“Why Is Bloomberg’s Long History of Egregious Sexism Getting a Pass?-The surging Democratic presidential candidate has fielded some 40 sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits”

The rich are different from you and me…THEY’RE ENTITLED!

Sure, Trump did it, but that’s a FALSE EQUIVALENCY! Democrats are the big tent party, embracing women, people of color, the blue collar, they’re enlightened, at least until the last twenty five years, which is why Republicans are winning, they’ve got a more singular audience, white, and they’re speaking directly to them, meanwhile the Democratic leaders keep telling us they’re offended, but they’re drinking from the same trough.

Ain’t that America, where you’re nobody until you’re somebody, and when you’re somebody you skate, paying for your offenses like a road manager with a roll of hundys until your ego becomes so self-inflated you believe you can run the government better than those with experience, because after all, YOU’RE RICH!

Forget whether Bernie Sanders loses or wins, now you can see why he has a constituency. And just like despite the “booming economy” there are those without jobs outside the unemployment statistics, never mind the underemployed, there are dyed-in-the-wool lefties who aren’t bothering to vote because they believe it makes no difference, that the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties are more similar than different.

My favorite take on this is from the film “Milk”…you cannot win unless you give the people HOPE!

It’s not only income inequality, there’s social inequality, which often goes with said wealth:

“Bloomberg Pursues Wealthy Donors, but Not Their Checkbooks-Michael Bloomberg has sworn off taking money from other people for his presidential campaign. But in private, he is courting rich Democrats, potentially posing a challenge for his moderate rivals.”

Yup, Michael Bloomberg wants to steal the nomination with his cash.

Come on, he carpet bombs us on TV and then Instagram. Sure, Trump is uncontrollable, but does it really come down to our billionaire versus their billionaire?

Which is why taking the corporate cash is such a downer. It contributed to Hillary’s downfall and Mayor Pete…do you think he’s speaking for you? Then you must be RICH!

The record business thought it had everything under control. It was selling overpriced CDs with one good track, raking in the dough. It discontinued the single. And then…Napster.

And what did the industry do? Look into the future and make peace?

No, it SUED!

Don’t you get it, the DNC is just like the record companies. It wants to hold on to what it’s got, keep its power rather than adjust to a new reality. Meanwhile trying to scare us into its vision by saying…”You remember McGovern, right?” Even though 1972 was a different era and McGovern was never a strong candidate. And then telling us we’re unsophisticated and don’t know enough, as in we don’t understand it’s about coattails, and therefore you need a nominee who can generate this, ignoring the fact that their vaunted Obama lost so many governorships and state legislatures during his term. Which is why we’ve got the war on abortion and the eradication of voting rights. But no, this gang says to trust them, WHY?

And the labels thought they had a closed system, built on radio. And then rappers gave it away for free on Soundcloud, became the darlings of Spotify, and now the tail is wagging the dog, labels sign acts AFTER they’ve proven themselves with hits. The whole model has changed, labels don’t find talent, they BLOW UP talent, mostly via their relationships with the dying terrestrial radio and network television. Talk about preparing for the future…

Meanwhile, the labels are run by overpaid seven figure oligarchs and everybody who has not been fired, whose position has not been eliminated, is paid bupkes.

The problems are all the same. The people are getting the short end of the stick, and they’ve got no power. Supposedly they can elect officials who will speak for them, but it doesn’t happen on the Democratic side. Give credit to the Republicans, speaking for their gerrymandered districts.

It is not business as usual. This is why the Democrats lose, they don’t realize the landscape has changed, never mind changing themselves. Just because they didn’t inherit their wealth, went to college and worked hard for their riches, that does not make them better than the rest of us. Be accused of sexual harassment and lose your job, but if you’re the seven figure Neil Portnow you’re not even put on leave, if you’re Bloomberg you just write a check and move on. ISN’T THIS EXACTLY WHAT WE HATE ABOUT TRUMP?

Buy Rihanna lingerie and get stuck with a fifty dollar monthly subscription without knowing it.

That’s this week’s biggest music business story:

“Rihanna’s Lingerie Line Accused of Deceptive Marketing-A consumer group claims that the buzzy Savage x Fenty line ‘ensnares consumers into unwanted monthly charge.’ The company disputes the accusation.”

Read the article, which has almost no legs, CNN followed up two days later, but “Elle” and E! are just promoting the clothing, as if there’s no scam.

And believe me there is. This is a false equivalency headline. The company’s excuse is as lame as the dog ate my homework.

Yup, you buy $20 leggings and you get hooked into a fifty dollar subscription, and it ain’t easy to get rid of it.

Does this speak to Rihanna’s credibility?

OF COURSE, SHE HAS NONE!

That’s what the internet era has wrought, everybody’s got an agenda and everybody’s trying to get rich and word is spread that people don’t care but they do!

That’s why Bernie Sanders is so successful.

That’s this week’s big political story, how Bernie won in New Hampshire yet the media didn’t feature his victory, just said how well Buttigieg and Klobuchar did. AND THIS IS THE LEFT WING MEDIA! As for the right, Fox took Bernie’s side, and by time they were through with the left wing media it was hard not to agree with them.

But the media and the pundits and the DNC have an agenda too…THEY WANT TO KEEP THEIR JOBS!

It’s all about ratings, not truth. And since we all have different news sources, no one is holding anybody to account.

Except for the public.

There’s this fiction, referenced above, that the public does not care, BUT IT DOES!

Today’s big story is Michael Bloomberg’s meme factory on Instagram:

“Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Suddenly Drops Memes Everywhere-A campaign of sponsored content for the candidate flourished suddenly on Instagram. A new outfit, called Meme 2020, is behind it.”

Seems brilliant in conception, but…people on social media will hype anything if you pay them, and the entire nation runs on social media (that’s why we argue about it, if you’re not on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or WhatsApp or even Snapchat, you probably already made up your mind who you’re voting for).

Which brings us to the Bezos story. Talk about a man who is out of touch with the public.

Bezos wanted to repeat the Tesla exercise, wherein Elon Musk got various localities to bid against each other to give incentives for Tesla to locate in their burgs.

“Behind Amazon’s HQ2 Fiasco: Jeff Bezos Was Jealous of Elon Musk-Determined to meet Bezos’s demand for Tesla-size government handouts, the HQ2 team became victims of their own hubris.”

But Bezos didn’t realize Amazon was not Tesla, and that there would be blowback.

That’s also the story of today, how the rich and the media are out of touch with the hoi polloi. And when Amazon pulled out of New York, you had all the big swinging dicks saying the public was ignorant, but now the public is on the side of their New York brethren, it’s the elite that are on the losing side.

Which brings us to Trump. Believing if he won on impeachment, he was home free. But now Barr has turned against him.

So what you see is identity management is becoming very important in the internet age, when all the players, the ten percenters being the worst, say this is not the case.

This is why Bernie is winning. He refuses to play the game.

As for all the negative press, Bernie said he doesn’t bother to call the reporters on their birthdays. Yup, insiders manipulate the game. They hire pros who advise them. And it all used to be hidden, but now the internet has shed light on these practices, even though it’s hard to get the word out, as in the Rihanna example above.

You’ve got to be able to say no.

It’s turning into the classic rock era all over again.

A musician can never be as rich as a techie or a banker, impossible unless they invest themselves, like Bono and Guy Oseary. You see these people are not in entertainment to make a statement, but to get rich, to gain power, not knowing the power comes from the art.

So what we’ve got now with Bernie is a public uprising.

And a concomitant reaction.

When the truth is Bernie is a band and he has fans. Does Mike Bloomberg have any fans? None I’ve found, certainly not outside of New York, certainly not any who are not already wealthy and want to protect that wealth.

There were few Hillary Clinton fans.

Few Kerry fans.

Few Al Gore fans.

And they all lost. They looked good on paper, but they could not get the public excited about them.

This is how the old guard screws up. It wants incremental change at best. It wants one of its own. And the public? Could care less, and doesn’t want to be pushed around.

Bill Clinton was a baby boomer, young and hip.

Obama promised hope.

Joe Biden promises a return to the past, which is why he’s being decimated in the primaries. No one wants middle of the road, no one wants safe, they want to BELIEVE!

And if you triangulate and leave emotion out, focusing on math, you’re screwed.

Now I’m not saying Bernie Sanders is gonna get the nomination.

But I will say if Pete or Amy had won the press would have excoriated Bernie, said he was toast.

And how excited are people about Pete and Amy?

Pete’s power peaked a year ago. Amy’s has yet to arrive.

People in the music business know all about this. You put your efforts behind a star, and if you’re smart, it takes a long time to make it, you’ve got to percolate in the market before you break through.

Which is why so many acts in the Spotify Top 50 cannot sell a ticket, and acts like Breaking Benjamin sell out arenas, albeit not in New York and L.A:

“The Chart-Topping Rock Band You’ve Never Heard Of-Breaking Benjamin has gained a huge following between the coasts but is largely invisible to everyone but its fans”

Don’t complain the article is behind a paywall, information wants to be expensive as well as free, and frequently it’s the most expensive information that is the most important and worthy.

That’s the amazing thing about the internet age, you don’t have to know anybody to get a leg up. Almost all the information is available online, the tools of production too. So, even though nitwits are creating TikTok videos, there’s a whole slew of motivated individuals employing all this information to change the world.

And the world is changing.

Is the Barr statement one and done?

Maybe.

But how do you lose a Presidency?

Very slowly, then all at once.

Trump doesn’t realize there’s a limit, that you can only push it so far before there’s a backlash.

Susan Collins is a joke, and may now be toast, and should be, because if you’ve got no backbone in today’s society, we’ve got no use for you. Take a stand and stick to it. The four prosecutors who ankled their jobs illustrate this.

You get a choice, you can either be part of the sausage factory or exist outside of it. To live outside the law you’ve got to be honest.

And they hate Bernie Sanders because he didn’t play the game. That’s why the compromised Hillary Clinton complained about him. She sold out, she did what was expedient, he should too.

As for the primary turnout? An irrelevant metric. Most Democrats will vote for whomever wins the nomination. It’s about getting out the vote, not trying to convince people who voted for Trump last time.

So, as you can see, there’s too much news to keep up with. And the cycle is so fast, it appears things get lost in the shuffle. But they don’t, just like Bloomberg’s faux pas which are coming out now that he’s a contender, never mind that he didn’t release his tax returns when he was mayor, talk about a Republican in Democratic clothing.

So the people are pissed. On both sides. That’s what this election is about. Who is gonna catch the Hail Mary pass.

Music has got the distribution figured out, it’s just the content that needs attention.

Television has got the content, but do the distributors truly believe we’re gonna sign up for all those streaming apps?

No one is thinking about us.

But we’re in control. As long as we keep paying attention and speak our truth and vote, whether it be on the ballot or with cash.

Al Schmitt is a legendary sound engineer who has worked with everybody from Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney to Steely Dan and scores more. Furthermore he produced Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers” and Jackson Browne’s “Late For The Sky.” Al even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right outside Capitol Records, where he prefers to work to this day. Listen to hear Al’s story.

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DELIVER WHEN THE SPOTLIGHT IS UPON YOU

Amy Klobuchar went from zero to hero in one debate, with just a couple of lines. Proving that you must ride the tiger until your moment arrives.

The dirty little secret is talent is secondary to perseverance and the ability to shine at the right time. Most people are not made for the stage. Furthermore, you are not born to it. Most people get mic fright, it’s only through repeated experience that you get good at anything.

Turns out it had nothing to do with whether she was a woman or not, what she looked like or not, but what she said. I wasn’t a huge fan, but when she referenced FDR and said she was on our side and would fight for us, it resonated. Yup, she was a middle class woman, without the benefit of riches or stunning looks, who did the work, paid her dues, and was ready when everybody was paying attention.

Oh, there you go again Bob, talking about women’s looks.

But the truth is it’s always about looks. Do you know any of the naturally beautiful? Their lives are completely different from the rest of ours. They get endless opportunities, they can screw up and survive, they’re picked first. And just like Albert Brooks says in “Broadcast News,” looks fade, but very slowly, life is long, high school is not the end of time, if you continue to play you have a chance of winning, when many others have opted out or made excuses or…

At the end of the day, it’s about relatability. And watching Klobuchar I realized she wasn’t that different from me, I could relate to her.

And she was honest when it counted. Standing up to Bernie’s socialism.

This is where the educated and moralistic can emerge victorious, by having principles and hewing to them. This is the opposite of the sausage-makers, the yes-men, the people who view their career as a game, wherein you know enough people and smile and are duplicitous and you move up the food chain. That’s what’s wrong with America. And never forget, America was built on the saga of the rugged individual, the lone wolf, the cowboy, and that ethos still stands.

THE MEDIA IS CLUELESS

Can you say JOE BIDEN?

Just because they say it, just because they wish it to be true, that does not make it so.

Come on, have you followed Joe Biden’s career? His fake smile, the hair plugs, the mistakes he made in previous campaigns to his detriment? Thinking he could win is like thinking the guy on the bench is the key to the World Series.

And he’s from Delaware, the land of the banks and corporations.

As for his vaunted appeal to people of color… Why? Do the math on this for me please.

Not that Biden can’t be a good communicator. I was watching CNN after last Friday’s debate and they showed a clip of Biden wherein he connected to people who had experienced cancer, he pounded morality, said he told his kids they could never criticize someone for something they could not change, like their looks. But Joe could never be this person when everybody was paying attention. He only started to fight when the tables turned, and then he looked desperate.

MOMENTUM IS EVERYTHING

It’s no different with a record. Either it’s hustling its way up the chart or… If it stops climbing, it’s probably over. And momentum begets more momentum. Pete Buttigieg isn’t radically different from how he was before Iowa, it’s just that he did well there, giving himself the imprimatur of electability, which is a flawed concept established by those who want to steer the election to their benefit. Come on, if you win a number of primaries, why is it you cannot win the national election? And there was a statistic in yesterday’s paper, showing more blue people read the “Wall Street Journal” than red. Everything is not cut and dried, everything is murkier than it seems.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE DELUSIONAL

Or, as the justifiably reviled Peter Thiel might say, don’t fight fights you can’t win. All these marginal candidates, what were they thinking?

Marianne Williamson has a long history of employing attention/media to build and embellish her career. She knew she had no chance of being elected, but she got what she wanted out of the experience.

Michael Bennet?

As for Andrew Yang, did you read the exposé on how he ran his company, how he was insensitive to women? He spoke English no one else could, even youngster Mayor Pete, Yang knows technology, it’s just that he was not vetted deeply enough, just like Trump. People bought the b.s. Yang was a guy who believed he was entitled. Who was confident. Who could give up the Ivy League leg-up to go his own way because he deserved it. I buy the ideas, but not the man.

As for Tulsi Gabbard… You were in the military, so? Bush II and Trump were not, and they got elected, military service ain’t what it’s cracked up to be, people don’t care that much, especially in the era of the all volunteer army, where most people with any cash refuse to go. Tillman died. Mayor Pete uses his service as a resume builder. Come on, when you look at Pete, do you believe him? Or do you think his brain is churning before he says anything.

IT’S A LONG RACE

Elizabeth Warren was ahead, she’ll drop out soon because she’ll have no money. You don’t want to peak too soon, and you don’t want to screw up when people are watching. Just like Klobuchar’s one debate performance boosted her campaign, Warren’s killed it, when she was asked directly how she was gonna pay for Medicare-for-all over and over again and refused to answer. It looked like a kid telling his teacher why he didn’t do his homework…and the interesting thing is Warren was a teacher!

MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING

Biden can’t raise it, he’ll soon be gone.

Bloomberg has an unlimited supply, he ain’t goin’ nowhere.

CHARACTER IS EVERYTHING

I know, I know, this doesn’t apply to Trump, but to beat him you’ve got to be the antithesis. There’s a belief that you’ve got to fight the Republicans on their turf their way. And the Republicans have been laughing to victory for decades. The Republicans punch and the Democrats cry. The Republicans say the news is bogus and the Democrats accept the polls saying Trump is stronger after impeachment. Let me see, if the polls were wrong about Biden and Buttigieg, why should they be right about Trump? You run your own race, once you start changing for the game, being impacted by others, you’re toast. This is what happened to Warren, saying she’d delay the implementation of Medicare-for-all.

EVERYTHING’S A JOKE UNTIL THE PEOPLE VOTE

It’s like listening to a record company hype you on an act, or the film industry telling you about the future success of a movie.

Then you wait until it’s released and instantly you know what’s going on, especially in the movie business, you just go to Rotten Tomatoes and look at the numbers. Spotify can tell if an album is a stiff in a matter of hours, based on the skip rates.

Old school thinking is all about spin, say it to the point people will believe it and accept it as true.

New school thinking is launch and refine, start small and win in the end. Like Google, like Amazon.

PEOPLE WILL SURPRISE YOU

We keep hearing about AI, but the truth is people are unpredictable mammals, that’s what makes life interesting.

Bernie Sanders should have been toast, he was too old, had a heart attack and was a Jewish socialist from Vermont. But he resonated with people. This is something that cannot be quantified, it’s a feeling. And elections are more about feelings than facts. It’s just like love…the person who looks good on paper, even in pictures, if there’s no simpatico it’s no-go. We hear about love at first sight, but more often it’s love after a while, suddenly the light turns on.

MEDIA HAS AN AGENDA

We were taught to love and respect the media.

I’m not talking about fake news here, I’m not echoing Trump’s statements, all I’m saying is media is run by people, who are human, with flaws and agendas. Just because you read it in the paper, that does not mean it’s true. Didn’t you learn that in elementary school?

Then again, school is supposed to teach you the power of analysis, which too many Americans lack, they accept what they’re told at face value.

A rich person knows everything is negotiable, even at the department store.

A poor person pays the price.

Success comes to those who can divine the psyche of others. But that does not prevent people from trying to spin.

But we’ve seen that exercise too many times, the spin machine is worn out.

But there’s no national database of facts, so everybody employs their own.

What we know is the election process is way too long, and way too expensive. And the frontrunners often are not. You play the game, do not let the game define you.