What if conventional wisdom isn’t conventional?<\/p>\n
Used to be you turned on the TV and took the temperature of the nation.\u00c2\u00a0 If you were truly sophisticated, you read the newspaper.\u00c2\u00a0 And learned what was really going on.\u00c2\u00a0 Or did you?<\/p>\n
Turns out the truth is a bit different from what the conventional media tells us it is.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out the only stories aren’t the ones in the newspaper (and, for the record, TV does no reporting, unless someone got raped, killed or kidnapped.)\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out the usual suspects have lost control of the thermometer, if you want to know what the temperature is in this country, you surf the Web and come to your own conclusions.<\/p>\n
This is big.<\/p>\n
Would George Bush be able to con America into believing there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2010?\u00c2\u00a0 Doubtful.\u00c2\u00a0 Because we’re no longer dependent on Judith Miller, our country is no longer controlled by one reporter with a mouthpiece, rather there’s a plethora of voices, and frequently the ones online are more informed.\u00c2\u00a0 Because they’re reporting within their area of expertise and not beholden to fat cats, and not on a career path determined by anyone other than themselves.<\/p>\n
Speak with a newspaper reporter.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re asking questions.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re investigating.\u00c2\u00a0 But what if the person who knew was writing what was going on?\u00c2\u00a0 What then?<\/p>\n
That’s what’s happening today.<\/p>\n
Conventional wisdom said health care was dead.\u00c2\u00a0 But then the President and the Democratic Congress were enlightened by vocal supporters, disillusioned Democrats, primarily online, asking WHAT THE FUCK?<\/p>\n
We elected you.\u00c2\u00a0 We wanted change.\u00c2\u00a0 And you’re worried about these nitwit Republicans beholden to the religious right who can only say no, who are refusing to play because they don’t have the ball.<\/p>\n
Balls?\u00c2\u00a0 Suddenly, the Democrats grew them.<\/p>\n
And I don’t care what side of the debate you’re on, I don’t care whether you support health care or not, you’ve got to admit it’s fascinating how the media said one thing and the truth turned out to be the other way.<\/p>\n
They tell us people like the beat-infused Top Forty.\u00c2\u00a0 They tell us the best way to make a star is on TV, preferably "American Idol".\u00c2\u00a0 They tell us the major labels’ model has to be protected.\u00c2\u00a0 But IS THIS TRUE?<\/p>\n
Everything’s up for grabs.\u00c2\u00a0 It no longer matters what Rush Limbaugh says, nor the RIAA.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone’s questioning what’s fed to them, they’re doing independent research and coming to their own conclusions.<\/p>\n
Like:<\/p>\n
1. Physical formats are dead.<\/p>\n
2. Music is overpriced.<\/p>\n
3. The concert ticket game is rigged.<\/p>\n
4. Today’s acts suck.<\/p>\n
But, but, BUT you say, CDs still sell and…<\/p>\n
You’re making the same mistake the mainstream press did.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re paying attention to the fading minority. Or as Henry Ford once said, "If I’d listened to customers, I’d have given them a faster horse."<\/p>\n
Market research doesn’t tell you where the future lies.\u00c2\u00a0 Steve Jobs didn’t ask people whether they wanted an iPad, HE MADE IT!<\/p>\n
Market research said no one would rent videos, and then everybody did.\u00c2\u00a0 Market research says people don’t want to rent music, but if you don’t think the Spotify\/streaming model will triumph, your head is truly up your ass.<\/p>\n
It’s just a matter of when.<\/p>\n
Now is the time to take the ball and run it up the middle.<\/p>\n
Now is the time to create truly great music, not worrying about what gatekeepers say, taking it straight to the public.<\/p>\n
There’s no center.<\/p>\n
Doug Morris just isn’t that powerful.<\/p>\n
Nor is Lucian Grainge.<\/p>\n
And whatever power Irving Azoff has is limited.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t control music distribution.\u00c2\u00a0 He may have a bit of a corner on live exhibition, but that’s just a piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n
It’s a whole new world!\u00c2\u00a0 Doesn’t matter what the fat cats, the usual suspects, those who once had power, have to say.\u00c2\u00a0 Not a whit.<\/p>\n
It matters what the Web constituency has to say.<\/p>\n
Yes, people still listen to radio, but there are people who still buy CDs, DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE FADING MINORITY!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s like trumpeting Sarah Palin for President.\u00c2\u00a0 She can’t win.\u00c2\u00a0 Numbers will tell you this.\u00c2\u00a0 But the mainstream media likes the story.\u00c2\u00a0 But she’s just about irrelevant.<\/p>\n
And I’m not saying the Democrats are princes, but when Obama and Pelosi finally grabbed the ball, stopped pussyfooting, challenged their critics and ignored naysayers, they got something done!<\/p>\n
Stop listening to those who say you can’t.\u00c2\u00a0 Their opinion is worthless.\u00c2\u00a0 Doesn’t matter if the A&R guy doesn’t like your music.\u00c2\u00a0 Doesn’t matter if radio ignores you either.<\/p>\n
It comes down to this, DO THE PEOPLE LIKE YOU?<\/p>\n
Do they?<\/p>\n
Numbers don’t lie.\u00c2\u00a0 How many fans have truly downloaded your music?\u00c2\u00a0 How big is your mailing list?\u00c2\u00a0 How many Twitter followers do you have?\u00c2\u00a0 If none of these numbers are large, either you’re the worst marketer in creation or you suck.\u00c2\u00a0 Or both.<\/p>\n
But if you’re good, now more than ever, it’s your time.\u00c2\u00a0 People don’t care about the chart.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t care about what the mainstream says.\u00c2\u00a0 They care about what their friends and trusted filters say.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re making their own decisions.\u00c2\u00a0 Play to them, they’re the only ones who count.<\/p>\n
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What if conventional wisdom isn’t conventional? Used to be you turned on the TV and took the temperature of the nation.\u00c2\u00a0 If you were truly sophisticated, you read the newspaper.\u00c2\u00a0 And learned what was really going on.\u00c2\u00a0 Or did you? Turns out the truth is a bit different from what the conventional media tells us […]<\/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":[2,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business","category-the-media"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-ID","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767","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=2767"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2775,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions\/2775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}