’t think there is anything more important to any artist in any medium than to have their own recognizable style and when Beck played you knew who you were listening to from the very first note. His sound was his signature. In an era in which there were many great musicians and it was challenging to stand out, Beck’s sound was as recognizable as his face.

Larry Brown (guitar)

_________________________________

Re: Jeff Beck

My Original Foreigner Drummer husband was in 1972, the year we got married a member of The Roy Young Band.  They recorded at Escape Studios in Kent, England.  Here are some of his recollections of Jeff Beck:

“I did not put enough anti-freeze in the engine of our Zodiac, and it froze during the night, and cracked the engine block. Jeff offered to weld closed it so I could drive it home.  Jeff would stop by the studio quite often as he lived quite close, just to listen to the music and hang out with us and the people at the studio.  He would show up in one of the hot rods he had made, and once took me for a ride in one that looked like the Munster’s car. It was blazingly fast, but because of the very upright windshield, he would not go over about 70 mph, but got there in about 2 seconds. Great fun, and he was a master car builder.  I don’t remember how often he would play with us, he never imposed, but if we invited him to play, he  would, and it was always a privilege for us as he was very inventive.

Dennis”

Iona S. Elliott

_________________________________

Subject: Random Major Label Royalty Issue

Hi Bob, you’ll recall the “majors” announced earlier this year they’d be forgiving unrecouped balances for certain legacy artists.  Shock of shocks, I actually just received from WMG two modest checks (each mid five figures) for some ‘90s artists.  The checks represented royalties that were accruing over 25+ years in a lump sum payment, so you can imagine going forward the annual revenue will be quite small, but this cash definitely makes a difference to the two artists in question.

It’s only the second time in recent memory I can rememebr the majors doing the right thing and seeing a result from it (the other being when Sony and WMG shared a piece of the Spotify equity money)

Cheers, keep up the fun writing.

Jeffrey Light, Esq.

Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light LLP

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Subject: RE: Re-Dino Danelli

Those were the days, Bob. I worked at the pizza place and florist in the Plainview shopping center and there was a venue – My House – in the corner of the center. All the stores were connected via an underground hallway and after work we’d go through the basements and sneak into My House to watch and listen to some amazing music. The hassles and the rascals were always there…  One of my friends was a drummer and he always said Dino and Liberty were the best…As an aside, my brother was taking guitar lessons from Richie McKenna from the hassles and I would drop off and pick him up at his house. Billy was there a few times. In the mid 90’s I was at a Grammy gig in NYC with my new girlfriend (my wife now for 28 years) and he walked in with Christie, looked at me and said “don’t I know you?” Needless to say my now wife was very impressed….. 

Mitch

 

https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/the-rascals-26d245a9-addc-4642-862d-26b5ad66898a

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Subject: Re: Empty Glass

Bob

I was quite heartened that you chose to discuss Pete’s solo records. 

The two absolute heroes of my life have been John Lennon and Pete Townshend. As I got older, Pete has become so very very important to me.

I absolutely loved “who came first”, and Empty Glass I cherished even more. 

But one night in London I was invited to my friend Barbara Charone’s house to hear the first test pressing of “All the best cowboys have Chinese eyes“. Barbara was an old friend who at that point was working in London as the press officer for WEA. I will never ever forget that night as long as I live, it is by far one of my two or three favorite albums ever. When I heard “the sea refuses no river”, I was stunned. In my view,… Pure, unadulterated, genius.

As I’ve always said,… Pete Townshend can sing the yellow pages and I will be entranced. Hope your print this…. Pete Townshend pretty much means everything to me.

Neal Preston

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From: Ian Lee

Subject: Re: Empty Glass

Hey Bob,

Happy holidays from your only tour bus owner/driver 🙂

I just finished my last tour after 18 months without a single day off.

I read everything you write. In hotels and in cafes after getting parked at whatever venue.

It’s articles like this that give me hope. You might have no real idea how important you are to people. So I wanted you to hear it-for the holidays. You are the only voice I feel has the reach to keep me connected to why I do what I do.

“Loneliness is cured by music, when done right”-you.

I don’t drive bands for the money.  It’s a brutal way to make a living. I do it because I care about music.

That said, I’m first and foremost a musician. Like lots of the crew guys and gals, i identify as an artist.

18 months without a day off can hardly be called a side hustle. Somewhere in there, I stole a few hours when on stops in Chicago to go into Kingsize Soundlabs and make a record.

“Rock was all about blowing up the institutions. Searching for truth in a new way. Being the other and going down the road less taken” -you

I live the road less traveled. Definitely searching for truth in a new way.

“The older you get the more you realize this. It’s all b.s. and no one will be remembered” -you

Probably true. So why even try?

 

Why would a 53 year old bus driver make a f..kin record?

So he could sent it to Bob on Christmas eve, which Bob doesn’t celebrate 🙂

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From: John Boylan

Subject: RE: Cool Night

Hey Bob,

 

Thanks for sending that! My very first venture into the world of film music. How lucky can a twenty-something get? The guys in the Association wrote all the songs in the movie and I happened to be producing them at the time. I do remember that because of the tight schedule, we had to do the mag mixes (six-track stems for the post-production audio mixer) on Super Bowl Sunday, with the Jets facing the mighty Baltimore Colts. In his usual brash style, Broadway Joe Namath had famously guaranteed a victory. As a Buffalo native, I was partial to the upstart AFL, so I bet Stan Jaffe, the producer, fifty bucks that the Jets would win. He paid up. 😊

 

Best,

JB

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Subject: Paul Davis

In December of 1977, I was working as a record rep for a small label

distributed by a one stop in Dallas called Heilicher Brothers, who distributed hundreds of labels. One of the other labels than the one I worked for was called Bang Records. I came across their song “I go crazy” and it gave me goosebumps!  I noticed that the song was heading downwards on the Billboard Hot 100, yet I figured this is too good a song not to have a greater success than it does right now and already beheading down the charts. Through some research, I was able to find out the label Paul recorded on was Bang, and it was owned by a woman named Ilene Berns. I had never heard of her or her label, but I got hold of business her phone number and called her. She picked up…. and it changed my life. I told her I worked for a small New York based label and that I loved “I go crazy” and that I believed I could help her get airplay. I told her  “if I can’t help you, you do not have to pay me, but if I do help you,  will you pay me $1,000? She agreed. I was able to convince top 40 giants at the time KLIF and KVIL to add the song. The next week

on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the song reversed its downward spiral, and started climbing the charts bulleted, and finally settled into the top 10 for several months. A few months later, Ilene sent me my first gold record. What a thrill! Fortunately, I was able to meet Ilene and Paul in person a few months later at  a Radio and Records convention in Dallas. Today, some 40 plus year since  those goosebumps, I continue to promote music that

excites me.

Ronnie Raphael

Swan Promotion

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Subject: Re: Tom Petty’s Gloria

hi bob

I was hoping you would mention this release! Since I was the house manager at the Fillmore for this run of shows I was lucky enough to be there for every one of the 20 shows, I even took the night off for the nights Roger McGuinn was the opening act, and sit in guest which was great as work is work & play is play. Anyway you hit the nail on head as far as it being a super special run not only for Tom & the band but also for the staff at The Fillmore and the Heartbreakers fans, many of whom made it to multiple performances. As the promotor for the shows Bill Graham Presents made sure both the band and the fans were treated first class. From the free apples at the top of the stairs to the commemorative posters handed out at the end of the show to the fans. As for the band, playing in one venue and city for a month is very unusual so care was taken to freshen up the scene every couple of days with differnet gifts to the band and crew, like Fillmore socks, laundry bags, House band jackets, hats, rain gear and even an Oscar party at the BGP office that the whole band came to on a night off! All this attention to detail paid off for all parties concerned and as Tom says it was the highlight of his their career. It was also the highlight of mine as well as many SF music fans to boot. The vibe was so relaxed in the hall as you can tell from the numerous remarks that Tom makes in between songs. Towards the end of the run I asked Benmont if they would be so kind as to work up a version of Greensleeves so that we could use that version to play over the PA after the show as was the tradition from the early days. They kindly whipped it up pronto at soundcheck and we used it for many years after the run concluded. Talk about Running Down a Dream, Why this took 25 years to come out is beyond me, but boy am I glad it did as it brings back a wave of memories that I hadn’t thought about in years, and that right there is the power of music in a nutshell!

Cheers

Dave Repp

Fillmore GM 1994-1999

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Subject: Re: Tom Petty’s Gloria

Hi Bob,

I was fortunate enough to have attended two of those shows at the Fillmore. I was living in Menlo Park, and when they announced that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers would do a 20-show residency at the 1,000-person capacity The Fillmore, I knew I had to be there.

The problem was that all twenty shows sold-out immediately. I was shut out. KFOG, the Bay Area’s best radio station at the time, further teased by broadcasting live snippets of each show every night. (They subsequently broadcast the entire show live on the final night of the residency). After hearing the excerpts from the first night’s show, I was more determined than ever to get to a show.

I drove into the city for the second night’s show without a ticket in hand, but undeterred. I figured I could find a scalper who would sell me one. However, there were no touts in sight, and not one extra ticket could be found. I had to resort to slipping a $20 bill to one of the venue’s security staff who shoved me through a back door and said to me “forget my face.”  I was in!!

After an incredible 90-minute set that included Tom Petty classics and 11 cover songs, the band was bringing the show to a close with “You Don’t Know How It Feels” when the song suddenly came to an abrupt halt. A pepper spray cannister was set off by one of the audience members. The band was overcome and could not continue and left the stage. Everyone was coughing. The windows were opened, and the venue emptied. The bar served drinks on the house. The police made an arrest and paramedics treated some audience members. After 45 minutes of confusion, the fire department said it was okay to resume the show. The story has it that when the promoter apologized to Tom backstage, he deadpanned “No problem. It’s a gas.” The band came back onstage and played an additional 45 minutes, closing the show with “Gloria” which had not been performed the first night. Tom incorporated the pepper spray incident into the story he told when singing the song that night.

I attended my second show 15 days later. Somehow, I managed to get tickets that night. This show was just as dynamic and fresh as the first one I had witnessed. The bonus this night was that Carl Perkins made an unannounced guest appearance for covers of four of his songs: “Honey Don’t”, “Matchbox”, “Blue Suede Shows”, and “Restless.”  A total of thirteen additional covers were also played that night, as well as many Tom Petty classics.

The real magic of the shows was that it was evident that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were thoroughly enjoying themselves and playing for the sheer enjoyment of performing. This was not a money grab. Tickets were modestly priced at $31.50 which was the typical rate for an arena show at that time, let alone an intimate show with a limited capacity. Each night as the concert attendees were leaving the venue, they were given a free limited-edition poster of the event. Four unique posters were distributed throughout the residency run, each one commemorating different dates of the residency. There was no attempt to get extra revenue by selling these posters at the merchandise booth. These posters are now sought-after on the collectibles market.

“Gloria” was always a highlight of the shows. The story of chasing the beautiful woman was told every time it was played, and it was always hilarious. The vindication that the rock and roll loser gets when the woman is told that he has a special gig at The Filmore is reminiscent of the story in Springsteen’s “Rosalita”: “Whoa, so your daddy says he knows I don’t have any money.  Well, tell him this is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance, because the record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance.”  

After debuting it on the second night of the residency, they closed every subsequent show with it. The call and response with the audience when this song was played was always enthusiastic and special. Every time they played GLORIA, it was indeed G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S.

Best Regards,

Phil Stanley

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From: Hugh Surratt

Subject: Re: Shopping

Our regular CVS Drug Store is a few blocks away in the West Village. Every Thursday, I get a CVS email with (usually a 32% off coupon) for the next purchases. We’re in the 1% top saving customers in our hood—and we do save a lot of money every Sunday when we go in there. It’s great.

But…

Their stock always is depleted. And EVERYTHING is locked up. I mean, from toothpaste to soap to deodorant to aspirin. It’s NYC. Especially Tide Pods. Those things are under high security. People rip that sh.. off. I’ve seen guys selling bags of laundry pods on the subway.

Now, we go see my wife’s family in Lexington Kentucky 3-4 times a year. We were just there. The local CVS is fully stocked with nothing under lock & key. Totally different sitch. Believe me, I’m not praising everything about Kentucky (hello Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul), but when you get ‘out there’ and see other environments, well, it’s rather enlightening.

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Subject: Re: Shopping

Hi Bob, I’m aware of your attitude regarding indie record shops and the vinyl craze but we are very customer service oriented with staff loaded with expertise. At Grimey’s we offer full-timers a group health care plan, 2 days in a row off each week, paid sick days and PTO, paid vacation time and all positions, even part-timers, start at $15/hour and go up from there. We have several 10+ year veterans, tons of institutional memory and every staffer is a music fanatic with different tastes. No matter what you’re into, there’s likely someone on staff who can engage with you on a deep level about whatever music you’re looking for, from the 60 year old owner to the 21 year old clerk. Demand for vinyl has never been higher and the amount of new customers who just got their first turntable this Christmas has our new year off to a bang of a start.  Plus you may see an in-store show, meet the artist and get your record or CD signed, like we’re doing next Friday with Margo Price. I think it’s worth a drive to our shop.

Doyle Davis

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From: Peter Kohan

Subject: Re: Shopping

Re: tire pressure gauge – I recently discovered Wawa stations have advanced air pressure machines – for free! - where you can enter the tire pressure you desire and the machine will emit a sound when it has filled to the capacity you choose. Now, the tires may not end up being perfectly balanced, but it allowed me to pump up my tires in last cold snap.

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From: Philip Tamarkin

Subject: Re: Shopping

I agree with you completely about the  brick and mortar experience these days.  In our household, everything but food is ordered online.  The few recent, desperate trips I’ve made to a retail store have only reinforced my convictions.  I haven’t been to a Warby Parker store, but their online and call-center support is incredible.  If something goes wrong (I’ve got a complex prescription that needed some tweaking) they take care of it quickly and professionally.  Their service is second to none, and has made me a customer for life, even forsaking the credit that my health plan gives me which is only redeemable in their own optical salon.  Give them another try!  Best, Philip

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From: Don Calkins

Subject: Re: Shopping

Bob,

I read just about all of your newsletters and I have to tell you about Warby Parker.

My wife wears WP glasses. She purchased progressive lens glasses and sunglasses online several years ago. Last summer when we were in OH she went to a WP store, we don’t have one near us in FL, to have her glasses tightened. The salesclerk noticed that she had some scratches so she ordered another pair because she was still under warranty. The were delivered about 10 days later. Now she has two pair of glasses plus her sunglasses. We have a puppy that likes to chew things. She got ahold of both pair of glasses plus the sunglasses over a 45 day period and all three pair were somewhat mangled and unwearable. She calls WB two different times about glasses and sunglasses. WB charged her about $100 each time for new glasses. We were in OH again for Christmas and she took the 3 mangled pairs of glasses in and they repaired all three in 30 minutes so now she has three pair of sunglasses and three pairs of glasses.  Great customer service. I don’t know how they can be profitable but as consumers, we are very happy.  My wife tends to lose glasses and the puppy still like to chew stuff so we are happy to have extra glasses.

You and I are about the same age and have had many of the same life experiences.

I enjoy your newsletters.

Thx

Don

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Subject: Re: Mouth To Mouth

Once I read your review I immediately brought the book and audio book, I listened to it while working. I’ll just say it spoke to me on so many levels. The fact that I was raised by parents who told me what they were told (but I don’t see how they could truly believe it based on how their lives turned out.) if you did the right things, waited in line, you could make it and have a good life. What I found out is most of what they told me was wrong, ignorant, based on religious crap and of no use in the real world and I’ve spent a large portion of my life learning from the mistake of playing by the wrong set of rules. What I found out is most of those who “made it” had no more talent or less than I did but ego and a sense of entitlement the size of the Grand Canyon. I also suffered from growing up having too much to think I was poor and not enough to be elevated above the ignorance and stupidity that was rampant in the people all around me.  When I came to Hollywood I actually believed people operated on a higher level and that what people said they could do, they really could do. Haha, I ran into more jealousy, cheaters, liars and plain stupid people in positions of power than I’d ever imagined and they were doing well!!! My upbringing is something I still battle against while navigating through the industry. Mouth To Mouth came at the perfect time. Throughly enjoyed it. ALL of it.

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From: Fachtna O Ceallaigh

re: M Chess

I hope the storms are not flooding you.

The Marshall Chess podcast was incredibly entertaining, well done.

F

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Re: Marshall Chess-This Week’s Podcast

Bob, this was fantastic, loved the interview!

Jim Moran

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Re: Marshall Chess

I realize that they all can’t be good, but Marshall Chess might be your best.

Harold Bronson

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Subject: Marshall Chess interview

Had to drop you a line, kudos for the Marshall Chess interview. What a treasure trove of stories and insight. As a music biz old timer, I met Marshall once at Gavin when he was promoting a band called Alda Reserve. Funny enough I had just finished the book Up and Down With The Rolling Stones, in which he mentioned. That was a bit strange. He was quite dashing.

Having worked with Philip Bailey on his book, I really appreciated the added insight on Charles Stepney. I certainly remember and lived lots of the musical context from which MC speaks, including seeing the Stones play Winterland in 72 with Stevie Wonder and I believe, Terry Reid.

I’m reading the current book on Chuck Berry which is good, but your interview with Marshall, dude, you really hit it out of the park. Made the eras come alive. Great work!

Kent Zimmerman

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Re: Marshall Chess-This Week’s Podcast

Bob, The Marshall Ches podcast/interview was some incredible real “fly on the wall” sh…

Brian Lukow

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Re: Marshall Chess-This Week’s Podcast

One of my favorites of the interviews you’ve done. That guy was THERE

Jesse Lundy

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Re: Marshall Chess-This Week’s Podcast

Thank you so much for the privilege of hearing that      definitely a master class

Gennaro Rippo

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Subject: Marshall Chess podcast

I’m exhausted and all I did was listen to him talk. What a character! 80 years old and that much energy. I can’t imagine what a live wire he was at 20! Fantastic!

Russ Turk

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Subject: Thank you! I really enjoy your podcasts!

I’m not sure if you’ll ever see this but I just wanted to thank you for very detailed and entertaining podcast interviews! I started listening to you during the pandemic and while I was working remotely creating marketing lists — your podcasts and voice were a great escape from the monotony and isolation.

And recently listening to your Marshall Chess podcast I found out your father owned a liquor store in CT. My father owned a liquor store in NJ.

Best,

Donna Amato

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Re: Black Butterflies

It’s 1:35 in the morning..  I am 4 episodes into Black Butterflies and I can’t stop watching it.  It’s riveting and as you said not at all predictable

Ritch Esra

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Re: Black Butterflies

It’s 5:00 AM.  I just watched all 6 episodes. One of the richest, and most unpredictable films (Yes, it played like a 6 hour film) I’ve seen in years.

Thanks so much for recommending it Bob. Brilliant

Ritch Esra

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Re: Black Butterflies

Finished Black Butterflies last night. Wow.  My standards are Gomorrah, The Bureau and Broadchurch….this is up there.  Refreshing to be led into mystery without the series telegraphing and flagging the obvious/less creative plot points a lesser series would resort to.  And brilliantly directed and photographed, too.  Good tip!

Jason Cilo

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Re: Black Butterflies

Loved the show Bob, BUT, do you know why that gorgeous redhead lead woman was traded out in the last episode??  I have NEVER seen someone more physically attractive on screen.  As you said none of the make-up of American actresses, and none of the gym constructed body.

Brian Brittain

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Re: Black Butterflies

I loved BB. I somehow sensed ____________________________. Confirmed in episode 5. Great acting, editing and directing.

Great show.

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Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Hi Bob, 

Glad that you included a couple of shout outs to Nathan’s for the best french fries ever. My family actually started Nathan‘s in 1916. Nice to hear people are still enjoying those one-of-a-kind fries… 

Bobby Handwerker

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I’ve been reading your blog for years. It’s really the only blog I look forward to reading.

I was listening to Scott Galloway’s podcast today and he shared a story about how you sharing something led to it going viral which led to him getting “The Four” published which led to him being where he is today…..That’s a great f..king story.

I really appreciate your voice in the world.

Best,

Peter Daskarolis