{"id":1922,"date":"2009-05-04T14:17:55","date_gmt":"2009-05-04T22:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=1922"},"modified":"2009-05-04T14:18:28","modified_gmt":"2009-05-04T22:18:28","slug":"how-david-beats-goliath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/04\/how-david-beats-goliath\/","title":{"rendered":"How David Beats Goliath"},"content":{"rendered":"

How bad do you want it?<\/span>
How bad do you want it?<\/span>
How bad do you want it?<\/span>
Not bad enough<\/span><\/p>\n

"How Bad Do You Want It?"
Don Henley<\/p>\n

Craig Kallman asked me if Malcolm Gladwell was a subscriber.<\/p>\n

I told him I didn’t know, there was almost no way to tell.\u00c2\u00a0 The more famous the person, the more obscure the e-mail address.\u00c2\u00a0 I gave up cruising the sign-ups eons ago, it’s hard to decipher who most of these people are.\u00c2\u00a0 The only way I know if someone’s reading is if they e-mail me, or another person relays a story.<\/p>\n

Which is what Craig did.\u00c2\u00a0 He told me whenever I wrote about Gladwell he forwarded it to him, and received notes in response. If I wanted to, we could all have dinner the next time we were in New York.<\/p>\n

ABSOLUTELY!<\/p>\n

An evening was scheduled.\u00c2\u00a0 We met at the restaurant at the appointed time.\u00c2\u00a0 It was me, Craig, Felice, Malcolm…and a woman Malcolm was waiting for.<\/p>\n

Scrunched in by the bar, I noticed something immediately, conversation was not fluid.\u00c2\u00a0 I figured Malcolm was preoccupied with the arrival of his friend, and when Craig wanted to discuss the Ticketmaster\/Live Nation merger and where this left Atlantic Records, I turned to him and conversed, for around half an hour, until our table was finally ready.<\/p>\n

Felice bonded with Malcolm’s friend over their respective ACL surgeries.\u00c2\u00a0 And when we finally sat down at the table, I got a vibe…\u00c2\u00a0 We were going to leave our identities at the door, this was going to be a friends evening.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no way to alienate a celebrity more than delving into their work, they oftentimes become uptight and raise a barrier, which is never ever lowered.<\/p>\n

It was revealed that Malcolm loved the Elvis Costello show, "Spectacle".\u00c2\u00a0 I ranted for a few minutes, figuring by stating my complaints a debate about the series would be engendered.\u00c2\u00a0 But that never happened.\u00c2\u00a0 Malcolm acknowledged my opinion, and after a few moments of silence, the subject was changed.<\/p>\n

And then dinner was finished.\u00c2\u00a0 And I had an internal debate.\u00c2\u00a0 Should I ask my one big question, the one that had been haunting me for months, whether you were fucked if you switched gears and entered a new territory, after devoting 10,000 hours to one?<\/p>\n

I took the risk.<\/p>\n

The change was stunning.\u00c2\u00a0 Suddenly, this wiry Canadian turned into "Malcolm Gladwell".\u00c2\u00a0 The gentleman you see on television, the confident storyteller.\u00c2\u00a0 Malcolm said you got credit, that the hours were transferable, because those who devoted this amount of time to a pursuit were self-selecting.<\/p>\n

BINGO!<\/p>\n

In other words, it’s hard, and lonely, to put in 10,000 hours.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve seen the Olympic athletes on TV, they send a crew to shoot footage prior to the quadrennial games and the sportsman or woman is running down an abandoned highway in the middle of summer, shvitzing up enough sweat to fill a swimming pool.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to be great, you have to not only work, but sacrifice. You can’t spend endless hours somnambulant in front of the TV screen, you can’t go out partying every night.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to dedicate yourself to your pursuit.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is what Malcolm did.<\/p>\n

He used to be a reporter for the "Washington Post".\u00c2\u00a0 For a decade.\u00c2\u00a0 He told us about dictating a story, exactly how it appeared in print, upon deadline.\u00c2\u00a0 Coldly, calmly, Malcolm spoke into the telephone.\u00c2\u00a0 He didn’t say he couldn’t perform, he didn’t freak out.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, he didn’t even think about the challenge.\u00c2\u00a0 He’d been groomed for it.\u00c2\u00a0 By himself, by his experience.<\/p>\n

Then Felice asked Malcolm about his TED speech.<\/p>\n

Malcolm winced.\u00c2\u00a0 He said he was so much better now.\u00c2\u00a0 He’d learned that what an audience wanted first and foremost was story.\u00c2\u00a0 This reminded me of Don Hewitt speaking of "60 Minutes".\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what he said the success of the show was based on, storytelling.<\/p>\n

In other words, it’s not that hard to assemble the facts.\u00c2\u00a0 But how can you convey them in a way that intrigues your audience?<\/p>\n

Malcolm went on to tell us a story he’d been relaying to groups, about David vs. Goliath.\u00c2\u00a0 How David can always beat the giant, if he puts in the effort.\u00c2\u00a0 I asked him to globalize this concept, to the economic crisis, but Malcolm begged off and the dinner was over.\u00c2\u00a0 But what Malcolm stated remained with me.\u00c2\u00a0 Was it possible, could David truly beat Goliath?<\/p>\n

Goliath is the establishment.\u00c2\u00a0 Which has a set of rules to keep itself in power.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re willing to work really hard, you can beat the system.\u00c2\u00a0 But it requires a lot of effort.<\/p>\n

Today I got an e-mail from the "New Yorker".\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve been a subscriber since the seventies.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t read every line, there wouldn’t be enough time to read "Automobile" or "Ski" or "National Geographic Explorer" or "Vanity Fair".\u00c2\u00a0 But I always comb the table of contents, looking for interesting nuggets.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, especially on planes, or in stolen moments, I start in on an article that appears unappealing but ends up riveting me, because it’s so well-written!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what most magazines lack.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll give you the information, but it’s delivered in a pedestrian style that doesn’t make your heart sing or cause a lump in your throat to form.\u00c2\u00a0 Great writing should be able to be about ANYTHING!<\/p>\n

So I’m perusing the "New Yorker" e-mail and the first article listed is "Malcolm Gladwell on how David Beats Goliath".<\/p>\n

The "New Yorker" is so afraid of the digital age that its online reader is essentially unusable.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m paying and it’s too frustrating to employ.\u00c2\u00a0 But Googling, wanting to read this article before the magazine arrives, I found that this star piece of journalism was available free, for all to read.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what you do, lead with the best.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t give away the crap, but your HIT!<\/p>\n

The article starts off with basketball.<\/p>\n

I know where he’s going, I’ve heard this story LIVE!<\/p>\n

Alas with different emphases.\u00c2\u00a0 More on Columbia University and its exclusion of Jews.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what the extensive application is all about, keeping down the number of Jews.\u00c2\u00a0 And now Asians.\u00c2\u00a0 Because when it was all about statistics, and Ivy League schools didn’t know the true identities of the eventual attendees, they found that Jews were taking up the spots in ever-increasing amounts, and lacking prep school educations like the WASPs, they were grinding, catching up and surpassing the scions of industry, and this just couldn’t happen, the old institution, the old ways had to PREVAIL!<\/p>\n

That’s the David vs. Goliath story.\u00c2\u00a0 The man keeping the system the same.<\/p>\n

Gladwell’s "New Yorker" piece began with the tale of how an unknowledgeable coach of a girl’s basketball team brought his unskilled charges to the national championship, by challenging the accepted notions of how to play the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than start with skills, the coach focused on the full-court press, conditioning was more important to this cause than years of training the girls missed and could not replace.<\/p>\n

Like Napster.\u00c2\u00a0 All night coding sessions by college students brought down an entire industry.\u00c2\u00a0 The labels had a formula, all boiling down to the overpriced CD.\u00c2\u00a0 But if someone did what was seen as socially unpopular, making the music free, and put in the effort to write the program that achieved this, the labels, the Goliath in this story, were fucked.<\/p>\n

That’s what happened.\u00c2\u00a0 Those seen as powerless, not given an iota’s worth of attention, decimated the major labels.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, it’s happening in all kinds of industries now.\u00c2\u00a0 Teams of online denizens search for gotcha moments and expose the frailties of companies.\u00c2\u00a0 Goliaths, like Domino’s Pizza, are caught flat-footed, they’re beaten by those they never even took seriously.<\/p>\n

So you can beat the major labels, you can beat most of the infrastructure in the music industry today, because these people just aren’t working that hard.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got families, they go on vacation, they like to play golf.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas you’ve got nothing but time and a computer, you can work 24\/7 to break your band.\u00c2\u00a0 And you’ve got the tools to do it!\u00c2\u00a0 Pro Tools.\u00c2\u00a0 Exhibition and distribution online.\u00c2\u00a0 Today’s acts can give away their music, it’s their choice.\u00c2\u00a0 The labels HATE them for this, the old acts HATE them for this!\u00c2\u00a0 John Mellencamp wants a return to the old days.\u00c2\u00a0 But the old days are gone.<\/p>\n

But at least Mellencamp put in the effort, that’s why he’s so good.<\/p>\n

Are you that good?<\/p>\n

Probably not.<\/p>\n

Anyone can have a MySpace page, Facebook too.\u00c2\u00a0 They can tweet about their gigs, can add people to mailing lists that they never asked to be put on.\u00c2\u00a0 But none of this covers up the music.\u00c2\u00a0 Have you put in enough effort such that your music is truly great?<\/p>\n

Lindsay Lohan didn’t.\u00c2\u00a0 Nor did Hilary Duff.\u00c2\u00a0 Britney’s a performer.\u00c2\u00a0 The Spice Girls are a joke.\u00c2\u00a0 Dr. Dre put in the hours, but so many acts working with these beat specialists have a desire to be rich and famous, but that’s about it.\u00c2\u00a0 Desire to make it is important, but it must be accompanied with effort, with ACHIEVEMENT!<\/p>\n

The Goliaths believe in top-down marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s easy to beat them, it’s very simple.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to start at the bottom and have patience.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got no patience, they need profits NOW!\u00c2\u00a0 The Goliaths believe their money will triumph, that if you build it, they can buy it.\u00c2\u00a0 But the Net is rife with stories of acts that have been abused by their labels.\u00c2\u00a0 And what can a label provide other than little listened-to radio and TV play that doesn’t move the needle.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t want that, it doesn’t satiate your audience!<\/p>\n

You’ve got to get really good and convince fans one by one.\u00c2\u00a0 Not by dunning them, but by attracting them, by being so damn great.<\/p>\n

I didn’t read the "Tipping Point" because Malcolm called me, or because someone sent it to me, I felt the buzz.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is hard to manufacture.\u00c2\u00a0 Or, if you do manufacture it, it doesn’t last.\u00c2\u00a0 Now I’m a fan.\u00c2\u00a0 I thought "Blink" was a step down from "Tipping Point", but "Outliers" is a complete return to form, the same way the band’s third album convinces you, the first was not a fluke, they truly are good!<\/p>\n

But how many bands get to a third album today?<\/p>\n

And, let’s not forget, Gladwell had a decade at the "Washington Post", when his national profile was almost nil.<\/p>\n

He paid his dues.\u00c2\u00a0 He invented his own genre.\u00c2\u00a0 Now he’s reaping the rewards.<\/p>\n

Don’t complain about the system, don’t bitch that you can’t make it.\u00c2\u00a0 That just indicates to me that you haven’t put in enough time.\u00c2\u00a0 Because if you’re truly good, people will find you.\u00c2\u00a0 Genius is learned, you’re not born with it.\u00c2\u00a0 If you write a song every day and perform every night for fifteen years, you will no longer suck.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, there are issues of timing.\u00c2\u00a0 THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES!<\/p>\n

Can you stay the course when times are tough?\u00c2\u00a0 Can you live in an apartment as opposed to a house, can you drive an old car?\u00c2\u00a0 Can you avoid applying to graduate school? Can you not get fucked up at night so you can work clear-headed tomorrow?\u00c2\u00a0 Can you not have children so you can focus on your work?<\/p>\n

In other words, can you work hard and SACRIFICE?<\/p>\n

The legends did.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t see why you should get a pass.<\/p>\n

Actually, it doesn’t matter what I think, the public at large will decide your fate.<\/p>\n

The public decided radio sucked.\u00c2\u00a0 Decided CDs were overpriced too.<\/p>\n

How have the industries reacted?\u00c2\u00a0 Radio still has twenty two minutes of commercials an hour and the playlists are boring. Online albums cost about as much as physical ones, even though the sound is second-rate and there are no production or shipping costs.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you think the public doesn’t know this?\u00c2\u00a0 At least Amazon was smart enough to sell Kindle books below wholesale…otherwise it doesn’t make sense!<\/p>\n

I’m a Gladwell fan.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s earned my trust.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d rather read his work than listen to the musings of your son\/best friend\/lover\/college buddy who’s enlisted you in his effort to break through musically.\u00c2\u00a0 Great stuff always breaks through.\u00c2\u00a0 But right now, those willing to sacrifice, to work really hard, tend to be in the tech sphere.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re not getting the best and the brightest in music.\u00c2\u00a0 Because the Goliaths have stacked the deck in their favor.<\/p>\n

But this won’t last.\u00c2\u00a0 Enough Davids are building new acts and new systems below the old guard’s radar.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re going to triumph.\u00c2\u00a0 Just watch.<\/p>\n

\n
How David Beats Goliath<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How bad do you want it?How bad do you want it?How bad do you want it?Not bad enough "How Bad Do You Want It?"Don Henley Craig Kallman asked me if Malcolm Gladwell was a subscriber. I told him I didn’t know, there was almost no way to tell.\u00c2\u00a0 The more famous the person, the more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-v0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1922"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1924,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922\/revisions\/1924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}