I just can back from my home town L.A. It´s is so damn hot here.
I get it, all you people bitching about your east coast winter, how it kept snowing and was always cold never lived in Scandinavia or the northern states.
I'm living on the other side of the world, with the flip side of the equation. In Santa Monica where you've got no air conditioning because you don't need it. Supposedly.
How many times have I seen it this hot in SaMo? In my life, only a couple. In May...NEVER!
Makes you believe in global warming.
But we can't, because it's going to impact business and the loonies are all going to heaven in the rapture and I live in a country I don't recognise.
Yes, I was just at Whole Foods, in Brentwood. Where twenty so things were flashing diamonds as they pushed around their infants. Where did they get all this money? Did they inherit it? Did they marry into it?
As for all the Ivy League graduates going into finance, you would too. If, like them, you were smart. Because they see the future, and it's limited for those who are not winners.
But everybody who's poor believes they're going to be a winner, so they don't want to tax the rich because they're going to be rich soon too.
What a bunch of hogwash,idiots.
I grew up in a different era. Yes, I'm older now, put me down for it, as readers constantly do, but unlike you I'm wise and experienced. And when I grew up hard work and insight and innovation would not only get you a house in a reasonable neighbourhood, but the ability to support your family and go on vacation. Now, most people can't even pay their bills. You want us to wait on you hand and foot in Manhattan, but where are we supposed to live? Idaho? And commute?
In the back of the plane with no food and a constant fight to get your luggage up in the rack. They say they want to carry their bags on so they don't have to wait, so they won't get lost, but the truth is everybody's damn cheap. Because they're trying to make ends meet.
And anybody who stops and says "What the hell is going on here?" is a chump. No one wants to be led back, everybody wants to go forward.
So the rich and educated buy insurance. Putting the money they already have in hedge funds where the proprietors are taxed at capital gains rates while you and me pay through the nose. If they've got to work, they get jobs most people can't even understand. The rest of us try to get on reality TV, or develop apps, or get on TV singing shows.
Did you see they were dying?
Because people would rather watch "Shark Tank." That's the American dream, coming up with something to strike it rich.
But not everybody wants to play the odds, some people just want to live comfortably. But unions are anathema and the left wing says to bring manufacturing back but isn't about to give up $200 flat screens.
So we've got a wealth of disinformation and where does this leave me?
Like John Lennon said, the dream is over. Face it. We're all chumps. Except for the few winners.
Do I expect it to go on forever?
No, the Fox News audience is ageing out. The rich have become embattled, that's why they hide behind walls.
And the poor are uneducated and uninformed.
But everybody's pissed that they can't get an abortion, health care, welfare, that there's no safety net.
Of course there is one, but it's not extensive like it used to be, they're pulling the rug out from under you. How am I supposed to pick myself up by my bootstraps if there's no OPPORTUNITY? We must improvise,adapt,easy to say but a hell with no end in sight for most of us.
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TOM RIVIERE / Blog
Inspiration trumps execution.
Inspiration trumps execution. Write a great song or tune, it's more important than knowing how to play it. Audience is everything. Artists believe in themselves and want to share their work, they believe it will change the world. You can only do this by having an audience, hopefully a large one.A true artist never stops learning.Once you stop testing limits,once you revert to formula,your death warrant is signed.
If you're trying to get it perfect, you're on the wrong path. Life is imperfect, your goal is to reflect it. People relate to that which has rough edges, just like them. True artists are humble and it always amazes me to see many musicians that are so insecure,even well know musicians and to compensate for their fear they use an EGO trip that is bigger then a football field.( you can see it on their face, their pretentious stupidity)I’m sure you have seen them on Facebook or even played with some of them.Many artist are jealous,I would not call them true artist,but they best channel that jealousy into their work…Risk is better!
You know when you do your best work. But take chances, you never know what will resonate with listeners. You've been doing it so long that you're never going to do something bad, let the audience decide what is good.Don’t try to be something you’re not, it shows..I think it is great to copy things to learn from, but find your way or else you’ll sound like so many wannabe’s out there that have no style,just chops and no feeling.
I don't think we have a calling. I do think it's possible to have a caring. A calling implies that there's just one thing for you, just one thing you're supposed to do. What we most need in our lives, though, is something worth doing, worth it because we care. There are plenty of forces pushing us to not care. Bosses, systems, bureaucracies and the fear of mattering.
None of them are worth sacrificing something as important as caring.
"Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.
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What it is
If you're expecting the past to come back, if you're lamenting the loss of the way it used to be, you're missing today's big story, which is millennials have seized control of the country and their values are not the same as their parents'. Let's start with McDonald's. Used to be the debate was whether they employed horse meat. But everybody agreed they had the best french fries. Their competition was Burger King, which promised customization, and Wendy's, which offered a bigger burger and slightly better quality. What McDonald's sold was consistency, it was the same everywhere, from Amsterdam to Austin.And then we've got SXSW. Where the big story is Meerkat, not a band. Brands have taken over South By. That's what happens when you're beholden to corporations, they eat your soul and leave you with nothing. A band hasn't broken out of SXSW in eons. It's all promotion. And there's so much noise, you can't hear the music. We need a new festival with fewer bands, but it won't fly because the first thing the pricks in charge will do is sign up sponsors, and you've got death before you've begun. The world has changed. Smart means something. But not as much as personality. People want to work with those who are warm and understanding and realistic, and that's got nothing to do with what school you went to. Now my point is not to denigrate education. Nor to say intelligence is irrelevant. But everything you need to know you cannot learn from books. And people can be really smart in some things, and totally ignorant in others. Meanwhile, people are so busy trying to get rich that they've got no passion for the underlying product, they only care about money and success. The goal is to get VC cash more than to build a business. And I could say this is what's wrong with America, but my point is really that just because you did not go to the best school, just because you're not the smartest person on the block, that does not mean you can't be successful and rich and happy. The story of the last two decades is the traditional path no longer works. "Professional" is not the highest rank in our society. That's right, you can work hard in high school, even grind your way through a good college to get into an even better graduate school, but that'll just give you a ticket to the middle. Which is fine if that's where you want to be. But if you want to win, if you want to dominate... You have to learn so much that never is taught in schools. Where do you learn it? Primarily from your parents.So the truth is you're on your own. And drive counts. But not as much as charisma, charm and the ability to get along..What happens more often than not. You put your heart and soul into a product, a song, a business. You convince yourself you're a winner. And when you hear no, you get angry, you double down, you believe in yourself even more, you're gonna prove everybody wrong. Good luck with that. A true winner learns. Changes. Pivots. Realizes their mistakes. It's never too late for you to change your personality, to learn how to play the game of life. But that would require you to acknowledge you're wrong. Are you up to it? Probably not if you've won at the game of education. But education is not the game of life.Challenge your precepts. Look for truth. The CD is dead. Vinyl is irrelevant. People are listening to music, they just don't know what to listen to.The techies are all about playlists and algorithms, thinking scale is everything. But humanity is everything. Human curation, not machine values, but personal values. Who you are, what you think, what you put in your body,soul and mind. The techies are all about playlists and algorithms, thinking scale is everything. But humanity is everything. Human curation, not machine values, but personal values. Who you are, what you think, what you put in your body,soul and mind.
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Expectations
So, what we've learned is we're pushing the envelope of marketing/distribution ideas. Believe me, you won't be able to give away free CDs soon, Macs don't even come with disk drives! Just like free downloads disappeared, killed by streams, the Wal-Mart cheap/value CD is gone now too. But that's the world we live in, where older musicians find it easier to come up with innovative marketing ideas than compelling music. How do you get people to check your new music out? Turns out being established no longer counts. Especially if you're a boomer act. Sure, the kids listen to the new stuff, but they rejected Gaga's latest immediately. That's right, you put it out and if we even give it a chance we do it in a day and we give you five seconds, that's enough. The bar is so high, most people making music can't even see it, never mind reach it. Don't tell people they've got to listen a few times. Don't put out any filler.What does it take to win? The new age snake oil salesmen will tell you it's all about attitude. The Silicon Valley titans will tell you it's all about failing. But the truth is it's a feeling deep inside that you can succeed, followed up by tons of practice and sacrifice, oftentimes by your loved ones, and then a ton of luck plopped on top. Are you ready? No, most people are not. Most people don't want to miss out on the pleasures of life. The prom, the tv series, all the rites of passage. But the truth is our winners miss out on so much to grab the brass ring. And you might know their names for a fraction of a second, they may ultimately become footnotes. But they are our beacons. They point the way. You've got to have a goal. And unlike the boastful rappers, you've got to hew to it when you're sick and hurt and nearly defeated. Because success is never about spin, that can factor in, but it's always about effort. Which most people are unwilling to make. "If you’re looking for the next big thing, and you’re looking where everyone else is, you’re looking in the wrong place."
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Platinum Records
"Not One Artist's Album Has Gone Platinum In 2014": Is it streaming, albums, the music or all three? They just don't want to listen to the album.An artist who thinks they need forty minutes to make a statement, if you make music that must be listened to forty times to get it. I'll be honest, in the seventies I came to like so much stuff because of radio repetition. I thought all of that stuff was great. But today, no one is subjected to that level of repetition.So, forget sales, they're history, they're a niche item. They're the past, not the future. And forget albums too. You're creating a body of work.And soon, so long gold records. That's right, not even 500,000 people will want to hear your long statement, because they don't have time. It'd be like watching "House of Cards" and finding out there was only one good episode. Who'd want that? Furthermore, music is not episodic, order is unimportant, it's about endlessly repeating certain tracks. So the game just got harder. That's right, the internet killed the CD cash cow and now even iTunes downloads, it made the history of recorded music free at your fingertips and you're looking for some kind of justice, a way to turn back the hands of time, but that's never gonna happen, that'd be like Commodore rereleasing the Amiga to great acclaim, knocking Apple off its perch, ain't that a laugh. But this really isn't news. Everything I've said above has been in plain sight for nearly half a decade. So if you're complaining, if you've been caught flat-footed, I feel sorry for you. You're behind the times. In the information age you know nothing. You run your operation on your heart instead of your head.
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Albums
I find people are casual listeners who go deep on an occasional act. Do they need to go deep via an album? When every streaming service lists the most popular tracks you've cut? Of course not.You're hanging with other musicians. You grew up at the record store. You reminisce about the days of yore, spinning “Never Gonna Give You Up`` or "Thriller" incessantly. But that was back when music was scarce and the album was all you could afford. When we all tuned into the same radio stations and MTV and were banged over the head with the same stuff. To say things are different now is an understatement, in the pre-Internet era the only way I could reach you with this missive was via snail mail, which was expensive, and I couldn't even find you. People are overloaded with information, they've only got time for GREAT, and they salivate for more and more on a regular basis. Imagine if you could only speak with your girlfriend once a year. Via twelve letters written over the course of twelve months. With no feedback in between. Would that be satisfying? OF COURSE NOT! But you want to text all day and Skype all night.Why should art be any different? Album is meaningless to the listener who's been brought up on the iPod which was just killed and replaced with flash memory in a phone. The fan wants access. Everything you think is relevant may not be. Like that inane Apple leak about a new album format. People don't want to own, they want access. He who hews to the past is destined for the scrapheap. Or irrelevancy.
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Growing up!
And it's funny, because the song means much more to me today than it did back then. That's the power of an exquisite lyric,melody, you grow into it, you know it by heart, but as you age you come to understand it. "Woke up this morning feelin' fine" What could be better? Waking up with a smile on your face, knowing that you can't wait to eat life up. "I think I'm goin' back To the things I learned so well in my youth" That life is all about passion, about following your dream. "I think I'm returning to Those days when I was young enough to know the truth" Society is about eradicating your essence, making you conform. Education is not about liberation, but constriction. I've always marched to the beat of my own drummer, instructed by my dad, an iconoclastic loner who lived to connect who found his refuge in adventure and sports and show business. And he found my mother, who shared the same values. My father met her practising in a studio for acrobats and dancers in Paris,France.They become star’s in their profession and traveled the world for 20 years.Later incorporated me and my brother as musicians. In my house there was unlimited money for piano lessons and concert tickets, because my parents knew that art was the spice of life. "Now there are no games to only pass the time" No time to play the same album endlessly to get into the deep tracks, no time to discover who I am as opposed to being the person I've become. "No more electric trains, no more trees to climb "But thinking young and growing older is no sin And I can play the game of life to win" That's the truth about this music game, we never grow up, we're young forever, and nothing is as satisfying as listening to the songs,tunes from way back when, which remind us of who we used to be. And I used to be different. I used to be alone, but by following my musical dream, my whole life opened up. The songs led me there. I've played the game of life, and I've come to win. And it's thrilling to find how much I am enjoying my pass and memories.I don’t regret a thing.
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Antidote
Antidote It's not about the product. That's the dirty little secret of all these tech companies, the goal isn't to create a good product, but to SELL OUT! It's like a game of musical chairs, where the buy-in is millions, and everybody's afraid to be left without a seat at the table when the music stops. And the problem is it's affected music too. Today's game is to find someone to fund your art, get someone else to sponsor it, and to then focus on lifestyle. Your goal is not to thrill the alienated poor at home who lay their hard-earned money down to support your career, but to remove yourself from them, live behind a wall and fly private. It's income inequality, it's the coarsening of society, it's elected officials who are beholden to corporations and lobbyists, not their constituents. We used to look to artists to be the anti, but today they just want in. Everybody in Hollywood wants in. Universal's got an incubator. WME invests in tech. And Ashton Kutcher is revered not for his acting ability, but his investment prowess.So a bunch of nerds bought the music app of a bunch of faceless business people. We don't need more tech, we need more artists! And the truth is we've always got time for the original who's got something to say and the ability to say it, the ability to play and sing. And this is no one on the "Voice," that's the worst exponent of selling out, both the contestants and the judges. And this is no one writing songs by committee. But there must be people out there who believe the music is enough. Certainly the audience feels this way. They're hungry for authentic. What's number one rolls off their shoulders, what speaks to their souls is FOREVER! I like the the famous words of Eleanor Roosevelt when she said; Your damned if you do and your damned if you don’t.So I got to the point that I am very happy with myself and as long as I’m improving in whatever I do.What more can I ask for? Everyday above the ground is a blessing,don’t waste it.Eat life before Life it’s eats you.
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Opportunity
I just can back from my home town L.A. It´s is so damn hot here.
I get it, all you people bitching about your east coast winter, how it kept snowing and was always cold never lived in Scandinavia or the northern states.
I'm living on the other side of the world, with the flip side of the equation. In Santa Monica where you've got no air conditioning because you don't need it. Supposedly.
How many times have I seen it this hot in SaMo? In my life, only a couple. In May...NEVER!
Makes you believe in global warming.
But we can't, because it's going to impact business and the loonies are all going to heaven in the rapture and I live in a country I don't recognise.
Yes, I was just at Whole Foods, in Brentwood. Where twenty so things were flashing diamonds as they pushed around their infants. Where did they get all this money? Did they inherit it? Did they marry into it?
As for all the Ivy League graduates going into finance, you would too. If, like them, you were smart. Because they see the future, and it's limited for those who are not winners.
But everybody who's poor believes they're going to be a winner, so they don't want to tax the rich because they're going to be rich soon too.
What a bunch of hogwash,idiots.
I grew up in a different era. Yes, I'm older now, put me down for it, as readers constantly do, but unlike you I'm wise and experienced. And when I grew up hard work and insight and innovation would not only get you a house in a reasonable neighbourhood, but the ability to support your family and go on vacation. Now, most people can't even pay their bills. You want us to wait on you hand and foot in Manhattan, but where are we supposed to live? Idaho? And commute?
In the back of the plane with no food and a constant fight to get your luggage up in the rack. They say they want to carry their bags on so they don't have to wait, so they won't get lost, but the truth is everybody's damn cheap. Because they're trying to make ends meet.
And anybody who stops and says "What the hell is going on here?" is a chump. No one wants to be led back, everybody wants to go forward.
So the rich and educated buy insurance. Putting the money they already have in hedge funds where the proprietors are taxed at capital gains rates while you and me pay through the nose. If they've got to work, they get jobs most people can't even understand. The rest of us try to get on reality TV, or develop apps, or get on TV singing shows.
Did you see they were dying?
Because people would rather watch "Shark Tank." That's the American dream, coming up with something to strike it rich.
But not everybody wants to play the odds, some people just want to live comfortably. But unions are anathema and the left wing says to bring manufacturing back but isn't about to give up $200 flat screens.
So we've got a wealth of disinformation and where does this leave me?
Like John Lennon said, the dream is over. Face it. We're all chumps. Except for the few winners.
Do I expect it to go on forever?
No, the Fox News audience is ageing out. The rich have become embattled, that's why they hide behind walls.
And the poor are uneducated and uninformed.
But everybody's pissed that they can't get an abortion, health care, welfare, that there's no safety net.
Of course there is one, but it's not extensive like it used to be, they're pulling the rug out from under you. How am I supposed to pick myself up by my bootstraps if there's no OPPORTUNITY? We must improvise,adapt,easy to say but a hell with no end in sight for most of us.
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It always been a hit business`
Not everybody on top is a jerk. And there's a reason most of them made it, one that you don't want to know, because then that will illustrate...you're just not good enough.
Do you know how to network?
Do you know how to KISS ASS?
Are you smart enough to not only pick up on the street cues, but the business ones?
Can you read music?
Are you fun to hang around with?
Do you do others favours?
Are you willing to suffer without complaining?
Do you go to sleep not repeating affirmations of your deserving success, but planning a route thereto?
When the going gets rough, do you punt or keep going?
Then why do you think you deserve success when the others don't? Money talks. Internet cacophony has made it almost impossible to get your message to rise above the fray. Furthermore, almost nothing sticks.
If you're old, no one wants you in music, as either talent or an executive, because unfortunately your demo neither buys nor streams new music...no money, no action. As for execs... You have families, you have obligations, they can get someone younger to work harder for less money. Don't like it? Sue. And lose. Or start an independent company that ultimately fails. It's a young people's business, even though baby boomers don't like this.
Pandora doesn't break acts.
Festivals don't break acts.
One mention in the press might make your heart pitter-patter, but almost no one sees it and no one remembers it. People can smell hype. You only get one chance to make a first impression.. It's easier to market and sell music than find it. In other words, armchair quarterbacks are a dime a dozen, the music business is not waiting for your expertise, but it is always open to you delivering PHENOMENAL new acts. You don't have to know how to play, you don't have to have a great voice, you don't have to write, but if you can do all three, it puts you miles ahead of everybody else. If you want it, that does not mean it will happen. Forget all the new age/self-help b.s. Staying in the game and wishing it to happen yields almost nothing. Making it is hard work, dependent upon talent, forging relationships and a little bit of luck. There's tons of money in music, more than ever before, if you're a superstar, if not, you're starving. The best and the brightest don't go into music. There's not enough money in it. No one cares what you did. They just care what you're doing.
The generations keep changing, people keep getting older, if you had a hit five years ago, and not one since, you're a has-been who's on the way to being forgotten, hope you have some fans who can keep you alive. There's plenty of money in recorded music. Streaming revenue is just gonna rise. But the twenty first century has taught everybody about the other money out there, instead of just the easy money, this is good.Credibility counts.
People know when you sell out,It's a hits business. It's ALWAYS been a hits business. You're not gonna go far unless you've got that one big track, sorry.
And a hit is something instant and ubiquitous that cries out for repeat play. It doesn't have to be featured on the radio, but it frequently is.
I
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S.M.A.R.T.
There’s a popular business acronym that says goals should be S.M.A.R.T., or Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. In a band, I think goals should be SMARTER, because they need to include Everyone and be Revisited often.
It looks like us! Everybody singing in America is beautiful, whether by birth or plastic surgery.
Whereas music was never about the image, but the sound, it's what goes in your ears that counts.
It's about the data and the footprint.
In other words, the more information you have, the fewer mistakes you make, and if you're America-centric, you're gonna get your butt kicked by those who see the entire world.
Music is a dumb business.
Technology is not.
Musicians know the least about everything in life other than what they do. Which may be the result of total dedication to their craft. In other words, if you're not doing it myopically, you won't make it. But to listen to artists rail about the future and payment is to listen to uninformed crybabies wailing. You learn not to take children out of the crib. Leave the artists there too.
As for businessmen... It's all about relationships and intimidation and the music business did not see the technologists coming, they're still having their lunch eaten by people who see a future they cannot.
.You may think that to make it in music you have to be cut throat and that it's a race to the top; survival of the fittest. You need to immediately change this mentality. This business is all about relationships. People will work with you if they like you. +Don't Be A Dick By being a supportive member of the music community I not only made good friends, I increased my presence in the scene and got to know the scene first hand. This is true for every industry.
Let your work speak for yourself. Trash talking only reflects extreme insecurity and EGO.
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