WHO?
For far too long music has played to the lowest common denominator, losing its purchase on the intellect of society. One of the reasons music blew up after the Beatles was because the acts were seen as intelligent beacons distilling the vast world for their fans. You needed to know what Bob Dylan and the Beatles had to say. You don't need a musician to tell you which way the wind blows today, they've got no idea. Furthermore, the focus is on cash, and the music business has been on the losing end of this battle for decades, certainly since the turn of the century, you see you just can't make that much money in music, at best you can influence society, speak truth to power, but in truth the nitwits pursue their branding opportunities and corporate tie-ups when in reality all the innovation is elsewhere, like in tech, and banking.
BANKING? Isn't that the scourge of society? I'd agree. But Cathie Wood is all about disruption, while the record companies missed the internet two decades ago, and still rely on the aging terrestrial radio to sell their product, Cathie Wood is investing in companies like Tesla, pushing the cause of electric cars further. Isn't that what we need, more optimists, more people pushing the planet into the future instead of wanting to jet back to a past that never existed run by ignorant, uneducated people who are afraid of the bogeyman and therefore want no change?
Cathie Wood runs Ark Investment Management, and in the past year the value of Ark Innovation's ETF rose 176%! It has grown 500% since its inception. That's better than Vivendi, that's even better than Spotify!
The biggest star of the year is not human. Platforms are bigger than individuals, it's just that musicians don't want to admit this, they keep railing against Spotify when not only did the streaming service rescue the music business, it was built with the help of the majors who mostly cashed in instead of riding the rocket ship into space! That's what's wrong with music today, corporatization. The execs have no significant ownership position, they do what's right for themselves, which is always short term results. Why invest in multiple albums over multiple years, that won't help your yearly bonus, and you might be out before the rewards are reaped. The music business was started by renegades, independents. Then it was corporatized in the seventies but the same players were in power. So much money was made in the eighties as a result of CDs and MTV that all the industry could do was count its cash. Then Bob Morgado blew up Warner Music in the nineties and acts were signed for a record and dropped within a year and then the whole thing cratered twenty years ago. The acts are inherently independent. The managers are independent. That's where the innovation starts. As for the roll up of management companies...how many of these companies have discovered and nurtured talent, that's for outsiders!
As for platform innovation... TikTok can create a bigger hit than radio. And the labels have no control over it, really, they don't, although they're trying. Did you see the success of the sea shanty artist?
"TikTok star behind 'Wellerman' sea shanty craze quits job as mailman - 'Oh my God, I was a postman on Friday. I have just signed to the biggest record label in the world,' Evans told fans on TikTok.": nbcnews.to/2NGzRZF
And the industry thinks people only want to hear hip-hop and pop.
But TikTok is a lightweight compared to Robinhood. Robinhood is the breakout artist of the year!
HUH?
Robinhood is a personal trading platform. Turns out that's much more interesting than listening to today's music, and it's interactive, that's something the music business still doesn't understand, if anything it wants the fans' hands off their records! And Robinhood is all about money. Mostly about individuals losing it, but it's more interesting, more real than anything on TikTok.
So we keep on hearing about the glass ceiling, how women are kept down. And this is true, but the focus is always on high profile people at high profile companies, not entrepreneurs who've not only created the paradigm, but tower above others, like Cathie Wood.
Most of recent investing has been passive. You buy an index fund, set it and forget it, active was old school But then Cathie Wood comes along and flips the script and cashes in, doing it by investing in Tesla, Zillow and Crispr. Do you even know what Crispr is? Probably not, but it just might save your life.
Wait, aren't we supposed to revere the nitwits in the celebrity pages, be influenced by them? Don't they call themselves influencers?
And the influencers are almost always uneducated hucksters working 24/7 hustling a buck. These are the people we want to laud?
Now there's no guarantee that Christie Wood will continue to remain hot, especially now that Tesla has been added to the S&P 500. But, once again, investing is for professionals, the amateurs almost always get cooked, like on Robinhood, but it's their own damn fault, they don't know anything, they're just flying by their wits, running on emotion, but that rarely leads to success.
So, unlike a lot of Wall Street bankers, Christie Wood and Ark are building something, investing in our country. And it may sound dry, but you need money to live on and...I'm sick and tired of the tail wagging the dog, of mass culture playing to the lowest common denominator.
Now to tell you the truth, I'm not that interested in the stock market. But I am interested in stars, people who create something where there was nothing before. Especially when they employs intelligence, as opposed to luck.
Our nation is completely upside down. We keep playing down when we should be playing up!
There need to be more feature stories on Cathie Wood. She should become a household name. So people realize that education and paying your dues is the best road to success. And that if it happens quick in life, it usually dies just as fast. Cathie Wood is a role model, unlike many of our entertainers. We're sending people the wrong message! Experts are considered elite. And elites are seen as the problem in our country when the truth is elites make all the money and run the damn country. Sure, it would be better if the underclass had more money and opportunity, and the elites in many cases have held them from it, but the key is to lift people up, not dumb them down.
Cathie Wood is somebody you should be following.
@CathieDWood
Cathie Wood is now pushing the envelope, investing in space!
"Cathie Wood's ARK Invest plans 'ARKX' space exploration ETF to tap the growing industry": cnb.cx/36fqoyU
Get the overall story here:
"ETFs Aren't Just for Indexes Now That Active Sees the Light - The success of Cathie Wood's exchange-traded funds revives investor interest in stockpickers - and asset managers' hopes for higher fees.": bloom.bg/3qVMUVu
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