Jeff Gold owns Recordmecca, the premier site for buying and selling music memorabilia. Jeff discovered 149 unknown Bob Dylan acetates and was also the co-appraiser of the Bob Dylan Archive in Tulsa. We discuss collecting and selling as well as Jeff’s journey from Rhino Records’ first employee to executive positions at A&M and Warner Bros.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/jeff-gold/id1316200737?i=1000575753730

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/991d3538-796e-4bc8-873a-e157e036e8d8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jeff-gold

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/jeff-gold-205687820

It won’t be about Bruce.

Quick, which act broke the hundred dollar ticket barrier and when?

Students of the game, the aged, will tell you it was the Eagles on their Hell Freezes Over tour back in ’94. Does anybody balk at paying a hundred dollars for a ticket anymore? For good ones, that appears CHEAP!

There was blowback when the Eagles priced their tickets high, but the band had been absent in excess of a decade. And their image was different from Bruce’s. Bruce portrayed the working class, whereas the Eagles depicted the thinking class, as well as the hedonistic, depending upon whether the song was written by Don Henley or Glenn Frey.

As for credibility?

THAT’S HISTORY!

The entire business is predicated on beliefs that were established back in the sixties and seventies, when rock blew up and music became truly big business, with corporations buying up labels and Frank Barsalona parceling out tour dates. Something different was being sold back then. One can argue that the brouhaha over Springsteen ticket prices is less about the man himself than the audience yearning for what once was. They’d graduated, they’d evolved, but they wanted Bruce to be stuck in the past, so they could believe the world hadn’t changed, when that is patently untrue.

Look, there are people who re-enact the Civil War. You can go horseback riding. But these are diversions, not the mainstream. There’s some money in nostalgia. But the big money is always about living in the present. If you want attention, you’ve got to live today.

Which is why you see the aged acts on TV singing shows. They hunger for attention, to keep their name in the news, top of mind. Otherwise, you’ll forget them, and they’ll have to play smaller and smaller buildings and ultimately give up. Do you want to make less money? Do you want to give up your job? I didn’t think so.

As for Springsteen selling his assets to Sony for north of half a billion dollars… First and foremost, there’s tax on that money, it’s not net. And this represents a life’s work. You get Social Security. You might even get a pension. You’ve got a 401k. You’re making money for all that work you put in over forty plus years, why can’t Bruce earn the reward? Just like the amount you get on Social Security depends upon how much you earned during your career. Do you find people bitching that others make more on Social Security? No, the system is math. It all comes down to how much you earned. And if you wanted to make more… You chose your own path. (However your opportunities might have been limited, and this is a flaw in the system.)

So what you’ve got here is a seventysomething rock star with seventies values and…how many more of these are out there? The pickings are really slim. Which feeds demand. Which makes prices go up.

And then you’ve got the delusional hoi polloi believing it’s entitled to multiple shows at low ticket prices, never mind good seats. Do these same people believe they’re entitled to multiple Teslas? At a cheap price? Right now demand is so heavy that used Teslas go for more than new ones. And most people can’t afford multiple cars anyway. But multiple Springsteen tickets? They’re entitled!

But ultimately Bruce played by the modern rules, HE SHUT UP!

And all the stories about ticketing had no hook, no quote, so they focused on the dynamic process. They illustrated it. And delineated that Bruce wasn’t the first to employ it.

Mistakes were made. Some promoters hand-adjust ticket prices as opposed to employing a program. That eliminates the ridiculous four figure prices for mediocre seats that no one ever buys anyway. Ticketmaster says the average price of a Springsteen ticket was $262. Does that sound high to you? Doesn’t to me. Springsteen doesn’t come around once a year, like the World Series and the Super Bowl, and they’re priced much higher, WAY HIGHER!

It’s supply and demand.

Let’s go back to the four figure mediocre seats. People refused to pay the freight. And the price went down. It’s not like the public doesn’t have a hand in this. No one is forcing them to pay.

So in the future…

People will stop thinking about the secondary market. The goal of the act is to eliminate the secondary market, so it captures all the cash. So people will be prepared for the fact that ticket prices will constantly change. You don’t find people bitching about airline ticket prices. They bitch about airlines, but they know the pricing structure. Want to go for cheap? BOOK EARLY! That tends to be people who take a once a year vacation, the people looking to save pennies. Whereas the more wealthy are less concerned with nickels and dimes. They’ll pay more when they know more. But everybody knows the ticket goes up dramatically starting a week out. So the only people who pay these extreme prices are the truly rich, who if they’re that rich are flying private anyway, and the business people, who have to go. They’re making money, why can’t the airline? The airline doesn’t change prices for sport, to screw you, but to fill the planes at a profit. That’s the game of dynamic pricing.

Just like some promoters offload tickets to scalpers. This is rampant in sports. There are so many tickets in baseball. The scalpers buy a season’s worth of tickets knowing that most are worth face value at best, but when the New York teams come to play, when the leading teams come to play, when the home team is in the playoffs, a fortune can be made. And the teams, the sellers, are fine with this, because the scalpers are buying so many tickets it delivers revenue, for what might be a lousy season anyway.

As for acts scalping their own tickets… The practice was rampant. But now that there’s VIP and dynamic pricing, there is less incentive. The act wants the upside.

Unless there’s a belief the act won’t sell out. If you know you’re not going to go clean, you want that scalper money.

As for the price of tickets… The acts can’t charge whatever they want, only what the fans will pay. It’s not a one-sided deal.

So now the public knows the game. They know all about dynamic pricing. They’re prepared.

And the funny thing is Springsteen fans will do his bidding. First, those who go, and if you really want to you can get a ticket, will rave. And they’ll ultimately say that Bruce was just doing what everybody else does, that it’s not his fault, he just got all the blame.

Fans can rationalize any behavior by their favorite. They won’t even believe that the acts are in control of the ticket prices, that Ticketmaster is just a middleman, doing what the act tells them to.

So this Springsteen tour will just be a moment in time.

Because Springsteen shut up! If he talked the story would have been about him. Since he didn’t, the story became about the process, to his advantage.

Just like if you find out someone is in a Twitter war you shake your head. Why would you react to these people? It’s exactly what they want. They’ve got nothing to lose. They love interacting with the powerful. And the powerful can only lose. Do you think telling the truth solves the problem? Then you’ve got no familiarity with politics.

And politics is seemingly the only thing that gets universal traction these days. All those acts employing dynamic pricing before Bruce…his fans knew nothing about it. The story might look big to you, but from outside it’s usually tiny.

The game is solidifying.

Dynamic pricing is here to stay.

And the fans want no restrictions on the tickets they acquire. So all this talk about paperless and tying the ticket to the purchaser won’t happen, because the fans don’t like it, because they want to profit on the act’s back too.

Welcome to the future, which is happening now.

Bruce Springsteen wasn’t an innovator, he was just the poster boy.

But the poster’s going to be ripped down, just you wait.

Are you watching this?

If not, maybe you want to stop reading. Or maybe you’re never going to watch “Better Call Saul.” I tried watching “Breaking Bad” and couldn’t get into it. It was overhyped as the best TV show ever, which it definitely is not. Production values were low, although the acting was great. I realized all of this when I ultimately blew through the seasons on Netflix. I gave it a try a few years back and got hooked.

I’m a member of the club.

But the story of Heisenberg and Jesse Pinkman is different from the one of Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler.

“Better Call Saul” is their story. Jimmy and Kim’s. And it’s both prequel and sequel. Sequel in black and white, so you realize it is such.

So last night…

And, once again, if you watch the show and haven’t seen this episode you can stop right here…

Kim is working in Florida. She’s given up her legal job in Albuquerque. She’s become a drone. Kind of like Jackson Browne’s “Pretender.”

But it takes a while to realize this.

She’s got a new guy. You think it’s her husband, although ultimately you find out he’s not.

And they’re talking like a couple. Kim’s now a brunette instead of a blonde. They’re talking about Miracle Whip and this is when you realize… This guy is a dolt.

As a guy, and I can speak authoritatively, you always think you’re not good enough. Not good-looking enough, not rich enough. And if you try and compete… You will always find someone who scores higher than you in those categories. You want to give up.

Or you set your sights lower.

And then you watch Kim and this new guy…

And it’s instantly clear why she was involved with Jimmy. The excitement, the wit, the fun. Those aren’t that easy to find. You can find a guy with a great car, with enough money to blow on not only a barbecue, but vacations. But will that ring your bell, stimulate you?

And then, after the backyard football party, these two have sex. And it’s not ugly sex. And it’s not hate sex. It’s relationship sex. And you’re squirming, because she was married to Jimmy, how can she do this?

And then you realize she’s shut off her mind, she’s shooting lower, living the paint by numbers dream. Until she disconnects and is by herself. She needs to be able to be her, and she can only do this when she is alone.

Magic. Intelligence. All the things that are hard to quantify, people are attracted to those. And if you have them you can win, assuming you’re willing to play.

And then Jimmy calls Kim at work, at her new job at the sprinkler company in Florida. Kim is not a drone, she appears to be a designer, she’s got her own office. But everybody there is going nowhere fast, caught up in their own little world, slacking at work.

That’s the way it is for most people. Either the work itself is just too boring or their sights are set low or both. Their expectations are not that high. Then again, do they know something the high achievers do not? That it’s really about everyday life, having some laughs, as opposed to being or trying to be rich and famous?

And Kim can’t talk to Jimmy. Because despite everything we’ve seen previously, the new boyfriend, the sex, she still pines for her ex. She can’t get over him. Sure, she can’t get over what they did together, she’s got a bout of conscience, and that’s important, and hard to ultimately believe as she takes action, but really this is all about Jimmy.

Jimmy can’t change. He is who he is. The looked-over brother. The one who wasn’t a winner. Who not only didn’t get the love, but was put down by his brother Chuck. All his life he was just average, with no attention, and as a result he turned to a life of crime…what did he have to lose?

And even when he becomes a lawyer he gets no respect. Because he didn’t go to the right school. He’s not puffed up like the blowhards in their fancy offices that their clients are ultimately paying for. Jimmy has heart, he can relate to the downtrodden clients that the other attorneys overlook on their way to riches with the corporate bros, and as a result he lands on a case that will deliver more money than the ones the big timers focus on. And then they pay attention.

This is how it happens in Hollywood. You’re nobody, you show some glow, the ability to generate bucks, and the entire industry appears at your doorstep, ready to make you a star, or a bigger one. And you think these people are your friends, but they’re not. You’re just a product, and when you’re washed up they’ll transfer their allegiance to another. It’s like you’re a buggy whip and then the automobile is introduced. You’re a Hula Hoop in the era of video games.

Jimmy just can’t get any respect.

But he will represent those nobody else will.

And then Kim leaves and he amps up the Saul Goodman business, his business nom de plume.

And Jimmy’s flying high.

But then come the divorce papers. They lay him low. He can’t work. All he can think about is what he’s about to lose, Kim.

And ultimately Kim comes to Jimmy’s office, to sign the divorce documents, and it’s uncomfortable. As breaking up always is. You don’t stop loving them instantly. And usually there’s no definitive betrayal. You’re still connected, and soon you’re not going to be. And Kim wants nothing to do with Jimmy in the future, which is how it is with most relationships. Sure, some people remain friends with their exes, I don’t understand it. You were so close, you shared everything, and now you continue to see each other? How do you get over the love?

YOU DON’T!

You never get over them, never ever. They enter your brain when you don’t want them to. A friend of mine had electroshock therapy, one of its benefits is he forgot his past, what happened with his exes. On one level I wish I could undergo the procedure too. Because I’m haunted. WE ALL ARE!

So Kim finally signs, and just before she goes, just before she leaves the office, Jimmy yells out…

HAVE A NICE LIFE!

It’s so perfect. He’s feeling the pain, the separation, she pulled the trigger, he wants to fight back, stick in the dagger, and this is how he does it, by telling her he’s done, he’s over it. It’s sarcasm and truth all in one.

As for the net tightening up on Jimmy…

As for Kim unburdening herself, turning herself in, telling the truth…

It was so TENSE!

This is what we used to get in art, the tension. We had to pay complete attention. We were driven to pay complete attention. All other thoughts were squeezed out. Were they gonna get caught, what would be the consequences.

I was wrapped up in art.

Oh, you might say “Better Call Saul” is just a TV show.

But it’s more than that.

It’s Kanye without the clothes. No penumbra is necessary. They’re not selling perfume, it’s all on the screen.

And I’ve been following Bob Odenkirk since “Mr. Show.” I thought David Cross would be the breakout star. Whenever I saw Bob on screen I was rooting for him, a fish out of water, making a guest appearance. But Bob was so good in “Breaking Bad” that they wrote him a bigger part, and then centered this entire prequel/sequel show around him.

A happy-go-lucky guy who wants more. Who bucks the system that refuses to accept him. A man who loves the game more than the rewards. Because life rewards the living.

And I felt fully alive watching “Better Call Saul” last night. I hate, hate, HATE that they drip out episodes once a week. Because not only am I left hanging, the spell is broken. And the spell is key. Sure, you want to find out what is going to happen, but even more you want to be in the trance, find out what is going on with the Salamancas. Feel the tension of people almost nobody knows in real life but are carving out their place in the world nonetheless. Rest on your laurels and you’re history. You’ve got to keep thinking, inventing, experimenting.

I’m high on “Better Call Saul.”

It’s better than any drug.

That’s the power of entertainment.

Too many creators abdicate in the initiation. They play by the rules. They shoot low. They’re not willing to risk it all. The believe the Holy Grail is unattainable.

But if you’re willing to play for all the marbles, with your wits about you. Living to feel as opposed to going through the motions, observing, everybody can reap the rewards. But you’ve got to conceive of them. You’ve got to find your own path. And then you’ve got to EXECUTE!

That’s what Jimmy/Saul/Bob does. He can’t be happy at Cinnabon. He needs more excitement. And unlike an athlete, you never have to retire from crime. You’re never too old. And the game keeps changing, gets more interesting. It’s a challenge, and Jimmy is up for it.

But now he’s Gene.

But will they realize he’s Jimmy? Will he get caught?

I’m still living in the afterglow of last night’s episode.

Just like Kim Wexler. She cannot get over Jimmy McGill. Because it’s not about the trappings, but the essence. Jimmy is living life. To the fullest. He’s both charming and conniving. Astute and sometimes dumb. Ruthless and forgiving.

He’s complicated.

He’s an American. Our best self. Not burdened by history, but making it up as he goes.

You should too. Not only will you be fulfilled, but you’ll be stunned who’s attracted to you.

Like Kim is to Jimmy.

Like I am to “Better Call Saul.”

Tune in today, August 9th, to Volume 106, 6 PM East, 3 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive