Bob,

Thank you for amplifying and contextualizing this. As someone who started out in the theater, I can attest to how profound and necessary it is for us to gather in the same physical space and tell our stories. Like music, theater is one of our oldest forms of communicating with each other. It is communal and present – the opposite of the self-isolating digital echo box. It’s a place where we are free to confront our shared truths in both their beauty and ugliness. It is the confluence of both freedom speech and freedom of assembly.

The best theater, like the best music, cannot exist when it is constrained by the fear of those holding the purse strings. Sure, Delta and Bank of America are not obligated to donate to a not-for-profit theater. But by so publicly removing their support in reaction to the vocal dissent of right-wingers who have not even seen the play, they are sending a strong message that the arts should be punished for taking risks.

It is the PURPOSE of art to provoke at the risk of offending. We cannot access the truth and challenge assumptions otherwise. And for those who think that art should stay out of politics, you’ve got it wrong. ALL art is political, insomuch as every artist is working from his or her own experience and point-of-view, which is either consciously or subconsciously political. Life is political. And it is the artist’s job to “hold a mirror up to nature”, as Shakespeare so eloquently taught us in Hamlet.

I think it’s pretty amazing that a play which is over four centuries old has remained so relevant and controversial. That’s what makes the best art immortal – its grasp on the universal aspects of humanity are so true that we never tire of returning to it. Shakespeare took risks. Kings and Queens raided and shut down his theater. He could have gotten tried for treason. But he persisted, and the groundlings couldn’t get enough. He spoke truth to power, and that’s why his work is still with us today.

Finally, I wanted to share with you the statement that the Public Theater sent to its supporters today. It’s nobility and courage is inspiring. An organization that has bringing free Shakespeare to the public for decades knows a thing or two about integrity and class:

A NOTE ABOUT JULIUS CAESAR AT THE DELACORTE

The Public Theater stands completely behind our production of Julius Caesar. We understand and respect the right of our sponsors and supporters to allocate their funding in line with their own values. We recognize that our interpretation of the play has provoked heated discussion; audiences, sponsors and supporters have expressed varying viewpoints and opinions.

Such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically-engaged theater; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy. Our production of Julius Caesar in no way advocates violence towards anyone. Shakespeare’s play, and our production, make the opposite point: those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save. For over 400 years, Shakespeare’s play has told this story and we are proud to be telling it again in Central Park.

 

I’m grateful that the Public Theater exists. And I’m grateful for all the artists past and present who have not cowered in the face of fear.

Beau Willimon

I just read a great article in “Bloomberg Businessweek” on Adobe. It used to sell its Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop and Illustrator, for $1300-$1600. But then it switched to a subscription model and its user base went INSANE! They started a Change.org petition, 50,000 people signed it. And in the following year, 2013, Adobe’s revenue shrank 8% and was flat the year thereafter. But last year, revenue was $5.9 billion, up from $4 billion in 2013, and 80% of that came from subscriptions.

You see Adobe was sick of reinventing the wheel. Having to come up with whiz-bang products every year or so to convince people to fork over that $1300-$1600. But if they could get them to pay $50 every month… Voila! Revenue increase! Just like the music business.

Now if someone buys a CD or a file, they can play it to their heart’s content and the purveyors, the label, act and writers, never get another penny… FOREVER! Sure, you get a lump sum immediately, but Uncle Sam takes a tax bite and you think the gravy train is gonna last forever and you end up broke. But what if you could get paid every time your track was listened to for the rest of your life, and beyond. Wouldn’t that be great? They call that streaming. And the key to streaming is the more people who subscribe, the more revenue goes up. So if we could just force people to sign up for streaming services…

There’s no reason to sell CDs, other than to generate revenue and placate rearguard consumers. And in business, when done right, consumers are always behind the curve. If you’re following your consumers, you’re screwed. You’ve got to get ahead of them, confound them, that’s what great business leaders do. First consumers are confused and angry, then they embrace that which they did not know they wanted and you become RICH!

You can’t even find a CD drive in a car. My two computers?? No CD drive. But some jerk boomer manager insisted on sending me his act’s CD, he refused to put the music on SoundCloud or Spotify, he needed to feel good about sending me physical product, got angry when I said no, BUT WHERE WAS I SUPPOSED TO PLAY IT?

Oh, I’ve got a CD player at home, but I’m rarely there, you’ve got to make it convenient for me. And I tell you this story not to denigrate this jerk, although his hubris pissed me off, but to tell you you’ve got to get out of the hole you’re in, embrace the new paradigms, it’s where the revenue comes from.

So we stop making CDs in three months. Give it six. OF COURSE WE’RE GONNA LOSE REVENUE! But where are those people gonna go? Do you really think they’re gonna stop listening?

And same deal on files. You can’t even buy an iPod anymore. MP3 stopped supporting the technology. They take up too much space. Don’t tell me you need them in case you’re out of cell signal range, that just demonstrates your ignorance, you can synch thousands of tracks to your mobile device, as long as it has juice you can listen in the Sahara or at the top of Everest.

Once again, we’re fighting ignorance, we’re fighting history, we’re moving our entire audience en masse into the future, where is here NOW!

Believe me, when they can’t buy CDs or files, people will check out streaming services. I don’t care which one, Apple, Spotify, Tidal… They’ll want in on the action, the same way everybody signed up for AOL in the nineties, the same way oldsters embraced Facebook. And with a larger subscriber base, more money comes in! As for Spotify’s free tier, the only reason it exists at all is conversion. Do you think rights holders like free tiers? Of course not, but Daniel Ek demonstrates they cause conversion to paid subscription. And, the free tier on mobile, the platform of choice, is crippled, so it incentivizes conversion. And once you’re hooked…churn is low. You get addicted to hearing all the music.

That’s another thing that gets Adobe customers hooked. They don’t have to wait a year for new features, the software company rolls them out on a regular basis. The same way music is released on a regular basis. When it’s all available you get exposed to new stuff, and embrace it. And want to listen more and go to the show and buy merch and…

This is not a new paradigm in the music business. It’s killed old formats on a regular basis. Played your cassettes recently? And please don’t bore me with vinyl, that’s a fetishistic sideshow. Keep making it, I don’t care, it doesn’t affect the business. As for sound quality, it keeps improving, you can listen in CD quality on Tidal and Deezer Elite, assuming you’re willing to pay for it, but expect prices to come down and for more outlets to offer it. So if you’re complaining about sound, you’re either cheap or ignorant.

You want revenue to go up, don’t you?

This is basic economics, this is Digital Disruption 101. You forgo profits today to reap rewards tomorrow. Getting that ten bucks from more people every month, whew! Think of all the cash!

I implore everybody in the rights business to take this seriously. To kill files and CDs. When did this business become so rearguard, so fearful, so safe? Used to be music was the bleeding edge, now you find that in television, which takes much longer to make. When you lead, people pay attention, and they PAY!

“How Adobe Got Its Customers Hooked On Subscriptions – The switch to the cloud was risky, but revenue is way up”

That’s the reason I sent that Bonnaroo report yesterday, to illustrate it’s not the baby boomers’ business anymore, it’s not even Generation X’s.

We’ve been inundated with stories about the survival of classic rock bands, their road numbers, and the legacies of the early MTV acts, this is obscuring a fact that is becoming self-evident, the millennials have taken over. While boomers debated online music, decried Napster, bought iPods and then believed in files, the millennials weren’t even paying attention. File-trading was de rigueur and streaming is now the standard. It’s the oldsters who are reluctant to sign up for Spotify, not the youngsters, which is why the U.S. Top Fifty contains acts you’ve never heard of and don’t want to hear, because you’re still living in the last century, maybe even the first decade of this century, but it’s now 2017.

Maybe you caught the ascension of Kanye, his attack upon Taylor Swift, the sideshow. You’d seen it before, rap artist and teen phenom. But that obscured what was really going on. Hell, Kanye committed his faux pas at the MTV Video Music Awards. When was the last time you watched MTV? Do you even know what channel it is on? And when was the last time you even watched the VMAs, admit it, you stopped half a decade or so ago, when you no longer recognized the acts, which are all evanescent popsters.

That’s the new world.

The classic acts are irrelevant. Do you even know that Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie have a new album? They’re much more famous than all the acts on the top of the chart, but they haven’t even reached six digits on all tracks but one on Spotify. BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT LISTENING! You either didn’t sign up or don’t care or both. And the point is if you’re waiting for boomer acts to rescue the business, to bring rock back, to have an impact, you’re DREAMING! It almost doesn’t matter whether their new material is good or bad, MILLENNIALS DON’T CARE!

We keep hearing that there are no headliners. While Rihanna and rappers sell out arenas. Come on, you want an up close and personal experience, you don’t even want to go if you’re in the front row, not with 20,000 others. BUT THEY DO! It’s a tribal rite wherein they take selfies and document their adventures and bask in the glow of the new music.

Kind of like the EDM scene. How would you know what’s going on, ever been to a rave, never mind EDC? You’re clueless! Which is fine, because you’re old. But don’t crap on the youngsters.

The youngsters don’t expect the acts to last. And they don’t care about the album. And they care a lot about the backstory, the feuds, they research these acts on Wikipedia, follow them online. They just need something to listen to, they don’t care if it’s what they were listening to last week or the year before. And they don’t even care what the genre is, as long as it’s popular. They want to belong. They want to know what their brethren are listening to. And the experience is different. You sat in front of the stereo with your seeds and stems and nodded to the album. They take their music everywhere, it’s in the air, it’s the soundtrack to their multifarious lives.

And these are the same millennials pissed about college debt. The same millennials who threw a monkey wrench in the election on both the left and the right. That’s the story of 2016, how both the Republicans and the Democrats were clueless. How Sanders and Trump made such inroads. But Hillary keeps complaining it was somebody else’s fault and the Republicans are dumbstruck, unclear whether to follow Trump to the abyss or stand up for what they used to. Even Rubio is defending Trump!

And then there’s acquisition and driving. Boomers are about owning things. Remember the aphorism “He who dies with the most toys wins.”? Millennials don’t want to own ANYTHING, not even a car. They consume services, which they expect to be on demand. And why waste time going to a retail store when it can all be delivered to your house and sent back for free.

Of course there are exceptions, of course there are young shoppers and drivers, but we are concerned with the trends. And while the oldsters weren’t looking, the millennials took over. It wasn’t a coup, they don’t care about the aged, they just kept marching forward in their own direction, and with their mass and attention and spending power they moved the needle. Not only do you not see classic rock acts in the Top Fifty, you don’t see jam bands. You’ve got Max Martin saying songs have to hook you immediately and have multiple hooks and you’ve got rock bands with thirty second intros with lame vocals. Did you think this was gonna go on forever?

The change happened in plain sight.

Some people adjusted. Like Live Nation. Last year attendance at Bonnaroo was abysmal. So this year they stacked the stage with blue chips and youngsters, to see if the festival was viable. Even Coachella, going with Beyonce and then ultimately Gaga. It’s a young people’s business, they’re the ones supporting it, and you either play to them or…

You’re history.

 

From: Tom Forrest
Subject: Bonnaroo Winners and Losers

 

Bob,

Long time reader in Nashville. Just got back from Bonnaroo. Started going in 2007. Even though I am in the Industry, I go with all non-industry guys who love music. Most of the our crew have been going 10+ years and roll 10+ hrs a day. 2017 was by far the most transformative year for Bonnaroo that I have seen and mostly for the better.

 

Winners

The Fans: There was a noticeably big increase in attendance this year. The fans wanted a more relevant line up, got one and came. Chance, The Weeknd and all the EDM shows were by far the main draw. As with every year, the kids were kind, energetic and having fun.

Chance the Rapper: Kept telling my crew that Chance was the main draw not U2 or RHCP. They looked at me like I was crazy but 95% of the ‘Rooers were all in on Chance. We squeezed way in on house right but soon bailed. It was a mosh pit 300 yards out. The Tennessean called Chance: the King of Bonnaroo this morning

The Other Stage: There were several modest changes in the Bonnaroo layout that were good. Centeroo was divided up some to make it less cumbersome to navigate, Hamegeddon moved as to not clog up tragic in front of Which Stage, THIS Tent moved to a better graded spot for better sight lines BUT by far the biggest addition was the changing The OTHER Tent to THE OTHER STAGE. The Other Stage is almost as big as the WHAT Stage (main) and 100% dedicated to EMD acts. The change went from a 5k tent to a 25-30k outdoor EDM stage. The kids loved it and was always packed.

Live Nation was the big winner. They took a festival that was running out of acts for an aging Hippie/Dead/Phish jam generation and gave it new life. Gone were the middling aging Americana acts or aging rockers on their 4th comeback tour that can’t sing anymore. Almost all the artists performing seemed currently relevant that a younger audience would know about. The best Bonnaroo weather ever will also certainly help Live Nation secure new fans for years to come. You could not help but have a good time. Here are the acts I thought killed it: Mondo Cosmo, Car Seat Headrest, Lucas Nelson, Joseph, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Cage the Elephant. Best find: Boyfriend who performed in Christmas Barn.

 

Losers

U2: Don’t believe the hype of Rolling Stone and other bloggers. U2 was not a bust at Bonnaroo but it was by far not an epic moment as described. U2 were not the reason the majority of fans were there for. Both Chance and RHCP had double the audience. From my perspective, Bono seemed frustrated with the crowd for not knowing his songs. Bono pontificated after most songs and was struggling to know how far he could push it with the audience. He seemed to be holding back wanting to go off on Trump. At the end of the show Bono told everyone to go to bed and yelled “Fuck” into the mic. I am a U2 fan but Bono was off. The other half of the crowd that was not at U2 was taking a break before the next show at the OTHER Stage. The other thing Bono forgot is that its always someone first time seeing your show or hearing your music. Bono did very little to embrace that portion of the audience which was by far the most U2 has experienced in quite awhile.

This Tent/ That Tent: It was great to be able to see so many great acts up close in THIS Tent and THAT tent. In past years, you could not get close on the good acts but when the OTHER stage has 25k kids at it all day long, something has to give. Win for me.

The old Bonnaroo Hippie Spirit: The old time Bonnaroo hippies were noticeably absent. Its like they vanished. Very few tie die shirts. It was most noticeable on High Five Friday when the vast majority of the audience did not know what the custom was of high fives on Friday. The old hippie guard was not there to keep it rolling. Let’s hope that kind hippie spirit lives on regardless.

Ominous signs of Coachella: EDM is one thing. Its evident that kids love it and I like it. But I started to see signs of kids want to glam up Bonnaroo and make it a fashion statement. I do not think the trend will stick however, its too hard to camp in the dust, rain and mud for 4 days and be fashionable. Wait till next year when the heat and rain are back.

 

My thoughts might not make all that much sense but wanted to write them down and share.

Tom Forrest
Bonnaroo Fan
Nashville, TN

Now I know where not to bank & who not to fly with. Actions like this create a culture of fear. We must support free expression, not punish. https://t.co/GYYs4Fw8TG

— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) June 12, 2017

 

UPDATE: @BankofAmerica joins @Delta in pulling sponsorship of @PublicTheaterNY over Trump-themed #JuliusCaesar. https://t.co/Ln2LBz7GpU

— BroadwayWorld (@BroadwayWorld) June 12, 2017

 

The great bifurcation has begun. All that hogwash about the corporation being your friend, all that b.s. about getting Amex and Citi to sponsor your tour… They are not on your team and you’re corrupting yourself by making that deal. The role of an artist is not to get rich, BUT TO SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER!

Come on, we hated United and the stock went up. We’ve got such short memories. We pray at the altar of money, but now there’s even something richer at play, FEAR!

Everybody’s afraid. Say anything against our President and your inbox will go berserk, your Twitter feed will start scrolling, because that’s one thing the right does the left does not, which is endless gotcha, endless pushback. And if we’re waiting for the Democrats to get their act together, we might as well give up. It’s time FOR US TO LEAD!

Time to call the corporations out.

Or, as we said back in the sixties…WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

This is art folks. This is not the Koch Brothers spreading false information about climate change, this is not polluting, this is not killing, this is people using their brains to make a statement. It matters not a whit whether it’s right or wrong, that’s their prerogative. And, of course, it’s the prerogative of corporations to pull sponsorship, but are we now equating art with O’Reilly’s sexual harassment? No one was standing up defending Bill, but the New York Public Theater, which premiered “Hamilton”?? One of our most august arts institutions? This is what the division in our country has come to, that blue chips have to run scared, be worried about what they present?

And the weasels who run the corporations are clueless, so far removed from the rank and file they don’t know how to behave. And the dirty little secret is it doesn’t take many complaints for them to be scared and take action. TV networks get A COUPLE of complaints and they go into a tizzy, cancel shows, kick people off. That’s the power of speaking up. And you need to speak up about this, because they’re coming for you next, that’s right!

As for all you right wing wankers complaining about free speech on campus… The inability of extremists like Coulter, Milo and Murray to speak, what have you got to say about this? Oh, you’re gonna say no one’s stopping them from mounting the play, but the truth is this is gonna put a huge dent in the Public Theater’s ability to continue.

They call this a chilling event.

Our whole nation is chilled. Because Agent Orange is coming after you, and if it’s not him it’s his minions, the rich and disadvantaged who would rather have you starve than pay another penny in taxes, give another cent to welfare.

Taxes? They pay for roads and infrastructure.

Welfare? Give people a leg up and they don’t rob you and they become model citizens benefiting society. When did it all become about mine for me?

But the point is artists and corporations were never on the same side. An artist may be anxious about a statement, but that does not mean they pull back, they put it out there. And oftentimes what you’re worried about most resonates, happens to me all the time, I think I’m gonna be excoriated and my inbox fills up with hosannas. But that’s assuming you’re playing at all, that you’re not too scared to take a risk.

But everybody’s scared. Everybody’s playing it safe. Especially these corporations dominating the world, run by overpaid nitwits convinced they know better.

They don’t.

I know better than them because I’m hearing from thousands of people all the time. Believe me, my inbox would horrify and elate you all at the same time.

That’s what happens when you’re on the front lines.

Reporters are faceless, they’ve got no idea what’s going on.

And neither do the CEOs.

But we’ve got boots on the ground. Which is why Twitter and other online resources are so important. That’s where I found out about this aberration. From Beau Willimon, the creator of “House of Cards,” whom I respect.

Who do you respect?

Follow them, encourage them, push them to take a risk. And support them when they hang it out there. Because we’re about to lose freedom of speech not through law or protest but through the chilling effect of the Administration’s blowback.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

And if you think I’m kidding, you’re a nincompoop without a backbone who never took a stand.

That’s the question of 2017…WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?