The current issue of Business Week Magazine features their choices for the "100 Best Global Brands." Little surprise that they rated Coca-Cola at the top, which got me thinking how does a brand like Coca-Cola still remain so strong after more than 100 years, plus is able to extend its brand to such successful off-shoots as Diet Coke and Coke Zero without diluting it (pun sort of intended)? My previous boss at Fender, Ritchie Fliegler (who left to start his own firm, Fearless Marketing) and I always admired the mantra "If you can't be the first, be the best." Coca-Cola was certainly among the first mass produced soft drinks, and they remain the best selling, and to a majority of consumers, the best tasting. And once your brand becomes synonymous with the product, you have won the ultimate battle for the consumers mind. "Xerox a copy of this." "Hand me a Kleenex."
These are other examples of brands that are so powerful that they become the generic description of the product. In my own world, most major guitar companies have a slightly different version of the Fender Stratocaster guitar which people will still undoubtedly refer to it as a "Strat." However, both "Strat" and "Stratocaster" are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp. and technically cannot be used with another brand. No matter - in the public's mind, that's being the first, and the best, and the only description they know.
The second key to a great brand is a pesky competitor nipping at your heels. That makes the leader work harder to sustain or build market share, and forces the competitors to find new and creative ways to do their best to chip away at the leader's supremacy. For instance, Hertz dominated the rental car business with Avis always a distant second. That's until Avis launched their famous "We're Number 2, We Try Harder" in 1962. Think about it; Ford vs. Chevy; Fender vs. Gibson; Coke vs. Pepsi - you get the picture.
Speaking of Coke vs. Pepsi, let's put the above examples together by going back to the 1940's and 1950's, the golden age of the diners and drive-ins. Coca-Cola became so popular that "Coke" became generic for just about any caffeinated soft drink. Pepsi-Cola, almost as old as Coca-Cola but always the bridesmaid, was
finally frustrated enough to launch a campaign that urged and almost begged consumers to "Say Pepsi, please!" In 1985, after Pepsi showed major gains in cutting into Coke's market share, Coke actually fought back by launching "New Coke," shockingly changing the age-old secret original formula in one of the major marketing blunders of all time. New Coke immediately fizzled and "Classic Coke" was re-launched because after all, the customer is always right. Eventually the "Classic" was dropped and the legendary drink reverted back to the original good old Coca-Cola and, of course, climbed their way back to the top.
The moral of the story is when it comes to great brands - being the first and/or the best, is the most desirable position to be in. But being second ain't so bad either.
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Thursday, 24 September 2009 08:49
Last year in San Francisco, law enforcement confiscated over one-thousand false disabled placards. The troubling widespread abuse has not only taken away parking opportunities for people who really need them, but has also exacerbated the difficult parking environment in San Francisco. In addition, the penalty for the crime was only a $100 fine. In response to numerous media reports and calls to action by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I authored AB 144. The bill not only increases the allowed fine for fraudulent use to $1,000 max, but also allows for parking control officers the ability to cite violators. By making enforcement less onerous and increasing the maximum fine, AB 144 will help reduce the misuse of disabled placards.
1. I start a little tour on Friday with Works Progress Administration (Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek and Glen Philips of Toad the Wet Sprocket). I'll be out with them for a week and a half and if you live on the West Coast, we'll be coming through your town (or at least close by hopefully). All the info is online at www.myspace.com/mollyjenson and I'd love to see you at one of these shows. So come on out and say hey to me at the merch table after my set!!
2. I'm still booking house concerts now I'm specifically looking for Arizona, Southern California and Northern California people to host a show. So if you are interested, please respond to this email and let's set something up.
3. Christmas is approaching quickly and I am going to have a Holiday Merchandise Special going on at my online store. So, if you are looking for presents that will make your friends cry with delight, go ahead and check out my online store (link: http://store.bandfarm.com/mollyjenson) after Thanksgiving and you'll find exactly what you're looking for.
Thanks for listening to my music, coming to shows, sending me emails and being great fans! I can't do this without you.
Dr. Paul Kengor: Dr. John Fry, welcome to V&V Q&A.
Dr. John J. Fry: Thanks, I’m very glad to visit with you.
Kengor: How did you first get interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder?
Fry: Well, I hadn’t read the Little House books as a child, but my wife Paula got me to read the books with her after we were married. So, my first time reading the books was her fifth or sixth time. Several months after I finished, I began graduate work in History at Duquesne University and had to begin writing research papers based on primary sources. Most of the other graduate students in Pittsburgh were doing urban history or labor history of some type, but that didn’t interest me at all. It was Paula who suggested that I write about Laura Ingalls Wilder. I ended up writing several papers on Laura. I also discussed her in my book,The Farm Press, Reform and Rural Change, 1895-1920.
Kengor: So, who was Laura Ingalls Wilder, where and when was she born, where was she raised, who were her parents?
Fry: Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867 to Charles and Caroline Ingalls in western Wisconsin. Her early childhood was spent in a log cabin in Wisconsin, except for one year that her family spent in Kansas where they squatted on land in the Osage Indian Reserve. When Laura was six, the Ingalls moved about 200 miles west to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where she spent her middle childhood, again with a one-year sojourn in another state, in Burr Oak, Iowa. Then, in 1879, the family moved to a homestead near DeSmet in South Dakota, where she finished school and taught in several one-room schoolhouses. In 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder, a homesteader originally from New York.
Laura and Almanzo struggled for four years against bad weather, poor crops, and debt, but eventually lost their homestead to the bank and moved to town. During those years, they had a daughter they named Rose and a son that died in infancy. In 1894, they moved to a farm in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri near Mansfield, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Almanzo died in 1949 at age 92. Laura died in 1957, three days past her 90th birthday.
Kengor: Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous because of her Little House books. Describe those books, and when they were written.
Fry: Laura was first published in 1911, when she started writing for the Missouri Ruralist, a regional farm newspaper. She wrote for the paper until 1924. In the late 1920s, Laura sat down to write her autobiography. Her daughter Rose, who by this time was a fairly well-known journalist and author of magazine fiction, typed the manuscript and sent it to her agent in 1930. Rose also separated out some of the stories from Laura’s childhood and sent them separately to a friend in children’s publishing. Her agent couldn’t get any magazines interested, but one publisher’s children’s department asked for the stories to be expanded into a book for beginning readers. The resulting Little House in the Big Woods was published in April 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, and received glowing reviews.
During the next 11 years, Laura wrote the other sevenLittle House books, with assistance from Rose. On average, a book appeared every other year. Farmer Boy, published in 1933, described Almanzo’s boyhood in upstate New York.Little House on the Prairie chronicled the Ingalls’s sojourn in Kansas. On the Banks of Plum Creek described life on the farm outside of Walnut Grove. By the Shores of Silver Lake told of their move to the homestead outside DeSmet. The struggle to survive the hard winter of 1880-1881 took center stage in The Long Winter. Little Town on the Prairiedescribed how Laura became a teacher. Finally, These Happy Golden Years, published in 1943, told of Almanzo and Laura’s courtship and marriage.
Kengor: Now, here’s where this gets especially interesting: Why did Laura Ingalls Wilder write and publish these books? Did she have a political motivation?
Fry: Well, primarily she published these books because she wanted to tell the stories of her and Almanzo’s childhoods. And she wrote them to help make ends meet during the Depression. But the books constantly emphasize the self-reliance of the Ingalls family through the hardships they faced: wild animals, locusts, blizzards, and crop failures. The books also consistently criticize the federal government for interfering in the lives of Westerners. It’s pretty clear that Laura wrote this way because she was a vocal opponent of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Kengor: You’ve mentioned Rose a number of times already. Haven’t I heard somewhere that Rose should be credited with the best parts of the books? Or that she was in some way a ghost-writer?
Fry: That idea has been around since the early 1990s, when William Holtz, a literature professor at the University of Missouri, published a biography of Rose titled The Ghost in the Little House. He argued that Laura remained an amateurish writer to the end and that the best elements of the books came from Rose’s efforts with them. It’s true that Laura and Rose collaborated on the books. Rose typed the manuscripts and edited them. But several other scholars have looked at the evidence and concluded that Holtz went too far in his assessment. The idea of Rose as the real brains behind the books returns periodically, however, most recently in a New Yorker article from August of this year.
If Rose had been the driving force behind the books, they might have been even more anti-government. By the 1930s she had become a radical individualist or libertarian. By the end of her life, she was corresponding with Herbert Hoover, Ayn Rand, and Hans Sennholz, an economics professor at Grove City College. She was also a mother-figure of sorts to Roger Lea MacBride, the Libertarian candidate for President in 1976.
Kengor: Hans Sennholz? That's really interesting. We should note that Laura started in politics as a Democrat. I assume she believed that the New Deal was pushing Americans away from self-reliance; that it encouraged people to look to the federal government instead of to themselves, their families, their faith, as she and her family had always done? She saw a long-term danger to the country in this?
Fry: Exactly. Laura and Almanzo both felt that New Deal programs that gave money to individuals and expanded federal control were bad for the country and especially bad for rural areas. In 1938, an agent from the USDA stopped to talk to Almanzo and inform him of some new federal regulations. Almanzo told him to get off his land or he would get his shotgun. Laura believed that New Deal work-relief programs had made farm labor scarce and called first term Democratic Senator Harry Truman “a liar” in 1939. As one biographer put it, “Laura ultimately believed that anyone with gumption and wit and a little persistence could make it without having to take government charity.”
Kengor: Would we today consider her a “conservative?” Was she a social conservative, a religious conservative, an economic conservative?
Fry: I think that we should see her as a conservative. Even when she was a Democrat, it was mainly because the Democratic Party was the party of limited government at the turn of the 20th century. She didn’t have a major problem with government having a role in encouraging people to do the right thing. That changed with the New Deal, which she saw as the government going way too far. Then her concern for limited government really took over. She was certainly an economic conservative.
I think that a lot more attention might be given in the literature to the exact nature of her religious beliefs. She grew up in Congregationalist churches and was always active in a local church. But when she moved to Missouri and there was no Congregationalist church, she and Almanzo attended a Methodist church in Mansfield but never became members. Her description of organized religion in the Little House books sounds pretty critical to me, though other scholars haven’t really picked up on it.
Kengor: What really made her famous in recent times was the decision to turn her books into an extremely successful TV series in the 1970s. Whose decision was that? Was this the effort of the star of the series, the late Michael Landon?
Fry:Little House on the Prairie, the television series, was set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota (in the series, the family never moved), and ran for over 200 episodes between 1974 and 1983. It was indeed the brainchild of Michael Landon, who directed most of the episodes and wrote about a quarter of them, as well as starring as Laura’s "Pa." However, one should note that the Little House books had already become incredibly popular in their own right by the 1970s. They were translated into Japanese and German by the U.S. government after World War II to spread American values to the people of those countries. Public schools used excerpts from the books in reading texts, and teachers fashioned entire units around the books. And historic sites in seven different states had already become pilgrimage destinations for those who loved the books.
Kengor: Michael Landon was a conservative, wasn’t he? And, if so, did he, like Laura Ingalls Wilder a generation earlier, have a political motivation? Perhaps Landon was fighting LBJ’s 1960s Great Society, as Laura had battled FDR’s 1930s New Deal?
Fry: Yes, it’s my understanding that Landon was a conservative. It may be that he was politically motivated like Laura, that he was reacting to the Great Society like she was to the New Deal. My expertise is in the books themselves; I’ve actually never watched an episode of the television series. But it’s also my understanding that there was a broader movement in American culture during the 1970s and 1980s that called for a return to simpler times that both capitalized on and was encouraged by television shows like Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons. Colonial furniture for your home was very popular, and one could even buy lumber to make the facade of your home a log cabin.
Kengor: Do Laura and Almanzo have any heirs alive today?
Fry: In fact, no. I mentioned earlier that they had a son who died in infancy. Their daughter Rose was married to Gilette Lane for several years during the 1910s and also had a son who died in infancy. After their divorce she never remarried or had more children.
Kengor: Finally, what’s the political relevance of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series right now, especially if we’re seeing under President Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Congress a third great thrust by the big-government/progressive left, a picking up of the torch from FDR and LBJ?
Fry: I think that conservatives who seek to oppose this latest round of government expansion can turn to Wilder’s books to provide cultural and narrative support for their views. The books certainly encourage individual and family self-reliance and a skepticism of government solutions to people’s problems.
Kengor: Dr. John Fry, your research is fascinating. Thank you very much for talking to us. We look forward to your lecture at Grove City College at 7:00 p.m. on September 28.
Fry: I look forward to it as well. Thanks very much for inviting me.
Editor’s Note:The "V&V Q&A" is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. Each issue will present an interview with an intriguing thinker or opinion-maker that we hope will prove illuminating to readers everywhere. This latest edition of “V&V Q&A” is a fascinating look back at the writings and thoughts of Laura Ingalls Wilder, famed author of "Little House on the Prairie." Dr. Paul Kengor, executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College, interviews Dr. John J. Fry, professor of history at Trinity Christian College in Chicago. On September 28 at 7:00 p.m. (Sticht Lecture Hall), Dr. Fry will visit Grove City College to speak on Laura Ingalls Wilder, her thoughts, and her impact and relevance still today.
O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health. Psalm 30:2
And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15
In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. Jonah 2:2
To those who might be experiencing severe distress, I strongly recommend that you consider, if you already haven’t, calling upon the Lord for help. I did and it made all the difference.
I would imagine that to most people the word bankruptcy would summon up images of disaster and ruin, but for me, the experience of financial distress unexpectedly opened up window after window, so that like a captive bird in a cage I was able to fly through the tiny opening and out into a new world and a new life.
As I look back to that traumatic day when I had to file a chapter 11 petition, I still cannot provide an explanation to my survival that many would find reasonable. I should have gone down in flames, but that is not what happened. Instead, I walked away from the smoking ruins unscathed.
I do know this, however. When all seemed lost and hopeless, and when every avenue of escape had closed down, I did call upon the Lord in my day of trouble. I also know that in time I was delivered from my distress even though I did not deserve to survive, nor did I expect to. The only explanation that makes sense to me today is that I experienced the same amazing Grace that John Newton writes about in his song: “I once was lost and now am found was blind but now I see.”
Would my fate have been different if I had not called upon the Lord in my hour of extreme need? I don’t know for sure, but I now believe God’s hand was there to guide me through. And so I believe the psalmist’s words are true: “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Tuesday, 22 September 2009 09:08
The postmodern record business was born of the marriage between AM radio and 331/3 R.P.M. long playing albums. The Beatles were the superstar attraction that exploded this format into the global popular culture. Their extraordinary songwriting talents, combined with unbridled charisma and social upheaval all contributed to rocketing the Fab Four into an international phenomenon that came to be known as Beatlmania.
Initially successful in the United Kingdom, The Beatles were slow off the launching pad in the United States. The catalytic event that launched their early success was the assassination Of JFK. In the beginning almost every major record company passed on them. However, they were steadily building a cult following in America in the early 60s. When Kennedy was killed, the baby boomers took it personally and rejected the materialistic values of their parents generation and embraced those mop tops from England. The Beatles replaced the leaders and the rest is history.
The record industry infrastructure that was created by unprecedented album sales was nourished by the British Invasion that followed. One after another the great musical attractions emerged and albums sold like never before. Every major music genre was effected and the record business grew to be a multi billion dollar enterprise. What followed was the most productive era in the history of popular music. An entire generation embraced music as its driving force.
Major international corporations were quick to recognize this highly lucrative business where fans would purchase albums as badges of honor and personal identification with their musical heroes. A counter culture was born in resistance to the Viet Nam war and this rebellion further fueled the growth of a music driven society of youth. The entire movement was driven by an anti-war mind set and the ubiquitous use of cannabis, psychedelic and eventually hard drugs.
Many observers and participants attributed the burst of creative expression to the throwing open of the doors of perception that massive drug taking provoked. The Hippie movement that resulted in the demise of the war was inspired by the protest songs of The Beatles and their emulators. Universal drug abuse led to the deaths of three of musics greatest talents in 1969.
Superstars Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison all expired from accidental overdoses as experimentation transcended drugs as tools and turned to narcotics as fuels. Many other artists lives were cut short and careers interrupted by the insidious use of cocaine and heroin. There were other climactic moments when drug induced behavior led to the murder at Altamont and the Manson tragedy. Suddenly excessive drug use lost its charm and music has not been the same since.
The myriad of record labels condensed down to four major companies. In the 80s, sales of their vast catalogs of masters were reinvigorated by the invention of the compact disc known in the vernacular as the CD. This new technology inspired the greatest boom in recorded music ever. Entire record collections were replaced with the new digital format at no additional cost to the manufacturers. The music was already owned, controlled and paid for and now presented as brand new product. The power slipped away from the artists and accrued to the music giants.
What followed was unprecedented prosperity and tighter controls on the system. The formulaic approach ultimately led to a decline in musical quality and the birth of the independant record lable movement. Companies that had previously embraced artistic integrity and long term development of artists surrendered to the hunt for instant success and platinum status. New originators were left by the wayside or confined to micro-labels and limited success. If an artist didn't achieve an immediate hit they were abandoned by their record companies and declared instant failures.
What the record companies offered was a large recording budget and a one shot attack at radio. The artists they signed were mostly copies of yesterdays successes. The free form expression once offered by FM radio surrendered to the limited product offered by the labels and promoted primarily an AM. No longer was the concept of career building a consideration.
As the digital age progressed and universal, high speed, Internet access prevailed, the other side of the digital sword surfaced. Peer-to-peer file sharing abolished the label's dictation of what music was avaialable to compete for popularity. The fan base is now empowered to choose from the vast array of music from every extant genre now proliferating on the world wide web.
Today the power is with the people, who can acquire music freely from the Internet, which offers a promotional medium infinitely more accessible than broadcast airwaves. The cost of promotion is negligible; and with digital recording, so is the creation of recorded music. This has brought the postmodern record industry to its knees and thrown open the participation to anybody with a Mac a mic and a song.
No longer will artists be dependant on the approval of A&R committees. Now they can build their careers from the cyber-grass-roots up and own their masters, publishing and the lion's share of the income. Talent is still the primary criterion for success and survival is the challenge. Only ten percent of the artists will make a profit and ninety percent of the money will be earned by one percent of the acts. Only the most driven will reach the professional realm and only the great ones will prevail.
On Monday night I was part of a premiere viewing of the new documentary film, Lord Save Us From Your Followers. Here is my quick take on this movie, which seeks to call Christians on the carpet for their failure to follow Christ. The redeeming quality of the movie is that it shows the unique ability of Christianity to be self-critical and self-correcting. Because Christianity has confidence in an immutable standard of rightness and wrongness - an absolute moral compass - it has the ability to step back and look at itself critically and 'repent,' 'reform,' and 'revive.'
While I cringed at yet another documentary loaded up with caricatures of thoughtless, red-faced, angry people claiming to be Christians, I found myself strangely amused with the obvious: The indignation that the movie seeks to kindle in the mind and heart of the viewer would have no meaning if there is no righteousness to contextualize it and to serve as it's fuel. Thus, with a bit of a backhanded compliment, the movie affirms the very thing that many viewers may seek to refute. Without the self evident truth found in the Logos - without Christ - we would have nothing left but subjective opinions to serve as basis for being offended by Christians (or anyone else for that matter).
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Saturday, 19 September 2009 23:37
Last year in San Francisco, law enforcement confiscated over one-thousand false disabled placards. The troubling widespread abuse has not only taken away parking opportunities for people who really need them, but has also exacerbated the difficult parking environment in San Francisco. In addition, the penalty for the crime was only a $100 fine. In response to numerous media reports and calls to action by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I authored AB 144. The bill not only increases the allowed fine for fraudulent use to $1,000 max, but also allows for parking control officers the ability to cite violators. By making enforcement less onerous and increasing the maximum fine, AB 144 will help reduce the misuse of disabled placards.
In a recent article by Norman Podhoretz he found that where modern Jews were in conflict with liberalism, the Jewish religion took a back seat to their liberalism:
"The upshot is that in virtually every instance of a clash between Jewish law and contemporary liberalism, it is the liberal creed that prevails for most American Jews. Which is to say that for them, liberalism has become more than a political outlook."
I first came to understand the agenda of liberalism as a religion in our own public schools. My children were deprived of the celebration of our national holiday called Christmas only to bring home crafts of kwanza, menorahs and celebrations of winter. But when Earth Day came around, you'd think it was the second coming of Christ. They spent weeks in preparation, planted trees, researched charities that were good to the environment, all from a public school...for my first grader.
Why should the belief that the world is going to be destroyed by pollution take precedent at school than our legal, government-sanctioned holiday of Christmas? Because people of the liberal faith still don't understand that their liberalism is just another religion. It has it's adherents, it's commandments, it tries to convert non-liberals into the fold and demonizes heretics.
But liberalism isn't just the religion that supersedes Judaism...it's an equal opportunity offender with the Christian faith too. And just like with the Jew, where liberalism conflicts with the Christian creeds of the Bible Christianity takes a back seat.
Back to Podhoretz:
"It (Liberalism) has for all practical purposes superseded Judaism and become a religion in its own right. And to the dogmas and commandments of this religion they give the kind of steadfast devotion their forefathers gave to the religion of the Hebrew Bible. For many, moving to the right is invested with much the same horror their forefathers felt about conversion to Christianity."
I believe that man in his essence has a space designed for religion. Removing traditional religion to follow a culturally progressive faith makes perfect sense since I believe that both nature as well as supernature abhors a vacuum.
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Friday, 18 September 2009 10:31
I joined Speaker Karen Bass and other colleagues on a bi-partisan trip to Washington DC earlier this week to meet officials from the new Administration and advocate for more funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill (aka Federal Stimulus Plan).
This year, it was nice to go back to DC and be briefed by familiar faces from California. For instance, I met with Jeff Bleich, a former Litigation Partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson and now Special Counsel to the President. I also met with Nancy Sutley, former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for the Energy and Environment and now Chair of the White House Council for Environmental Quality. Nancy now serves as the principal environmental policy adviser to the President.
I was especially interested to hear from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack since I serve on the Agriculture Committee. Under Secretary Vilsack's leadership the USDA is working to promote a safe and nutritious food supply for all Americans and to end child hunger by 2015. The drought and the conditions of the Bay Delta are another issue on his radar (but not under his direct authority) and he feels that in order to better manage California’s water needs, we need to better maintain our forests to avoid the threat of future fires. Also, the Department will continue to fund research to mitigate invasive species and will work closely with Homeland Security to better train our border inspectors. Further, they are proactively trying to assist dairy farmers in this fiscal crisis and have created both internal and external working groups in an attempt to create price consistency and stability. Finally, they want to strengthen the organics program and continue to help those farmers who wish to transition to organics (good news for my bill AB1401). Secretary Vilsack believes there is a disconnect between food and agriculture and therefore plans to launch a "Know your farmer, know your food" campaign around the country. The Department will continue to grant awards to retrofit bio refineries, expand trade opportunities, and prioritize food safety.
On the subject of water, Undersecretary of Interior David Hayes spoke at length about the vortex of challenges facing the Bay Delta. He spoke about the $1 billion of stimulus funding for the Bureau of Reclamation to provide immediate and short term assistance to municipalities, delta by-pass projects, emergency pumping and the “two-gate” project supported by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (on track for completion next year). Hayes has visited California several times since his confirmation in May and was appointed by Secretary Salazar to be the lead for all California water issues.
I also enjoyed our meeting with Joel Szabat, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Transportation. In his past life, Joel served as principal consultant to the California State Assembly. He reiterated that in the original Stimulus Plan, there was no funding set aside for high speed rail, but thanks to our President and his desire to build a "true world class high speed rail system," $8 billion was allocated for rail projects with the possibility of $4B going to California. Furthermore, and for the first time in history, the Secretary of Transportation has a discretionary pot of $1.5 billion for federal priority projects around the US. The President's new visions include 3 priorities:
1. High Speed Rail: California is in the process of applying for funds and thanks to the passage of Prop. 1A, the $9.95B Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act in Nov 2008, California is well positioned in our efforts to receive substantial rail funding. (Check out www.hsr.ca.gov for more info)
2. Livable and Sustainable Communities: there is no definable language at this moment but Joel anticipates working closely with Congress over the next 18 months to develop language to incorporate in the next transportation reauthorization bill. My bill, AB 338 (which is sitting on the Governor's desk as we speak waiting for his signature), allows local governments to use tax-increment financing for transit-oriented development to help create sustainable communities.
3. Creating a National Infrastructure Bank to fund projects that will generate revenues to repay the loans.
And it was nice to catch up with Bay Area native Rosie Rios, our new US Treasurer (sworn in Aug. 2009). She will serve as an adviser to the current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and is primarily responsible for matters of currency and coins. Her name and signature will be on the new dollar bill starting next year!
The origin of the word cool, comes from the Middle English cole, from the Old English col - which translated in Modern English meant to cool it or chill out. Therefore, based on that, the recent tactless lack of civility on the part of Kanye West, Serena Williams and Joe Wilson was by definition, very uncool. It just seems that our society is becoming more and ruder to one another. Sure, there have always been rude drivers, co-workers and neighbors because it takes all kind of people to make a world. However, the type of rude behavior we are experiencing today goes well beyond anything I have previously witnessed in my lifetime. It could be the economy, with so many people out of work, home foreclosures because of lenders impropriety, two unpopular wars that are dragging on, and an erosion of the middle class which is leading to a drop in our standard of living across the board, that makes Americans feel powerless and in some cases, lash out at what they perceive to be the culprits.
I think there’s more to it than that.
Our country has faced extremely difficult times in the past such as the great depression, world wars and 9/11. But in those instances we were able to overcome these life changing events because we came together as a nation and therefore emerged even stronger than before. Why are we facing this crisis so differently by verbally abusing one another? In the case of Kanye West, Serena Williams and Joe Wilson, the targets of their wrath came from different ethnicities. So were these outbursts racially motivated?
I think there’s more to it than that.
Let’s take the town hall meetings to discuss healthcare as an example. The angry faces we witnessed time and time again were most often made up of members of the same race shouting down whoever opposed their views. And I believe that’s the first key. I feel what we are witnessing is a lynch mob mentality where people are emboldened by strength in numbers, and many times motivated by fear, they get caught up in the emotions of the moment. But that doesn’t fully explain the rude behavior of Kanye, Serena and Joe who went it alone (although Wilson did have his fellow Republicans surrounding him). Because of all the social networking, coupled with the 24/7 media blitz from cable and broadcast TV, we are witnessing a universal form of lynch mob mentality. Talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck know that the more controversial they become, the better the ratings. That’s why they, along with many other hosts, are becoming more and more hysterical in the condemnation of the other side: name-calling, accusations and outbursts are all part of the ratings game. But this is not just one political party because on most talk shows, it’s good theater to have opposing sides square off, and who wins doesn’t matter as long as you can shout over your opponent. With this constant barrage of uncivil conduct and downright rudeness spewing across the internet, TV, cable, and all other media and social networks, it’s no wonder than everyone, from celebrities to the common man, feel it’s perfectly okay to shout down anyone they disagree with – but it will never be acceptable, in this time or any time. If we look to history for the answer we would learn that if we all just chill out for a moment, and realize we are all in this together, we should be able to find a common ground to be willing to work this out together. Then, as we always have in the past, we can overcome almost anything - ratings be damned.
Coda: When people faced these types of immense challenges in the past, each generation had songs meant to lift up their spirits and make them believe that things would get better: “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “If I Had a Hammer,” “Imagine,” “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” “What’s so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding.” Too idealistic? Just maybe that’s a good start.
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Thursday, 17 September 2009 08:57
I recently joined a bipartisan delegation of 20 Assemblymembers, led by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, in Washington, D.C. to lobby key federal officials on budgetary and policy issues critical to California. Federal stimulus funds can help California move forward on a wide range of projects, including high speed rail, the emerging green economy and drought relief. Check out the video to hear more...www.youtube.com
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Wednesday, 16 September 2009 12:48
Don't tell me how tough it is, stop whining and kick some ass. Its only going to get tougher. This is the most competitive environment on the planet. Any fool with a mac and a mic can play. The public is the only true judge of your talent.
Stop worrying about Europe and the rest of the country. Become the dominant musical force within a 100 mile radius of your home. Play every high school, college, bar and concert hall you can get into and book it yourself. Even perform in the street. Play as often as you can.
Find someone you trust to be your partner in business. Give him an equal share with the band and put him to work. Take him to http://www.theholodigm.com/ All the answers are there, or ask me. Watch everything and read the "Blog" postings. Your new partner is the CEO of your business and his survival will depend on your success. He doesn't have to know anything about the postmodern record business that he can't learn on my web site.
If you try to get another record deal you will fail, or they will fail you, as in the past. The record companies are lost and don't know what to do. They don't have enough money left to fund a radio campaign and you don't need to waste your time on national touring. They are crashing and burning. If they do offer you a deal it will be a 360 degree participation in everything you ever earn. They will own your masters and your publishing; and, they won't deliver on their promises.
Start your own label and work it from the fan base up. Nurture your followers on the Internet, get them to form a cult around you and ask them to enroll their friends in your club. If you can't make it at home something is wrong and you won't make it elsewhere.
In my fifty two years in music I never met a band that didn't think it was going all the way. 99% of them are wrong. If you think you are one of the 10% who will make a living in music, or the 1% who will share most of the money, start now. Do it yourself. Get tough! This is not a game for the faint of heart. It is not about fame and fortune; its about making music.
The first level of success is survival. That means making a living from music without a day job. Own Portland and the world will come to your door step. If you can't get it done there, why would any body else care? There is no point in playing to an empty house in Chicago. Keep the money; don't spend it on long distance travel and hotel rooms. Are you reading me, Danny? This is the truth.
“At its most fulfilling, work is creative; inspiration precedes perspiration and process is the child of vision.”
Companies, like individuals, should have goals that are built upon a set of well defined principles that help chart a clear path for successful action. Action always involves risk, but risk can be mitigated if the principles are right.
Furthermore, companies are often designed around groups or teams of people who must learn to work together for a common purpose. If you have played on a successful sports team, you know that the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Positive results are not just a product of chance, and successful work is so much more than meeting deadlines and accomplishing tasks. Despite what you might have heard, success is a team sport. Sure there are stars; our entertainment culture depends on them, but in the everyday world of work, interdependence is the prevailing reality.
Thus process cannot be a goal; it must be subordinated to vision. Working hard may be admirable, but working smart must come first. And a job can be reduced to something dreary and routine, but creativity is often the trademark of best and the brightest workers. The miracle behind sustained success is, in fact, vision, inspiration and creativity working together towards achieving well defined and sustainable goals.
Written by Scott Marshall - Author, God & Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life
Monday, 14 September 2009 18:18
"In an era so given to mirror-licking narcissism, we do not understand the idea of general good," wrote columnist Stanley Crouch earlier this summer. "Individual freedom is mistaken for merely breaking the rules by rebelling against some version of authority or saying simple-minded and stupid things just because a mike is pushed in front of one's mouth."
In less than a week--in the world of politics, sports, and music--that "mike" picked up the words uttered by three folks whom are destined to go down in history for their September surprises. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, tennis star Sareena Williams, and music icon Kanye West...take a bow. Or, if you'd prefer, lick those mirrors.
Wilson's "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's healthcare reform speech last Wednesday guaranteed his 15 minutes of fame--and then some. If anyone is uncertain what will be included in Wilson's own obituary when his number is called, look no further than his well-timed two words. Last night on 60 Minutes, Obama said that he appreciated Wilson's apology (which came not too long after the brouhaha). But Wilson is resisting any formal notion of an apology on the House floor. He says he won't be "muzzled." A camera crew recently caught Wilson on the street, autographing a fan's photograph from the "You lie!" moment. Issue an apology. Don't issue an apology. Sign autographs. Rinse and repeat.
It was only six years ago that Wilson characterized the revelation from Essie Mae Washington-Williams--that she was indeed the mixed-race daughter of the late senator Strom Thurmond--as "unseemly" and a "smear." When the public didn't warm up to these words, Wilson then informed his fellow South Carolinians, and anyone else who cared to listen, that he had the utmost respect for Thurmond's daughter. Where is the muzzle when you need one?
Not to be outdone before the weekend expired, tennis star Sareena Williams enjoyed her moment in the sun just before her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open. Her victim? A line judge who determined that she had committed a "foot fault." At this moment, the tennis-watching world likely hankered for the bygone behavior of one of the Open's announcers--John McEnroe. When compared to Williams' one minute of shame on Saturday, Johnny Mac's milk-toast act, back in the day, seemed to pale in comparison. This morning CNN went into the Williams story with a headline along the lines of her "F-bombs." Say what? Many wouldn't bat an eye about the mere mention of pedestrian F-bombs, but Williams offered more: she swore by the deity on high and communicated, through words not lacking pathos, a promise that wasn't merely an in-your-face kind of affair. If need be, she'd shove the f----ing ball down the line judge's throat. The authorities didn't appreciate the word picture.
Unlike Rep. Wilson, Williams hasn't apologized at all (as of this writing, anyway). She did issue a statement on Sunday to her supporters and fans, thanking them for their understanding that she is "human" and will grow from the experience. Apparently part of the growth process is denial. According to her, the passion for her job was evident in her tirade. It'll cost her 10 grand (a mere pittance when viewed in light of the nearly half a million greenbacks she earned during this year's U.S. Open). She might be suspended from the Open next year. Rep. Wilson might get a formal slap on the wrist from his peers in Congress. We'll see what happens.
And finally, if Wilson or Williams' rebukes of authority didn't impress, then we have rapper Kanye West's rebel stance against no less a cultural authority than MTV. On Sunday evening, before poor 19-year-old pop singer Taylor Swift could express her gratitude for winning Best Female Video, West invaded the stage, hijacked the mike, and allowed his street cred to emerge, via a shout-out for Beyonce's video (which had lost out in the competition). He then handed the mike back to a dumbfounded Swift and exited stage left. Before the night was up, West managed to bang out some words on his blog. If ever an apology ascended the Himalayas of ambivalence, this was it:
"I'm sorry to my fans if I let you guys down! I'm sorry to my friends at MTV. I will apologize to taylor 2mrow. Welcome to the real world! Everybody wanna booooo me but I'm a fan of real pop culture! No disrespect but...I'm not crazy yall. I'm just real. Sorry for that! I really feel bad for taylor and I'm sincerely sorry! No disrespect!"
This past Sunday, President Obama told 60 Minutes interviewer Steve Croft that he was going to work on making civility "more interesting." Good luck with that. It'll take an act of Congress, nay, an act from on High to pull that one off. Columnist Stanley Crouch recently wrote about Kanye West in response to West's self-referential comments about being a "proud non-reader of books" and how the singer instead liked to get information from "doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life." West sure did his talking to people when it was Taylor Swift's turn. It doesn't get any more true--and real life than that.
"Kanye West seems to be floundering in the sea of irresponsibility that allows grown men and women to never leave the ranch of their adolescence," wrote Crouch in June of this year. If we look closely enough at the cultural landscape of our times, we can easily spot the Joe Wilsons, Sareena Williams, and Kanye Wests hanging out at that adolescent ranch...possibly preparing for that next big lick of the mirror. Stay tuned.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Monday, 14 September 2009 11:28
The best way to start a career in the entertainment industry is to begin at rock bottom. This usually means with an internship at an established company while you are still in school. Most major companies have internship programs, first because its a way to contribute to the future of the business; and secondly because its free labor. Whatever the motivation of the company, the advantage to beginners is enormous.
The most common source of future executive talent is the mail room at the major talent agencies. More highly placed business careers begin here than emanate from any other single source. Access to the agent trainee programs is very difficult. College graduation, and often advanced degrees are mandatory. The major broadcast networks and movie studios have similar programs.
For artists starting out the road is actually easier. All you have to do is pick up an instrument and start playing music. Your chances of succeeding are doubled if you write your own songs. Create some copyrights and start performing them in front of a mirror in your room. As soon as you are ready to demonstrate your talents move into the parlor and see how your family reacts. If they laugh and walk away, go back to your room for more reharsal.
Native talent and technical skills are not the same for all aspirants. However, any craft can be learned and practice is the key to improving your abilities. There are no guarantees that your best efforts will produce the results you hope for. Too many young artists are motivated by fame and fortune and that is usually not enough to create a viable presence in the professional arena.The most successful artists are motivated by a passionate need to make music and a vision that honors the art form.
The Internet makes it easy to participate, and low cost digital recording gives everyone a chance. If a new act makes a record and posts it on his MySpace.com page and logs a video on YouTube.com, he can get a foot in the door. A commitment to live performing and viral marketing can improve the odds. If you have "it" the public will discover you and spread the word. Only ten percent of the contenders will survive. One percent will make ninety percent ofthe money.
The huge “9/12” protest in Washington was the latest expression of discontent over President Obama’s leftward policy thrust. The discord is evident from the “Tea Party” movement to the chaotic “townhalls” on “healthcare reform.”
The mainstream media and American left are thrown off by this, clearly wanting to dismiss it as a giant, petulant right-wing rant. Some “journalists,” as well as Democratic members of Congress, have described these genuinely concerned citizens in very demeaning terms, from “racists” to “Nazis.”
I know why the left is dismissive: First off, it’s difficult to know if the protesters are mostly people who didn’t vote for Obama, or, more significant, if they include Obama voters who have angrily bolted the president. But, second, there’s a deeper issue the name-callers on the left don’t understand. That’s because they don’t understand what happened on November 4, 2008.
Using data, I’d like to try to explain what took place.
Here’s the rub: On November 4, 2008, a largely conservative American electorate elected an extremely liberal American president. And now that that president is governing from the extreme left, a sizable portion of that electorate is in revolt. It’s that simple.
Let’s start from the beginning:
As a senator, Barack Obama was ranked the most liberal member of arguably the most liberal Senate in the nation’s history by the respected, non-partisan National Journal—famous for its rankings. Americans had never elected as president anyone from that position. Yet, that’s precisely what they did last November 4, and by an impressive margin.
Like many observers, including my liberal friends, I assumed America voted that way because the nation shifted to the left. That was my immediate feeling.
Of course, feelings shouldn’t drive conclusions. So, I went to the data, to the numerous exit polls widely available. There, I expected a reversal in the longtime pattern—beginning under Reagan in the 1980s—where Americans call themselves “conservative” rather than “liberal” by roughly two-to-one, or by around 40 percent compared to 20 percent.
Those numbers must have finally flipped in 2008—or at least narrowed dramatically? No. Despite voting for the most leftist president in the history of the republic, the electorate continued to identify itself as conservative over liberal by roughly two-to-one, around 40 percent to 20 percent.
Maybe this magically turned in Obama’s favor upon his inauguration? No.
One of my favorite examples was noted in a column I wrote during Obama’s first 100 days, titled, “An Obama-Reagan Presidency?” I cited a survey by Clarus Research Group that asked Americans which president should be the model for Barack Obama in shaping his presidency. Surely, the public picked a liberal, right? FDR or LBJ?
No. The electorate’s top choice was America’s most conservative president: Ronald Reagan.
Is that even remotely logical? No, it isn’t.
Finally, one more example, which hit last summer: A Gallup poll reported that conservatives outnumber liberals in literally every state.
Again, that isn’t a surprise, but the specifics of the poll are worth detailing:
It was conducted January through May, when “Obama-mania” was at its peak. Gallup surveyed 160,000 people, far and away a big enough sample for an accurate representation. It found 40 percent calling themselves conservative and 21 percent opting for liberal, largely unchanged from Gallup findings over the last two decades, including the 2004 presidential race (40 percent to 19 percent) and 2000 race (38 percent to 19 percent).
Gallup reaffirmed that conservatives are the single largest voting bloc in America. There are decidedly more conservatives among both women (37 percent to 23 percent) and men (44 percent to 20 percent).
The shock is that such an electorate would choose a president so far to the left.
What the country elected, however, was an appealing politician campaigning under a nebulous, catch-all-be-all banner of “change.” Americans didn’t cast ballots in favor of Barack Obama’s sweeping left-wing ideological preferences—which they knew little about, in part thanks to the same liberal media now fuming at the protesters. They voted for personality; they elected Obama, not his politics. Obama didn’t get a “progressive” mandate.
This is a conservative country. It will not be easily governed by a president governing from the big-government, collectivist left. Obama is doing that, and thus the backlash. We’re watching the inevitable clash between a schizophrenic, irrational electorate and a principled, leftist president.
Yes, conservatives lost on November 4, 2008, but it wasn’t conservatism that was rejected. Likewise, it wasn’t progressivism/liberalism/socialism that was approved.
Blame it on the general public? Yes, certainly.
Barack Obama shouldn’t have expected this electorate to choose him president any more than Eugene Debs or Norman Thomas once did.
In sum, liberals need to understand this reality. Their guy got a major victory on November 4, but not a left-wing mandate.
The only remaining questions are to what degree Obama continues the push to the left, and precisely how much of the electorate is against him.
Written by Chuck DeVore - California State Assemblyman
Friday, 11 September 2009 08:39
Today, eight years ago, acts of unspeakable evil were committed on American soil. Al-Qaeda terrorists killed almost 3,000 people.
Whether the effort to preserve our liberties, secure our Constitution, and protect our people is called the “Global War on Terror” or “Overseas Contingency Operations,” the result of failure is the same: more terror and death.
Let us stop to reflect on what happened eight years ago and pray for the families of the dead, both civilian and uniformed, and the living serving on the front lines of freedom. As we do, let us also remember the nature of the attacks in far flung places like Mumbai, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Beirut, Baghdad, Kabul, and Sderot.
Lastly, be mindful and thankful for the heroic actions of a free people on Flight 93. These Americans took the initiative. They didn’t wait for government to tell them what to do. They didn’t need instructions. As a free people, comfortable with weighing their options, making decisions and taking appropriate risks, they rushed the terrorist-controlled cockpit. As a result of their actions, the fourth terrorist attack, destined for the U.S. Capitol or the White House, was brought down in rural Western Pennsylvania.
It was with Flight 93 that the American response to 9/11 began only one hour and eleven minutes after Flight 11 was crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower. The American counterattack was conceived by civilians who voted to rush the al-Qaeda terrorists.
They voted.
At 9:55 am passenger Todd Beamer was heard saying, “Let’s roll!” Within two minutes, the struggle was on.
As long as the spirit of a free people reigns in America, enemies of all stripes, whether terrorist organizations or nation states, will fail in their deadly and tyrannical designs.
Hey hey - we're "partying" here at Jellyfish Labs because we just got a new camera for our studio! Hurray! Here is Jellyfish editor/director Bill Ebel setting up the new camera…
If you look closely you'll see Buck Denver on the tiny screen on the camera. Buck gamely volunteered to stand in while Bill got the new camera up and running. (He's very generous with his time that way. He'll just stand there for hours if you ask him nicely.)
For you production guys, the new camera is a Panasonic HPX-300, replacing our old HVX-200. Obviously the new camera is much better than the old, because "300" is a bigger number than "200." So it's at least 50% better. And "P" is a better letter than "V," because "P" stands for "Phil." And that's me.
The new camera gives us much lower noise and somewhat higher resolution, both of which will help as we attempt to composite increasingly complex scenes. So we're all quite happy. (Especially Buck. He's hoping the new camera will make him look 10 years younger.)
You may be asking, "Hey Phil - how did you guys buy a new camera? Aren't you broke and penniless trying to land your new deals to keep JellyTelly going?" Well, that's the other part of the celebration on "New Camera" day. We've got funding for JellyTelly! After about 5 months of searching and proposing and negotiating, we've recently signed two deals with two major partners that will keep JellyTelly and Jellyfish Labs going and growing for at least another 2-3 years! Whoohoo! That's almost as exciting as a new camera! Wait - it's MORE exciting than a new camera!
I'll fill you in on our new partners and our new deals as soon as I can. (I have to wait until the partners issue their press releases about the deals first. It's "protocol.")
But thanks for all your prayers and support. I think we're on to something here. Can't wait to tell you more…
Most Saturdays, I choose to unwind at home, but not this week. On Friday I will be driving down to Washington DC to participate in the 912 march up Pennsylvania Avenue to the United States Capitol. I have no idea what I will accomplish by being a part of this rag tag crowd, but I have come to the conclusion that it is time to stand up and be counted. So what is behind this journey to the nation’s capitol? I have several reasons and I will list them in no particular order.
1. I have been inspired and encouraged by the ordinary Americans who believed it was important enough to show up at town hall meetings and be heard. If our congressmen and women lived in a bubble before August, they certainly have experienced a sharp injection of reality since then. So, my participation this week is in honor of all those who have already stood up against the powerful forces that control the politics of Washington.
2. I believe both political parties have been on a reckless financial joyride which will, in the end, destroy America. I can choose to do nothing, or I can raise my single voice in protest against the outrage that is present day Washington.
3. I am a businessman. I own three companies, all small by Washington’s standards because I cannot send lobbyists to walk the halls of congress to plea for my interests. I am one of tens of thousands who employee people, who provide services to other companies and who through diligence and hard work, have created opportunity for many people.
4. I have believed for some time that our political culture has devolved into something approximating a crime syndicate with only members of the immediate family benefiting from the corruption.
5. I believe that this disaster can be stopped, but we are pretty near the invisible line of no return.
6. If this event were organized by either of the major political parties, I would not go. Both have discredited themselves by their endless profligacy, and they will have to earn back our trust which will take years if not decades.
7. Twenty years ago, my company went through a chapter 11 bankruptcy. Before the bankruptcy occurred I behaved no differently than our political leaders in Washington are behaving today. They are bankrupting this great country, but believe that it will all work out in the end. It won’t. There are many more losers in bankruptcy than winners, and in the case of the United States, the taxpayers will be the giant losers.
8. I am the father of four children; they are starting out in life, but given the current crisis, will they inherit the land of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln or the land of Castro and Chavez?
9. I go to Washington in hope that the outcome will change because of the commitment of tens of thousands of citizens. This will not be a celebrity party; it will be a people of America party and I will be proud to be one of them.
10. An earthquake is about to shake America to the core. Many of the experts have turned off their political seismographs so they are not experiencing the tremors. But the tremors are there, warning of something catastrophic to come. I am going to Washington with the hope that the warnings will be heeded and America, awakening from its long unnatural slumber, will return to the values and principles that made it such a great source of good throughout the world.
11. I go to Washington with a great sense of humility. It is not really about what I want. It is about recognizing what is profoundly right about the United States.
12. Finally, I am going to Washington because of what Lincoln said on the battlefield of Gettysburg: “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new burst of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
The big day has arrived with the second coming of the “British Invasion” as The Beatles remastered records are released, and the much anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band game also hits the stores. There have been countless articles and blogs written about this being the entertainment event of the year, so I can’t add much except what the band has meant to me personally.
* Approximately one month before that historic Ed Sullivan show that introduced the Beatles to over 72 million viewers, I got a glimpse of them on Jack Parr’s TV Show. He talked about this phenomenon and grainy as the footage was, I was hooked – particularly on the bass played by Paul McCartney. I knew that’s the instrument I wanted to play and I did eventually become a professional bassist, plus I still have my original 1964 Hofner violin “Beatle” bass, just like Paul’s.
* When I did see the first Ed Sullivan performance, or as I like to call it, “The big bang that launched a million bands,” I along with all the other boys in my school tried our best to comb our shorn locks down as far as they would go over our foreheads to approximate the Beatle bangs of our new heroes – BTW – the girls (or “birds” in our new English slang) did take notice and that was point after all.
* In high school, I remember roughhousing in our park district pool when the lifeguard shouted out, “Hey Beatle, get out of the pool!” I have rarely been more proud.
* The drummer in my high school band, Jim Hunt, and I drove to Toronto in the dead of winter (and slept in his Volkswagen beetle to boot) to see John Lennon – we never caught a glimpse of John but we did see his billboards proclaiming “The War is Over if You Want It – Happy Xmas, John & Yoko.”
* When writing my school newspaper’s music column, I pulled an April Fools joke by creating a fake interview with Paul McCartney where he stated that he had just quit the group. In less than a week, Paul actually did announce he was leaving the band and I became an instant celebrity – if only in my school.
* My band Gambler signed a record deal with EMI – The Beatles’ label.
* For my 30th birthday, EMI/Capitol gave me a complete set of Beatles’ recordings on vinyl which I still cherish today.
* I got to meet Ringo (charming as ever), and almost met Paul. It was in a receiving line for charity fund-raiser he performed at but when I reached out to shake Sir Paul’s hand, someone pushed me out of the way.
* I got to strum George Harrison’s famous Fender Rosewood Telecaster guitar that he played at their last concert on the roof of Apple when the late Delaney Bramlett brought to my office (George had gifted it to him after playing on tour with Delaney & Bonnie).
* I was on the original team at Fender when Harmonix brought Rock Band to our company, and therefore one of the privileged to know about the Beatles’ version in when it was the works. However, I couldn’t tell anyone, even my family, because we had a Non Disclosure Agreement.
* I have learned almost every Beatles’ song on my acoustic guitar and even wooed my future in-laws in Norway by performing “Norwegian Wood” and leading a sing-a-long of “Yellow Submarine” (maybe that’s too much information).
As a marketer by profession, I look at The Beatles as the ultimate example of lifestyle marketing. Most boys in my generation wanted to look like them, be in a band like theirs, and boys and girls alike were influenced by their style, politics, spiritualism and even their philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors. My only career has been in the music business and I owe my passion to those four guys from Liverpool. I hope that all this focus on The Beatles brings back wonderful memories for my fellow baby boomers, and for the new generations discovering the band’s magic for the first time, I hope they experience some of the joy and inspiration that The Beatles’ music has brought to me over the years.
I often enjoy hiking in the woods alone. On one particular trip, the trail took me up to a ridge on a low-lying mountain range in central Pennsylvania. On such trips, the familiar noises of civilization can often be heard: the distant rumble of a passing freight train or the subtle hum of an interstate or just the low-grade sounds of distant activity filtering up to the trail.
But on this day everything was different, for as I moved further along the rocky path, I began to notice the absence of sound. The feeling of isolation became palpable and the sense of sudden vulnerability was haunting.
It is at times like this that you feel a deep appreciation for the power of two. If I had fallen while alone, I would have been in trouble, but if a companion had been with me, I would have been helped. If I had become lost, my friend would have assisted finding the way back to the trail. Alone, my chances of success would have been greatly diminished.
This noiseless world, beautiful and intriguing as it was, left me with a feeling of aloneness. It seemed like a world outside of God’s design. So, while the walk was memorable, I was relieved, in the end, to hear all the familiar sounds of human activity once again. For to me these noises were the sound of companionship, friendship and most importantly, the sound of love.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 09:52
We can only imagine how the future will unfold and this requires a certain sense of vision. It is reasonable to assume that the next big thing is already alive and growing toward fulfillment of the dream of becoming a superstar. Throughout my fifty plus years in the music industry, I have never met an artist who didn't think he was going all the way to The Big Top. Some even thought they would reach Elvisland and unseat the King of Rock & Roll as the all time greatest music star.
The degree of difficulty for success has not been diminished by the Internet. The threshold to entry is very low because of cheap digital recording, but everyone with a Mac, a mic and a song in his heart is not talented. It takes extraordinary talent to create a successful career in music and everyone with a MySpace page is not a contender. Only 10% of artists have a chance to succeed.
There is no artificial time frame attached to the emergence of the next superstar. And, only after an artist makes a spectacular impact will the race for ubiquitous popularity begin. One thing is for certain, the contest will be initiated and executed on the Internet. The next big thing will not trickle down from the record company penthouse. It will be built from the cyber-grass-roots up.
The most obvious contender at this moment in time is Colbie Caillat, who posted song and videos on the web and received several million hits. Her MySpace profile led her to become the number one unsigned singer in her genre. Her debut single "Bubbly" peaked at #5 in the charts. This brought her to the attention of professional managers Fitzgerald & Hartley. They were able to secure a multi-million dollar record deal with Universal Music Group and her second album "Breakthrough," reached the #1 spot in Billboard in its first week of release. Caillat is a prolific songwriter with a distinctive voice and an incredible work ethic. She may well be the next big thing in music. Only time and a continuing stream of live shows and recorded product will tell.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Monday, 07 September 2009 19:32
Electronic music has maintained a steady growth in popularity over the past few decades. Electronic musical instruments and technology began with the use of sound producing instruments like the Telharmonium, the Hammond organ and electric guitars. Sound production is also achieved by using devices such as the Theremin, sound synthesizer, and the computer
Originally utilized to add unique sounds to the recording process, in recent years electronic music has achieved enormous popularity in the form of electronic dance music. Computer technology has become more accessible and music software interacts with music production technology in ways that bear no relationship to traditional musical performance practices.
Any musician with a Mac a mic and song in his head can produce a high quality home recording at virtually no cost. This has lead to millions of new artists posting their songs online and playing their music in night clubs around the world. Despite its popularity the genre has yet to produce a true superstar.
If a great artist were to emerge, it would most likely get the genre off the back burner and into the mainstream. It has an enormous potential but needs a star to establish ubiquitous interest with the fan base. It would only take one great song to break electronic music wide open; but it will have to come from a performing artist with original songs, tremendous sex appeal and unbridled passion to succeed.
Since the music delivery system of choice today is free downloads, via peer-to-peer file sharing, it would only take one record to achieve instant popularity. If the fans loved the act enough to pay for the music, the artist could make a fortune from the first song on day one. However, a new act is more likely to build slowly over a long period of time and it will be dificult to eke out a survival.
Over the last week-and-a-half I’ve gotten an overwhelming number of inquiries relating to the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Why me? Because of my report back in 2006 of Kennedy’s confidential offer to Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov. That offer was evident in a fascinating May 14, 1983 memo written by KGB head Victor Chebrikov to Andropov, simply titled, “Regarding Senator Kennedy’s request to the General Secretary of the Communist Party Y. V. Andropov.” I published the document in its entirety in my book, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.
When Senator Kennedy passed away, I got requests immediately, via phone calls and emails. I declined them because I didn’t want to seem uncharitable or speak ill of the man upon his death, given that the KGB memo is not exactly flattering.
Within only hours of that personal decision, my position became increasingly untenable as Rush Limbaugh addressed the subject at great length. Ultimately, once the funeral had passed, I published a piece in American Thinker laying out the specifics, and even posting the document (in Russian and English). I’ve now been doing roughly five radio interviews per day on the subject, not to mention responding to numerous other forms of inquiry.
I will not revisit the entire saga here, as readers can look elsewhere. But there is one telling thing about the whole incident that has been missed, and which showed up with intriguing historical irony just this week. Let me explain:
The most striking aspect of the KGB memo, not to mention Senator Kennedy’s many public statements and writings at the time—see, to cite just two examples, his March 24, 1983 Senate floor speech and March 1984 piece for Rolling Stone—was the late senator’s lack of faith and trust in President Ronald Reagan in contrast to his amazing faith and trust in Premier Yuri Andropov. This was evident in the memo, where the KGB head underscored that Kennedy was “very impressed” with Andropov—as opposed to Reagan, whose “militaristic politics” and “belligerence,” Kennedy judged, were the culprits for the increasingly tense Cold War.
This was a quite incredible perspective by Kennedy. I literally cannot name a single other American politician, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, who saw the Stalinist Andropov as anything other than cold, calculating, brooding, sinister. Yuri Andropov was no Mikhail Gorbachev. He was a throwback to the Stalin years.
And yet, because of that misplaced faith and trust in Andropov, Senator Kennedy believed that he could help arrange a P.R. tour for the Soviet dictator in the United States in August-September 1983, where Andropov could “influence Americans” with his (alleged) charm and generally produce a betterment in U.S.-Soviet relations, arms control, peace, and “define the safety of the world.” To quote the steps outlined in the KGB memo: “Kennedy believes that in order to influence Americans it would be important to organize in August-September of this year, televised interviews with Y. V. Andropov in the USA.”
On its face, this was obviously an extraordinarily misplaced judgment, quickly apparent to anyone who lived through the 1980s and remembers Yuri Andropov. But the full degree to which this is so brings me to the other historical irony that passed unnoticed this week:
It was 26 years ago, early September 1983, when Soviet fighter pilots shot out of the sky a peaceful South Korean passenger airliner dubbed KAL 007, which had veered off-course into Soviet airspace. The attack killed 269 innocents, including 61 Americans. Andropov and his cruel regime scandalously denied and tried to cover up the dirty deed, but Ronald Reagan, his National Security Adviser Bill Clark, and his administration blew the whistle on Andropov at the United Nations. The good guys forced the bad guys to admit the crime, to concede responsibility for what Reagan labeled a “barbarous act” born of a society that “wantonly disregards” the most basic human rights.
Now, we don’t know what, precisely, caused the cancellation of the “August-September” 1983 Andropov tour of America proposed by Senator Kennedy in the May 1983 KGB memo. We don’t know because none of the liberal reporters who dominate the American media ever asked Kennedy these basic follow-up questions, even as the information in this KGB memo was first reported way back in a February 2, 1992 article in the London Times (titled, “Teddy, the KGB and the top secret file”), let alone my book, published by HarperCollins in 2006.
I suspect, however, that the proposed idea of a Yuri Andropov good-will tour to America in August-September 1983 literally went up-in-smoke over Soviet territory on September 1, 1983—blown up with KAL 007.
Thus, what happened with KAL 007 was not only symbolic of Soviet brutality and of Andropov’s disregard for human life, but of the late Senator Kennedy’s tragic misjudgment. And I think that Democrats from Kennedy’s own party will agree with me that it was such consistently poor judgment that plagued the late senator throughout his life and political career. It was a quality that, I believe, prevented Edward Kennedy from ever rising to the office of his late presidential brother.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 19:45
Everything changes. It is not surprising that the record business would be drastically effected by digital technology. The shock would be if the music industry failed to adapt to the evolution. Instant access to all music genres, on demand, is not the only contributing factor in the decline of record sales. The DigiKids have a deep rooted perception that if it's on the web it belongs to them.
The "its mine" mind set is universally accepted and evolves out of the fact that broadcast radio has always been free. The penalty is tied to enduring the constant barrage of commercials. Record companies spend millions of dollars creating "product" and millions more to place their "priority" records on the radio. Music fans tune in and purchase what they like from the choices offered.
As Rock & Roll morphed into its classic form there was a golden age of music that made every song, from a favored artist, relevant. The Beatles set a very high standard and every new band and artist was forced to reach for a the highest plateau. In the sixties and seventies many great bands delivered. Fans purchased albums because they wanted to know the artists they loved and the resultant profits created the postmodern record business. The artist/fan dynamic has changed.
In order to feed the insatiable system a constant flow of product was required. As the machinery grew, the quality declined. Mediocre talent was able to reach financial success, if not critical acclaim. Artists who would have been laughed of the stage in the golden age of music became regular residents at the top of the charts. Celebrity provoked more sales than virtuosity or performing skills and the fans became more influenced by peer pressure than intrinsic value.
The old formula of quality being determined in record company board rooms and sold through the purchase of radio airplay has been replaced by a new filtration method. The Internet is the new arbiter of quality and it cannot be fooled. The millions of videos on YouTube reveal the artist's talent, or lack thereof, instantly. And, as always, most of the content is not commercially viable. The shear volume of material makes it extremely difficult to identify the best new artists.
Every band thinks it is great and the ones that get the most encouragement attempt to achieve success in the professional realm. The ones that make their living from music attempt to reach the pinnacle an done percent reach The Big Top. Success can only be measured over time and it is the survivors who look back over their twenty or thirty year careers who compete for Elvisland.
For decades Elvis Presley has been the highest earning dead person and thus demonstrates the most enduring career in music. Artists who seek to be the next big thing must compete with Elvis' legacy. It is possible that a charismatic and talented artist could emerge and through the power of the Internet establish a formidable career. Instant fame and fortune could accrue to such an act if the fans elected to pay for the music instead of stealing it. That's a big if! Such an artist may be just over the horizon, but has failed to reveal itself so far. For sure, its not The Jonas Brothers.
One of the key mitigating factors is the changing role of music in our culture. What was once a central force that permeated every level of society and maintained an ubiquitous presence has lost its primary delivery system. Radio is no longer the common denominator it once was. Access to new music is accomplished through peer-to-peer file sharing and is mostly free of charge. Songs are discovered, explored and shared one at a time and whole albums are rarely interesting enough to download.
Piracy comes with no moral imperative and nobody steals something they don't want. Regardless of the opinion of the prevailing systems and protocols the digital generation claims music as there own. If they love the artist they will support their live performances and purchase their CDs and merch. Even though they probably already have the songs on their iPods they will purchase the artist's product as a demonstration of their affection. The Internet is the ultimate promotional tool. What the record companies really cannot stand is the fact that it is free and makes them irrelevant. This phenomenon is the greatest boon to artists and puts the profits in their pockets.
Written by Chuck DeVore - California State Assemblyman
Monday, 31 August 2009 09:57
I welcome Carly Fiorina's pending entrance into the Republican primary because when someone of her caliber and talent is interested in running it shows America that Californians know that Barbara Boxer is beatable.
However, today's explosive revelation that then-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina was in a position to know about illegal high-tech sales to the Islamic Republic of Iran is very troublesome. We need a strong and fully vetted candidate to beat Barbara Boxer, not a candidate that Boxer can attack in a series of TV ads for having aided and abetted a dangerous enemy of America.
Over 20 years ago one of my responsibilities as a Reagan White House appointee in the Pentagon was to ensure the effectiveness of the U.S.-led high-tech embargo on the Soviet Union and its communist-bloc allies. Reagan strengthened this embargo and it worked, helping to accelerate the downfall of the Soviet Union and the victory of freedom that followed.
There are just a few hours left to meet our August goals for online fundraising.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Friday, 28 August 2009 16:39
I advise artists & managers to keep all income streams under their direct control. Publishing has always been the most lucrative part of the music industry and it is the only enduring asset for artists and songwriters. Acquisition of copyrights isn't just a matter of having a good pitch and a game plan. Its not rocket science either, and anybody can do it. Songwriters always love their tunes and it isn't easy to convince them to sign over their copyrights. I'm not the only one advising them not to sell.
The big leverage is money. Lacking investment there is little reason for songwriters to sign with a publisher, its just as easy to do-it-yourself. If you had a roster of writers, you might attract new writers by offering them associations with your veterans. An established company can always point to their track record and history of success to attract new writers. A new company hasn't much to offer. You are always fighting the gravity in the elevator imposed by the status-quo.
The publishing industry has lost considerable income as a result of diminished mechanical royalties from record sales. But, they have many other ways to go. The hottest outlet now is TV and Film where music is playing a stronger role than in recent decades. When a song is performed on American Idol, for example, the catalog for the original artist skyrockets. Every pitch has a "anti-pitch" so you can always ask. Many songwriters are starving and vulnerable to cash offers.
Your best shot at owning copyrights is to find a Band that has a great live act and offer them a management partnership whereby you are become an equal partner in all their activities. Then you can set up your own publishing and record company to exploit the records and merchandise at their gigs. As their partner and CEO of the LLC, or corporation, you can seek to place the controlled compositions, through music supervisors, on TV shows and movie soundtracks.
The only other option is to purchase songs directly from the writers. The problem here is 90% of the songs are not commercially viable, so you could end up with a catalog full of duds. If fans flock to a bands gigs there must be something about the songs that appeals to them. Rather than trust your personal taste, watch the audience. If they are screaming and yelling for more, they must be hearing something they like coming from the stage. If they buy the CD on site you have a business. If they pick up a t-shirt as well, you can bet they will be back, with their friends, for more.
Last week I wrote about former President George W. Bush’s unprecedented work on behalf of the African AIDS epidemic. That $15 billion package, first proposed in January 2003, was entirely Bush’s doing, and has been ignored by the mainstream media and liberals who should hail the initiative. Similarly, it has been dismissed by many conservatives who did not like the massive spending at a time of record deficits.
I focused on the latest ignored news on the Bush initiative: the remarkable conclusion that it has saved over one million African lives. According to an April 2009 study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Bush plan is “changing the course of the AIDS epidemic.”
Although the response to the article was overwhelmingly positive, there were some negatives. Here, I’d like to consider those responses, positive and negative; they are instructive:
First, the response from the left remains sadly predictable. There continues to be a refusal to give George W. Bush due credit for this extraordinary act. This was evident in a brief reply by an editor at an Iowa newspaper, who responded to my 1,159-word article with 11 words: “And he [Bush] killed thousands of American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Granted, within that statement was a tiny inadvertent acknowledgment that Bush had saved African lives. That’s an improvement from past emails I’ve received from liberals who refused to concede the program existed. (In fact, the dominant response from liberal newspaper editors was to ignore the article—to not print it.)
Second, I got predictable criticisms from a few conservatives, particularly those who lean libertarian in their economics. One was mean, and I won’t bother recounting what he wrote. Another, however, offered a good point worth noting: “Actually, the credit should go to the American taxpayer,” he wrote, “whose effort and ingenuity afforded Bush and Congress the $15 billion they used for AIDS programs in Africa. Your [article] title should be ‘American Taxpayers Saved a Million African Lives.’”
Point taken. Of course, taxpayers did not come up with the idea and push it and adopt it and make it a reality. That was entirely George W. Bush. In fact, if Bush’s proposal had been placed on referendum, I suspect taxpayers might have handily rejected it. Certainly no group of taxpayers has generously stepped forward with a cool $15 billion for African AIDS relief.
Nonetheless, yes, American taxpayers foot the bill. They are viewed by politicians as an eternal cash-cow always there for the milking, but rarely to be thanked. Without their effort and ingenuity that produces the revenue, the government cannot spend a dime.
Not only is this a worthy matter to bear in mind when it comes to Bush’s AIDS package, but especially as President Obama and Congress tap infinitely larger sums of taxpayer dollars. They do so when the projected deficit for this year—a breathtaking $2 trillion—makes Bush’s deficit in 2003 ($377 billion) look negligible. They also do so as they bash the very producers that provide the revenue for their insatiable redistribution.
Finally, my article prompted some illuminating responses from Grove City College alumni who work this issue.
One is Kelly Dillon, who, under President Bush, was top aid to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and special advisor to the G8. “Right on!” wrote Kelly. “I had the privilege to push this initiative and work with our allies in the G8 to try to get them to match it in 2007/2008.” That push was an additional thrust of the Bush plan. As Kelly noted, “To a certain extent the prodding worked, but without a doubt the credit for PEPFAR lies with President Bush alone.” (“PEPFAR” is the acronym for the AIDS initiative.)
Another alumnus is Christopher Doyle, a behavioral research analyst for the Institute for Youth Development. Chris has published excellent work on abstinence programs under PEPFAR, and this week is presenting a major paper at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta.
Chris and his organization have documented remarkable success in AIDS reduction through abstinence and “be faithful” behavioral-change programs. Uganda, for instance, has experienced a drop in HIV prevalence from over 20 percent in the 1990s to about 6 percent in 2008.
Unfortunately, with the election of an extremely liberal president and Congress, the abstinence mandate that received priority under President Bush has been lifted in favor of “prevention” methods like condoms—the go-to source for liberals in these things, whether dealing with teen pregnancy in American public schools or AIDS in Africa. Tellingly, that funding has been axed despite an enormous escalation in PEPFAR spending, from $15 billion from 2003-8 to $48 billion authorized for 2009-14.
The Atlanta conference is symptomatic of such thinking, as only one in 150 sessions addresses abstinence. Once again, condoms are being heralded as “primary prevention.” Self-expression rules; self-control is dismissed.
In sum, there are many issues within this debate, from prevention methods to huge spending allocations. On the latter, conservatives are right to ask how much?
Either way, the African AIDS crisis has been truly devastating. Kudos to George Bush for genuinely saving lives, even as the Nobel Committee and liberals everywhere continue to refuse him the accolades he deserves.
There is an old axiom: “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior," which causes me to ask an obvious question about the "public option" for healthcare: Are there any examples of other “public options” that might be predictive models for what we might expect from another government-run program? And what happens to the field of health care when the same battles that have gone on over religious expression in public schools and other government sponsored activities, break out there?
Our public servants at local, state and federal levels tell us that we cannot invoke the Ten Commandments while we are on public property. We are told that a tolerant culture absolutely cannot tolerate the intolerance of such intolerant absolutes. Our local school boards say that its wrong to pray in class or at a school football game because the First Amendment really guarantees freedom from religion rather than freedom of religion especially when you are on property paid for with your own tax dollars.
So, if the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior why would we think that the “public option” for hospitals would bear any different fruit than the “public option” we have had for education for the past 50 years? If the government funded classroom lacks any sense of moral clarity and refuses to accommodate our inalienable rights of religious liberty and freedom of speech then why would we think that anything different would prevail in a government funded hospital room staffed by nurses and doctors who would essentially be government employees?
Think of it this way: If you can’t speak of God at the curbside of your local courthouse or schoolhouse then why would you think that you would be able to sing a hymn (that would be a sectarian, religious song) at the bedside of your dying grandmother in the public house-of-healthcare?
And, why would a chaplain be permitted to talk about the salvation of Christ with dying patients in the local hospital when that same minister is prohibited from talking about the His existence with healthy students in the local high school?
If a Priest can’t speak of God as the giver of human rights in Ted Kennedy’s public schools then why would the same Priest be permitted to administer last rites to Ted Kennedy at his public hospital? A healthcare system funded by the State would be the experience of our recent past, mean that every thought, word, and deed, therein, must be separated from the Church - Right?
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and f we want to know where government controlled healthcare will lead then all we have to do is to look down the path already trod by government controlled education.
Ideas have consequences and the ideas being debated right now are not new. They have been in play for years and we have a clear predictor of what may lie ahead. Unfortunately the medicine some of our leaders want us to take has not made us well in the past but to the contrary it seems to have made us sick – perhaps even sick unto death.
Companies are all to happy to pay big bucks to get their products and brand names in front of millions of potential consumers through product placement in movies and TV shows. Even better (and more $$$) is if the star mentions the product in what's commonly referred to as a "text placement." Though most viewers realize that this is a "paid endorsement," it doesn't seem to bother them as it's better to have the message inside the property that be interrupted by an obnoxious commercial. Script writers are constantly put on by producers to write these products into the action because product placement underwrites a portion of the production costs. And music artists don't want to be left out in the cold so another sign of the times is "text placements" of products and brands in songs. Just a decade ago, it would be hard to imagine a Beatles’ song used in a commercial like the recent one for retailer Target that actually changed the spelling of the Beatles classic "Hello Goodbye." to "Hello Goodbuy" to mirror the campaign. I reported in my book The Cool Factor that teen apparel company Candies paid Fergie an estimated $4 million to write their brand into her album. And the list goes on…
In the "old" pre-placement days, artists would incorporate brands into their songs because, well, they worked well in the lyrical theme and helped enhance the image they were trying to convey. To follow are my top ten favorite non-paid "artistic" brand placements. (NOTE: I left out automobile brands because the Beach Boys alone would have enough for their own list and country artists would have a second top ten list made up of Chevy and Ford pickup trucks)
1. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels "Devil With a Blue Dress On" – mentions the perfume brand Chanel # 5 to get the point across that the female subject was classy and they wanted to portray her as “The finest girl alive."
2. The Kinks’ "Lola" - in the original version, Ray Davies sings about a club where “You drink champagne that tastes just like Coca-Cola.” Unfortunately, the BBC refused to play that version so Ray rerecorded the lyrics and Coca-Cola became Cherry Cola. Kinda like a brand placement in reverse.
3. Johnny Rivers - "Summer Rain" – Johnny wanted to capture the essence of 1967 as the “Summer of Love” which was epitomized by one of The Beatles’ all-time greats and so he sang, “The Jukebox kept on playing Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
4. Captain Hook & the Medicine Show’s “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” – This band’s lament was an unbridled attempt to get on the cover of the famed Rock Magazine and guess what? Three months after the song was released, dadgummit – they made the cover!
5. The Beach Boys’ "Surfin' USA" – these surfer dudes sang “You see them wearin’ their baggies, Huarache Sandals too.” I grew up in Chicago and didn’t even know what they were singing about until I moved to southern California and found out from my wife that only true surfers would know what those were at the time – a Mexican made sandal with a characteristic woven top.
6. Don Henley’s "Down at the Sunset Grill" – this song was a voyeuristic look at the street people who populate a stretch of Sunset Strip that passes in front of Guitar Center Hollywood. The restaurant, founded in 1957, was just another So-Cal burger joint, but after Henley’s song hit the charts, the eatery got a complete makeover as a tourist destination. Note: Hollywood Guitar Center manager Dave Weiderman has an amazing collection of guitars and Rock memorabilia in his second floor office which includes the classic and very collectable original sign. Honorable Mention: Arlo Guthrie’s "Alice's Restaurant" is about another actual restaurant that was owned by a real woman named Alice, who opened it up in a converted church.
7. Don Henley’s "Boys of Summer" – Henley again captures another piece of California cool with his reference to a certain style of Ray-Ban sunglasses worn by the song’s elusive fem fatale, “You got your hair slicked back and those Wayfarers on.”
8. Steve Goodman’s "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" – partly due to my love for the loveable loser Cubs, and partly because I knew Steve growing up (he was a friend and mentor to me who introduced me to the recordings of so many great Blues artists), this song had to be included. Technically, he wrote this for the Cub’s broadcast station to be used but it really was meant as a heartfelt tribute. Sadly, Goodman died in 1984 from Leukemia, but the Cub’s did honor that last request and allowed family members to spread his ashes over the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Honorable Mention: Steve Goodman "Go Cubs Go" which is the current theme song for the Cub’s WGN broadcasts. WGN had tried other songs including one by the Beach Boys (?) but the fans demanded Steve’s song be brought back and when the Cub’s do win, the fans stay after the game to sing the song in unison – a fitting tribute to Mr. Goodman!
9. Motley Crue’s - "Girls, Girls, Girls" – the song is a virtual world tour of famous topless bars and those boys ought to know: “Dollhouse in Ft. Lauderdale, Rocking in Atlanta at Tattletails,. Raising Hell at the 7th Veil.” And they didn’t forget the “Crazy Horse, Paris, France.” - do you think they got free lap dances after the song came out?
10. Steely Dan’s "Hey Nineteen" – even though they couldn’t bridge the generation gap through listening to music from the baby boomer era, the Steely’s proved that they could still get the (young) girl the old-fashioned way – by getting her drunk on “Cuervo Gold” and stoned on “Fine Columbian.” A rallying cry for old farts with money.
I just had to add one more which demonstrates the creative use of a brand to enhance a song’s narrative: The Mamas & The Papa’s “Creeque Alley” – in their early lean years, the band doesn’t survive by maxing their credit cards, but rather by “Greasin’ on American Express Card.”
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Thursday, 27 August 2009 17:02
Symmetry is the essence of beauty. If a band standing on stage, in front of an audience, is awkward and disheveled, and members don’t seem to belong together, there is a subliminal distraction imposed on the audience. This anomaly will cloud the beholder’s attention and incite them to "think" about what is being presented to them. When one guy on stage is really tall, and another band member is very short, it can be awkward for an audience to receive that image and digest the information, in a harmonious manner. Of course there are no absolutes and symmetrical flaws can be overcome. Hall & Oats success was not precluded by this particular example, in this case talent eclipsed image. However, whenever I saw them, it registered in my mind that the guy is really short. When building a band always try to find attractive people and build balanced visual elements into the artist’s image. Costumes and stage dress should be appropriate to the specific statement the artist wishes to make to his audience. Be careful about the instrumentation, and the tools that are used to put on the show. Sound, lighting and production techniques should be designed to provide a harmonious balance on stage. The business of music has always been an audio/visual medium, but this is even more relevant in the digital age. New artists are first observed online through YouTube videos and personal web sites. The fan base knows what you look like at the same time they are exposed to your sound. If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. A bands image is immediately established by their dress, tattoos, piercing, instruments and music. Addressing a specific audience is instantly focused by what your act looks like. A country fan knows a metal band and moves on. A metal head sees himself in the act and clicks deeper into the web to determine the authenticity of the act. The fans are the first judge and they are always right for their taste. How you present your act weather it is T-shirts and sneakers, or suits and boots, a carefully considered image will steer you straight to the fan base you seek. Symmetry provides a more pleasant picture. Managers must be conscious of what their act looks like. Its a show, so show them . Be fearless. If you don't want to look like every other band in your genre, visuals are an area where you can separate yourself from the pack. Sometimes image can overcome substance. The greatest example of this is KISS whose "look" was more important to their success than the quality of their music. More recently Slipknot took a bold visual stance and got noticed. Whatever, your genre might be stretch the image as far as you dare. No matter what, do something, look original, demonstrate some style. Your songwriting and performing skills will be what ever they are; your image can be adjusted to make an impression on the audience. If they like your attitude, they might listen to your music. Start by creating a dynamic show with physical action and visual symmetry.
Four Peas In A Pod - Eagles
In early 1971, David Geffen and Elliot Roberts founded one of the first and most successful boutique record companies of all time, Asylum Records. I was the very first employee of the fledgling label and in charge of managing the artists. David's original motivation was to create a home label for legendary singer/songwriter Jackson Browne. However, once in the game they were faced with building a roster of talent to create product to feed into the distribution system. Jackson introduced David to several of his contemporaries, including J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey. David signed Souther as a solo artist, and he suggested that Glenn's should form a band.
With the help of Linda Ronstadt and her manager/producer, John Boylan, a group was formed, around Glenn, inside Linda's band. The quartet of Glenn, Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon became the founding members of the Eagles. They went on to become Asylum's most successful artists with immediate success out of the box, and a sustaining catalog of hit albums and singles. This band had symmetry. They were all skinny, long-haired, twenty somethings who looked exactly like their audience. Their handsome good looks projected a strong visual image.
The pattern had been set a decade before by The Beatles who also projected symmetry in their appearance. The Fab Four chose a more formal and refined image by appearing on stage, and in public, dressed in matching suits. Their manager Brian Epstien wanted to overcome their working class roots by making them more palatable to a wider audience. Their look changed with every record and they established clothing trends for an entire generation. The footwear they favored became known in the cultural vernacular as "Beatle Boots," and we all wore them.
The Eagles incorporated a similar symmetry into their look without compromising their individuality. There was no uniform dress code, but their was an instinctive choice to lean toward their country rock roots. When they walked on stage, or down the street, they looked like they belonged together. They never intentionally copied one an other's style, but what they each chose to wear matched their personality and the role they played in the band. The symmetry was beautiful and even though they didn't look alike, they were four peas in a pod.
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 15:14
Virtuosity means excellent playing skills. Superior instrumental technique is most obvious to another accomplished musician who has a solid basis for measurement. B. B. King is the best judge of how well Eric Clapton is playing his instrument. However, the talent required to deliver a superior performance is not lost on the average music fan. Music is a mathematical statement in which precision, speed and physical dexterity all play a part. Mastery of a musical instrument combines with the musician's mental choices to produce a specific result. The best technician is not necessarily the best player. The most proficient performers transcend mere technical ability and reach into the depths of their imaginations to create inspired works of art. Music is the mathematics of the masses and our minds respond to greatness without analytical judgement. We feel it when it sounds good and we cringe when its sharp or flat. The emotional reaction is not about logic or reason, it just is. If a musician lacks imagination, the sounds he produces will have less impact. When the meter, melody and message are skillfully integrated the response is visceral and cerebral. Music can close the mind + body gap and create an euphoric experience for the listener. The presence of a virtuoso player in any band inspires the other members to play better and grow. A great player sets a standard of excellence that the others can strive for. Sometimes this ingredient alone can dictate the success of an act. An inspired performance generates excitement in the audience. It is very important to have musicians with superior ability as a primary ingredient in any band. Managers and artists must seek and recognize the great players. A strong band represents the best possibility of putting on a good show. Virtuosity provides a powerful insurance policy for artists seeking success in the highly competitive music industry. There are three ways to master your musical instrument, practice, practice and more practice.
The Man Of Steel - Rusty Young
In early 1972 I had become a partner in G-R Management and was responsible for executing the performing and recording activity of more than a dozen artists. The most recent addition to our roster was seminal country rock band, Poco. Founded in the wake of Buffalo Springfield's 1968 breakup by Richie Furay, Rusty Young, Jim Messina and George Grantham, Poco had enjoyed just enough success to keep them going; but not enough to hold all the original members. By '72 Messina was enjoying popularity as half of the great duo Loggins & Messina. Guitarist, singer Paul Cotton had replaced Messina and Bass player Timothy B. Scmit, later to become a member of Eagles, had joined the little band that could. This was still a very solid line-up of musicians.
Over time Richie Furay had grown frustrated by the pace of Poco's career. He was lured by David Geffen to join singer/songwriter J.D. Souther and Byrds co-founder Chris Hillman in what we hoped would be the next super group, The SHF Band. A meeting was called to make the announcement that Richie was leaving. The extant members gathered in my Sunset Strip office along with Geffen, Roberts and associate manager Harlan Goodman. It was a very awkward encounter.
The band didn't have a clue that their lead singer was about to quit. Nobody wanted to address the issue and after a couple of rounds of meaningless chatter, I realized that it was up to me to break the news. "Lets take the bull by the horns," I offered, "This guy is leaving the band." There was a stunned silence as incredulous glances bounced around the room. It was plain to see the reality registering in the band's collective mind. Suddenly, recent events made sense to them .
The hottest management company in the world had romanced a marginally successful band into its family, just to steal its prime asset. Accusations flew and anger blistered in the room. "You're fired," declared Rusty as he stormed from the office, in a cloud of disgust, followed by the rest of the band. We all adjusted to the shock that reverberated through the room. We had expected it, and we took it on the chin, we absorbed the embarrassment, and slowly drifted from the room.
This event was a turning point in my relationship with Geffen. Our relationship had been strained over other issues, and it seemed like a good time to resign from the company. I turned to Harlan and said, "Lets start our own company," to which he responded, "We already have." Neither of us had any money and without an office or a client, we started Hartmann & Goodman in a phone booth at Sunset and Doheny. We found a role of dimes in my college beer mug and the first call was to Poco. We all gathered at Tim's house and by sundown we had a our first client.
Poco, now a quartet without a lead singer was called to the line. They would either crumble and become a footnote in rock history, or they would rally their skills, consolidate their talents and take a step up and deliver. We were all desperate to create our own survival and the band went into an extensive songwriting and extended rehearsal marathon. We went into the studio and began work on "Poco Seven" for Epic Records. Harlan and I begged Barbara Skydel, of Premier Talent, to book us a tour and the band went on the road for the rest of the year making "Seven" Poco's most successful album to date. We all enjoyed our most financially successful year as well.
Rusty Young was voted "Best Steel Guitar Player" for each of the first five years that Guitar Player Magazine conducted their poll. Eventually, they gave him a diamond award and retired him from future contention, in order to give somebody else a shot at the title. Rusty was without any doubt a virtuoso musician. By shear will power and excruciating determination Rusty turned his pedal steel guitar into a lead instrument. His dynamic performances inspired the rest of the band to reach beyond their previously perceived potential. This was by far the best version of Poco ever.
Rusty assumed song writing responsibility, along with Schmit and Cotton. A succession of hits followed and Rolling Stone Magazine declared that Poco had finally made it. They dubbed Rusty the "greatest slide guitarist in the world." Poco members have been prolific song writers, releasing more than 25 original albums. They continue to tour and always demonstrate their virtuosity.
Several years ago, I climbed Mt Whitney in the High Sierras. This was not the usual walk up, but a four day early spring adventure that required heavy backpacking up to Boy Scout Lake which is a snow filled bowl surrounded on three sides by jutting peaks. From this platform, we ascended Whitney itself by heading up a long, steep shoot that is to the right of the headwall. Beyond the shoot is a small flat area that stands hundreds of feet below the summit. Here we clamped onto fixed ropes with ascenders and maneuvered our way up until we reached the actual summit. We were lucky with the weather and so stayed on top for a few hours, enjoying the panoramic views on all sides, including what might be Death Valley far off to the east.
We spent that night once again at Boy Scout Lake. In the morning we awoke before sunrise to begin the job of packing up to head down to the Portal and the road out to Lone Pine. As any mountaineer can tell you, the cold and dark world seems to awaken with the rising sun. And when the light hits the dormant grey rocks, they catch fire and become magical golden shapes that seem to dance with the new dawn.
South of our tent site stand the Needles, four sculpted spires that rise up out of the mountain massif. They appear to the eye to be four steeples of a natural cathedral standing guard against the brutal forces that are constantly besieging this huge wall.
For the most part, I was busy packing up for our departure, but at some point I looked up to see that the light had transformed the stone spires of the Needles into a luminous, serrated gold bulwark set against the deep blue of a desert morning sky.
Luckily, my camera was resting on my sleeping bag; I picked it up and without hesitation, shot four or five frames with black and white film. I wanted to catch the gold rocks, but I had run out of color film, so I had no choice but to go with what was in the camera.
The developed pictures surprised me and taught me a few photography lessons. First, light is everything. The gold that caught my eye in the picture became vibrant rock formations. If you didn’t know better, it was a picture that seemed to be in the tradition of Ansel Adams. It wasn’t, of course, but still a very fine photograph was created by the light reflecting off of the rock formations in just the right way. The truth is that the right exposure was there in front of me and I only needed to recognize it. The second thing I learned was never hesitate. A brilliant moment can vanish like the wind, leaving you with nothing but, well, a not so great picture. How can an average photographer with an inexpensive pocket camera capture an outstanding picture? I think Ken Duncan, the world renounce landscape photographer (www.kenduncan.com), captures it best: He has said many times, “I am just an average photographer with a great God.”
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Monday, 24 August 2009 12:02
The day of artists being able to get away with a lack of performing skills is long past. The fans and the public are quite conscious of all the ingredients involved in any kind of theatrical production. An artist must be able to put on a good, live show. His performance must attract the audience back for a second, third, and fourth show. He must create enough excitement to induce the fans to invite their friends along next time. Unless the fan base continues to expand the act will not survive. It is very important that artists, building careers in The Music Renaissance, provide sales of recorded product and merchandise on site; these have become very important income streams. Without a good, live attraction, there is no way that an artist can function without a day job. Television requires a strong visual component and isn't likely to utilize artists without polished performance skills. Most sales of CDs will result from the impact of live performance on the fan base. Radio airplay is still controlled by the record companies and most of the air time is devoted to the established artists. New acts compete with the major stars for the same rotation. Live performance is the singular most important promotional activity that can accrue to the marketing of any record. When a manager chooses a client, he must make certain this particular ingredient is present. It will be very tough to survive if you can’t put on a good show that’ll bring those fans back time and time again. The bond created between audience and artist through the live concert experience is the most powerful inducement for fans to buy your records and merchandise.
The Return Of The Mountain Men - Eagles
In early 1971, I joined the Geffen-Roberts Company as an associate manager. David Geffen had entered into a partnership with Elliot Roberts, the manager of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Geffen was the manager of Crosby, Stills & Nash whose eponymous debut album catapulted the first "supergroup" to international stardom. Their second album included Young to produce CSNY's iconic Deja Vu. David and Elliot parlayed their success and set up their own record label.
Asylum Records derived its name from the perception that the record business was an island of insanity amidst an ocean of chaos. The adventure that followed did little to assuage that perception. David went on an asserted campaign to influence Joni and G-R client Laura Nero to sign with Asylum. After a protracted tug-of-war with Clive Davis, president of Nero's label Columbia Records, Laura signed with Columbia and fired Geffen as her manager. Joni signed with the fledgling label and her presence contributed heavily to Asylum's immediate success.
The first artist signed to the label was singer/songwriter Jackson Browne who shared a house in Silver Lake with a folk-rock duo called Longbranch-Pennywhistle. The act was composed of John David Souther and Glenn Frye. Geffen signed Souther to a recording contract and he joined our management roster under my direction. David suggested to Glenn that he would be better in the context of a band and set in motion a process that eventually produced a superstar attraction.
Running the record label soon escalated into a full time job for Geffen and he began to distance himself from the management of artists. However, since good personal management was the most sought after and least found skill in the music industry, we provided the service to most of the Asylum artists creating a "family" atmosphere. Another established artist who joined the Asylum roster was legendary singer Linda Ronstadt. As an artist, she was to play a significant role in the label's success. And, her manager/producer, John Boylan, helped create the label's greatest artist.
David was focused on discovring new artists for the label, and every day paced his office, rolling a loop of scotch tape between his fingers, obsessing that we had to find "the next big thing." Boylan
hired Frey, bassist Randy Meisner and drummer Don Henley to perform in Linda's back up band. One Monday night we all converged on The Troubadour in West Hollywood to catch Rondstadt's performance. In the middle of her set, Linda graciously introduced Frey, Randy, Don and lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, and allowed them to perform a four song set in the middle of her show.
David always said that, when it comes to music, its easy to tell what's great; and its difficult to tell what's not great. What we saw that night was extraordinary. The musical virtuosity and tight harmonies inspired an enthusiastic reaction from Linda's fans; and I personally got goose bumps over my entire body. The next day David, Elliot and I met the quartet in a rehearsal hall in The Valley for what was to be the first rehearsal of the band that would cone to call itself Eagles.
Needless to say, the half dozen songs they had worked up were pretty raw; and there wasn't much attempt at performance. However, their potential greatness shone through and we immediately committed to manage the act and sign them to Asylum Records. As the new manager of an untested band, the first thing I wanted to do was get them out of town for some practical experience. I booked them in a bar called Tulagi's and sent them off to Aspen, Colorado.
With a limited repertoire, they were required to perform the same set four times a night for three weeks. There were about twenty-five patrons for the first show, twice that for the second and by the third set the place was packed. Every other performance in the run was jammed to capacity and beyond. Upon their return to L.A., I immediately noticed a remarkable difference in them.
Maybe it was the clean mountain air, or their beaming confidence, perhaps it was both. But, whatever happened it was obvious that the hard work had been a very positive experience. So I immediately booked them back for a return engagement. Geffen and I flew to Aspen and saw the phenomenon first hand. Their performance skills had blossomed and the music was tight. The rapport they had established with the locals was truly amazing. They knew how to put on a show.
By the time they returned the act was solid and seasoned and they were ready for the Los Angeles gig scene. From their first shows they dazzled the audience and their material was polished and ready to record. Their first album was produced by legendary English producer, Glynn Johns, and was an instant success. Two hit singles raced up the charts and their forty plus year career was off and running. Their succession of hit singles and albums have sold more CDs than any other American artist.
The skills they acquired in those early performances, out of the spotlight, have continued to grow. Today they are one of the most successful live attractions of all time and their current album is six times platinum and still selling. If Eagles come to your town, don't miss them, they continue to demonstrate virtuoso musicianship, a dynamic and entertaining show, they look good; and they can still hit the notes.
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Monday, 24 August 2009 11:14
With flu season around the corner, prevention is the word of the day. H1N1, also known as “Swine Flu”, is now a pandemic. Scientists continue working diligently on vaccines to help prevent the spread of this virus. It is important to remember that “Pandemic” should not be equated to “Panic”. The effects of the current strain of H1N1 are less intense, and the death rate is significantly fewer than influenza.
If you or your child believes they have contracted H1N1, please contact your physician immediately. Some of the symptoms include: fever, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, body aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
In order to prevent the spread of H1N1, encourage these basic hygiene practices:
-Cover your mouth with tissue when sneezing or coughing;
-Regular hand washing for at least 30-seconds, especially after sneezing or coughing;
-Do not share food or drinks with others;
If your child gets sick during this school session, make sure to inform the school of their illness and keep him or her home until he or she gets better. It is recommended that any person who is ill stay home for 7-days or until symptom free for 24-hours, whichever one is longer. This is to ensure heath and prevent the virus from spreading.
For more information on H1N1 and prevention please visit:
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Monday, 24 August 2009 11:12
September is National College Savings Month. Whether your child is in elementary, middle or high school, it is never too early to start saving for their education. As a Certified Public Accountant, I recommend taking a look at California’s 529 College Saving Plan, commonly known as Scholarshare. This plan allows for tax-deferred savings to be used for qualified higher education expenses. A maximum of $320,000 can be saved per child. Qualified costs can include: room and board, fees, books, and required electronic equipment. The key to the 529 program is that any earnings grow tax-deferred and qualified withdrawals are free from federal and sate income taxes.
For more information on the 529 savings program and other savings ideas, please visit:
Written by Fiona Ma - California State Assemblywoman
Monday, 24 August 2009 11:10
September is the time when most young people have made their way back to school. As the State continues to surmount the budget cuts, here’s what to expect in the months to come.
Financial Aid
The Legislature fought hard against the Governor on major cuts to safety net programs and successfully rejected the Governor’s proposed elimination of the entire Cal-Grant program. However, private school Cal Grant recipients should expect a 5% reduction in the maximum amount they can receive, from $9708 to $9223. Since Cal-Grants are first-come, first-served, I encourage applicants to maximize their award by completing their applications as soon as possible. Applications are due March 2nd of every year.
California graduating high school seniors, recent graduates, or those who just got their GED are invited to apply for the Cal-Grant. Make sure when applying, both the FASFA and GPA Verification have been submitted. Many schools will submit GPAs electronically to the California Student Aide Commission. If you are unsure as to whether or not your particular school submits electronically, there is a form available online that can be given to the school for verification. If you received your GED you can submit the test results in lieu of your high school GPA.
Please remember that FASFA and Cal-Grant applications are free! Don’t be fooled by websites that charge a fee for processing. My office holds an annual workshop to help students and parents fill out these applications, so stay tuned for a “Save-The-Date”!
For more information regarding the Cal-Grant and financial aid opportunities please visit:
Just had a surreal five minute Bev Hills sidewalk chat with Warren Beatty about Henry Miller's cameo in 'Reds.' With Annette and the kids piling into the car, he recounts the moment with joyful detail, praising the author who died less than a year later.
"My daughter goes to GW," adds dazed dad. "She needs to see Bullworth." His warm smile widens. "Now there's a film Henry would have loved, right?"
Written by John Hartmann - Music Industry Expert/Educator
Saturday, 22 August 2009 13:32
When the big four record companies failed to embrace “Napster,” and peer-to-peer file sharing, they sealed their fate and precipitated their own demise. The traditional value of a record deal has always been tied to the very high cost of recording and radio promotion. Each time a label committed to record, and release, an album, it was obligating itself to a million dollar investment. Every time an A&R man signed an act he risked his job. In this day of diminished CD sales signing new artists is not a top priority. When albums cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce, the role of record companies was imperative. In The music Renaissance that is no longer the case. With the technological advances provided by ProTools and other low cost, digital recording systems, anybody can make a record with minimal investment. The second major contribution from the record companies, and their sub labels, was attached to their control of broadcast radio. At the height of the postmodern record business a large portion of the AM and FM radio formats were dominated by genre specific programming. The record companies fueled this process with millions of advertising dollars. These expenditures created the most competitive environment in the music industry and often the monies were expended through illegal activities known as “Payola.“ However, with the ubiquitous proliferation of the iPod, radio no longer has the universal relevance it once enjoyed. Today, music fans rarely access their music through the various radio outlets, radio is a default destination. In the digital age, personal choice of niche genres is more important than being fed formula music, chosen by record executives and radio programmers. When music is free for the taking and acquired on demand from every genre, word of mouth provides the relevant form of promotion. Fans collect files, not CDs, and radio is no longer a dominant force in the promotion process. Artists must promote themselves and grow their fan bases on the Internet. They have direct access to the potential customer; and a free mechanism for promotion of their personal appearances and merchandise. Most album sales will take place at live events, where the bonding experience between artist and fan is most intense. After all the deductions built into record deals dilute the artist's share, they net only pennies from the brick and mortar sale of a CD. Records sold by the artist directly to their fans net a profit of ten dollars or more. There is a reason that the superstars are abandoning the system that brought them to prominence. With the advent of three-sixty record deals, whereby the record company participates in all the artist's income streams, the situation is even worse. In the music renaissance acts will not be built from the record company penthouse down; they will be built from the cyber-grass-roots up. By the time they discover your Internet presence and come forward with their fat check books, you may no longer need them. The success of your business will not be dependant on expensive recording or radio airplay. Your long term interest will be best served if you own your publishing copyrights and recorded masters. Don't ever sign with a label.
Cash In Hand Fooleth No Man - Eagles
As the major record companies struggle to adapt to the digital age, they continue to reap handsome rewards from the exploitation of their extant catalogs of recorded masters. The cost of a digital download, or ringtone, is virtually nothing; yet the price to the customer is the same as with a plastic and paper delivery system. With the high profits from digital sales surpassing the numbers of paid hard copy transactions, the labels are treading water. They are not investing in new artists.
At the height of the postmodern record business, a number one album would sell a million or more units. Today, the number one slot can be reached with sales of only one hundred thousand. The primary promotional tool for music is the Internet where the posting of songs and video is virtually zero. In the past, the labels controlled the process, now the fans are in charge and A&R men are forced to follow the trends rather than create or lead them as they have in the past.
The corps of personal mangers, who represent the interests of artists in the game, have long battled the corporations for a fair share of the profits. Fairness has never been achieved. At best, a recording act received a tiny fraction of the gross receipts from record sales. Now the tables have turned and the established artists are asserting their power in the music industry economy.
The consolidation of radio station ownership has narrowed the possibilities and tightened the play lists. Stations have lost the "local" flavor and are locked into a formulaic approach mostly dictated by the record companies. In the concert business, ticket prices have skyrocketed and live events have become occasional luxuries, rather than the regular, habitual practice of music fans.
The most profound effect on the record business has been the defection of classic artists from their labels. The artist formerly known as Prince, later identified by an esoteric symbol, and now known as Prince again, shocked his record company by giving his album way for free with the purchase of an English newspaper. The great band Radiohead, shocked the industry by offering their album for free, asking only that the fans pay whatever they thought it was worth. Ironically, the net profits, far exceeded what they would have earned through normal brick and mortar sales.
The most dramatic desertion of the postmodern system was the path taken by the Eagles with the release of their "Long Road Out Of Eden" double CD. After careful consideration of the pros and cons of major label distribution, Eagles manager Irving Azoff recognized that the tightly controlled radio airplay, available to classic acts, wouldn't amount to much. He skipped the middle man and went directly to the biggest seller of recorded product, the mighty Wal-Mart.
Confident of the support of a huge fan base, hungry for Eagles' product, Azoff accomplished an unprecedented agreement with the retail giant. He made an exclusive deal that gave Wal-Mart sole distribution rights for North America. Traditionally record companies placed product in stores on consignment. If they failed to sell, records were returnable to the manufacturing label for full credit. A record shipped was not necessarily a sold record. Irving had a better idea.
In return for the privilege of exclusivity, for a three year period, Wal-Mart agreed to pay a guaranteed flat price for over three million units. The cost is speculated to be somewhere between five and eight dollars a piece giving Eagles one of the biggest pay days in the history of the record business. They reserved the right to release the album through traditional outlets in foreign territories, adding millions more to the gross sales. No artist ever made a better deal for an album, and the combined global sales make "Long Road Out Of Eden" one of the biggest sellers of the decade.
The Wal-Mart type deal is only feasible for a superstar attraction with a large and devoted fan base. But, the principals can be applied to baby bands as well. In an era when artists can create low cost recordings and promote them for free on the Internet, there survival may well depend on keeping the high profits from CD sales in house. Record companies are imposing 360 degree deals on new artists. They offer cash and airplay at a time when the efficacy of both is in doubt.
A band with a thousand fans, and an efficient booking mechanism, can survive without a record company's support. A talented act, with a good live show, can prosper and build their own record company. They can own their masters and keep one hundred percent of their publishing, box-office and merchandising receipts. Most importantly they can control their own destiny by never signing with a record company. Or, if they offer you millions of dollars, you can have fun weighing the option and considering the possibilities. By then, you probably won't need them.
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