Today I’m feeling optimistic, and I haven’t had that spirt here for a very long time.

Let’s start with France banning private jets:

“As France Swelters, Private Jets Come Under Attack – Politicians are proposing regulating or banning flights by such planes after a summer of extreme heat and soaring energy prices prompted growing calls to tackle the causes of climate change.”: https://nyti.ms/3Ks9AaH

I like to fly private as much as the next person, but not at the cost of burning up the planet.

Now the interesting thing is this has been a bottom-up effort. It started with that kid tracking Elon Musk’s flights, and evidence came out of the short trips taken by a Kardashian, Drake and Taylor Swift and… We have been told for decades that money rules and there’s nothing we can do about it other than to try and get ours. But the truth is the game is rigged, and in most cases we can’t get ours, and certainly not enough money to influence policy.

So the hated California goes all electric in 2035, and what do the car companies say? FANTASTIC! What kind of bizarre world do we live in where Detroit is ahead of the population? Yes, Detroit has historically had to be dragged into the future, with average fuel economy standards as the Japanese and even the Koreans continue to eat their lunch in terms of quality and longevity. But now Detroit realizes if it doesn’t go electric, it’s going to go out of business. You either disrupt yourself or you get disrupted, and fall by the wayside, like Kodak, like even tech companies. The news is a sideshow when it comes to business, it doesn’t matter how many ignorant people support fossil fuels, Ford and GM don’t want to go out of business.

And then there’s the IRS and the tax situation.

My favorite story on this comes from today’s “Washington Post”: 

“Leaked audio of a billionaire GOP donor hands Democrats a weapon”: https://wapo.st/3AMUk58

Most people don’t even itemize deductions, their tax forms are simple, and they can’t be rigged, these filers can’t cheat. But if you do itemize deductions, which usually means you’re making beaucoup bucks, or if you’re a billionaire not making most of your money via salary, IT’S OPEN SEASON!

This is the Trump tax issue. And I’d delineate it but most people still wouldn’t understand it. The point is, if there’d been oversight the shenanigans never would have passed muster. But there weren’t enough IRS agents to dig down deep into the returns!

That’s right, the odds of ANYONE getting audited have decreased dramatically over the past decade plus. Because the IRS has been starved. I mean if there’s no law, there’s going to be many scofflaws.

I mean you don’t want to intentionally cheat on your taxes, because that’s a CRIMINAL matter. It’s not just a matter of paying what’s owed plus interest, you go to jail. And nobody wants to go to jail, not even to save a few bucks, which you end up paying anyway.

Wesley Snipes got caught in a cockamamie the government doesn’t deserve my tax money scheme and the end result? HE WENT TO JAIL! And his career was decimated. There are no good optics in being a tax cheat.

So, the Republicans are trying to say that the addition of IRS agents is going to hurt the hoi polloi, when this is patently untrue, unless you’re avoiding taxes by taking cash and not declaring it, when in truth it’s the rich who have something to lose.

But every time they pursue what they perceive to be a winning theme, the right loses!

2022 is going to be like 2018. As in Democrats are going to do much better in the midterm elections than predicted. Because polls have failed and now it has turned into a one issue election, abortion! And the dyed-in-the-wool Republicans are not going to switch parties, but those on the fence and the previously unregistered…are registering and will come out in droves, that’s the story of Kansas. Women are mad as hell and ain’t going to take it!

As for Trump… This isn’t about his anointed candidates winning primaries, this is about Rupert Murdoch and Fox pulling away from him. Fox is already being sued by Dominion, every person who supported Trump’s bogus claim that he won the election seems to have been subpoenaed, and some have lost their right to practice law and nobody wants to go down with the ship, not even Trump himself. I don’t agree with the Democrats supporting far right candidates in order to make elections more winnable, because you never really know, and if you’re wrong the result is heinous, but it’s turning out the only people supporting Trump are those with blind faith desirous of living in the past, and the past never comes back, even if an authoritarian is in power, that’s the power of the people, it’s just a matter of when.

We thought it was about elections, we thought it was about money, but really it’s about people. People have the power, they just have to exercise it. And once some victories emerge, other people get optimistic and take action.

Not that I don’t expect the pendulum to swing back at some point, I’ve learned this in so many years of life, but the tide is turning as I write this, and if you’re rich and flaunting your wealth…

You’d better shut up right now. Because you’re out of touch and out of time. Boasting about your lifestyle, your yacht, your cars, your trips…you thought it was aspirational for the public, but it turns out the public is pissed it can never get there, and sees that in order to live your large lifestyle you’re oftentimes exhibiting not only bad behavior, but even illegal behavior.

How come there’s not more publicity about Fetty Wap pleading guilty?

“Rapper Fetty Wap pleads guilty in drug-trafficking case, faces minimum 5 years in federal prison”: https://bit.ly/3ThdZBo

Bottom line? There’s not enough money in one hit to live large for the rest of your life. And you might think the life of an outlaw is admirable, but in truth those who continue to flout the law get caught. Being a billionaire helps, but you’d better not advertise your wealth, this is how Trump got into trouble to begin with. If he hadn’t run for president, if he’d kept a lower profile, his business dealings, his tax offenses, would have gone unexamined.

It’s only the newly wealthy who boast about what they’ve got. They think they’ve earned the attention, it’s part of their success. Whereas those with older money have learned there’s no upside in going public, none!

So we’ve got an entire music industry based on money. Quality is irrelevant. Hell, sign that TikTok star with a zillion views. But people are sick of this, what does it have to do with music?

Which is why all the excitement, all the innovation, is coming from outside the major label system. And if that’s where you live you’d better stop bitching about what you’re getting paid and start emphasizing values because the enemy is not Spotify, but the major labels, and in truth you just can’t make that much money in music, but you do have a big voice if you choose to exercise it, speaking truth to power.

Sponsorships, perfumes, clothing, that’s all short term money. I hope you invest wisely, because it won’t last forever, a few years at most, and your image, your credibility, will be undercut by selling out. All this b.s. about people not caring about their favorites selling out is just that, b.s.

So what we have here is a change in public consciousness. And too often the Boomers and Gen-X are out of touch. They keep saying that Millennials and Gen-Z don’t want to work, want to be paid more, want unions… Now let me see, just because you crapped in an outhouse does that mean everybody else must continue to do so?

And Djokovic not playing in the U.S. Open because he refuses to get the vaccine?

Well, all the rest of the players have been vaxxed, and you don’t hear them complaining it’s hurt their game. And irrelevant of whether they personally want to get vaxxed, most Americans want  foreigners who come into this country to be vaxxed. So how is Djokovic winning here?

He’s not! Not in either court, public opinion or tennis.

The Covid vax wars are history. That’s not what people talk about anymore. He could get vaxxed and declare victory, but instead he feels required to stand his ground, continue to state beliefs that are out of date.

This is what happens when you believe you can’t change, that you must be consistent forever. The world changes, if you’re not changing with it, you’re left behind. It’s a badge of honor to change your mind.

And we can all see climate change. Yes, you can doctor a video, but you know when it’s 120 degrees out, when it doesn’t stop raining and it floods. It’s not about convincing the deniers, it’s about knowing that others are on your side, waking up too.

The times truly are changin’. The wheels of change move slowly, but they gain momentum overnight, impossible change suddenly becomes obvious, and then happens. I mean who would have predicted the legality of marijuana? Not me! They’ve been fighting for that since the sixties!

And Putin… If Zelensky and Ukraine can hold their ground against them, do we really have to be afraid of Russia? And in truth, Russia is not the economic power of China, nowhere close.

So if you’re confronted with the issue of standing your ground, making decisions based on the past, or going into the unknown… Now is the time to go into the unknown, now is the time to take the temperature of the public as opposed to the corporations and the rich. Hell, the mainstream missed the Trump phenomenon back in 2016, no one really knows what’s going on, including me.

But change is in the air.

I can feel the wind blowin’. That’s where you get the answer, not from those preaching falsehoods in order to get people to sacrifice their futures in order to hold on to a past that never existed in the first place.

Logan Ury is a behavioral scientist turned dating coach, and the author of the book “How To Not Die Alone.” As the Director of Relationship Science at the dating app Hinge, she leads a research team dedicated to helping people find love. After studying psychology at Harvard, Logan ran Google’s behavioral science team—the Irrational Lab. Her work has appeared in “The New York Times,” “The Atlantic,” “TIME,” “The Washington Post,” “GQ,” “Glamour,” “Vice,” and on HBO and the BBC. If you’re looking for love, or just interested in relationships, you’ll be riveted and inspired to take action. Do you know how to fill out your dating profile? Do you know your profile photo can change an empty inbox into a full one? Are you wondering whether to continue or end a relationship and how to do it? Logan is the expert, you’ll love listening to her!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/logan-ury/id1316200737?i=1000577315189

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/a9936ff0-8a23-44ec-909c-43bb4cbaf750/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-logan-ury

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/logan-ury-206105839

“Capitol Drops “Virtual Rapper” FN Meka After Backlash Over Stereotypes – The record company apologized to ‘the Black community’ for insensitivity in promoting an AI-backed artist that critics said was ‘appropriative’ and included ‘slurs infused in lyrics.'”: https://nyti.ms/3QUBLli

I can’t tell you how many times people e-mailed me this story, about this “virtual rapper.” Talk about making news… This story was EVERYWHERE!

Kinda stuns me that Capitol did no due diligence, was unaware of what they were signing, but that’s not what stuck out in this article, that was THERE WAS NO ADVANCE!

In other words, there was no there there. Capitol made no commitment, laid down no dollars, had no investment. Maybe there was a recording budget, but it sounds like this operation was self-contained, and Capitol’s only obligation was to distribute and promote.

And we all know distribution cost is de minimis. Just ask all those nobodies posting their music to streaming services each and every day. And it’s not like Capitol was going to do a run of physical product, at least not until the act actually had traction.

IN OTHER WORDS THIS WAS A PRESS STORY! And if you read the above article you wonder if the act was what was claimed. The impression was this was a robot act, created by machines. But it turns out there was a human voice and…

This has been the music business’s concern for decades. More on the creative side than the business side. The business side would LOVE virtual/robot acts, because robots don’t talk back, they don’t get hooked on drugs, they don’t call you in the middle of the night… But creators are afraid of being usurped, disrupted, by machines. But the dirty little truth today is that in a mechanized, digitized society what people are looking for most is humanity. Want to succeed with the public? Don’t comp the vocals, leave the mistakes in. It’s not only your music, it’s YOU! The more you excise your personality, the less the audience can identify with you. And to have a long career it’s got to be about you, not only the music.

I won’t say the live business is honest. But instead of reciting the b.s., like changing capacity figures to say a show was nearly sold out when in truth it was a disaster, I will say it all comes down to the money. No concert promoter would promote a deal like this. Because everybody knows you do the show and you get paid. And if you’re nobody, you start at the bottom. You build it from the ground up. There are no turntable hits live, there are no press stars, live is where the rubber meets the road. And sure, grosses can be manipulated to look good, but good luck trying to get a big guarantee next time around, promoters have long memories, they can lose a fortune on you, especially with Live Nation being a public company and acts not wanting to give money back.

So the entire recording industry lost with this story. Capitol lost credibility, but it infects other labels. If you’re not paying an advance, what are you really committing to? This signing is more like a trial balloon, let’s put out the story and see what happens, if it gets traction.

So what other record company stories are b.s? What is the label’s commitment?

It used to be different, acts trumpeted the advance. Oftentimes misunderstood by the public, a twelve million dollar deal might be for five years and five records and the label could drop you after one, after you got only a couple of million, but at least the label paid something.

Getting a record deal was the Holy Grail, you’d made it. Now acts are weary of the major labels, if for no other reason than they don’t want to give that much up, especially when so much of the revenue comes directly from digital and there are no big gatekeepers.

This all started back in the nineties, when Mo Ostin left Warner Bros. The new regime would sign acts for one record, whereas Mo believed in careers. And oftentimes they only lasted one record. Investment, artist development, OUT THE WINDOW! Today’s labels specialize in blowing things up, from big to bigger, not starting from scratch, and when they say they’re starting from scratch…we get bogus stories like this.

And you wonder why the record business has a bad reputation…

I’m stunned how much ink Harry Styles is getting for his residency at Madison Square Garden.

Dennis Arfa, agent for Billy Joel, quibbles with that term, but the game remains the same, playing an extended run at a venue over a period of time. Billy can do MSG once a month, because he lives in the area, but many acts are not close to NYC, never mind their bands.

But Billy Joel is a legendary superstar. Harry Styles is a twentysomething in the heart of his career.

But all the buzz has been about fans coming to the gig, a la Las Vegas, as opposed to the record…

Yes, want publicity, GO FOR THE RECORD!

Now the truth is many arenas have a limited number of dates available, because of their sports teams. But the Forum in L.A. has none, it’s music only, so theoretically 365 days are available. Who can play the longest?

That’s another reason new arenas are being built. Because of the demand and availability. Comparing yesterday to today is apples and oranges. You see there are a lot more people, never mind a lot more acts.

I guess too many people miss the news. This was the essence of my SiriusXM show yesterday.

Let me start with the residency concept. The big story here was in the “New York Times” last week:

“Why Pop’s Biggest Stars Are Staying Put for Long Residencies – Extended runs in one venue, once associated with legacy acts, have become popular with stars including Harry Styles and BTS, lowering bills and building hype as touring costs rise.”: https://nyti.ms/3R3yU9L

This is not news to anyone in the business, then again we haven’t seen an exhaustive article about this in the business. But how many people saw this article? That’s the issue. Used to be if it was in the New York or L.A. “Times” everybody saw it. That’s not the case these days, they don’t reach those in the business. And “Billboard” has become a nearly useless consumer facing publication. You can get some inside information from HitsDailyDouble.com, albeit in many cases biased by payments, but I’m stunned how many people don’t read it, aren’t even aware of it. You see when “Hits” started 36 years ago, record companies ruled. Now they’re a sideshow. Just read about the executive movements, you won’t know who the people are and you won’t care.

And then there was an article in the “Wall Street Journal”: 

“Look Out Boomers: The Next Generation of Arena Stars Is Coming – While the Stones and Springsteen show few signs of slowing down, newer and younger artists are selling out massive venues.”: https://on.wsj.com/3AKmKwA

Once again, those in the business know all this, but to see it in one place puts the situation in context. Many of the classic acts are starting to ride into the sunset, they’re not going to be able to play live forever. And in the earlier part of this century, when files replaced CDs, it was thought that the era of the arena act was dead. That it would become a theatre business. But this has turned out to be untrue. Irrelevant of their mindshare in the country at large, there are enough fans to support today’s artists to the point where they can play arenas and sometimes stadiums. You see today’s youth have a different perspective. They didn’t live through the ladder of yore…from clubs to theatres to arenas over a number of years, never mind stadiums. Today kids want to go and they expect their act to play in a large venue nearly immediately. You see there are two tiers of acts, those that break right away and those that take years in the marketplace and maybe don’t ever make it to arenas. And the young acts have a shorter shelf life, but the demand is huge. But, once again, there is a population increase, and also more disposable income. Talk about economic challenges all you want, but if they truly existed in the concert sphere prices would come down and instead they keep going up. We are approaching a challenging time in the concert business…with the Covid demand having been fulfilled, will a potential recession hit sales? Sales dipped a few months back, but then they recovered. In any event, in a digital, virtual world, the experience of live music is unique and desirable, one you cannot get anywhere else.

And then there was that story in the L.A. “Times”: 

“After Astroworld catastrophe and Drakeo’s stabbing, Live Nation faces mounting questions over concert safety”: https://lat.ms/3KppWRt

No one is talking about this, it’s got no legs. If for no other reason it’s got no juice. Live Nation’s PR person fielded the questions as opposed to Michael Rapino. Rapino quotes travel, those of the PR person do not. This is the Springsteen issue… If you’re a celebrity, if you have a profile, don’t enter the fray without knowing anything you say will be repeated around the world and will never disappear. Whereas if you say nothing…people’s memories are short, if they even know the story to begin with.

And there is one gotcha in the L.A. “Times” article:

“CSC job listings for event staff show that typical pay is under $20 an hour, and its own advertising for job openings has told candidates, ‘Why pay upwards of $100 for a ticket when you can experience the event with the CSC family and be compensated for it?'”

How well can a security person do their job if they’re incentivized to see the show as part of the gig?

CSC is Contemporary Services Corp. I.e. a security company. Yes, security for these big events is OUTSOURCED!

This is what killed GE, this is what is still killing America, this is what is hurting so many workers, that are shadow employees, even in tech. They do all the work for the well-known company, but they’re paid by an intermediary, and they don’t get the same pay and benefits. You can be working for Google, but paid by a third party.

So, the buck stops with Live Nation, but they are not the hands-on party.

And you must watch the Woodstock ’99 documentary on Netflix to see the character and quality of these third party security people, it’s not much better today, but the reason I mention it is a member of the audience offers a big buck for the security person’s t-shirt and he sells it to him! He got money in his pocket, and the person with the shirt now has access and other powers. It’s akin to a backstage pass.

Security is a huge issue. Something we should all be discussing. But this exhaustive article in the L.A. “Times” had no reach, no impact. Even the L.A. “Times” is its own private backwater. To reach everybody is impossible. We have a zillion verticals, and oftentimes those who need to be reached are on TikTok, where the mainstream media has no presence or impact.

But getting back to the residency…

It can be a badge of honor. Akin to a Grammy, but better. How many nights did you play at the arena, do you hold the record? And was every gig sold out?

You see fans will flock to the residency not just to see the act, but to be part of an event, to say they were there! It’s one thing to say you saw the act at your local arena, it’s quite another to say you were at show 16 at the residency. This is part of fandom, you want to own the act and the experience! As far as flying or driving to the arena…you go on vacation, don’t you?

Sure, there is a business touring the country, but it will never get cheaper. You don’t have to pay for hotels if you stay in one place, never mind all those trucks. And it doesn’t have to be in Las Vegas, in Vegas music is secondary to gambling and having a good time. But at the Forum, IT’S MUSIC ONLY! Adding gravitas.

Don’t expect change overnight, but there will be an evolution.

God, most of Billy Joel’s ink in the past decade has been about his residency, without it there would have been a lot of less press and maybe fewer ticket sales not only at Madison Square Garden but elsewhere.

And it’s not like Harry Styles’s record just came out. It was released on May 20th, but now he’s on the cover of “Rolling Stone”…which no one reads anymore, because it’s behind a paywall, but quotes are pulled by other news media and it makes a good tweet…and now there’s another article in the “New York Times” reviewing the show: 

“The Harry Styles Show (and Some Music) Comes to New York – The first two nights of a 15-concert run at Madison Square Garden were heavy on charisma, banter and nods to the past.”: https://nyti.ms/3Tb3Q9k

It doesn’t stop! The Harry train keeps rolling. And, once again, Harry’s fans are not reading this story, but advertisers and film producers are, they see the impact Harry has. Harry Styles might be the biggest superstar in music today, along with Bad Bunny, but the aged think it’s Beyoncé. Now they know otherwise. And as far as Beyoncé goes, not being on the road hurts her purchase on society at large, there was the buzz around the release of the album, now what? The experts here are the Kardashians. They’re online and in the news every damn day. Did you see that Apple has even got Kim Kardashian earbuds? And they’re sold out, but Apple has full page ads and the bottom line is people still think the Kardashians are a sideshow, but if you’re involved with Apple…that’s the top of the heap, that’s the Holy Grail!

There’s a lot going on. But no one media outlet has a hold on it, never mind having little reach and almost no legs. In a world where you can reach everybody instantly, they’re reaching ever fewer and what’s here today is gone tomorrow.

Which is why the mainstream media is only part of your plan. Why the record is only part of your plan. Live, the fan can feel the connection, once again it’s a unique experience, capitalize on that. Harry Styles has.