Mailbag

Subject: Re: The Model Is Broken

RE: The Model Is Broken.??Bob, you're killing it, mate. Superbly reasoned piece and within it lies the awful truth…or is it that awful? Yes, in many ways, but change is always a new pair of boots that need breaking in.
The message at the heart of even this sea change is the same; write a great song and sing it well. It might not make you rich but then again, it just might and you can probably sleep a little better knowing you don't suck. Then get up and try to do it again.

Keep firing
JD Souther

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From: Michael Cantor
Subject: Re: The TikTok Backlash

Another testament to TikTok's influence: My 18yo daughter and I saw Billy Joel at MSG 10 days ago. He played "Vienna" and "Zanzibar" among the usual hits. Even for big fans , those are relatively obscure songs (especially Zanzibar). My daughter knew them both because those are his 2 big songs on TikTok!

Best,
Michael

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From: Matthew Sterling
Subject: Re: Running Up That Hill

RE: Running Up That Hill and other 'net-driven resurgences...

My kids are 14 and 11. When we're in the car, I let them play whatever they want on Spotify. The other day, in the midst of a larger shuffle of modern hits they had going on, Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride" came on. I laughed and asked where they'd heard it before. They both looked at me, as teenagers are wont to do, like I was from Mars. The following exchange took place.

"Dad, this is, like, the biggest song from the 80s."

"Ha! No, it's not. This was maybe Top 40. A one-hit wonder. Guy made more money producing No Doubt."
"Wrong, Dad. This song is huge. Everybody knows this song."
"No way. Check the streams. I bet it has 5m-10m, tops. Check out 'No One Is To Blame' by Howard Jones. That was probably a bigger hit."

(Pause for 14yo to check stats. Meanwhile my 11yo is singing along to 'Stride.' Knows every single word.)

"8.8m streams for your song."
"Exactly. Now check the streams on 'Break My Stride.' No way it's more than Howard Jones."

(Pause for 14yo to check stats. 11yo still singing along to 'Stride.' Even knows the bridge!)

"Umm... 289m streams."

(Pause for me to prevent driving into a ditch.)

"What the fudge?!? How is that possible?!? 'Break My Stride?' That defies all logic."

(Pause for both kids to pull out their phones and show me various TikTok / Memes utilizing 'Stride.' I think a deer jumps over a fence in one while the song plays in the background.)

"See, Dad? Everybody knows this song. It's one of the biggest hits of the 80s."

(Pause for me to insist we put on 'No One Is To Blame,' which they begrudgingly tolerated until the second verse.)

Never underestimate the power of the teenager to dictate the future, and casually (perhaps even unknowingly) rewrite the past. It took me a solid fifteen minutes to explain to my kids that Matthew Wilder, while a very successful musician with an enviable career, is not a household name on par with the biggest stars of the 80s. One of the reasons it took me so long to explain is because Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." and "Rock With You" both have around the same number of streams as "Break My Stride." Let that sink in.

The power of teenagers. Same as it ever was.

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From: adam barnes
Subject: Re: Distribution Is King

We are moving away from the "importance" of press in an album cycle - at least on an independent level. What's the point? I know it's all about clicks clicks clicks. Has been for a while, but even more so now. The new head honcho at Rolling Stone only cares about these, and rightfully so, it is the only business model they have left. Gone are the days of putting the music star on the cover of music's favorite magazine and being able to slip in some emerging (amazing) artists to discover.

I speak to a lot of publicists and artists about this - and we all were stumped for a while. Where is all the support we used to receive? Well, if only the clicks matter and you're emerging you better be ready to pay to show you are worth it. There is just too much happening and the publications are trying to pull back and run what they know will get that ad revenue.

We've been entering this for a while - but you have to have the buzz before considering a publicist at this point. You are better off tailoring your team with folks that can help you put a plan together to achieve this buzz (whether it be on social media, or DSPs, or just making a HIT) - and if you get to a spot where you have so many journalists and people reaching out that you need someone to filter what is right and wrong and to get your "buzz-worthiness" out there, then pull the trigger.

It's all changing…same goes for music videos - I'll talk about that some other time.

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Subject: Re: Re-Billy Strings

Hey Bob,

Thanks for finding Billy Strings,

I'd like to echo Pete Wernick aka Dr Banjo and other's sentiments. This is a whole world unto itself- Bluegrass. And it's existed for a very long time. As my friend saxophonist extraordinaire Marc Russo said one time "Oh Bluegrass- the "other Jazz". People learning Bluegrass music growing up ARE like Jazz artists, they put "20,000 hours" in learning their craft. They/we make for the most part pretty meager wages but that's not why they/we do it. I was in a band called The New Grass Revival through the '70's & 80's. Our last show as a band was opening for The Dead at Oakland Colliseum '89.

Two years ago we were inducted into International Hall of Fame. I've been touring with The Doobie Brothers now since 2010 so I really don't tour that circuit anymore. Bluegrass is a world of amazing artists dedicated solely to a truly American art form. Billy is for sure the REAL DEAL as is his band, and he's as sweet as he's been described. Now, go check out The Punch Brothers, Green Sky Bluegrass, Tony Rice, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Infamous String Dusters, Molly Tuttle, I'm With Her, Sarah Hull, Dale Ann Bradley. It's a world so well worth wandering into.

Kind thanks,
John Cowan

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From: Dan Millen
Subject: Re: Re-Billy Strings

Damn... lost control of my inbox this week.

Adam King summed it up.

Patrick Effing May, Crossover Touring.

Pat is - like Billy - a development story of his own. Affable huggable and when he says "trust me" you trust him. Slugged it out in the trenches booking $500 jambands in menu venues and did things his way which always involves taking care of his acts AND his promoters.

It says a lot about an agent / agency when an act goes from nothing to six figure grosses and still stays with the agent.

Oh, and one helluva bass player too!

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Subject: Re: Go All The Way 50th Anniversary

Bob,

Thanks for the great Raspberries piece. We heard a lot of similar comments at the reunion shows, how people didn't listen to their records at first but as their musical tastes expanded really came to love the music. And then when Stevie Van Zandt, Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, Matthew Sweet, and so many other musicians came to the shows, we started to realize the profound influence the band had on some of their peers. Those reunion shows - basically a series of 16 one-offs, weren't easy to pull off. Quality was job 1. No rented gear for these shows, so the crew, also the original guys from the '70's - trucked Jim Bonfanti's original Ludwig drum kit, Wally Bryson's original Gibson double neck, Flying V and Rickenbacker guitars, all of which were played on the original recordings, and the fresh new Vox amps - to every show, coast-to-coast. The band wanted the shows to be as authentic as possible for the fans, budget be damned! As a result, the vibe and the electricity at those shows was palpable! Throw in 2 hour long meet and greets at every show that included a pic with the band and a ticket for $100, and you had a concert experience for the band's longtime loyal fans that blew their minds! Again, it was all to thank the fans who waited over 30 years for the "classic" version of the band to reunite. Unfortunately there was never any high quality live video of the band back in the '70's, which fueled their legendary onstage rep for decades, including a mythical 1973 Carnegie Hall show, that of course wasn't recorded. But now we've recently found a 2007 reunion concert recorded in HD that is, well, pretty damn great, and so far we've posted two tracks "Tonight" and "Go All The Way" - on the band's YouTube channel (RaspberriesOnline). We hope to be posting more video tracks there in the coming year, so the fans can get a very real idea of just how great this band still was live, even 30 years after they last played together! Cheers!

Al Kaston

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From: Joe Walsh
Subject: Re: Hacks-Episode 6

Hey Bob-

Good job looking at
grand-slam hit songs.

My advice to young artists-

1) If you're going to write a
song that lasts forever:
RECORD IT DOWN A
HALF-STEP NOW!
so you can sing it when
you're my age.

Walsh

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