She’s not using consultants.

And she raised $19.1 million dollars last quarter, nearly as much as Biden and Buttigieg. Even more dramatically, she’s not doing the fat cat fundraisers and phone calls.

How did she do this? Via message, via credibility, via eschewing the conventional wisdom.

Message. That’s the song. It always comes down to the song. And if you’ve got one good enough, that’s not the usual dreck, when people hear it, they resonate.

In other words, the infrastructure doesn’t get it, but the public does.

The infrastructure has decided it’s all hip-hop all the time.

At this point hip-hop has had an almost forty year run, nearly as long as rock. Rock faded, will hip-hop?

That doesn’t matter. Although they are different. Hip-hop is about culture. It is oftentimes like professional wrestling. The players/wrestlers come and go, it’s more about the game. And some people, like Kanye, are so outrageous they draw in viewers. And there are beefs and…

Rock was never this kind of lifestyle, it was sometimes about attitude, but mostly about songs.

Sinatra and what came before…all about songs.

So, is there room for genres other than hip-hop? Don’t forget, the mainstream media, the infrastructure, said that Elizabeth Warren had no chance. But now there’s a good chance she’ll be the Democratic nominee.

Warren continued to hammer ideas, i.e. release new material, when no one was listening/paying attention. But her tsunami of policy proposals caught fire, and when attention shifted to her, she had a catalog. You always want a catalog, when people love your hit, they want to go back and check out what you’ve done before.

Then there comes credibility. This is a matter of ideas and behavior. Your message must hew to a consistent philosophy, message is always first. But then, you can do nothing that undermines that message. This is where music has lost the plot. First and foremost, what is the message? Furthermore, musicians are always willing to sell out to the highest bidder. Most usually the corporation. And the infrastructure says it makes no difference, but it does. When you sell out to the man, you become a professional wrestler, willing to do anything and everything, which screws up your message, and you’re not outside the system, but inside. Corporations are not your friend. Your goal is to stand up to them. What kind of bizarre world do we live in where Warren knows this, and “musicians” don’t.

And then it comes down to money. Conventional wisdom is you need the deep pockets of the label to break through. But Warren did it based on her fans.

And you need a slew of high-priced consultants to get the message out. I.e. the label and its radio promotion people and the indie promotion people and the video/TV person and… They’re bleeding you dry. Not only do they own your copyrights, they’re charging back most of this “work” to you, decimating your royalties.

And the label does it the old way in a new world.

Instead of buying TV ads, Warren spent the money on the ground, one to one, because that’s how you infect an audience today, by getting down to their level, by not talking down to them.

So Elizabeth Warren becomes a sui generis rock star. The kind we used to make in the music industry. Someone who is outside the system doing it her way.

They always say you don’t have the right look, the right presentation…Warren can’t win because she comes across as a schoolmarm. No, she appears dedicated and enthusiastic, she’s doing her act and her act only, she doesn’t care what others say. She’s a rock star. She pivoted in her early life, she developed over time, not like the nitwit twelve year olds we think will save music, will go to the top of the chart.

This is how it always happens with something new, something of substance, something outside that becomes inside. It begins off the radar screen, when no one says you’ve got a chance. And then, while the mainstream isn’t paying attention, it becomes an overnight sensation.

As for the Pocahontas thing… On the internet, there are new memes every day, almost nothing sticks. You just keep powering on. As for youthful behavior you now regret, have you seen this Cream ad for Falstaff beer?

Falstaff Beer Commercial

Elizabeth Warren don’t need no stinking label.

And she’s not complaining that the system is rigged against her, just that it’s rigged in general. You’ve got to speak truth, you’ve got to be an agent for change.

This portends the future of the music business. There won’t be a lock on the game by the usual suspects in the future. Maybe there might be new usual suspects, but not the same ones. The majors got Spotify to stop direct uploads, the streaming company’s investment in the marketing of acts. They call that leverage. Too often the old man employs it to keep the status quo. But still, in an era of change, there are ways around this.

That’s what the internet delivers.

We keep hearing the internet broke music. Quite the opposite, it provided a zillion opportunities! You can make your music cheaply with technology, post it online, and market it via the internet for free.

But you can only gain traction this way if you’ve got something to say.

Like Elizabeth Warren.

“Can Elizabeth Warren help break the political consulting cartel?”

“Lefsetz Live,” Tuesday July 9th, on Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive

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

My inbox is inundated with questions about the David Crosby movie. The name, where they can see it…

This proves to me three things:

1. The ineffectiveness of mainstream media.

2. The inability to Google.

3. The belief that if someone hears about something, they can see it immediately.

The name of the movie is: “David Crosby: Remember My Name.”
This is a link to the trailer:

David Crosby: Remember My Name

I read about the film in multiple publications, “Rolling Stone,” “The Wall Street Journal,” I must have seen it in six or seven places at least. Then I reached a breaking point and e-mailed Cameron Crowe for a link.

I truly believed my audience was aware of it. David Crosby is not an unknown. And, like I said, there’d been a good amount of press. Then again, I thought none of it captured the essence of the film, of Crosby, of his uniqueness, intelligence and willingness to go on record. Yes, I hoped my impassioned review would stimulate people to check it out. But the truth is that’s how I felt watching the movie, riveted, by someone who is still alive when the scene is not. What I mean is a “rock star” is something completely different today. First and foremost, rock stars are not rich, like they used to be. And it’s rich execs living the rock lifestyle, flying here and there to party and destroy stuff, not knowing the musicians did it to cope with boredom on the road. That’s right, people imitate the trappings, they can never get to the essence, which is why we have true rock stars to begin with! Secondly, most of today’s hit “acts” are doing it for the money and the fame. They’re eager to sell out. Crosby couldn’t sell out because first and foremost it was about the music and he was too edgy for any corporation to tie up with. In other words, the penumbra would detract from the music and the music is everything, music is love. Thirdly, today music doesn’t represent the same place in the universe. Back then it was everything, truth, today it’s background, for video games for selfie-taking, for…

So if you think your print campaign is working, you’re probably wrong. And it turns out the target demo for this flick is not reading “Rolling Stone” and other mainstream publications. Especially if they had to hear it from me.

It’s all trusted sources and word of mouth. And the truth is most of the usual media outlets have squandered their credibility, trying to be everything to all people, to be hip.

And today people never click through. As in a Google search would have immediately coughed up the info on the Crosby film. But that would be too much effort, you’ve got to make it easy, simple.

And the truth is this movie is being released theatrically on July 19th, in New York and L.A., When it will get to your burg…will it ever get to your burg?

And it’s played multiple film festivals, trying to drum up heat. And…

The big story of the summer in film distribution is the failure of “Booksmart.” It opened wide and instantly collapsed. Despite viewers adoring it. Would it have been a success if platformed? Maybe a bit more. But the truth is everything but comic book movies is best on TV. Then again, on TV you can reach everybody, but everybody can also ignore you. Maybe, if like HBO, Netflix released a new movie every Saturday night at 9, people would be accustomed to tune in, it would give these films attention and possibly legs.

So we’re in a moment of transition. Old school promotion is used because no one has really figured out new school promotion. And the hope is that by rolling out slowly, word will build on the Crosby film and therefore deliver eyeballs/attention/revenue.

Of course it will eventually hit streaming services. But I’ll tell you my own personal little dirty secret. I never watch these movies when they hit streaming services, it’s just too late, there are too many other things to watch, I’m already behind the buzz, why now? So I never see the blockbusters, even though if they were day and date on TV, even if I had to pay for them, I would, when the heat is hot and I’m able to be part of the discussion.

So, in other words, you can make it today and it can be great and still few know about it.

And people will only make a limited effort to search for something.

And it comes down to trusted filters. Which is why all those corporations are paying influencers. But who wants to sell out to the corporation, none of these influencers are originals willing to walk into the wilderness, they’ll do anything for a buck.

But David Crosby won’t.

Which is why people want to see this flick!

I just want a hit record, yeah
Wanna hear it on the radio
Want a big hit record, yeah
One that everybody’s got to know

“Overnight Sensation”
The Raspberries

I don’t stop hearing about Kamala Harris. Since the debate, she’s not only the talk of politicos, but the country. In just one little exchange she got traction. She was waiting in the wings for her moment, hadn’t gotten a lot of attention, but when the lights were on she delivered and became an overnight sensation, literally.

We don’t have those moments in the music business anymore.

Yup, at first I was gonna write about delivering each and every night, especially when the lights are upon you. You hear that story from managers all the time. They tell their acts to give it their all, no matter how many people are in the audience, and then it turns out some bigwig was there one night that was underattended and they proffer an offer and…

One of the biggest movies last year, which debuted on HBO last night, was “Bohemian Rhapsody.” And consensus is the highlight of the flick was Queen’s performance at Live Aid. We haven’t had a show with anywhere near that impact since Live 8, but that was in 2005. It was the last gasp of the old world. The highlight was the reunion of Pink Floyd. What could a concert feature today, the reunion of *NSYNC?

But Live Aid came during the height of MTV. It cemented the outlet’s place in the firmament. It had started as a derided AOR TV station that was unavailable in many markets. But then Duran Duran became overnight sensations with its videos and the station broadened its playlist to include Michael Jackson and if you didn’t have MTV before Live Aid, you certainly signed up for it after.

Actually, it was free. Like radio. As long as you had a cable account.

But in the nineties MTV became a caricature of itself, and then at the turn of the century Napster came along to blow a hole in the paradigm, and after the last gasp of MTV/VH1 dominance at the beginning of the 2000s, breaking Coldplay, Radiohead and Dave Matthews, it’s been all niche all the time.

Not that they’re not trying to convince us otherwise.

Then again, if Chance the Rapper or Kendrick Lamar got that level of exposure, would they become household names too?

Actually, Kendrick appeared on the Grammys. It did not cross him over beyond his core audience.

Then again, the Grammys don’t mean what they used to. Remember when it would supercharge careers? Notably with Bonnie Raitt and then Lauryn Hill? That doesn’t happen anymore. Maybe because we live in an era of streaming as opposed to sales, but I’d argue the Grammys don’t have the impact of the debates, there’s nothing at stake. Acts self-promote and appeal to their niche, and there it stops.

So I checked the ratings.

Night two of the debates was watched by 18.1 million viewers, as well as 9 million streamers.

The 2019 Grammy Awards had 19.8 million viewers, but only a 5.6 rating amongst adults 18-49, which was actually a decrease from the year before. Meaning the Grammys are a show for oldsters, turns out youngsters are streaming or doing anything but watching CBS at that hour.

But even if they were, when was the last time someone made it via a Grammy performance? Especially when you’ve got all these mash-ups/duets…instead of special Grammy moments, they’re turn-offs. It would be like in the middle of the debate Harris and Biden reenacted Kennedy’s inauguration speech. Nobody cares!

In other words, music has given up its stranglehold on the American public.

Not only was there Live Aid, but late night television, which featured musical performances. A great performance on late night Letterman could truly boost your career. Word of mouth would spread.

And then you’ve got the Beatles nailing it three Sundays in a row on “Ed Sullivan.” Almost everybody tuned in, especially youngsters, who can still wax rhapsodic about the experience.

All this proves that politics is the story of the age, with so much on the line.

And somehow the music industry is not resonating with the public. It’s more like governors and state legislatures, which are either red or blue, the south being red and…that’s right, you’re a monster performer in one state, amongst one demo, but not another. How did we get so far from the garden?

So I ask you… Who is out there, plying the boards, who you believe is one exposure away from going gangbusters. The last person who did this, was Lady Gaga. Who made it on EDM-based tracks but then broadened her purview to include Tony Bennett, she went on tour with him. And then, not having a hit in eons, she scored in “A Star Is Born” and now she’s a legend. Beyond hits. Kinda like Barbra Streisand.

Then again, Gaga can convey her message, her essence, just alone at the piano. She’s the act, she needs nothing more.

And in the first decade of this century, all the hipsters were railing against “American Idol.” But it did yield Kelly Clarkson. Now TV music shows get lower ratings and don’t break stars whatsoever. Then again, they’re singing shows. Lady Gaga does more than sing.

So we don’t have the acts and we don’t have the opportunities.

But I’ll tell you, acts are not born fully-formed. Managers and labels help mold them, give them their shot.

The Allman Brothers were a live act with little impact in recordings. Then they recorded “Live At Fillmore East” and became instant legends.

So Harris, Gaga and the Allmans were all hiding in plain sight. And when they got their moment they delivered. Can you say “Whipping Post”?

We need acts with this potential.

And we need opportunities to expose them to a broad audience.

But we don’t have these opportunities either.

When the Raspberries released “Overnight Sensation,” if you were on the radio everybody knew you.

Today, you can be #1 on radio or Spotify and a great swath of America is clueless.

This needs to change.