Much ado about nothing.

Somebody not thinking twice at “Billboard” decides it’s not country and suddenly the entirety of country music is racist.

It might be, but the exclusion of “Old Town Road” is not evidence of that.

Oh, come on. Listen to the track, does it sound like country to you? Should Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” have been included on the classical chart?

And the truth is the charts are obsolete. As is radio, which they serve.

Billie Eilish made it with no radio at all. Maybe that’ll shut up all the wankers who e-mail me the over-the-air format is still burgeoning. Not when the younger generation wants nothing to do with it, not when it’s a reactive format as opposed to a risk-taking format. Yup, radio used to break records, now it wants proof before it adds them, and keeps playing those that are successful ad infinitum. If you’re listening to terrestrial music radio you must be brain dead.

The only chart that matters is the streaming one.

But “Billboard” even screws that one up. Leavening in sales. Using a ridiculous metric wherein x number of streams equates with a sale, which is kind of like saying x number of car miles are equivalent to x furlongs covered by a horse. Times changed, the future is here, why can’t the industry and its chart catch up with it?

Because radio and labels don’t want it to. They want to be able to brag about chart position, when the truth is it’s all about the Benjamins and building careers. Look at all the albums labels push to number one that immediately crater. Can you name one track off the last Paul McCartney album? I can’t even remember its name! Yet it entered the chart at number one.

This isn’t about racism, this is about publicity. Lil Nas X and his handlers are laughing all the way to the bank. This is equivalent to Ozzy biting off the head of a bat or Van Halen and the brown M&Ms. Something too whacked to be true popularized by the media that builds the band’s brand.

Come on, would you have heard of “Old Town Road” if there wasn’t this chart brouhaha? Probably not. And now that you’ve listened, do you have to hear it again? This is the number one track in America right now, and it’s little more than a novelty, equivalent to a ride on one of those horses in front of the supermarket. Hell, if you’re singing while riding one of those do you get to be on the country chart?

And country radio ain’t never gonna play “Old Town Road” anyway.

Complain all you want, about Florida Georgia Line and the rest of Nashville appropriating hip-hop influences. Laugh that hip-hop has such power. Cry that the TR-808 drum sound has infected country now too. Where is music that’s alive, that breathes?

This is kinda like asking Top Forty radio to play klezmer music. Hell, “Baby Shark” climbed the “Billboard” chart, I didn’t see it being played on radio. Then again, that’s another illustration of what’s wrong with the “Billboard” singles chart. You mix in sales, streams and radio? How does that work? If you want to know what’s being played on radio, go to Mediabase. If you want to know what’s being streamed, go to Spotify or YouTube. Case closed.

But that’s America today. Everybody’s motive is being questioned.

And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t stand up when you’re unfairly treated. But this was an off-the-cuff “Billboard” decision to exclude it, YOU’D HAVE MADE THE SAME CHOICE!

Which is why people are afraid of standing up and speaking their truth, they’re gonna be shouted down by the crowd. The tyranny of social media is what’s shutting people up. Meanwhile, we’ve got a President who says whatever he wants and got elected by doing that.

Play this song for a hundred random people and ask them if it’s country.

I’ll bet my bippy that not a single one will claim it is!

But evidence of its exclusion is proof of country racism.

As for Billy Ray Cyrus, he hasn’t had a hit in eons. If Debbie Gibson raps on a track and radio doesn’t play it does that mean the station hates women?

Have a sense of humor here folks. Don’t be so knee-jerk. This isn’t even a tempest in a teapot. It’s just another blown-up story in the endless tsunami of crap we encounter online every day. That’s the internet, where that which matters is mixed in with that which doesn’t and people have no idea of the truth and based on these false/fake/fakokta reports, they’re misinformed and testifying wrongly.

Let’s move on.

PLEASE!

Old Town Road

How’d he go from zero to hero overnight?

Identity, credibility, owning his viewpoints and expressing them.

Sound like a rock star? That’s what they used to have before everybody wanted to be a brand, when the penumbra became more important than the music.

The identity… You practiced, you didn’t emerge out of nowhere fully-formed. Duane Allman even took his guitar to the bathroom. It’s what you do when no one’s looking that counts. And the rock stars of yore specialized in saying no as opposed to yes. You couldn’t convince ’em and you couldn’t buy ’em and they channeled their songs from the heart.

The media has been wrong again and again. It said that Biden was a shoo-in and Bernie was too old. Anybody who follows Joe knows he has a tendency to blow himself up, and he’s mishandled this #MeToo/touching affair… You get two choices, deny or apologize. Anywhere in between does not register, we do not believe it, we cannot accept it.

And they said that Hickenlooper’s name was too tough, a hazard.

And they said a black man couldn’t win.

But now we’ve got a gay mayor who’s captured the hearts of the people.

Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist, don’t tell me you’re a Republican and you hate Buttigieg, you’re missing the point, you’re part of the problem. The point here is the media was out of touch and wrong.

Everybody keeps saying social media is the problem… What about the mainstream media? Not the one Sarah Palin attacked, but the one that is holier-than-thou and thinks it knows what’s going on when it doesn’t.

The story of the week is the expose on the Murdochs in the “New York Times Magazine.” How they could waste a year and deliver so little at such length is beyond me, but the article did illustrate the power of the media… As in “The Sun” might have pushed Brexit over the line. And when you tune in Fox News, it’s like an alternative universe. The conspiracy is on the left, to bring down Trump, and the result of the Mueller report should be a special prosecutor, to look into the Dems’ heinous behavior. Yup, they actually said this. And if you watch, you believe. Hell, you believed all the stuff your parents told you, didn’t you?

We live in a misinformation society. The TV is all talking heads, analyzing what the newspapers break, and the papers have their heads up their tushies and can’t see what is truly happening, they’ve got blind spots, they live in an echo chamber. No reporter’s got a name, so they’re not subject to blowback. I know this because I get it. Say anything political online and you’re gonna hear from the trolls, but those pontificating for the big boys are clueless.

But in such a fractured media world, how did Buttigieg get traction?

Well, politics is the only movie we’re all paying attention to. I read “Shazam” won the weekend, I can’t tell you what it’s about and I don’t care, the title says it all. I think it’s some kind of superhero movie, a fantasy for the masses too dumb to know they’re pawns in the game.

As for records, we’ve got the curious case of Billie Eilish. I like everything about it but the tunes. I mean they’re all right, but this is what the industry comes up with? We used to come up with jaw-droppers on a regular basis. Now we’ve got people following in footsteps playing to ever narrower niches. Imagine if some act decided to play to everybody, by doing it in a new way. That was the story of the Beatles. Everybody was asleep, Capitol even passed on the first album, but Brian Epstein pushed and the band broke through. It always comes down to one person who believes and pushes, without them you never make it.

But today’s musical acts shoot low. As long as the Soundcloud/Spotify crew approves of them, they’re satiated as they sign up sponsors and create hair products.

And then you’ve got the curious case of Beyonce, who waited a year to release her rave-reviewed appearance at Coachella. What, is this 1969 and Woodstock? You strike when the buzz is hot. But no, they had to get the marketing right. He who delays loses these days.

My point is we’ve got no Buttigieg in the music business. Maybe Ed Sheeran, but all the media does is piss on him, mainly because he’s so successful. Goes with the territory these days, but he’s selling songs when everybody else is selling beats, and he sings from the heart, what a concept.

But what this all means is you too can be a hero overnight.

Used to be you had to align with the machine. But the machine has lost its way. In every entertainment medium. Everybody’s so calculating, that nothing rings true. That’s the story of Hillary Clinton, she just didn’t seem authentic. Oh, don’t tell me she was the most qualified person for the job, I think so too, but if this was about credentials, Trump never would have won, but he did.

By saying what no one else would. They can swear on HBO, but not in the “New York Times,” why? Trump uses the f-word, whose ears are we protecting?

So Buttigieg went to Harvard and served in Afghanistan with the Navy. Hard to argue with that CV. Oh, I’m sure Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson and Trump will, but that’s not the point. You can’t convince those whose minds are closed, but those whose minds are open…

And Buttigieg stood up to Pence, who keeps getting a pass despite views outside of the mainstream. Hell, give George Clooney credit for standing up to the Sultan of Brunei. You want to be stoned for being gay? It happens there first, and here later. Like anti-Semitism. We thought it was something in Europe, but now it’s in the open here. And some people shrug. But the point is no one is immune.

And Buttigieg is gay.

And most people don’t care.

Gen-X and millennials grew up with gay people on MTV. You see, the media has influence, young and middle-aged people have got no problem with gay people, only old set in their way and marginalized people do. That’s the conundrum of America, how we’re moving forward and backward at the same time. We’ve got computers in our hands, but we’re using them to spew hatred and argue like we’re in grade school in the last century. Does anybody remember PROGRESS?

I’d like not to think of politics all day. But it’s the only story we all watch and talk about. We’ve all got something at risk. We’re all afraid of what the future will bring, no matter what side of the spectrum you’re on.

We stopped paying attention to movies. They’re niche products for the marginalized.

As for TV… It may be a golden age, but it’s still a one way medium. They make it and you watch it and even “Game of Thrones” garners a relatively small audience.

And music is all niche. The only ones with universal mindshare are the classic acts

Because we’ve got no Buttigieg.

He didn’t change his name for consumption.

This ain’t Hollywood, this is real life.

And the question is, if the media missed Buttigieg, focusing on Biden, what else is the media missing?

Plenty.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday April 9th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetz

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: LefsetzLive

We’re gonna run out of headliners.

I was looking at the ad for the Governors Ball, and once I got below the row of headliners, everyone was a nobody, or close to it. So you’d go to the festival to see the headliners. Can Tyler, The Creator really draw? Is Lil Wayne a bit long in the tooth? Brockhampton a top-liner? I don’t think so.

That’s Friday. On Saturday, you’ve got Florence + The Machine, Major Lazer and the 1975. The 1975 have not broken through in the U.S., however good they might be, Major Lazer is a great act, but their drawing power..?, and Florence + The Machine put out their first album in 2009, ten years ago, and then the landscape was totally different, now it’s fractured.

As for Sunday, the Strokes are has-beens, albeit from New York, Nas is a cipher and SZA is not a headliner.

Used to be the music of headliners was known by everybody, they might not like it, but they knew it. Today, no. Even amongst the younger generation these festivals appeal to. There is no MTV. Radio is not key, especially amongst this demo, you’re deep in your silo, there’s a good chance none of these headliners at the Governors Ball appeal to you. As for the undercard…pay all that money to see nobodies? I don’t think so.

Yes, live business is good. Because it provides an experience you cannot get online.

But despite all this hoopla about recorded music revenues bouncing back, the truth is no one dominates like they used to, despite the inane articles talking about Ariana Grande and others breaking “Billboard” records. Hell, even “Billboard” has no idea what it is anymore. With a dearth of industry advertising, it appeals to the hoi polloi. But the writing is so poor, does anybody get past the headlines? Used to be wannabes read “Billboard” and dreamed, now they’re’ better off reading “Pollstar” to find out what’s really going on.

But chances are they’re doing neither, they’re busy trying to become stars themselves. And they might not be playing music, they might try to become influencers.

And this is another thing the media gets wrong. They think that there’s one chart of popularity and it rules and we still care about actors. No, in today’s world authenticity is everything, and actors are inherently inauthentic, they play roles, who cares what they eat for lunch?

You’re better off following the Kardashians. They’re true to themselves and richer.

So, if you go the festival to hang and show off, headliners are not so important. But at this price, is the festival the best place to do that?

My point being we may see shrinkage. As it is, festivals are falling by the wayside. So, you end up with Coachella, Outside Lands, Lollapalooza and maybe ACL. After that… Hell, is Bonnaroo bouncing back this year purely because of Phish, a thirty year old act?

If you made it before the internet era, before it all blew apart, everybody’s aware of you, even if it’s just knowledge of your name and genre, like Phish. But go to the undercard on these festivals and most acts are unknown by everybody but the promoter. There’s not much there to appeal to you. And as time passes by, and the old acts die or fade away, who is going to replace them…NOBODY! No one has that kind of mindshare.

Rich Greenfield tweeted that “Grey’s Anatomy” pulled a 1.5 amongst the target demo, 18-49. That’s not even 2 million people! And sure, more watched it via DVR, but the point is even a show that made it before the great disintegration is viewed by a tiny sliver of Americans today. We’re all in our own niches. Meaning, one act may be able to do sold out business in arenas with a rabid fanbase, but that does not mean they have national mindshare. Hell, Ghost sold out the Forum in L.A. Heard of them? Believe me, only their fans and some insiders have.

So, I’m not saying that live business will crater, but I am saying that festivals will feel the hit. As we go on, there will be fewer and fewer headliners, no matter how good they might be, most of the public will not know them. Sure, there can be individuals holding their own festival, and theme festivals, but after that…

Well, maybe if the festival itself is a great experience irrelevant of the acts, but how many qualify as that?

We live in a changing world. Who cares about the increase of recording revenue. The media and the recording industry have been wrong ever since Napster.

According to the “Wall Street Journal,” Apple Music has 28 million paying subscribers in the U.S. and Spotify 26 million. Together, that’s 54 million in a country of just over 300 million. That’s pretty damn good. And didn’t we hear for years that no one was gonna pay for music anymore? What b.s. and lack of insight that demonstrated.

And it used to be that most people bought one CD a year. Now, they’ve got the entire history of recorded music at their fingertips, so this means more is listened to and it benefits niches. Forget what piece of the financial pie you end up with from the streaming service, there are many ways to monetize an audience, with live gigs and merchandise and…

But we’ve got a ton of cottage industry acts and a bunch of theatre acts only known by their fans and superstars who are not. The big acts today are playing minor league ball compared to the hitmakers of yesterday, they’re just not reaching as many people!

So when you see festival lineups and scratch your head, wondering about the draw, know that you’re not the only one, most everybody feels this way, youngsters too. It’s not the same value proposition it once was. So you’ve got to really love standing in the mud or sun or both, or you’re waiting to buy a ticket for the act that you really love at the building near you.

Or excising yourself from the scene entirely, turned off by ticket prices and the bad experience. That’s right, to a great degree live music is now a luxury item. Bars have canned music or dj’s and the clubs went out of business. So most people think twice about going. The business is evolving, and you’ve got to see around corners, or be left behind.