Zilch

If you have anything to do with the music business, read Zilch: The Power Of Zero In Business. Nancy Lublin, the founder of Dress for Success and the current CEO of Do Something takes the reader through a very organized and well thought out process of how to get more from your company with less.  Many times it’s the overlooked little things that when paid attention to, have wondrous results. 

Using a not-for-profit model to run a major record label may have prevented the labels from the decline they are experiencing.  Having worked with major labels for many years, I know that it’s not the piracy that’s killing them.  What has gradually done them in is ignoring the customers, losing site of quality music, excessive spending and having staffers and executives make decisions or indecisions just to save their jobs.  It’s no way to work. 

In the 15 years I managed bands, none of them saw a penny from record royalties.  This includes artists having both gold (over 500,000 units sold) and platinum (over 1,000,000 units sold) albums.  Making money from selling records was never part of the equation when mapping out a career path.  This is why I find it interesting that the “new” paradigm is being touted as touring, selling merchandise and licensing music.  That’s the way it’s always been as far as I’m concerned and I started managing bands in 1988.

Lublin’s practices can work for any company, but I see them as being so right for the music industry, especially major labels as they seem to have lost focus.   Each chapter closes with helpful questions that summarize what you’ve read and how to apply this knowledge. 

So many important and relevant points are covered, that it’s worthy of a long post.  The book is mainly aimed at company leaders, but it applies to everyone. 

Brand: Here’s a hard one, but so important: If a partnership doesn’t make sense for your brand and your goals, turn it down even if it means money.  Keep your brand simple and focused. Use your story. Image is everything. Bring your group together to discuss data and re-evaluate your brand. When someone buys your product what is she getting?   Answer in 3 words and do not describe the product.

After hearing Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records at the 92Y, he hit on all of the above at his label.  His goal was to make available music that needed to be heard.  The original focus was on folk music.  His audience knew that and if you wanted to hear good folk music you brought the latest Elektra release, many times unheard before a purchase.  Jac spent hours each week looking for those special artists for his label and his audience.  There was a time when people bought music just because of the record label that released it.  That’s how much respect a label like Elektra garnered. 

Uniqueness:  Can your organization claim any of these?

1. First
2. Only
3. Faster
4. Better
5. Cheaper

Lublin calls these the five.  If you can use any of these words, you’ve found an all-important niche. 

Employees:  Include every level employee in the pursuit of purpose and make sure that each division has clearly stated goals.  When goals are accomplished, it builds morale. 

Stimulate people.

Endorse communal work places.  Don’t segregate employees by job title.  Eliminate executive floors.  Segregation encourages isolation for both executives through assistants. Celebrate employees’ energy.  If the energy lies in one direction, encourage that person to pursue that path.

External Believers:  Use external believers in your company and never forget that anyone could be your brand ambassador.   This is now easier than ever with social networking.  There is no much info and music out there, it’s almost easier to rely on your old tastes than to explore something new.  No one has that kind of time.  This is why external believers are so important.  You are always going to take the word of someone/company whose taste/ideals you respect.  See Elektra Record above. Take care of your fans.  Make them lifers. Turn advocates into staffers.  They won’t be paid, but they will be out there on your behalf. 

Sales Staffers:  Everyone is a potential sales staffer in a company as well as a brand ambassador.  When I interned at MTV in it’s infancy, we couldn’t keep MTV logo merchandise in the house.  Everyone at the company wore it (I still have my red pullover sweatshirt with the yellow MTV logo) outside the office.  Everyone was so excited to be working at MTV. Everyone was a part of the company.  It was new so there was an element of winging it.  My first day as an intern, I had to go to the studio to have Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs sign a release for his taped interview.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.   Everyone felt like they were contributing.  Everyone was proud to work there. 

Ex-Employees: Why have ex-employees be resentful and hateful?  They should be excited about their time at your company.  Alumni can be useful. Use an alumni relations’ director.  Make them advocates.  Think of ways to reconnect with employees, send them coupons or concert tickets or discounts.

Gratitude:  Be responsive and show your consumers and fans gratitude.  Send updates, progress reports, photos, info, etc.

Innovation:  Do the culture and processes that are in place make it difficult to come up with breakthrough approaches and turn them into real products and services? 

Open your innovation circle of trust and it will set you closer to your end user. Employees must share a sense of purpose with their colleagues.  There must be a sense of urgency. Don’t let employees wilt in their cubicles.  Create pet projects.  I know there were flag wavers at the labels, but their take on file sharing and the internet were largely ignored. 

Community: Celebrate local elements. Get the community involved.  Partner for a purpose.  Grant all-access passes.  Is your brand important to a customer?

Do more with the corporate board, have them involved; tap into their resources and knowledge.  Communicate directly with staff and have them love your purpose.

Notes To Leaders:

Say thank you.

Be Consistent.

Remember your core idea and have guidelines. 

Be relevant to your audience.

Limit tedium.

Be transparent.

Find and cultivate passionate employees.

Use fun as an incentive. 

Give good titles that make sense.

Financial Considerations:

Live in fear of overhead.

Be disciplined.

Budget multi-year.

Diversify your revenue streams. How important is this for labels now?

Barter and make it a fair exchange.  Formalize the agreement.

Bob Lefsetz said the business started to die once a label exec (Doug Morris) hired his own PR person (Ron Shapiro). It was no longer about the music. The shareholders, board members and higher-ups became the focus. Nancy Lublin is saying put the focus on building a winning, happy team (how much did people love working at WB during the Mo Ostin/Lenny Waronker years?).  Connect with your fellow employees and audience. Make sure your goals meet their goals. Don’t hide from the truth.   Use common sense.  You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. 

Keith Richards' Incredible Life

“I get an incredible raging glee when they (the audience) get out of their seats.”

 - Keith Richards

It’s conversational. Keith is telling his stories to you.  I felt like I was in a bar talking with him about pieces of his life. The book is aptly titled:  Life.  It’s solidly assembled.  That credit may go to co-author James Fox.  (Note: I thought this book flowed, others in my book club though it was all over the place.  I’m not sure if my years of working with musicians, has led to me to think like they do, but I had no problem following this book.)

Keith’s enthusiasm for music is what really drives Life.   He’s still curious about styles, about improving his playing and finding out what’s next. He’s insightful and observant.  Nothing is a better example of this than his take on the music business.  “It’s the sleaziest business without being a gangster.”  This guy has seen it all and this is what he deduces.

The biggest statement he makes in the book is “We turned American people back on to their own music. And that’s probably our greatest contribution to music.” It’s a humble quote from a member of one of the greatest rock and roll bands. 

As hoped for Keith takes you through the writing of songs such as Satisfaction and Tumbling Dice. “Great songs write themselves.”  I’ve heard this from other musicians.

The slices of life from his early days are eye opening in a cultural way. Keith kept diaries and the reader benefits from it.  His Aunt Patty saved letters he wrote to her, which included a description of the first time he met Mick. He credits the Boy Scouts with building his self-esteem.

He thought Americans were brash and extremely self-confident, but that’s not what The Rolling Stones experienced on their first tours here.  He sensed that Americans were insecure.  His band had longer hair, spoke with British accents and dressed differently.  “The only hostility I can recall on a constant basis was from white people.  You got the impression you were a threat.” I recently watched an interview with Leiber and Stoller who said the same thing Keith did, that the blacks embraced them and were more at ease.  Both camps are big blues fans.

There is a bit of guitar-speak in the beginning third of the book. Even though I used to play guitar, I had no idea what he was talking about.  He is Keith Richards, so it’s necessary that this be part of the book. It should not discourage a non-player from reading Life.

Having been a manager, I love that he is so dedicated and loyal to his manager Jane Rose.  She’s done right by him and he appreciates it.  He credits her with helping him kick his heroin habit. 

Miscellaneous anecdotes which I found to be interesting and surprising:

• Bobby Goldsboro (of Honey fame) showed him an elusive guitar trick.
• Ronnie (Spector) Bennett took Keith to see James Brown at the Apollo Theater.  The discipline in James Brown’s band impressed him more than anything.
• Wilson Pickett used to keep shotguns on both sides of the stage.
• Jumping Jack Flash was named after his gardener.  What you hear on the record is acoustic guitars recorded on a cassette.  It’s his favorite riff. 

Keith also talks about his relationships with band members, his family and his crew. He is not shy about telling it like it is.  Mick Jagger is taken to task a few times. 

Somehow after all Keith has been through, he doesn’t come off as crazy as I was expecting.  He’s well aware of his surroundings and circumstances. He’s very loyal to friends and family.  Most people think he has more lives than a cat.  His longevity must be attributed to the strict regiment he adheres to before a tour. “All I do to train and preserve energy is keep breathing”.

More About Ms Taylor

This just reaffirms what I was writing about yesterday.

Martha Frankel's piece in the Huffington Post describes an enchanting encounter with Elizabeth Taylor that should have never happened. 

Rosanne Cash on Twitter mentions that Ms Taylor sent a birthday telegram to her Dad every year on his birthday. 

A Hollywood Icon and Humanitarian

By now, everyone is aware the Elizabeth Taylor died this morning.  Besides having the most perfect eyebrows and the most beautiful eyes, she was apparently was a beautiful soul.  She was loyal to her friends,  She stuck by Montgomery Cliff after his accident. She didn't leave Rock Hudson's side while he was dying of AIDS.  She remained friends with Michael Jackson until his death. She has seen a lot of her friends die before their time.

She appreciated those she worked with. I've heard stories of her sending cards or giving gifts to crew members of projects she worked on.  Liz was a tireless advocate for finding a cure for AIDS and raised lots of money for the cause. 

The BBC has a really nice interview with Liz Taylor, which I can't embed so I'll post the link. 

Last year I finally watched a Place In The Sun.  Liz is incredibly beautiful and persuasive in that film.  Apparently she was the same in the real world. 

RIP Pinetop Perkins

Pinetop Perkins one of the last of the original Mississippi bluesmen has died at age 97 in Austin, TX.  Know mostly for playing piano in Muddy Water's band, his solo career seemed to take flight in the 1980's and 1990's.  He received a Grammy in 2010 and therefore, became the oldest person to receive one.  He named himself Pinetop after his admiration for the music of Pinetop Smith.  He originally started on the guitar, but after being stabbed in the arm and incurring tendon damage, he moved to the piano.  Up until just last month he had been playing shows in Austin. 

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

It Sounds Like Fine Young Cannibals

As mentioned in  SoulCulture, there's a trend for 'blue-eyed-soul over futuristic production' at the moment.  Record of the Day's choice is Alex Clare. He fits this mold.  The sound borrows from what the Fine Young Cannibals were doing in the 1980's.  It would be great to see a surge in powerful vocals, great melodies and if it's danceable, it's icing on the cake.  I'm not sure of the concept of this video. I suggest just listening. 

A Look Back At The Look Of Punk

It's the 1980's all over again.  It seems like everywhere I look, recent fashions remind me of a lot of the clothes I was wearing in high school and college.  Yesterday while browsing in Orva, I saw these Bass shoes, which put a smile on my face.  They reminded me of what my friends and I used to call Dirty Angel shoes.  The first time we saw someone wearing them was on the Boston band Dirty Angels (they had a minor hit with a great pop song called Tell Me).  They were playing a free WLIR show at My Father's Place.  The shoes worn then were  Capezios and were made for dancing, which we did a lot of.  I went through two pairs. 

Westwood Tartan Worn By Johnny Rotten

It's timely that the Fashion Institute of Technology is exhibiting the clothes/creations of Vivienne Westwood, who defined the look of Punk.  The exhibit covers the 80's and is on view until April 2nd.  Vivienne along with Malcolm McLaren opened the SEX boutique on King's Road in London. It started as record store and quickly evolved into a store full of her bondage and fetish inspired clothing.  The Selvedge Yard has a piece on the history of the shop. 

This Time Live Nation Has Hit Rock Bottom

Live Nation signed Charlie Sheen to a a licensing and merch deal.  According to Encore,  The merchandise deal will include t-shirts and mugs and similar items, emblazoned with some of Sheen's more notorious public statements.


This is a man who waves a machete in public and his wife has a restraining order against him for threatening her with harm, among other things.  His statements are not cute. He is not cute.  What is Live Nation thinking?

Librarians Fight Back So You Can Read Your E-Books

It's been widely covered.  HarperCollins book publishers have set a limit on how many times a library can "lend" an e-book.  After 26 times, the "book" will self destruct.  Obviously this does not appeal to librarians or people who frequently use libraries like myself.  E-books are the future.  Heck, e-books are happening now.  They are the future of the libraries. 

Librarians are now fighting back. I was alerted to this by Techdirt.  In support of the Readers' Bill Of Rights, I'm posting their logo and linking to their site.  Their goals are to

1. To increase awareness of the ways that e-books are unique in terms of readers' rights.
2. Revisit DRM and it's consequences (the music industry has had their share of this pie).
3. To invite discussion.
4. To provide alternatives to closed technologies such as DRM.  

For more info follow them on Twitter
Use the hashtag  #readersrights
We are sharing updates as @readersrights via Twitter and Identi.ca

Jac Holzman Is Still The Record Guy You Want To Work With

I'm a fan of Jac Holzman and I've written about him before.  There is an insightful profile of him by Fred Goodman in the NY Times.  How does he seem to be the only high level music executive out there who gets it?  He is currently an adviser to Edgar Bronfman Jr who runs WMG.  Read the whole article, but I'm just going to pull a few worthy quotes.

• “Marketing is nothing more than connecting something interesting to willing ears. I like being sent music, and that’s one of the great advantages of the Web. If I have something I think is a great song, I send it to 20 friends. But making that connection through the Internet is one of the problems that the record industry has not figured out.”
• He is concerned about the absence of what he called “first filters”: the online equivalent of the radio stations and disc jockeys, the publications and writers who, in Elektra’s early days, acted as guides for the larger public and helped shape tastes. “They have to happen,” he said. And until then, he added, the best thing a company can do is emulate the way small independents, like the early Elektra, did business and try anything to survive.
• “Did I care when Jim Morrison passed out in the office?” he said. “No. We would have put those orange cones around him if we’d had them. We’d just let him lie there, and eventually he’d get up and dust himself off and go home."
• “The reason indies beat majors as a rule is that the people who own these companies can make decisions and move,” he said. “I can tell you story after story about hearing something and making the deal that day, while it took Columbia six weeks to process the demo and decide they wanted the band. Hey, too bad. They’re in the studio for Elektra.”

I know there are rumors of Edgar selling WMG.  He's still at the helm though, so I hope he's heeding Jac's advice.  Jac's a smart man with a stellar music history.

Gotham: The City of Simple-Minded Fools

When hearing NY described as Gotham City, Batman of course comes to mind.  Commissioner Gordon was in charge of fighting crime in Gotham City, a vague rendition of New York City.  Turns out the nickname was given to New York by writer Washington Irving over 200 years ago.  The word Gotham dates to 1600's England. 

According to Carmen Nigro's blog post at the NY Public Library,  "English proverbs tell of a village called Gotham or Gottam, meaning “Goat’s Town” in old Anglo-Saxon.  Folk tales of the Middle Ages make Gotham out to be the village of simple-minded fools, perhaps because the goat was considered a foolish animal."  I guess if the shoe fits.

Gotham City sure had it's cast of characters: The Penguin, Catwoman, Mr Freeze and The Riddler to name a few.  None were able to take down the Cape Crusaders or destroy Gotham City.   I guess that still holds true, whether you call it Gotham, New York or The Big Apple, it's not going anywhere (despite the NY Daily News Headline from 1977:  Ford To New York:  Drop Dead). 

Where Guster & Art Meet: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

The beauty of living in New York City is being able to take advantage of the bounty of cultural events.  For under $30, one can experience a magical evening of music, art, culture, etc.  These events always have produce moments that give you a chill, making you think, damn I'm so glad I experienced that.    Guster and artist Jon Sarkin provided those moments on Friday evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  You're probably as surprised to hear Guster played there, as lead singer Ryan Miller and Sarkin were to in awe to be playing there.  

Sarkin's art is a big part of Guster's latest project, Easy Wonderful.  From the packaging to merch to the video, Sarkin's art is there.  Drummer Brian Rosenworcel was the first to discover Sarkin's work and as fellow bandmate Adam Gardner said, they all fell in love with his paintings.  Apparently he sent them so much art for the album, that they had a hard time choosing just one painting.  They immediately knew the color wheel would be the cover.  From there Sarkin wound up doing the whole booklet and participated in the video for Do You Love Me.  He is creating art as the video progresses.  Brian brought pieces of art that Sarkin left on the ground at the end of the video shoot and passed them around for the audience to look at.  Sarkin explained that the joy is in creating the art and he doesn't necessarily have to keep it.  He does keep whatever  his wife likes.  His recent work brings to mind Roz Chast, most famous for her New Yorker cartoons. 

The show started off with curators explaining music's relativity to pieces in the museum's collection.  One caught Ryan off guard by asking how he would explain an ancient Greek instrument depicted on an urn to his daughter.  The conversation continued to explore the relationship between the band, Sarkin and video director Chad Carlberg.  The band originally wanted to shoot the video in Sarkin's studio, but realized that wasn't possible as it's filled wall to wall with his work. The interview below from Good Morning Gloucester begins in his studio.  Carlberg talked about the hardest part of making the video.  They got the go ahead from the record company on a Friday and made the video on that Monday.  Nice to see things haven't changed in the making of music videos. 

After the conversation, Sarkin took his place at the easel and began to work while the band performed.  Ryan, Adam and Luke played musical chairs, each taking on the bass, guitar and piano.  They reworked their songs specifically for this "acoustic" show, keeping in mind that it might be a format to take on the road (Yes!).  The bulk of the 45 minute set consisted of songs from Easy Wonderful including Bad Bad World, Stay With Me Jesus, That's The Way To Get To Heaven and a rousing version of This Could All Be Yours.  Harmonies were in full swing.

In a hypnotic and powerful Satellite, the band was accompanied by two guest players on violin and cello.  It made the song a religious experience.  They concluded the set with Do You Love Me.  This has got to be the band's new anthem.  Didn't think they could match the pop magic of Amsterdam, but they did it with this song.  Speaking of religious experience, the encore of Jesus On The Radio brought the band and Sarkin to the front of the stage, all unplugged.  Brian played tambourine and Sarkin on teeny tiny maracas.  It was an epiphany.

Apparently in the next few weeks, the Met will be posting a video of the whole evening.  In the meantime, here's a snippet.

Here are more photos of the evening.

The Oscar Yawn

I didn't even make it past the halfway mark of the Oscar's last night.  The writing was so dull and uninspiring.  Roger Ebert commented on his blog that the first laugh came when Billy Crystal came on stage. I had already given up on the show by that time and missed him. 

The opening was silly.  James Franco has a sleepy way about him which doesn't work for a host.  The big surprise of the evening was not one of the winners, but Anne Hathaway's voice.  She sang beautifully.  The song was silly, but she gave it her all.  She wore a tux, which meant James dressed in drag.  Yikes.  

Fred Wilson Says Don't Market Your Startup

He does and he doesn't say that.  In his blog this morning he got things stirring. My interpretation: don't set aside a big budget for marketing your start up.  You are the best marketer for your company/product and be the evangelist.  He goes on to say that most of the companies he's invested in have not had an initial marketing budget.  

When applying this to a new band/music artist, I must agree. In my experience, most acts that hire marketing companies come away with mediocre results and a lot less money in their pockets.  The act's manager (and the band) is still struggling to pay the bills (she/he gets paid a commission on money earned) but the marketers have made their monthly fee and usually get it for a minimum of three months, which they say is necessary to launch a project. 

Times have changed so drastically over the past 10 years, that an artist can build their own marketing machine using existing free tools, which is what Fred recommends.  If you're engaging in your Twitter, blog and Facebook posts, you can begin to gain an audience. Obviously your music has to be good.  It's been proven that word of mouth endorsements will trump any promotional scheme a marketing company can come up with (see the Grateful Dead).  I've seen the results of hiring marketing companies.  I've never come away from an experience where I've just wanted to tell everyone to hire that company.  I've seen some nice awareness building campaigns and I've seen marketers do exactly the opposite of how you'd like to see your artist promoted.  I've never had a home run or even a triple.

Kudos Fred. You got it.  If you're a musician, take control of your marketing.  If down the road it gets to be too much for you to handle, then hire someone who clearly knows your vision and will stick to it.  At that point, you're probably making money and things are rolling along. 

The Producers' Fuhrer

Kenneth Mars played one of my favorite film characters, Franz Liebkind. He was the author of Springtime for Hitler who cared for pigeons on the roof of this building.  Without him, there would be no Producers.  Kenneth passed away this past week.. His beloved portrayal of Franz is classic and I thank him for it.  To quote his character, "Not many people know it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer!"

Urban Mayer & Jones

Not a law firm, just a nice collaboration on the Grammys.  Their tribute to Dolly Parton and worth a watch.

Mr. Bitchin': A Character, An Artist, A Film

Robert Williams' images jump at you.   He relies a lot on pop culture references.  In  the movie Robert Williams:  Mr. Bitchin', the images literally jump at you from the screen.   The filmmakers of this documentary isolated certain images from his paintings and bring them to the front of the screen, which made you pay attention to his details.  There are details everywhere in a Williams' work.  In dissecting a few of his paintings in the film, he details where his inspiration comes from, why he likes certain colors and how he would love to paint tiny details all the time if it wasn't so taxing.  The movie had it's New York premier last night at the MOMA.

He wanted to depict delusion, he thought of King Farouk.  He read extensively about him and his rule over Egypt (which of course is very timely) and portrayed him in several vignettes on a large canvas.  Gluttony, thievery and conspicuous consumption are played out in his typical bright colors.  As in most of his paintings, cars figure.  In this case it's a shiny red Cadillac convertible.

A Life Of Delusion by Robert Williams

Early in his career, Robert was the art director for Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's studio in Los Angeles.  Big Daddy customized Hot Rods, which were themselves customized cars.  The movie gives a nice history of the Hot Rod's beginnings.   Ed Roth saw Robert's car, which he described as one big dent and his long hair and thought there was no way this guy could paint this beautifully.  Robert proved him wrong and secured a job at the studio.  Robert is seen driving his cars (and a unicycle and sting ray bike) in Mr. Bitchin'.

Robert was part of Zap Comix and eventually started his own art magazine JUXTAPOZ, which is a forum for both established and up-and-coming artists.  Juxtapoz was different than other art magazine which seemed to focus on text and not the art.

He creates characters and comes across as a character himself in this film.  Many artists will not discuss their art and that's why Mr. Bitchin' is a breath of fresh air.  Williams freely lets you into his process, which for me made his work that much more alive.  It's a fun romp into an artists head. 

Citi Records?

First came Citi Field, could Citi Records be far behind?  Citigroup took over EMI today under a restructuring of debut. Not quiet sure why Citi even got involved in the recorded music business in the first place.  According to the NY Times, it's likely that Citigroup will sell EMI.  Will Martin Luther King lll, James McCartney and Carnie Wilson form a coalition to buy it?

The King's Speech Is Alive With Music

In the ever shrinking film budget world, it makes sense that filmmakers/producers are now selling the music rights.  The NY Times has an article which focuses on the British company The Cutting Edge Group.  They can provide all the services needed to put music in a film from hiring music supervisors to selecting the film's composer. What they are now doing is buying the rights to the music from the producers.  Soundtracks don't sell like they used to, but there are many other ways Cutting Edge can reap monetary benefits. They usually buy the rights for a sum between $50,000 to $200,000. This enables them to collect royalties every time the film is played, sell soundtracks, etc.  The film producers give up any rights to future royalties on the music, but they more than likely get the music the way it should be, as opposed to having the music budget cut (I know from any music supervisor I've ever worked with that the music budget is the first to get cut in a film production).  As Iain Canning, the producer of The Kings Speech said, “What we wanted to do was get the music that would do the images justice.”  They were able to do this by selling the rights to Cutting Edge.  The infusion of money, allowed the producers to hire Alexandre Desplat to score the film. He is nominated for an Oscar for his work. 

Charlie Louvin RIP

I got to meet Charlie Louvin and see him live while I was working with Amoeba. The energy and love of music that he exuded in his performance was contagious.  He passed away at 83.  Age was not a factor for Charlie. He was young at heart and loved playing.  All Things Considered did a nice piece on Charlie.