“‘No evidence’ Lollapalooza was a super spreader event, Chicago official says”: https://bit.ly/2VORZ85

Now the truth is the aftermath of Lollapalooza is not infection-free, but it was not a superspreader event. What does this tell us? VACCINE REQUIREMENTS WORK!

The most impactful statement on vaccines was uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose words have gone viral: https://bit.ly/2UgAH30

You should click through and read his statement. He’s talking about listening to experts. Furthermore, today he called those not vaccinated “schmucks,” and told them if they did not get the shot they needed to quarantine.

This is the exact opposite of what all the pollsters and social scientists have told us, which is to respect the unvaccinated, talk to them nicely, and then…maybe they will get the shot. BUT THEY HAVEN’T!

Even better is yesterday’s story in the “Atlantic” by Dr. Chavi Eve Karkowsky:

“Vaccine Refusers Risk Compassion Fatigue – After the horrors that health-care workers have endured during the pandemic, many are struggling to sympathize with people who won’t protect themselves.”: https://bit.ly/3yHfYnV

This is the money quote:

“‘What makes me the maddest,’ one of my doctor friends told me, ‘is that these people will reject science right until the second they need everything I have to keep them alive, and then they feel that they can come to our door and be entitled to that help and that hard work.'”

Bottom line… If you’re not vaccinated, you can’t come to the show.

The noose is tightening ever so slowly.

Today, AEG announced that starting on October 1st, there will be vaccine requirements at their clubs and theatres.

Live Nation has vaccine requirements starting October 4th. They can’t do it sooner because they need to assure all staff is vaccinated, they’ve got a ton of venues playing shows right now, especially their amphitheatres. They’ve also got a vaccine requirement at Bonnaroo, in Tennessee, where the vaccine rate is just 35%.

But the truth is both AEG and Live Nation are hampered by the states, putting up barriers to them insisting all shows have vaccine requirements.

Yes, the state refuses to keep you safe. In Florida, where Covid infections are breaking records. And Texas too. The governors there are afraid of angering their ignorant subjects. The tail is wagging the dog. You expect the government to keep you safe, isn’t that why we spend all that money on defense? Ironically, these are the same states that insist we increase the defense budget. But when it comes to saving the folks at home…YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN!

And the truth is those refusing to get the vaccine are living in news bubbles filled with misinformation. I hear from them every day. I’d print their e-mails with their inanities, how Covid is just the flu and the vaccine doesn’t work and who is going to take care of all those killed by the vaccine (citing an outrageous, fake high number) and masks do no good. The question is, how do you reach them?

Well, Arnold speaking truth is one way. As for the doctor in the “Atlantic”? She’s preaching to the converted. Want to change people’s minds? You’ve got to infiltrate their news outlets, especially online, which is what Russia and China are doing every damn day as the social media giants rake in the cash and refuse to be throttled. Facebook is even disallowing outside study of its data, talk about a rogue state, why don’t we get the Defense Department to attack them?

But really, we’ve lost the information war. Hell, the country is convinced California is a land of economic ruin that everybody is leaving when the truth is California’s economy is booming and the net loss of residents is extremely low. But, people hate California, so it feels right to say the state is floundering, just like it feels right to say that vaccine and mask rules don’t work and are hindering your freedom.

What we need is all venues and all performers to institute vaccine requirements, immediately, or as soon as possible. As for the states that disallow this, refuse to play there, cancel dates, book around them. What a state hates most is economic consequences, especially highly visible ones. People may not need music like food and water, but it’s high up on their list.

But it gets even worse. The truth is, you can have a breakthrough infection and die. Odds are not high, but it happens. Check out the data here: https://nyti.ms/2VI2PMJ So the unvaccinated are taking a toll on the rest of us, you don’t have the freedom to negatively impact the populace, maybe these anti-vaxxers need to be prosecuted criminally.

Well, that would require legislation, and politicians, especially on the national level, are afraid of their constituents, they won’t take any action that might piss people off. I thought we elected officials because they were informed and dedicated and would make the hard choices and lead. Instead, they’re amateurs beholden to pollsters trying to appease their constituents by speaking their own thoughts back to them. This would be like a schoolteacher agreeing you could have nap time instead of studying math. I mean what would be the consequences?

So, the truth is the Covid-spreading effects of last year’s Sturgis rally weren’t clear until months thereafter. So I’ll wait and see the final Lollapalooza numbers, but at this point they’re much better than anticipated. Yet we still have no data on indoor shows.

And listening to Doctor Radio on SiriusXM just an hour ago, an MD was remarking how well masks worked, that we saw no evidence of so many illnesses when people were wearing them.

And you can’t vaccinate the under twelve set. Not yet, anyway.

But they’re not the big concertgoers.

AEG and Live Nation are now leading. As is Jason Isbell. Who is insisting on vaccine requirements at every show and just canceled a gig in Texas because the venue would not comply. Even better, Isbell is doing god’s work, going on Twitter and interacting with the naysayers. Then again, will it make any difference? Only if the rest of the acts have a backbone and agree to this too!

Oh, they’ll sign a #MeToo or Black Lives Matter petition/advertisement and then do nothing. But when it comes to putting their own livelihoods on the line? Crickets. These acts need to be shamed.

And the way you get kids to behave is to take away their toys.

Take away people’s shows. Let them kick and cry. But then they’ll comply.

P.S. It’s also about consumer confidence. Concertgoers, especially older ones, need to be convinced the show is safe, otherwise they won’t go, irrelevant of the facts/truth. Only when they are confronted with the data everywhere will they show up. This will only happen when all gigs have vaccination requirements and safety can be evidenced and assured.

You know food luminary Andrew Zimmern from TV shows like “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel and “What’s Eating America” on MSNBC. Here we address all the issues in today’s food world, from the pay of restaurant help to the quality of ingredients to the ability of food to heal our nation. Plus, we get Andrew’s personal story, his interest in the culinary world from a young age, his descent into drugs, alcohol and homelessness, his rejuvenation in rehab in Minnesota and his journey back from dishwasher to chef to radio and TV personality. Andrew puts the food world in perspective, it’s much larger and more significant than you think. And he can tell the tale!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

It’s a stiff.

But wait Bob, media outlets throughout the country are telling us it’s number one!

Yeah, but that’s a manipulated number, based on special packaging, vinyl, even cassettes! This is why the music business gets no respect, because it’s so full of crap. We live in a digital world, one of zeros and ones, but in the music business everything is manipulated, everything is up in the air.

But in the real world…the Billie Eilish audience, the public, just ain’t streaming it.

Let’s go to the ultimate arbiter, the U.S. Spotify Top 50. Eilish only has TWO tracks on the chart. Whereas when Morgan Wallen’s album came out he had TWENTY TWO TRACKS IN THE TOP FIFTY!

And Eilish isn’t even number one!

On the U.S. chart, “Happier Than Ever” is number three. And “NDA” is number forty eight. On the worldwide chart, the two tracks are number six and sixty one respectively, i.e. “NDA” is off the chart.

Anybody in the music business today knows it’s about consumption. And it turns out people don’t want to consume Billie Eilish’s new album. Will this translate to poor ticket sales? Used to always. Today, brand names count and your fans might stick by you, but Eilish has had such a short career!

Turns out Billie Eilish was a moment in time. A mania. Her brother Finneas is uber-talented, but is there really a huge market for Eilish’s breathy vocals? Appears not.

Of course the label can push. Especially at radio. The majors own radio. And if you have a hit there, streaming numbers go up. But the truth is active consumers stream first, they don’t bother listening to the radio. Come on, when you’re a fan you want the new music NOW!

Meanwhile, the up the ass Grammy organization keeps lauding Eilish because the members are too out of touch and just went for the brand name. Talk about a meaningless award…

And it’s not like anybody’s unaware of Eilish’s new music. God, there’s been a scorched earth publicity campaign. Even a “controversy” with form-fitting clothing and blonde hair. Hell, Eilish was even on the cover of “Vogue”! And all this impresses people in the media business…but the average consumer? Not so much.

We live in a hit and run society. The only thing with guaranteed legs appears to be Marvel movies. And “Star Wars.” When it comes to music, the platform supersedes the tunes. People are fans of TikTok more than any music utilized on the service.

Furthermore, when you square the Spotify Top 50 with the touring numbers… Turns out oldsters and more niche players do better.

So what we’ve got is a completely changed business that no one will acknowledge. The major labels playing it the same way they did back in the last century. It’s about hype and radio play. They talk all about their data, but the end result?

And it’s not like Eilish is a good advertisement for the music business. It’s not like looky-loos, casual fans, will check her out and love her, Eilish is not Adele.

And Eilish seems like a nice person. But she’s been victimized by the machine. At a young age to boot. Talk about missing your childhood… What’s up with these parents who push their kids’ success? And yes, the parents are always behind the effort. I hear from them. They give the kids the green light, they allow them to play the game when they should really stay out of it. Want to succeed in the world today? Go to college. Everybody missing school ends up having a very short career. It’s harder to sustain than to make it. And if you go to school, have experiences, you’ve got more to say.

Now I’ll be inundated with e-mail from everybody involved with Eilish’s career, the manager, the label, providing statistics telling me it’s just not true, that of course I’m wrong. (Never mind the superfans!)

And it’ not completely black and white. They can pump up the album, they can sell tickets. But with established stars, it’s all about the opening weekend. Whereas with unknowns, the build is much much slower.

Billie Eilish is number one because she sold souvenirs. Maybe “Billboard” needs a new chart that reflects this, because selling these tchotchke-laden boxed sets has little to do with the music. Quick, how many of the purchasers of the cassettes have a deck to play them on? Even a CD player?

Just add up the streams.

But then there wouldn’t be much need for “Billboard,” adding its “special sauce”…

And the business would have to confront reality.

The traditional metrics really don’t apply anymore.

But don’t expect the music business to grab on to reality, transparent streaming numbers, anytime soon. Because that would not serve their purposes! AND, if you read the report from England, it turned out the culprit was the major labels, not the streaming companies. Hate on Spotify all you want, the problem is the labels and their crappy deals.

Not that anybody wants the truth. Disinformation in the music sphere is akin to disinformation in the political sphere. And just like people lost faith in the government, they’re losing faith in the music. Music does not drive the culture. Music is not leading the way.

But it could.

“Billie Eilish, 21st-Century Pop Paragon, Hits No. 1 With Big Vinyl Sales ‘Happier Than Ever’ debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 with 54 percent of its total from physical formats.”: https://nyti.ms/3jQ1b3U

Hi Bob,

Seeing skateboarding’s rocky road to being in the Olympics first-hand, I respectfully disagree with your take that it will “put a dent” in our beloved sport / lifestyle / art. The competition format was exactly the same as we’ve had for years (decades), and the rawness and diversity of the skaters were highlighted well, especially in the park event. I do agree that the street format is not exciting for a non-skating audience, and filed my complaint accordingly.

My take is that the Olympics needed our cool factor more than we needed their validation, and I stand by that sentiment. BUT having access to an entirely new international audience, and knowing that some countries will now embrace & support skateboarding with sate-of-the-art facilities – especially ones that discouraged skating in the past (it was once illegal in Norway) – is the silver lining to this mass exposure.

Seeing young skaters on the podium was not a surprise though; I won my first world championship at age 15, and Nyjah Huston was considered the best competitive street skater by the time he was 14. And we’re both still here, and both still considered relevant or so I’d like to believe.

The street culture of skateboarding remains as strong as ever; you’ll still see plenty of bold kids hopping fences and skating “forbidden” terrain… maybe even more now that the Olympic dust has settled. Renegade antics and chaotic competitions will still be on display for the next three years, sprinkled with “official” Olympic qualifiers as we near 2024. And NBC will benefit from younger viewers finally tuning in to the summer games for McTwists and bluntslides. The Olympics aren’t putting a dent in skateboarding; skateboarding has put a dent in Olympic tradition.

Tony Hawk