{"id":3238,"date":"2010-08-13T12:52:50","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T20:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=3238"},"modified":"2010-08-13T12:52:50","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T20:52:50","slug":"breaking-it-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2010\/08\/13\/breaking-it-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking It Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE OLD GUARD<\/span><\/p>\n

Just want to return to the old days.<\/p>\n

What are the old days?<\/p>\n

The nineties.<\/p>\n

Yes, the CD replacement business still existed, you could only buy albums, which were exorbitantly priced, and Napster had not yet arrived on the scene.\u00c2\u00a0 But the most important element was exhibition.\u00c2\u00a0 Promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Radio and TV.\u00c2\u00a0 The old guard had this locked up.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, there were indie record stores and word of mouth amongst college students in the nineties, but really, it was all Mariah Carey all the time.\u00c2\u00a0 Fascinatingly, that’s the "American Idol" paradigm.\u00c2\u00a0 Get a nitwit who oversings and hype him or her to high heaven.\u00c2\u00a0 But that paradigm’s fading, because there are now other options.<\/p>\n

THE LITTLE GIRLS<\/span><\/p>\n

Are still listening to Top Forty radio and imploring their parents to buy them music, or doing so themselves via iTunes.\u00c2\u00a0 Ergo, the stunning spikes of single sales by the Black Eyed Peas and Katy Perry.\u00c2\u00a0 But little girls reach puberty and set aside their stuffed animals and make a new life.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, they like these acts today, hate ’em tomorrow and they’re nostalgia thereafter.\u00c2\u00a0 So, New Kids On The Block can have mania today, be excoriated tomorrow and go on a reunion tour thereafter. This is the Spice Girls paradigm.\u00c2\u00a0 Today’s Top Forty wonders are no different.<\/p>\n

THE DANCING FOOLS<\/span><\/p>\n

They’re the ones the old guard are making music for.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re casual consumers.\u00c2\u00a0 Music, makeup, tanning, watching sports…they’re no different, they’re all equal.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is something you bump your ass to in the club.\u00c2\u00a0 Who makes it is irrelevant. They just need an endless loop of Dr. Luke productions.\u00c2\u00a0 When they finally grow up and get married, they’ll forget all about the tunes and spend money on cars and kitchens and the other totems of domestic life.<\/p>\n

THE BABY BOOMERS<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember when music was king.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll go see the oldsters in concert, know the hit of music, are willing to delve in and listen intently to new music, BUT THEY JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO LISTEN TO!\u00c2\u00a0 And, as a result, they continue to spin the old tunes.<\/p>\n

THE COLLEGE STUDENTS<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where the revolution is happening.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, it percolates down to the high school level too.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s not just boys, it’s girls too.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t listen to the radio, they don’t watch music on TV, they might know what Vevo is, but don’t give a shit, they’ll steal the music online but pay for a vinyl album at the gig even though they don’t have a turntable.\u00c2\u00a0 They think music is important.\u00c2\u00a0 It speaks to them.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re turning the tide.<\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n

It’s 1968 all over again.\u00c2\u00a0 Whilst the old guard and mainstream media are paying attention to AM radio, the action is on FM.\u00c2\u00a0 And in a few years, AM will be a sideshow and FM acts will rule.\u00c2\u00a0 Because AM is a confection and FM speaks to both the heart and mind.\u00c2\u00a0 AM is toys, FM is substance.<\/p>\n

The old game is running on fumes.\u00c2\u00a0 Say it’s about illegal downloading, say it’s the recession, but the real problem is music and choice.\u00c2\u00a0 Without needing to pay attention to one exhibitor, why in the hell should music junkies swallow the crap being shoved down their throats?<\/p>\n

Eminem is a superstar coasting on his past success.\u00c2\u00a0 We still care what Bill Clinton does, and those who were conscious at the turn of the century are still interested in Eminem.<\/p>\n

But there is great new music.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ve got to be a college student to know about it.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t live in a silo.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite the technological revolution, you find out about new music via friends, via word of mouth.\u00c2\u00a0 Nobody knows every genre, there’s no comprehensive site.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why Pitchfork can’t grow.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s appealing solely to a niche.\u00c2\u00a0 The rest of the public ignores it.<\/p>\n

Now there’s nothing wrong with the niche.\u00c2\u00a0 But what if the best of each niche could be spoon-fed to those who truly care about music?<\/p>\n

That’s the future.<\/p>\n

It’s not Pandora.\u00c2\u00a0 It certainly isn’t terrestrial radio.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not lowest common denominator tunes.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s something like NPR without the highfalutin’ attitude on steroids.<\/p>\n

Everything starts with trust.\u00c2\u00a0 You trust your friends.\u00c2\u00a0 Right now, most people do not have a trusted source for music other than said friends.\u00c2\u00a0 But when that appears, and it will be a Website, look out!<\/p>\n

Suddenly there was an FM station in every market.\u00c2\u00a0 Suddenly people bought FM radios just to listen.\u00c2\u00a0 FM was different.\u00c2\u00a0 First and foremost, there were no jive deejays, the station respected you.\u00c2\u00a0 And you didn’t only get tunes, you got information, news you could use.\u00c2\u00a0 The FM station was your best friend.\u00c2\u00a0 NO ONE in the old guard is your best friend.<\/p>\n

Concerts won’t be overpriced performances by acts more akin to Broadway than classic rock.\u00c2\u00a0 It will be about the music. Tickets will come down in price because the audience will demand the ability to go to multiple shows, they’ll want the hit of live music on a regular basis.\u00c2\u00a0 It won’t be about one GaGa, but many successful acts.<\/p>\n

There continued to be stars on AM radio when FM ruled.\u00c2\u00a0 GaGa is like Gary Puckett.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe Paul Revere.\u00c2\u00a0 It was no longer about reaching everybody, but reaching the right people.<\/p>\n

Arcade Fire is a crossover artist.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like Cream eventually got airplay on AM radio, Arcade Fire is so successful, the mainstream takes notice.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s no longer about the mainstream, but Arcade Fire’s core audience.\u00c2\u00a0 Which likes that their favorite artist has been validated, but want no part of the old guard world.<\/p>\n

The successful touring artists of today, the new guard, don’t bitch about online theft.\u00c2\u00a0 They know without free distribution to spread the word, they’re screwed.\u00c2\u00a0 They know that their calling card is their music, not their visuals.\u00c2\u00a0 They know that the audience has no concept of a release schedule.\u00c2\u00a0 You put out as much music as you feel like and your fans find it.\u00c2\u00a0 They know that the show can’t be static.\u00c2\u00a0 You can tour again and again in the same market as long as your show is different.\u00c2\u00a0 They know they’re in bed with their audience.\u00c2\u00a0 That unless you treat your fans right, you won’t grow.\u00c2\u00a0 They know every opportunity is not a good one.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes you’ve got to leave bread on the table, overexposure has a cost, that they shouldn’t do anything that can alienate their core.<\/p>\n

And these bands have fans.\u00c2\u00a0 That are keeping them alive.\u00c2\u00a0 The only disconnect is between these bands and their potential new fans.\u00c2\u00a0 The new fans just can’t connect.<\/p>\n

FM radio was the filter of yore.\u00c2\u00a0 Today the filter is your friends, tomorrow it will be a Website.\u00c2\u00a0 Right now, there’s an overwhelming deluge of PR bullshit, preventing new fans from discovering the great music.<\/p>\n

The great music is played by those who live for it.\u00c2\u00a0 Who practice.\u00c2\u00a0 Who make up their career plan as they go.\u00c2\u00a0 To them, music is everything.<\/p>\n

When those desirous of hearing great new stuff connect with it, when the baby boomers are pulled in, even more important when the teenagers abandon the confections for this quality new stuff, the landscape will look totally different.\u00c2\u00a0 The old guard will have little power.\u00c2\u00a0 Acts won’t want to play that game and the fans, like the college students of today, will be suspicious of anything being purveyed by the usual suspects.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll have different businessmen, different managers and promoters.\u00c2\u00a0 Music will come first, it will stand aside of corporations and everything the old guard says is necessary but is truly superfluous. Everybody will be drawn to this new flame, which is more than flickering now but will soon become a conflagration.<\/p>\n

The power brokers won’t be the businessmen, but the musicians.<\/p>\n

It’s happening.\u00c2\u00a0 The tide has turned.\u00c2\u00a0 Many no longer even pay attention to the old guard.\u00c2\u00a0 The edifice is crumbling.\u00c2\u00a0 It cannot be propped up, it cannot survive.\u00c2\u00a0 Something better is building which will take its place.<\/p>\n

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

THE OLD GUARD Just want to return to the old days. What are the old days? The nineties. Yes, the CD replacement business still existed, you could only buy albums, which were exorbitantly priced, and Napster had not yet arrived on the scene.\u00c2\u00a0 But the most important element was exhibition.\u00c2\u00a0 Promotion.\u00c2\u00a0 Radio and TV.\u00c2\u00a0 The […]<\/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-3238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-Qe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238","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=3238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3239,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238\/revisions\/3239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}