My father wouldn’t get a vanity plate. Because he wanted plausible deniability. Not that my dad was the type to step out, but if someone said they saw his car here or there he could always say it wasn’t him, but if the license plate said “Lefsetz,” he’d be nailed, he’d have to admit it.

Life used to be different, then income inequality burgeoned and the only thing left for the little people was fame, they certainly couldn’t make beaucoup bucks. In order to win the jackpot, you’ve got to put your nose to the grindstone and complete years of education. Or you can be an entrepreneur working 24/7 for years with no guarantee of return. Most people would rather party. The lottery can give them the illusion of becoming rich, but ultimately it’s just a tax on the poor, and the supposed American Dream, which George Carlin said you have to be asleep to believe, has become statistically less achievable over time.

But you could be on reality TV. Or ultimately an influencer on social media. As far as becoming rich, did you read that Kylie Jenner is not the youngest self-made billionaire? Because she’s not even a billionaire, nowhere close, “Forbes” crunched the numbers, turned out she was lying.

But Kylie Jenner is an entertainer, using her fame to try and generate capital, and that’s what entertainers do, lie.

All the time, on a regular basis.

If you read how rich an entertainer is… You can probably discount that number by 25%, if not 50% or 75%. That’s part of their image, that they made it and are enjoying the spoils. And the devil is in the details anyway. The news constantly prints the gross, not the net… And the net might not even exist, the tour might have ended up in the red. But you heard they grossed $100 million!

Who’s to call them on it?

“Forbes” was just correcting Kylie to exclude her from their list of billionaires, “Forbes” wanted to be authoritative. The rest of the world? Either didn’t care or bought it hook, line and sinker.

Records… Taylor Swift won’t release the gross per gig because she wants to wow everybody with the final number, setting a record. Good for her, but she ain’t netting a billion dollars, nowhere close. And there are Fortune 500 executives you’ve never heard of who are richer than Swift. Yes, you can work for the man and end up making a billion, primarily based on stock rewards. That’s where the real money is, in corporations, on Wall Street, entertainment is chump change.

But it’s entertainment that the people see.

You can make up any story you want, they said Frank Zappa crapped on stage. Of course that didn’t happen, but who was going to check on it? Furthermore, who in the artist’s camp is going to say it’s untrue if it benefits their boss?

You see people in entertainment are selling their image. And the public is imitating the entertainers, as it has always done.

But if you’re not in entertainment, if your income is not based on image, setting records, being bigger and better than anybody else, STFU!

That’s what the blue bloods did.

Back in the fifties and sixties, even into the seventies, you couldn’t tell who the really rich were. At that point, the rich had inherited the money. And they drove old Country Squires and wore threadbare khakis and Top-Siders. They undersold their assets, they didn’t want the attention. They didn’t want their kids kidnapped, they didn’t want to anger those less fortunate, they flew beneath the radar.

However, starting with lower tax rates in the eighties, and then the tech boom, never mind the financialization of America, today’s rich have actually made the money, they earned it…and too many want to tell you about it.

They want to tell you how hard they worked and still do. And they want you to envy their significant other and lifestyle. They want to tell you they’re better than you. When in truth they should be fading back into the woodwork, like the blue bloods of yore. Because the image is paying no dividends, it might even have a cost. Have you noticed that David Geffen has been out of the fray since he posted on Instagram that he was spending the Covid lockdown on his yacht? He’ll never live down the backlash. And goofy, laughing Jeff Bezos was tolerated as a brilliant nerd until he stole his good friend’s wife and was seen cavorting and canoodling with her all over the world. I mean what’s the benefit?

Well, in truth to make that kind of dough you usually need to fill an unfillable hole. Maybe you never got the love you deserved from your mother, maybe you were bullied in school. And, in truth, most of these people never get over it, but whereas entertainers tend to have a lifespan, living on fumes after a peak, these business people continue to rake in the dough and they want to continue to impress you who they are and you’re not.

And that brings attention.

In other words, if your business is not based on gaining attention, do your best not to get attention.

The odds of getting audited are low. But boast about your riches and spending and the odds increase.

Like those people who give quotes to newspapers, about their financial situation. Do you think no one in the government reads? No one is paying attention? Raise your head and it might get chopped off.

And for the little people… You don’t want to be in the news either. It’s a momentary high and then you’ve got to live with what you’ve said for the rest of your life, it stands online, and you might not be proud of it, and it might draw negative attention and consequences. And if you didn’t know before, I’m telling you now, journalists are not your friends, they cozy up to you and then dump you after they get what they want.

So Donald Trump was lying about the value of his assets ad infinitum. It was part of his brand, how rich he was. But no one in New York really cared, many saw him as a braggart, an irrelevant second-rate real estate developer from Queens. The real movers and shakers, the traditionalists, were never going to let him in their club.

And Donald was unhappy with this. So he kept upping the ante, raising his public profile. But there were so many skeletons in his closet.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Kinda like Kylie Jenner, she could boast how rich she was, but if she wanted to call herself a billionaire and be on the “Forbes” list, there were going to be consequences.

So Donald Trump is on Fox, talking about Obama’s birth certificate, bloviating on Howard Stern’s show, but when he started to run for President…

I’m not talking about the hoi polloi. I’m not talking about the people who voted for him. I’m talking raw business here. Donald Trump thought his secrets, his shenanigans, would never catch up with him. But how does that song go? I fought the law and the law won?

Not every time. But it’s never defeated all the time either. And Trump had a lot of smoking guns, which continued to smolder. And he was making enemies all the while. Raise your head above the fray and people less fortunate, or those who don’t like you, will want to bring you down a peg, show that you’re not that special, no better than them.

Think about it… You can’t get rich working for the government. So why are people doing so? For the power, for the ability to set the record straight, to separate right from wrong, to punish bad actors. This is literally their job, this is what they live for. And they cannot be bought off, not all of them, even though the rich regularly try. Isn’t that the story of Clarence Thomas? It’s all about working the refs. It’s never black and white. It’s about shading. You want to get the benefit of the doubt, and if the person deciding your fate has been the beneficiary of your largesse, they don’t want to wake up one day and go against you, because then they’re toast. Believe me, in the music business sycophants are rampant, the perks can be amazing, the whole system is based on fake news stories amplified by those essentially on the take. However, go against your benefactor even once, and you’re done, there’s no coming back. You see stories in the “New Yorker,” never mind the “Times,” pontificating about the truth, the details of the entertainment business, and they almost always get it wrong, or never get to the key elements, because everybody inside, who wants to remain inside, knows there are certain things you cannot say, certain truths you cannot reveal. Furthermore, the participants are smart, they might talk up a storm, but they don’t put it in writing, they never put it in writing, because if it’s oral, something they said, they’ve got plausible deniability. It’s their word against…

But our entire country is based on entertainment, hype. No one believes they have enough, people believe they’re entitled to more. They’re busy keeping up with the Joneses when…there’s always somebody richer than you, always. Or someone with a better education, who’s better traveled. Which is why the truly elite that sustain never boast. You don’t know what they have, so they can never be caught in a lie, never be judged negatively, the image of a business person should be mystery.

Notice how managers never reveal their income? You want to stay out of the fray. Punters know who Scooter Braun is, to his detriment.

So unless you’re making your money on your image, of being super-successful, larger than life, stay quiet. You’re only antagonizing others by boasting. And when those people have the power of the law, or even the power of the pen, you’d better watch out.

Believe me, Donald Trump is scared. He’s fighting these legal situations, but he couldn’t change the vote so he would remain President and he can’t beat the Feds on every count, never mind the State actors. He’s got a strategy, to go on offense, to throw the book at opponents, and with individuals this often works, because they can’t afford to defend themselves, whereas the government? The cash is not unlimited, but the investigation, the prosecution, can sustain.

Trump made some bad decisions. If you’re gonna lie and cheat, do your best to never be in the sunshine, and Trump broke this immutable law. Because criminals almost never skate, not when they’ve got such a high profile. Al Capone was nailed for tax evasion, and Whitey Bulger was living the life of a nobody before he was captured and put in prison and ultimately killed by inmates.

I’d love to tell you to fly right, on the straight and narrow, but the truth is, unfortunately, to get ahead you often do have to lie. Try getting a job without experience, good luck. Everybody lies. But is lying your business, like in entertainment? If not, know when to hold back. Otherwise your lies are going to bite you in the ass, it’s just a matter of when.

Spotify playlist: https://tinyurl.com/37h7s7mr

1. “Maggie May” – Rod Stewart

“It’s late September and I really should be back at school”

2. “Boys of Summer” – Don Henley

“Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer’s out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I’m driving by your house
Though I know you’re not home”

3. “Try to Remember” – The Brothers Four

“Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow, follow”

4. “Urge For Going” – Tom Rush

“I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And all trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown”

5. “Back by Fall” – Wendy Waldman

“There’s cryin’ in the city
All the people are sayin’
I heard it on the mountain
Where I was living
No food for the children
Oh, the times are so bad
Whatever happened to giving
Oh mama, mend the hole in my coat
Take my guitar off the wall
I’ve got to go see what I can do
And I hope I’ll be back by fall”

6. “Indian Summer” – Joe Walsh

“I was taken by surprise by the thunder
Sit and stared out at the rain
Taken back, I was younger
In a vacant lot day
And the fall brought an Indian summer
And plenty of places to play”

7. “Ramble On” – Led Zeppelin

“The leaves are falling all around, time I was on my way

Thanks to you, I’m much obliged for such a pleasant stay

But now it’s time for me to go, the autumn moon lights my way.”

8. “Night Moves” – Bob Seger

“When you just don’t seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closin’ in”

9. “Seasons of Wither” – Aerosmith

“Blues hearted lady sleepy was she
Love for the devil brought her to me
Tears of a thousand drawn to her sin
Seasons of wither holdin’ me in”

10. “Leaves That Are Green” – Simon & Garfunkel

“I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song
I’m twenty-two now, but I won’t be for long
Time hurries on
And the leaves that are green turn to brown
And they wither with the wind
And they crumble in your hand”

11. “Indian Summer” – The Doors

“I love you the best
Better than all the rest

That I meet in the summer
Indian summer”

12. “Autumn Almanac” – the Kinks

“Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow
So I sweep them in my sack
Yes, yes, yes, it’s my autumn almanac”

13. “November Rain” – Guns N’ Roses

“‘Cause nothing lasts forever

And we both know hearts can change

And it’s hard to hold a candle

In the cold November rain”

14. “Forever Autumn” – Justin Hayward

“Through autumn’s golden gown we used to kick our way
You always loved this time of year
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now
‘Cause you’re not here”

15. “Yankee Lady” – Jesse Winchester

“An autumn walk on a old country road
With a million flaming trees
I was feeling a little uneasy
Cause there was winter chill in the breeze
And she said, “Oh Jesse, look over there,
I see birds are they are all southward bound
Oh Jesse, I’m so afraid
We are going to lose the love that we’ve found”

16. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” – Green Day

Tune in Saturday September 23rd to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

You don’t know everything. And if you pretend to know everything, those who know something will dismiss you. Used to be a pro knew every record on the chart, now pros have never even heard of an act that goes #1.

Ignore the charts. They’re momentary. Today it’s about longevity, streaming pays out for the life of the copyright. Look at the cume, that’s important, but how many streams this week, slicing and dicing, that, i.e. the chart, has never meant less.

Are you a recording artist or a touring artist? Sure, they can be the same thing, especially after you’ve had success with your recorded music, but when you’re starting out… Making hip-hop and pop is a game, roadwork is irrelevant. How do you get enough streams to make an impact? Whereas if you don’t make hip-hop or pop, you’ll never make it on the chart, you’ll never have enough streams, focus on the live game. The live game is harder to play, you can’t go from zero to hero overnight, but the dues you’ve paid, the struggle, will build a career that pays dividends down the road. A momentary recording success might get a bunch of people, not all the people, to know you now, but will they pay to see you tomorrow, never mind today? Doubtful.

The money is in live. Promoters keep artists in business. Record companies do not. They want you to prove it first online, and they don’t want to put forth enough in advances to pay your bills so you can give up your day job. Furthermore, the lion’s share of tour revenue goes to the act, it’s just the opposite if you’re signed with a major recording company.

If someone is bitching about streaming payouts, if they say Spotify is the devil, ignore them, know they don’t know what they are talking about. It tends to be the rap of old artists that used to be supported by labels who complain most, and then there are the never-was and the wannabes who complain who aren’t even in the game. It’s a matter of perspective, even a million streams is nothing these days. Compare yourself to better known artists, you’ll be stunned how many streams they have. And if you have a lot of streams, you can make a ton of dough on streaming. Most of the money goes to rightsholders, and there are not the financial shenanigans of the past, the new digital, transparent world, is far superior to the old.

If someone complains about the internet, how much time young people spend on it, if they say they like to own music, know they are marginal and ignore them. Everything happens online. That is where music lives, where you find out about it, where you listen to it. The audience is online, the active audience, be there.

Don’t complain about social media, either be there or accept your diminished fate if you are not. Not every act has to be universal, hyped, you can make a ton of dough not posting at all, but if you don’t post, don’t complain.

Watch TikTok every day. An hour a day at the start, at least fifteen minutes a day thereafter. TikTok is the heartbeat of America, if you want to know what is going on, watch TikTok, more than TV news or the newspaper. TikTok videos are honest and visceral. Ignore all the hype about influencers, in most cases I skip right past their videos, watch those of creators who are doing it for the fun of it, to express themselves. They are tapped into what the audience wants. The audience wants to believe you’re just like them, at the core anyway. A human being with foibles. Make music from this perspective and you have a chance of winning.

Moon/June… The deeper the lyrics, the greater chance you have of connecting with the audience.

Songs have greater longevity than beats. If your song is singable, it will give you a better chance of success, of your song impacting people and lasting. Melody, changes…they never go out of style.

Beware of hucksters and shysters. If someone tells you to pay them to get ahead, don’t. Don’t pay for the website, don’t pay for potential leads for gigs, that’s your job. There are a ton of people out there just looking to make bank on you, and they don’t care about your career.

Live works when the audience is engaged, nearly stunned, when people believe they are seeing something that they cannot get anywhere else. There are many ways to do this, not only dancing and production. A great performer can hold an audience just at the mic. The way their body moves, the way they articulate. This is why you must work live a lot to get good. It’s all about experience, you get more comfortable in your body, you figure out what works and you deliver.

Keeping a band together is hard. Some big managers today don’t even want to manage bands. Think about this on your journey.

Don’t sign anything until you absolutely have to.

Don’t sign anything without a music business lawyer involved. Scrape together the cash, it is worth it in the long run.

You can’t make it if you treat music as a hobby, it must be everything.

Whatever you do first is not as good as what you do later. Everybody thinks their first song is great, until they write their hundredth song and look back.

Rules are made to be broken, that’s what art is all about. If someone tells you something can’t be done, ignore them.

Don’t complain if nobody is listening, if nobody is paying attention. This just means your music doesn’t resonate with others or you’re a crappy marketer. That’s right, everybody starting out is a marketer, no different from the way it’s always been. In the pre-internet era, you put up posters. Now you post online. Same deal.

Don’t repeat yourself. If you’re busy satisfying your audience you’re decreasing the length of your career. Test limits, push the envelope, change, if it’s interesting to you it might be interesting to others.

It’s never too expensive to go on the road. Just slim down the production, the trucks, the travel… Don’t let the costs prevent you from playing.

Anybody who says they need money to start is delusional. Everybody’s got a computer, everybody has access to the internet.

Be involved with people who are passionate about you and your work. The biggest person won’t be as good as the lesser person if they’re not into you.

Leave money on the table. If you want everything, chances are you’ll end up with nothing.

Give to get. Everybody needs a piece in order to be incentivized to do the work.

You know better than the label, better than anybody when it comes to the music itself. Don’t be cowered, do it your way.

The label is interested in making money, you’re interesting in making art and having a career. Sometimes the interests align, sometimes they don’t.

Everything is negotiable, there are no standards.

Capture the zeitgeist as opposed to getting it right. Which is why newbies with little cash oftentimes trump the experienced artists. It’s about capturing lightning in a bottle, not polishing it until it is perfect.

Be a fan.

Don’t work all the time, otherwise you’ll be absent input that will feed your creativity.

Don’t let others bring you down. Your compatriots might try to make you feel bad so they can gain the opportunity.