Live Nation Wants Artists to Take Pay Cuts and Cancelation Burdens for Shows in 2021

Never EVER forget that this business runs on talent. Without the talent, there’s nothing to sell. And talent is not fungible, except maybe in the case of the festival, which I will address below.

This is not the first time Michael Rapino and Live Nation have tried to reset the playing field. Just after Rapino got the gig, he came up with a three-tiered amphitheatre payment system. What you got paid was dependent upon how big a draw you were.

It failed.

Why?

Howard Kaufman.

Howard, an accountant by training, who made his bones with James William Guercio and then partnered with Irving Azoff and inherited the Front Line management clients when Irving moved on to MCA, was savvy. I remember discussing Fleetwood Mac with him. How much money he was gonna get them for their next tour. I asked him about a new album and Howard told me he’d be happy if Fleetwood Mac NEVER made a new album, because that would keep them off the road, where they could be making money, and there was no money in the recording anyway.

Howard knew where every dollar was buried in a live appearance deal.

This is where experience counts. Which is one reason the live business is run by oldsters as opposed to the recording business which is run by youngsters. The record label model is theft. Its goal is to not pay what it is supposed to. And the acts realized this, but had little leverage, but when they got it…they stopped wanting royalty payments, they just calculated how many albums they thought they’d sell, and they insisted on an advance. Theoretically, they might be entitled to further royalties if the album was a blockbuster, but if that was so…as one dealmaker told me, if the album went into royalties, they made a bad deal. As for the label? Sure, it can lose money on a star act by paying too much in advances, but not really. Because royalties are a small piece of income to begin with, and the act burnishes their roster and…

Now amphitheatres burgeoned. Whereas there used to be just a few, that had been around forever, like Tanglewood, regional promoters realized they could build their own amphitheatres, on low-cost land with minimum investment, these sheds didn’t even require walls and they had endless lawns and there was a building frenzy. But most of these amphitheatres were built on the cheap, and the public realized it. People will show up anywhere to see a hit act, but not every act is a guaranteed sellout, so…people became less interested in going to the amphitheatre/shed. And then all these indie promoters were rolled up by Bob Sillerman into SFX, which became Clear Channel and then Live Nation, and Rapino was stuck with the amphitheatres. Rapino wanted the talent to help him out.

But it didn’t.

Because Howard Kaufman had Jimmy Buffett, who got in excess of 100% of the amphitheatre gross, and other big acts and Howard said…

My acts are gonna skip the summer and play indoors this winter.

WHAT?

Of course it was a bluff. But it was not one that Rapino could play poker with. And if pushed, Howard would double-down and do as he said, to protect future income, so Rapino caved.

But this was when the live business started to resemble the record business. Concert promoters are inherently dishonest. But there are fewer streams of income and they are much easier to track down than recording royalties. So, to avoid dealing with an accounting, acts that could sell tickets demanded a guarantee akin to what they’d take out of the building on a successful night, just like the stars did with the labels. And as the labels stopped paying such healthy advances for records, because of the internet and the decline in sales, live became where all the money was and the acts wanted guaranteed income, they didn’t want to take the risk of a percentage deal. And, once again, if the act went into percentage, that just meant the manager and agent made a bad deal.

But then it got even worse. Because promoters truly lost their power. There were no regional promoters with territories protected by Frank Barsalona. Every gig was up for grabs. And if Live Nation didn’t pay, someone else would. There was always someone who would pay. Most especially the casinos, where the goal wasn’t to make money on the gig, but to bring an audience to the tables.

So, Live Nation lost pricing power.

So, to ensure its market, Live Nation popularized the tour deal. We’ll give you a boatload of money to do ALL of your dates. This was hard to resist, because if you went market by market, you never knew what might happen. There could be bad weather, an economic downturn…almost all big acts now take these overall deals. And AEG competes for said deals. Once again, superstar talent controls the business, not the promoter. The promoter hasn’t controlled the business since Peter Grant, who knew Led Zeppelin would sell every ticket and wanted a 90/10 split, as opposed to the much worse deal the Beatles got with Sid Bernstein.

And the guarantees to the artists became so big, that ticket fees had to go up, because the promoter had to make money somewhere. And that’s where they made it. Not all of it, not by a long shot, but the acts took essentially all of the gate revenue, there had to be a profit somewhere.

Of course if you can’t sell out, the deal is different. It’s all about leverage. And if you’re an act that can’t sell out arenas, inherently you don’t make that much money, despite fan adulation, and Live Nation doesn’t need you, so your deal is not going to be as good. Complain all you want, it’ll do you no good. Just increase your ability to sell tickets.

So now we’ve got the Covid-19 era. Nobody’s on the road, and this could sustain for another year or more. Live Nation is fine financially, it can borrow money, it’s not going under, but it is taking a huge hit and therefore its stock is penalized. Amazon is selling during the Covid-19 era, Live Nation is not.

So Live Nation is trying to claw back a piece of the concert promotion pie.

Let’s talk about festivals.

This is where a promoter makes beaucoup bucks. It takes a fortune, a truly deep pocket, to put one on. And even if you pay headliners multiple millions, you can still make much more than you can at the arena, so this is the goal of promoters, to have successful festivals.

But festivals fail all the time. Who should bear this responsibility?

Anybody on the talent side knows that it should be the promoter. The act’s not sharing in the upside, the act is not doing its own independent festivals, with small exceptions, it depends on the promoter in this case. But, if the festival fails, the act survives. Whereas the promoter takes a huge hit.

Why should the act shoulder this responsibility? The festival happens every year, hopefully, whereas the act can’t play the festival every year, no way, ticket buyers won’t stand for it.

So, Live Nation wants a smaller guarantee. I can kind of understand that, but I’d need bumps dependent upon ticket sales. But in truth I don’t want to risk an accounting, the promoter is inherently dishonest, if for no other reason than the act gets such a good deal.

As for penalties…

Let me see… I plan a year in advance. You book me for all these festivals, and if they don’t happen…where does this leave me? I can’t book a tour to replace these gigs at this late date. Never mind sell tickets at this late date, maybe all the money’s been taken out of the market already, by acts going on sale even in excess of a year in advance. I’ve got to sit on the sidelines. NO WAY! The promoter wants to make the big bucks, it’s got to take the big risks. The act is getting a flat fee. Unless Live Nation wants to put bonuses in contracts, like Live Nation stock… But agents won’t want that, because what happens to it. The act gets its stock and it is happy. Does the agent or the agency get the Live Nation stock? What happens if the agent leaves the agency? At what point is the stock cashed out, and who makes that decision?

Now the reason Live Nation is such a good business is because of sponsorship. But to ensure that sponsorship, it’s got to own a bunch of festivals and guarantee shows. But if there are no shows… Acts don’t share in this sponsorship money, why should they take the hit if it evaporates? And, once again, the act doesn’t have stock in Live Nation either, in almost all cases.

Going point by point, ticket prices have always been set by the promoter and agent and manager in concert, with the agent and manager having almost all of the power. The act is never gonna give this up. Of course, festivals are different. Because it’s not the act’s sole responsibility to sell the tickets, there is other talent, and the payments are flat fee and huge.

As for guaranteeing the act will promote said festivals via social media, et al… What, are they working on Maggie’s Farm? Are they sold-out YouTube and Instagram influencers? Acts come and go, the promoter remains. The act has to guard its credibility, it can’t be beholden to the promoter.

Streaming rights? Wait a second, right now they’re not worth much, but you never know in the future. And maybe I’ve had an off night, there are a thousand reasons why I may not want to stream, I performed poorly, I looked bad, that’s my decision and I want to retain that right unless you want to pay me for it.

Billing?

If you don’t put me at the top, the entire world will no longer see me as a superstar! It’ll hurt my image and income forevermore! Billing is heavily negotiated in movie contracts, but now you want me to forgo my right for concerts? Actors play a role, the act is the act, singing from its heart, there’s a lot more at stake, no way!

Cancellation?

I agree, a penalty if I pull out for no reason is reasonable. Assuming it’s outside our agreement as to what is grounds for cancellation. If a member is in the hospital, or their spouse is having a baby, or their parent died…put it in the contract, let’s negotiate it, what, am I working for Procter & Gamble now? And, once again, give me all my money if you cancel. You convinced me this was a good prospect, I bought into it, I gave up other opportunities, we’re not in bed together, when the TV network cancels my contract/show, like NBC did with Megyn Kelly, they pay up, as per the contract. Maybe they negotiate a lower price point, but the contract is a starting point, you want me to give up all my rights right up front?

And the dirty little secret is when concert promotion was regional, and you dealt with individuals who owned the company, you gave back, you worked with the promoter if they lost money, because you wanted them to stay in business, so they could pay you again. But Live Nation is a public company and Rapino makes more than almost all the acts and me, an individual act, has to shoulder the risk?

But all of this is negotiable. Every single deal point.

But who is going to negotiate?

Live Nation controls a good chunk of talent through their Maverick management division, or whatever they’re calling it this week.

Which leaves Irving and Coran as the big kahunas here.

These are the same managers who don’t pay agents 10% on their acts. This has evolved just like concert deals. If I’m selling out arenas every night, why do I need to pay an agent 10% when really it’s mostly a matter of paperwork?

And Irving and Howard Kaufman were partners. And Coran might be ten years younger, but has gotten quite an education since the days Dave Matthews was opening for the Samples.

Irving and Coran are not budging an inch, no way. And why should they? They’re individuals and Live Nation is a corporation. And if Live Nation were to go out of business, someone would pop up to take their place. If the Eagles or Dave Matthews can’t go on the road, there is no substitute for them, nada.

So this is just a trial balloon. And believe me, those acts with power, who can sell arenas, are never gonna fall for it.

But let’s also say that Live Nation pays a ton to all the players. Look at the amount they pay WME and CAA every year. Are these agents on the side of the acts, which can fire them at any time, or the promoter?

Then again, do you really need an agent at all? Not if you’re making big, worldwide touring deals, which is why some of these acts no longer have agents. To a great degree, the agent is an antiquated concept, when there are two big buyers, Live Nation and AEG, that control the lion’s share of the market.

The act is always right. Acts come and go, record companies and concert promoters remain, and will screw the act every time. Which is why you need a savvy manager. Howard Kaufman got Aerosmith by telling the band he’d make them more money in two years than they’d made in their entire career!

Live Nation has leverage, but not that much leverage. In truth, their leverage only applies to acts that are not guaranteed arena sellouts. And why should acts help Live Nation through this Covid-19 era, Live Nation is not helping the acts!

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What kind of crazy fucked-up world do we live in where a number one rock song has more melody than anything in the Spotify Top 50?

In case you missed the memo, in case you’re out of the loop, Lil Baby has a big hit with his Black Lives Matter track “The Bigger Picture” Then again, despite all the hoopla, seven days after release “The Bigger Picture” has already fallen out of the Spotify Top 50. So what we have here is a hit you were unaware of that is already over, or at least in a downward spiral, what is going on here?

A hit is not as big as you think it is.

And either a track gets instant acceptance and goes down from there, or it takes a long time to climb the hit ladder.

But my main point is despite the myopia of the major label/major media circle jerk, hits do not have ubiquity and reach fewer people than ever in the history of formatted radio, charts, i.e. since the explosion of the business with the Beatles in 1964.

With the road business closed, most genres are ignored and get no traction. It’s all hit music all the time. And many people, even active music fans, have no interest in what the business has anointed.

And then we come to Bad Wolves’ “Sober.”

I’d be unaware of it if I wasn’t on Ryan Downey’s e-mail list. He lists charts as well as grosses and other pertinent info in the rock world. You can check it out here:’

Billboard & Apple Music Hard Rock/Metal Charts

I don’t pay a lot of attention to the hard rock chart, it’s too niche. A small slice of music and fans that is so far from the original hard rock of Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as to be incomprehensible, never mind unpalatable, unless you’re a student of the game and have followed every change in between. If I’ve never heard of the act, there’s a good chance upon listening I know why, and I don’t care.

But Mainstream Rock Songs?

Unfortunately, usually the same rules apply. Rock is now a self-referential genre, akin to jazz.

But I had not heard of the number one act, nor its song, so I decided to play it, and was stunned. It was kinda good!

For a moment I can wait
It’s a fight I guess I’ll never know

People don’t understand how hard it is to break addiction. The inner strength required is nearly insurmountable. People think it’s just a desire to get the high, but it’s the opposite, it’s the desire not to feel so bad. And it’s not just physical, it’s mental primarily. You’re playing tricks with your mind, telling yourself to hold on, not to cave, that you want to break the cycle, but as the minutes go by, ever so slowly, your will power fades and you cave.

And it’s not only street drugs, it’s those prescribed as well. Ever take opioids to cope with the pain of an operation? You get relief when the drug kicks in, but when you stop…be prepared for the worst night of your life, you will be unable to sleep.

As for street drugs…

The problem is cool people never say being clean is cool. It’s cool to get high. Whether on alcohol, prescription drugs or street drugs. That’s who we admire, look up to. Everybody else is a straight arrow, we’re drawn to those testing limits…until they die, or ruin their lives, or both.

Then we get those with no knowledge saying to just say no. I wouldn’t listen to these people, would you? Telling you how to live with no knowledge of your experience?

As for musicians… Many do drugs to cope with the routine of the road. And the industry looks the other way, as these acts are worked to death night after night until some O.D.

For a moment I can wait
I’m holding on to hope
And I know you’re stoned, I can see it
The struggle’s getting old
For a moment I can wait

Usually the addict burns out those surrounding them, to the point where the only people who will give them the time of day are fellow addicts.

‘Cause you said you’re sober
Lying and I can’t get closer
Tell me should I let you go
Tell me should I let you go

Sometimes they say yes, they’re in their cocoon, they’ll sacrifice everybody and everything for the drug, their addiction.

Every moment I’m awake
It’s a fight that you could never know
Every moment I’m awake
I’m clinging on to hope
And I feel so low but I’m dealing
The struggle’s getting old
Every moment I’m awake

Whoa, he was hooked too, he’s struggling to stay clean.

And it is a struggle. Your problems are not solved after a week of rehab, never mind a month. You’ve still got those feelings, what do you with all that time, you’re confronted with true life questions, who are you, where are you going, how do you fit into this world, and they are not instantly solvable.

But I’m getting sober
Trying but I can’t get closer

He’s hanging in there, but she’s in her own addicted bubble.

On and on we pray
Thinking ’bout time and our mistakes
Thinking ’bout time
Thinking ’bout time
It’s about time

The world keeps turning. People are finishing college, they’re starting their careers, they’re moving up the food chain at the supermarket, meanwhile you’re in suspended animation, and when and if you get sober you’re confronted with all that time you’ve lost and how far behind you are.

On one hand, the sound of “Sober” is not new. It’s actually reminiscent of the Stabilizers’ “One Simple Thing” from 1986. Which has been lost to history, it’s not even on Spotify, but you can check it out on YouTube, and you should:

Stabilizers – “One Simple Thing”

Unfortunately, “One Simple Thing” has a better chorus and better changes than “Sober,” proving that we seem to have lost the formula, when a minor hit from thirty plus years ago eclipses a number one from today.

Then again, the lyrics of the Bad Wolves song are more meaningful, even if the track is not as harmonious. But with a better chorus, “Sober” would be undeniable. If only someone at the label had pushed the band just a bit further.

But the interesting thing is “Sober” is on an indie label, Allen Kovac’s Better Noise/Eleven Seven. Got to give credit to Kovac, unlike everybody else his age still releasing music he’s not following the trends, releasing evanescent junk. Oh, that’s one more thing about rock, the fans are loyal, they’ll support you over years, as opposed to many on the hit parade, they’re not dependent upon a hit to do business.

But “Sober” is a hit, however minor in the overall sphere.

But if more people heard it would more people like it? And if “Sober” were bigger would it inspire others to make this music?

Then again, the key member of Bad Wolves, Tommy Vext, has been playing in bands since the nineties, he’s now thirty eight, whereas in the hit world, the younger and more inexperienced the better.

This is what happens in an uncurated, Tower of Babel world, it’s hard to cross verticals, people are unaware of that which they would enjoy if only they were exposed to it. Meanwhile, the bigger companies don’t want to take a chance/spend money/waste money on new territories, and will spew false facts to maintain their power.

Maybe you won’t like “Sober.” But if you were a rock fan, maybe you will.

Check it out.

In part two of my conversation with legendary record producer Bob Ezrin we delve deeply into his production of the first Peter Gabriel album and Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” and further discuss his work with Alice Cooper as well as Deep Purple, the Kings, Phish and so much more!

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Trump is breaking the number one rule of today’s media.

You don’t respond.

News outlets have already seen copies of Bolton’s book. Today they printed all the juicy elements. What are they gonna print tomorrow? If Trump were smart, and he’s not, and for someone who lives on social media he doesn’t seem to completely understand it, he wouldn’t sue, he’d let it go, it would be history and it would still be his word versus Bolton’s, i.e. Trump would have plausible deniability.

Trump does understand the speed of the news cycle, which is why he tweets so frequently. But Trump is always playing offense, he doesn’t seem to know how to play defense, at least not how to strategize defense.

Oh, Trump will roll over, like on the Juneteenth rally in Tulsa, there goes that plausible deniability once again, but when he sues to prevent publication of Bolton’s book, all he does is amplify it.

I mean come on, if Trump were going to lose his job for faux pas, he would have been convicted at the Senate impeachment trial. But his supporters in lockstep, the Republicans in that chamber, wouldn’t even allow Bolton to testify. In other words, if you’re winning the war, SHUT UP!

The Democrats still don’t understand social media. They are not aware that it’s a land of mass, that it doesn’t matter what you say if you don’t have millions of followers. Today we all live in our own vertical, and the only chance to get wider distribution is to have a team of active followers who will spread the word. Numbers first, content second.

This is the exact opposite when it comes to art, as opposed to commerce. With art, you base your numbers on content. And when people are hooked by content, they stay glued, for quite a while, especially in an era where being attached to and proud of someone or something others are unaware of is a badge of honor.

But when you’re at the top, never punch down. The only place you can go is down.

Don’t defend yourself in today’s media unless you are right. And even if you are right, there are a slew of people who still think you’re wrong, who still believe Obama was born in Africa.

That’s another thing you learn in the cyberworld. NEVER CORRECT SOMEONE! They tell you the sun was out at midnight and you correct them by not only telling them it set at 8:15 PM, you send pics, links…and what does the person say? THEY DOUBLE DOWN AND STILL TELL YOU YOU’RE WRONG!

It’s funny, but anybody with a profile knows this. But if you’re hiding behind the edifice, i.e. the newspaper, if you don’t have a name, you mean nothing.

Your name, it’s the most important element in today’s social media world. Sure, people used to have fakes, but those disappeared when Facebook wanted real monikers. Sure, there are still trolls with fake accounts, especially on Twitter, but the great thing about Twitter is it’s a bastion of data. They may be hating on you multiple times a day, but in some cases these trolls have ZERO followers. That’s right, absolutely none! So there’s no use in getting your knickers in a twist, because no one is even seeing the criticism. Furthermore, even people who have followers…most of the followers don’t see their posts.

Twitter is news, TikTok is high school and Instagram is high school for graduates, who still want to gain status. That’s another thing you learn when you leave school, no one cares about you, everybody isn’t locked down in the same tiny environment. So, when you go on how great you are on Instagram, everybody thinks you’re a chump who didn’t get the memo. But you keep believing your number of followers and likes means something! But unless you’ve got millions of both, really you’re essentially irrelevant, except for those followers paying attention. Everybody else doesn’t know who you are and doesn’t care. And Instagram is skin-deep at best.

TikTok… In junior high and high school it’s all about impressing your friends, getting ahead, but people keep moving through the system and your status does not last. Meanwhile, you’re deep in the scene in the meantime, in your petty wars, thinking you’re popular until you graduate and find out the joke was on you.

As for the influencers?

That’s just a news story.

Of course there are some people making money. But they’re tools of the corporations, the product-providers, not vice versa. Sure, the Kardashians are the opposite, they dictate to the corporations, if they don’t form a corporation themselves, but there’s only one of them. That’s today’s society, winner take all!

As for those on Facebook… They didn’t get the memo it’s history. It’s amateur hour, Facebook…with supposed gravitas that it doesn’t really have anyway. You’re sharing based on the concept that you’re connecting instead of bragging, but no one believes that. And if you live on Facebook it proves you’ve got no life.

But Trump is not on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Because he knows they’re irrelevant to his brand. That’s another thing self-promoters don’t get. Don’t be everywhere, your fans are not everywhere, every platform is not right for you, go where your type of people are. If you’re a nitwit entertainer who is just selling, don’t bother with Twitter. Twitter is about news and your opinion thereupon. If you’re not making news and you’re uninformed and are unaware of and unable to comment on others’ news…stay off Twitter!

Furthermore, other than Twitter, all these platforms are fads. Since it’s based on news, Twitter is necessary. Sure, someone could come up with a better social media news site, but since Wall Street has convinced investors there’s no money in Twitter, they don’t. As for Facebook, it’s already been superseded by Instagram, which Facebook was savvy enough to purchase. Same deal with WhatsApp. But all of these sites run on user content, based on the concept that people need to connect, which they do, but they don’t have to do it on any of these sites! As for Snapchat, it’s a sideshow, forget about it, like Second Life back in the day. A lot of ink, a small, passionate fan base, and that’s it. Everything Snapchat invents, Instagram copies. Ideas cannot be protected.

And sure, the big kahunas want to keep down upstarts, the worst offender being Amazon, which will underprice, lose money to kill competitors. This is what Warren and Sanders were bitching about, but the DNC and inside media decided no one cared about that, so they focused on milquetoast Biden, promising a return to the past as they triangulate, imposing a flawed paradigm upon an era that does not exist. People use Amazon and Facebook products all the time, but they also hate them. it’s kind of like the cable company, as soon as you get an alternative, you jump.

But having misplayed his hand with the Bolton book, give Trump credit, he understands much more of the game than the usual suspect players, said DNC and major media. Yes, by suing Trump will ensure the Bolton story stays on the front page longer than it would have. But Trump also knows that the internet runs on gossip and truth is one of the last priorities. Blame Fox News all you want, the truth is people are exposed to falsehoods all day long on the internet, have an opinion and express it, you’ll see. Which is why Dorsey and Zuckerberg have so much power. And Trump knows he’s got no power over them, not directly relative to their content, but he’s jawboning to get them to blink all the while gaining adherents who hate social media. That’s another thing, everybody who professes to hate social media is on it.

As for the content of Bolton’s book…

A nonfactor.

The truth is the election is months away, and nothing negative sticks to Trump. Sure, he might have blown Covid-19, but no one you know died and you’re already out and about, lockdown is in the rearview mirror to you.

And you…

Sympathize with African-Americans, as long as they don’t get too uppity. And you don’t like looting. And you won’t say any of this out loud, but there’s no way you’re voting for old Joe, Trump has been good for you, you don’t want any change.

And the DNC blew it because it doesn’t understand that the internet runs on passion! You win and lose elections online, few people watch TV news, whether it be network or cable. So, what you want to possess is a lot of followers who you feed with content with spreadability. Come on, is anybody spreading anything Biden says? Proving, once again, that as flawed as Trump might be in the internet sphere, the Democrats are positively clueless. The Democrats are running on an old playbook that they believe is inviolate. They’re selling CRTs in an OLED flat screen world. They believe CDs have pristine sound and they won’t trust their credit card information to Spotify.

What did we learn with Bernie Sanders this year?

The young people didn’t come out. They professed belief in his agenda, they just did not bother to vote.

And now voting is harder than ever. You might not get a mail-in ballot, you might have even been stricken from the rolls! And if you do go to vote, it might take hours and you might get Covid-19. Meanwhile, all the oldsters say REMEMBER BUSH/GORE! But these antiquarians don’t realize these young voters were not even alive then, of if they were, they were unaware.

It’s hard to discern the method in Trump’s madness. But one thing is for sure, the Democrats and the media just react to it. Constantly print the shenanigans, throw their hands in the air and expect you to agree with them. Meanwhile, so many have contempt for the talking heads and reporters, if they’re even paying attention at all. Come on, whether it be Tucker Carlson or Joe Scarborough, both think their doody does not stink and what they say is uber-important, not having gotten the memo that the internet has flattened our society. Celebs have been brought down more than one notch, a few in fact, and the hoi polloi has been lifted. So, if you separate yourself from the rest of the public, you’re a target, in a world where people can fight back and don’t think you’re any better than they are.

So stop all this b.s on facts. The election will be based on emotions. And Trumpers believe their man is unjustly attacked, that the fake news empire is after him. Meanwhile, those with a brain know the opposite is true, but they never decide on one strategy or angle to hammer over and over like Trump, which you’ve got to do in today’s world to be heard, because there are so many messages.

So, stop being holier-than-thou, believing Trump is a doofus and there’s no way he can get elected.

First and foremost, the Republicans are tilting the table, via voter suppression, saying it’s all about eliminating fraud when fraud is de minimis. Second, never underestimate the instinct of those who have not to give it up. Third, people neither like to appear dumb or uninformed, so they’ll double-down on inane positions just to save face.

So, the truly rich stay out of the fray, they pay in secret, via lobbyists, PACs…they’re smart enough to realize it’s hard to win the internet news game, even if you’re right.

And the rest of the country is arguing 24/7 on social media.

The internet allows those without money to triumph, but only if they’re organized and are clear on what they want.

Once again, the election will be decided on the internet. The news media always wants a new story and the public is inundated with messages and little sticks. So, it’s all opinion, all the time. Go online, learn the game, it’s hard, harder than ever, you can play, but you may not even be heard, never mind win. But if you do want to win, when it comes to politics, followers first, message second, veracity may be irrelevant. Remember that.