I miss the mob
2009-07-16
I was in Las Vegas for a conference, taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel.
Just making small talk, I asked the driver, “How long have you lived here?”
He said, “27 years.”
“Wow! A lot has changed since then, huh?”
“Yeah. I miss the mob.”
“Huh? Really? What do you mean?”
“When the mafia ran this town, it was fun. There were only two numbers that mattered: how much is coming in, and how much is going out. As long as more in than out, everyone's happy. But now it was all bought up by these damn corporations full of MBA weasels micro-managing, trying to maximize the profit from every square foot of floor space. Now the place that used to put ketchup on my hot dog tells me it'll be an extra 25 cents for ketchup! It sucked all the fun out of this town! Yeah... I miss the mob.”
(Sure we could bring up other issues with the mob, but let's just leave it as a metaphor and a lesson.)
I told this story a lot at CD Baby.
Sometimes MBA types would ask me, “What's your growth rate? What's your retained earnings rate as a percentage of gross? What are your projections?”
I'd just say, “I have no idea. I don't even know what some of that means. I started this as a hobby to help my friends, and that's the only reason it exists. There's money in the bank and I'm doing fine, so no worries.”
They'd tell me if I analyzed it better I could maximize profitability.
Then I'd tell them about the taxi driver in Vegas.
Let's not forget why we're really doing what we're doing.
Are you helping people?
Are they happy?
Are you happy?
Are you profitable?
Isn't that enough?
Wow, that's such a great story. It's memorable too, and I have a feeling I'm going to need to remember it in the future. Thanks.
How True
Jean
Oh, man, I so agree with this. Nothing against MBA's, but they are best deployed as dispassionate critics to divine ways to improve process. And while process matters in music, passion matters more. You have to really, really care about the end product to succeed. Counting beans ain't enough.
Jeff
My Uncle Carl use 2 say IF you had everything you wanted there'd be no REASON 2 live!!! Corporal K.
Derek - I love the common sense of this blog. Thanks for coming by Seth's digs and meeting us all earlier this year. I'm really digging your blog posts and getting lots of value out of them.
You're helping me.
I'm happy.
You're getting different kind of profit.
Enough for now.
Powerful e-mail.....and totally enjoyed reading it. So....there really was a MOB
But, yes - sometimes the getting to the bottom $$$$ can take the fun out.
Like the parables of Jesus: short, pithy, memorable, and usually involving undesirables or outcasts to make the point. :o)
Great story. Different, memorable, and pointed. Drat it! Can tell I'm now I'm going to be spending the rest of the evening pondering and re-examining my motivations...
)
Thanks Derek! (I think
That's pretty much how I attempt to make things work too. 1. Am I having fun with it? 2. Is it making me and others happy. 3. Am I making it work.
Very much why I appreciate the idea of that mob mentality too.
amen. brother.
fran snyder
It used to be *catsup,* speaking of I miss.
Yeah, I don't worry about that stuff. My wife does.
yes I can relate right now, I miss
the mob I once had, now im just a lonely person, where is my old mob?
Agree with this guy about mirco-managing and getting caught in analysis, but too many people do exactly the opposite, and that's just as bad for business...except that you have NO money.
Like everything, it's about balance. I feel it's best for most people to look at places where they could improve on things, but not so much that they isolate employees or customers.
hopefully, you never had to whack anybody at CDBaby. I'll never tell.
Like that story.I am happy with my music that is a hobby,as long as my sales are more than my cost.So far so good.Never a rock star.
bless you, Derek. $ is a means, not an end.
I miss Frank and Dino and Sammy .. did I make people happy ... yes ... all the greasers in High School detention would love when I came by and acted the fool, the clown.
Now MBAs are graduating with a different philosophy ... and the ones I have run into have lost all common sense.
Lets go get some beers ...
Yeah, I think most successful people (meaning financially AND emotionally) do what they do because they love it. If you make money doing it, then what a great bonus. When a business becomes all about the money, it's time to get out... at least, that's my opinion. :]
Brian Dorn
http://dorncreations.com
Great story! For most of us if we can get to the point of 'everyone is happy' then that's pretty good, and definitely enough for me.
Is this any reference to the change in CD baby? I'm sure it is... They're trying to maximize and it's a train wreck right now... All the best bro.
Thanks Derek. This is such an important point. There's a lot more to life than the big ol' bottom line. I wish more people really took that to heart. Peace! -Carey
Yeah, baby!! I've been trying to find a good way to get this point across for almost 2 decades now! I have enough--I have fun--people have fun when I perform for them--I don't aspire to multiply that by a gadzillion because the PITA factor would far outweigh the extra cash. People say, Oh, you could hire people to do everything for you--Ok, I can cite numerous examples of why that is not such a great plan IF one is already happy, fulfilled & has "more coming in than going out" as you say. Great writing, man.
That's exactly the philosophy of BlueMusicGroup.com
A lot of people make money complicating things for people. It is possible to try too hard.
more terrific, free wisdom from Derek!
thanks derek, always insightful... x prita from downunder.. anyone else here from oz?? just wondering
I like the idea of music being fun and exciting.
Seems as though the reverse is happening with the music industry. Some of this is a credit to Mr. Sivers; returning control to "the mob" of independent artists. I find it entertaining to watch all the execs scramble to figure out how to maintain a corporate income structure.
I've been running the same argument about our local scene here in Brisbane. There used to be a healthy level of overt corruption that was generally shared around and widely enjoyed. Illegal gambling, prostitution, and "out of hours" bars filled with music were commonplace. Now the State government runs prostitution, gambling, and late night clubs. It would be a close tossup between State bureaucrats and MBAs as to who most tended towards being boring and clinical. I miss the mob too, though I'm sure there must be some benefits in their passing.
Derek - Great story! It reminds me of the dark clouds of change that seek to de-humanize and monetize all that was created to love and serve and benefit mankind; animals and plant life too.Thank you.
Great story, great metaphor.
I miss Derek at CDbaby.
Love it, Love it, Love it.
I love music! I love business!
Right Brain! Left Brain! Right Brain! Left Brain! Back and Forth! Balance....Yep! It's Back to That!
Life changes, wait until you hit your 60s, you'll miss a lot of stuff -- like your knees.
Trick is, don't sweat the small stuff. 25 cents for some tomato paste ... bring your own???
If you hate your job, city or partner it's time to figure out how to make it work better (you can do it -- you have a really neat brain thing) or - for you or get the f*#k out and do something you love.
There exists today other kinds of
"mobs" , doing the same things,
hiding the truth.
You think paying
for your ketchup makes you indignant ?
Read this.....this is most disconcerting ....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_cocoa
As long as profit and cash are put before people and their basic rights we will have an unhappy society for all classes.
Now you are thinking Derek. Bravo.
Right on the money! I lived and sang in Las Vegas for 23 years. I've seen it all...yes, the MBA's will never have enough...and please...guys...don't go to Vegas thinking that Vegas is where you make it. You'll burn. Stay at home and grow where you're planted.
I do not miss the mob- in music - it is all those distributors who rip the artists off. There are still distributors that rip off artists and hide behind their lies saying that they are honest. I always think that ancient expression "thou dost protest too much" is a very good one to remember.
Change is change is change- so lets go to the future!
uhhh, Derek---are you using robot made up stories for this? or are you the actual actor? lol
Yes---as soon as the bean counters take over ----all humanity is sucked outa the equation--Rock
What a talent for writing you have! What fun reading this blog entry. Our new band, Aspera, and our label personnel read your comments to learn!
I've always wondered why successful businesses feel compelled to expand, expand, expand. You have a business. You make a product, customers, and employees. Everyone is happy. Why not just stop there and enjoy your life?
Suits wreck everything. Unfortunately musicians are notoriously bad business people opening up the vulnerability factor. Take the chain of command in any band, the ultimate heads are the tour manager and business manager. These two people are there only to suck the life out of creativity and stifle nickels from every angle much in the way corporations see the condiment table as a future slot machine.
I'm grateful to Derek and his positive outlook for the future of music on the internet. I'm hoping that the internet will allow creativity and forward thinking to flourish and extinguish the talentless managers that have been slowly fleecing the industry foras long as I can remember. Maybe what's good will someday prevail over what will sell.
Hi Derek,
Great story. I totally agree. It's the right way to do business. People should come first and not the bottom line. I feel that Berklee is that way. I've been teaching at Berklee in Boston since 1976 and I feel that Berklee, headed by our relatively new president Roger Brown, is doing great things for music education. I know the bottom line is important, but I think what we contribute and add to society should be the priority. Kudos for CD Baby and Berklee.
Ed Saindon
Percussion Department
That is a nice looking hot dog
neat story......
where does the money go??? Artists working their tiny butts off, eating crap cause that's what they can afford, but still happily playing their songs, while some guy makes the bucks and eats the steak that should be yours... lol
A pox on all MBA bean counters! I have seen them ruin more good companies, drive off more good employees, and suck more fun out of working for a living than there is time to list here. Just one bit of advice...if you are going to hike with an MBA out in the desert, make sure you've dug the hole FIRST.
Numerical analysis is a way to reduce, rule out, remove, and generally make things smaller and safer, keep 'em inside the lines.
It's a way to be smaller, not bigger. Obsessing about details hurts you. Think about the guy selling bagels off his cart; he kept losing customers who wouldn't wait in the long line. He realized he was burning a lot of time making change—so he stopped making change. Just asked folks to put their money in the basket on the table, and make their own change.
More customers served because the line moved faster, and counterintuitively, more profit per sale because folks made fewer mistakes in their own change, and were leaving him bigger tips. If there was cheating, it was absorbed by the increased profit.
Quit worrying about the numbers and start paying attention to the people.
Hey Laurel... Not all distributors are "mob" minded. In fact, I own and run a totally independent distribution company, and I really try to run it by the exact mindset Derek mentions above... We are helping people, and for the most part they are happy, and we are turning a small profit. Thanks for sharing this story Derek!
Nice story. Interesting timing with the launch of a more "commerical-feeling" to the CD baby site.
By the way Derek, I miss you at CDBaby as well. Re: mob article, you know it's funny but I have made a similar remark myself comparing the mob's tactics with the political evil/secrecy that we have now witnessed, etc. etc. ad nauseum. At least on TV (smile) life with the "mob" was simpler.
CDBABY will always succeed with their (no risk to them) $35 set up fee.
They must be rolling in it!
I miss the mob that would show/prove their belief and faith by taking a financial risk in artists.
Yeah, yeah...those days are gone and this is a our only alternative.
Exactly! I wish more people saw it that way.
Very true! When we started Metal Music Promotions, our business model was founded on the principle of “Friends Helping Friends”. We promote from the heart and believe in cultivating relationships, not just working business transactions.
Hell, if money was the driving factor, we would be miserable, and promoting platinum pop, not totally pumped, promoting the genre we love, Metal!
Bottom line, We are helping people!
They are happy!
And we actually make a profit!
hmmm...with the complete disaster that is going on now at CDBaby..I wonder if that is what inspired you to blog this. I miss you at cdbaby. I think it is all downhill now since you sold it. oh well, time to put the brain to work and find another option to promote/sell my music
I really enjoyed this article but, man....That hot dog is making me really hungry!!!!!
hallelujah! If we let it.... the corporation will suck every bit of beauty from our planet and take all our souls along with it. I'd rather be a bad girl than be a machine.
i already think the relaunched cdbaby is a little less fun. that's not what you are alluding to here is it?
me personally, i'm having more fun than ever and i'm helping people.
Hi, Derek. What a wonderful story! In May through JUly, 2000, my wife and I spent some time in Las Vegas. I tried unsuccessfully to get work there once the opportunities I thought I had lined up fell through when the venues involved were bought out by a corporation. The first thing they did was to eliminate piano lounges. So after struggling for almost three months, we moved back to Sarasota. Now I'm playing four nights a week at two of Sarasota's best restaurants, playing on vaying schedules at many assisted living facilities and teaching jazz piano both privately and as the Adjunct Instructor of Applied Jazz Piano at State College of Florida Bradenton (formerly Manatee Community College). I am doing well enough to pay the bills, and I really believe that I'm helping people to be happy and forget their troubles for a while. Helping is the main thing-the profits seem to come as a result of that philosophy. Keep up the good work. I enjoy reading your articles.
Mike Markaverich, Sarasota, Florida
I really enjoyed this Derek..If ur not enjoying what u do and not having fun...Then..What's the point??
Good metaphor. This is one reason I don't go to the cinema anymore; concession stand prices. I guess I could smuggle snacks and a cold drink in, but I just wait until the movie comes out on DVD.
i totally agree w/David Hooper's comment. It's about balance.
"the suits wreck everything" --is that truth or laziness talking? analysis isn't "too much work" for people who *love* to crunch the numbers--that is their gift to the world. i thank god for MBAs, CPAs, computer programmers, and lots of other technicians who sweat the stuff that's not my favorite.
like many things in life, there's a chasm between the creatives and the analytical types, and that doesn't need to be the case, because everyone brings something to the party.
it's about having the wisdom to pay attention to the relevant metrics, and it's foolish to say that analysis ruins quality. maybe the MBAs at cdbaby just weren't good enough at communicating why those metrics matter.
I can't imagine doing something creative like composing a cool piece of music and at the same time wondering if it will maximize my profitability. Those 2 ideas live in totally separate areas.
music is a major language,
it should not be used to mislead
people, or steal from them.
Hank
I miss em' too!
I like this one. Greed sucks out the feeling. Rock'n Derek. -AM
I've been doing music for years and I can honestly say that I've never looked at it from the point of view of how much money I'm making so I certainly can relate to that story.
I want that hot dog! thanks, Derek.
another great one.
I agree with Bill, Adam Smith and totally with - Dierdre. It's just not right to operate under rules that corporate minds have saturated our creative work with. The black and white perspective of corporate "bottom line" has never applied to what I do at all. I wish they'd just go away and sell cheeseburgers and strip malls where they belong.
Thanks, Derek.
yo music being derek,
is there a way that you can reformat this so it is like posts at music thoughts where you have a choice of digest or individual posts.
i hate the digest form and only read one or so replies.
as far as the mob goes, psychotic bastards, my girlfriend's godfather was the godfather and her gangster relatives are some of
the most fuckedup dangerous people you don't want to meet.
most of them need killing.
love & peace & joy & orgasms bountiful
ian bruce
Well aren't we all longing for the good old days. I personally don't miss the mob but the numbers racket they operated paid off better than the state lotteries. I suppose that says alot.
What's most interesting is that, when somebody becomes "successful" on their "own" terms by simply doing what they love, not bothering anyone else in the process, measuring things according to how they "feel" rather than by "numbers," and not "arrogant" about any of it, that the business students who only wish to "sell yours" since they cannot "create their's," must "save their own faces" by offering (cheap-shot) lessons in useless semantics disguised as questions to stump the successful party, and make him/her look "less than," even though the questioners themselves) are far less successful (and are fully aware of it)
I love your blogs. I love that people come first to you not dollars. I love that you are still helping people at the ground level like me long after you most people in business would. In short I think I love you.
Derek:
I miss the Mob very much... you see..my band and I worked in Las Vegas during the days the Mob controlled the town... Crime was
almost at O.....you..
could walk the streets any time at night... The Band and I were always
working the Golden Nugget for Steve
Wynn and his Entertainment Director, Frankie Randall..they
treated us first cabin...along with
5 or 6 of the other casinos we performed at....
Love your story...Best regards,
Pat Longo
P.S. Derek, check out our website,
I think you will enjoy it..
My Father the "old Italian Man", misses the mob too. Reno, Tahoe, Vegas, Yep, used to be good back in the day....
I was working Vegas when the mob
finally left. When the corporations
took over, the next day a corn beef
sandwich was $9.95. I remember when
there was a buffet and it was free
if you were hungry. Also, the mob
never let you leave broke. If you
lost all your money, they would give you a twenty. They knew you would be back. But Vegas is a tourist trap now The electricity
that was once in the air no longer
exists. Sad, but true.........BEN
All very well when you operate from a position of strength, and its very easy-and completely untrue-to say that the worlds of 'creativity' and 'management' don't overlap. while I believe that your so-called 'MBA types' certainly need to have their areas of influence clearly described, I also believe that when you are trying to establish and run an independent music-making organisation, you cannot afford the luxury of dismissing some of these management concepts. Like it or not, the amount of "independence" that you have in the marketplace is defined by your profit. And the Mob propogated evil, or shall we convieniently forget that?
I recently moved to Vegas and was amazed to learn that some of the big casinos were on the verge of bankruptcy while others were going under. It used to be a truism that the house always wins, so it seemed to me that you had to be an absolute dolt to lose money running a casino. Either I was wrong about that or some overeducated bean counters are much bigger dolts than the old wise guys. But, given the financial wreckage wrought by certified experts in the banking and financial services industries, is that any surprise to anybody anymore? Turns out Gordon Gecko was very wrong: greed is NOT good.
If today's corporations lived by that principle: helping people; happy; and profitable ~ then we wouldn't have the unemployment crisis that we do. Too bad that it isn’t that enough for them. However; everyone would also have to be happy with their 401k's too !!
Thank goodness for independent music and the internet. Not suits, no MBAs just top notch music to share with the world as needed.
Keep you suits and your bottom lines. All I need is a guitar, my music and somewhere to share it with the world.
Haha, we must have had the same taxi driver because mine too was wishing Bugsby back. =P
When I was raised as a child my mother told me over and over that too much money attracts people with ulterior motives and not enogh money gives one the same effect.
Beautiful Derek! Thank you for bringing much inner beauty out into the world!
DEREK,
My sentiments EXACTLY, me I would Luv to kick it with you one on one man and get a nitty-gritty Idea of what da hell is go'n on !!!
Man I honestly felt a connection to you, while test driving my cd single, I don't know what happen but now there is no warmth at the Co. YOU STARTED, plus no mo "D" man to kick it with !!!!
I mean since the single I've sold in excess of about 15,000 c.d.'s test driving the market for my musical Ideas , your council helped ALOT, Man Thanks, in return I sent a lot of customers to C.D. Baby because I DUG U !!!
Now What's U.P. ??????
Thanks for the great laugh D! Good point too.
I always say a good joke makes you laugh for 5 seconds and then makes you think for 10 minutes.
That my friend was a GREAT joke(I'm still thinking).
Reminds me of an old article in the newspaper about a guy who ran a bar.
One day, his kid came home from college and critiqued his cigar-box cash "register", asking "How do you know how much you made?!"
His dad then said:
Son, I came to this country with a pair of pants, and no shirt on my back.
I worked hard, and got this bar, got married, bought a house, had three kids, put all three of you through college, and mostly enjoyed myself along the way.
So add all that up, and subtract that pants, and that's how much I made.
YO "D" MAN I MISS DA MOB !!!
lots going in but less coming out? yeah ok im happy to take the advice of a locust n honey eating wild man, but im not eating the fruit of the lizards underbelly. glizts n glam will attract one relative to visit but its an entirely diffrent cat that wants to stay
I was a scientist working for a great company. They got the idea that we could make more money if finance types ran the company. They didn't like scientists and they soon tried doing everything themselves including the job bidding and minimizing the scientific work to lower the cost and maximize profit. Soon enough the work wasn't good and not on time and no one wanted our low ball bids and the whole division went out of a previously thriving business. I've seen this happen way too many times in the USA and now we are not even near the top anymore in science and new products, just look at the car companies! and all for big salaries and bonuses and a missleading bottom line.
Waylon Jennings used to tell a story about sitting in Shoney's with his back to 2 MBA record label types and he overheard one tell the other: "I don't care how good he writes or sings, if he ain't good looking, don't bring him to me" (accent added).
Really well put, Derek, thanks for sharing the story and analysis!
Although there appears to be a parable here, I take issue with the simplicity of the observations, associations and net conclusion.
Gambling is like banking. There is a vigorish, just as there is interest. MBA or not, all involved want to maximize it and create growth in revenue and margins the best way they know how. Yes, it is the basis of capitalism. Those that practice it poorly do things like charge you extra for ketchup when catsup used to be free. If there was a freemium precedent set (charge elsewhere or later for the free item), then it's hard to back track to separate pricing (think about luggage fees at airports, too). Those that give things away for free may have had a divine method to their madness or they may just be dumb gangsters.
Are all or most current MBAs practicing capitalism poorly in Las Vegas? I dunno. I seem to like the Palms for some reason. Can't remember if I payed for ketchup, but I liked the rooms and the pool. Oh yeah, and the scenery is pleasant and I'm not talking about the trees or the water. I think a recent post by the Seth Godin says it best:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/gotcha.html
"...every person you turn away because your product or service isn't right for them turns into three great customers down the road. Every bad sale costs you five".
The argument that arbitrarily deemed "excessive profit" is always, or even most of the time, "unnecessary greed" does not follow from Derek's story. The observation about ketchup is provocative, but certainly not conclusive, or even mildly generalizable. There are problems with defining how much profit is greed and problems with defining when profit is unnecessary.
If you're a talented musician and your ship comes in for only a few years, you most certainly will try to maximize your opportunity since you know it will be fleeting and you will be unable to sustain it (very few can). So would any of us agree on how much was enough for the short time that they would collect something? Probably not. We'd probably agree when it was 100 times too much, but certainly never before that point.
Seth Godin's _Tribe_ is a wonderful model for folks in the arts or professional services, by the way. And it's not a sin to think about art through an economic lens once in a while. Some would argue that it's much cleaner ~never~ to. I would submit that this is impossible. Those that do not, actually, just delegate it to someone else - but - are forced to interact with that person to sustain their art. This is a great model, but it's really just a "management decision" with accountability still residing with the artist doing the delegation.
I'm sorry to see that it seems necessary to point out something else here: I think Derek made it clear that there are obviously "other issues" with the mob. We all know (I hope) that they're fundamentally an evil bunch who got their nest egg by contemptible means. He's not justifying the Mafia here; I think he's talking about how some of the more refined, acceptable approaches to greed can issue in other forms of destructiveness. If that point is lost on anybody, I expect that when China's dominance is a fait accompli, thanks to the selling-out of America by a more powerful and equally ruthless mob -- America's corporate globalists -- the point will strike home with inescapable force.
We need more Derek Sivers in this world, I say God Bless you Derek
cool story, Derek. You seriously kick ass...
Hooray for you Derek! I just read that one of my favorite brands of natural products, Burt's Bees, was bought out by the same people that make Clorox a few years ago. Huh? It's all about $ in this world, but it's good to know there are still a few people like you left that do things with a passion to provide something good and help people. Music is about music, not money!
Trever, do you at least wear a nice suit? Like Boss or Armani? Creativity and management do not overlap, and my creativity is never defined my "profit in the market place". I prefer not to dumb down my music so that you and your "marketplace" can understand it. You are exactly the type of person that wrecks things...
You know Derek, they say that the mob ran the music industry for a long time until the accountants and tone death number crunchers took over. I can say this for sure; they new what real talent was.
Wow! Brings back some good memories.
I guess, I have my ties with the mafia.
But the cab driver was right, He explain it to you in simple terms.
I was a dance instructor for the mafia. And psychic believe it or not?
I got the fun part.
I didn’t have to kill anyone, Just dance with their wife’s.
They would have killed me, if I got out of line though.
It turns out though, that some corporations our bigger crooks than the mob
Today, though, the mafia has change and theirs many types of mafia.
I work with the Italian mob and other types of mafia as well .
Their again, if or anyone has anymore questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Much Love and Light
Richard Spasoff
Thank you once again, Derek! If the money becomes the driving force, the art will certainly suffer. Play, sing, record, sell, but the most important thing is to love what you're doing and have fun! We PLAY music. It's not supposed to be work!
While my family and I spent our summers in California and Nevada, I was last in Vegas back in 1987 at the age of 21, and even back then I could feel the crunch having experienced it before during it's heyday. We stayed at a popular hotel, with beds like wooden planks and a bathroom that wouldn't satisfy a midget. I didn't win any money back either. So yeah, thanks for being real and not being all about the numbers. Even if I never break any records as an independent artist, I feel like I'm at home with CDBaby.
Music has survived and has been around since the dawn of time. It will survive the mob too in this lifetime.
That is the reason why I won't work with some musicians. They think more about money (MBA) then they do about the love of music. Great story.
Hello Derek,
This is a great story. Breaks it all down for me in simple terms as to why I create.
If it puts a smile on your face and 99cents in my pocket, sweet!
Junito Perez
o.k. ... I'm missing something here.
If we're talking about some variety of "the Good Ole Days" and the happy gloss which memory provides then it's also " the Good Ole Daze" which is in focus.
If it's the intuition that life - in the good old days - was more fun and less mean spirited than today .... my experience says 'that's right'.
I was fortunate to live my childhood basically free of t.v.
I say fortunate because I remember the debates about whether advertising would be 'allowed'.
Naturally, it would never break into the program and would never promote values which are .... essentially 'crap'....
My grandchildren can't avoid the ceaseless bombardment of advertisements cajoling and manipulating their every move.
A whole generation of bright minds have been focussed on 'selling' us a debased and glittering shadow life and perhaps that explains the immediate appeal of the taxi driver's story.
When the 'mob' were 'running the show'.... life was 'better' and 'freer' than today - when a recorded voice tells us that 'Your call is important' and puts us on hold.... and ketchup comes in a plastic container and costs 'extra'
Just a thought which pops into mind... Derek gets a quite a few comments which 'cast aspersions' on either his motivation or the rather glowing responses to his posts from readers who really like the man and express that feeling.
Sometimes it's a bit gushy - so what!
THIS is a forum within which we can all meet where the questions aren't just about how we shake our booty - or maybe they are and that's o.k. too.
.... we are the new 'mob' ... tra la la la la
good one!!!! so true!
Usually I ship with the Postal Service. Yesterday I had to return something to Amazon pre-paid via UPS. At the UPS store the guy charged me $1 to tape up the little box. They could have done it free and possibly capitalized on the chance to earn a new customer, but they charged me for 12 inches of tape and 2 seconds of effort and pissed me off. Stupid.
My partnerand I have followed this way for 32 years of sharing, carieng, and loving with out following a religion, group, organization, or leader telling us "it is the way one must be!" morals and ethics once taught and understood become a choice. We are simple quiet doers in a society gone mad with self indulgent greed. This is a Me! Me! Me! Me! mess.
Have a great evening.
Zeno.
My partner and I have followed this way for 32 years of sharing, caring, and loving with out following a religion, group, organization, or leader telling us "it is the way one must be!" morals and ethics once taught and understood become a choice. We are simple quiet doers in a society gone mad with self indulgent greed. This is a Me! Me! Me! Me! mess.
Have a great evening.
Zeno.
Especially wonderful story since you mopped the floor with the other panelists at the MBA conference I brought you to - particularly the venture capitalist wearing shoes that cost more than the computer I'm typing on.
Great blog, Derek. One thing that has changed is the near complete lack of talent seekers and developers on the local level. Clubs ask, "how many people will you bring?", when it's your first gig in town. With that mindset, they seldom work with talented bands to build their club's presence and benefit all parties, especially their patrons. In the not too distant past, we'd audition (after getting good promo built up) and the clubs would say, "you're booked", or "not yet, kid". It's consistent with the posts above that the objective now is profit first, displaying a lack of vision and passion for the music. Ultimately the soul gets sucked out of the musical experience.
That hot dog made me hungry instantly. What the???
Bears can make money, bulls can make money and pigs go broke.
Greed has taken us where we are today. A good business is one that takes care of the people. The consumers and the employees. Doing this will provide long term profits in the form of happiness and money. Bob Rice
I doubt this post from Derek was intended to be about CD baby, but I can't help but agree with a few comments that it comes to mind. Despite the "new" look of CD baby, without Derek and the simple approach it once had, CD baby doesn't feel like family any more. Am I the only one?
Thank God I have my own website.
sorry if this is off topic. Thanks for the post Derek.
Kelly
well I don't know, I think it's just a new mob... it's always been a mob, and the mob is always about money and not very nice people, it's just that now computers have honed in tight on the "bottom line"
However, I think you rock, Derek, and your philosophy of business is beautiful... Thank you for sharing your benevolent spirit.
blessings,
Laurie
true. i personally feel that evidence can often be found in the quality of music/artistry on labels run by music fans compared with those run by people answering to shareholders.
This is so true. I cannot believe how corp. account for every cent. Let the little people eat a little more and they would spend more money.
It's funny that you said that, because when I went to my account CDBaby, it looks like these are the very guys that you are talking about, Damn I miss you at the helm!
"What it is!!!"
Derek, you may have been talking about Las Vegas just described what remains of the music business!
No wonder acoustic music is dead.
You sound like me. I'm very friendy. I like everybody if they
will let me. Some people are hard to talk to. It seems that you found somebody interesting. You know everybody has a story to tell if you will just listen.
Thank you for listening to me.
Hi Derek, what you've highlighted here is the difference between Free Enterprise and Capitalism, the difference between making money out of something and trying to make money out of money.
Sites like CD Baby are a good example of free enterprise which is why I joined the site.
Money actually works like the ozone layer if there was no hole at all there'd be no oxygen and when you number the system finitely you end it because that's what finite means.
Or as Jimi might put it "Freedom that's what I want now!"
You know ENOUGH is such a cool word. Beats the crap outta MORE any day.
I have been a musician all my life, but somewhere along the way I got sidetracked and started a "real" business. I was working myself into an early grave, barely making enough profit to survive, didn't have hardly any time left for my music, and I was miserable...to the point of contemplating suicide. I finally woke up, shut down my "business" went back to music. I am now debt free, my mortgage is paid off, I have the recording studio of my dreams, and I perform about 90 shows a year. How much do I make? I dunno...enough I guess! The main thing is...I am happy! Just do it!
I don't miss the mob,nor do I miss the MBAs.I would LOVE to make money
at my music,but as a gospel(means
"good news"by the way)music ministry
we have probably given away nearly as much music as we have sold,and the results have been eternal.
Blessing others and being blessed,
Nothing like it!Thanks Derek,for what YOU'RE doing.
Derek,
Your Las Vegas story is typical of what is wrong with this country,just look what micromanaging did for the airline industry. I just flew from San Diego to Chicago and back. The plane had 180 passengers in coach with only two bathrooms in the back, when they started serving drinks you could not use them because the isle was blocked, I will tell you that there were a lot of angry people including myself. And the food as bad as always, but now you have to pay for it, and the companies complain that bussiness is bad. I hope that they all go bankrupt, until they change their "tune."
I have played music at shows in Las Vegas in the 80's 90's and 00's. I have lived there since '03. The cab driver is correct to a point. My mob has always been the musicians, male and female, that I have spent so much time with. We gave and continue to give our hearts to the masses around the world. And with the internet, we will keep on giving. Good post Derek.
Don't get me started on MBAs; can you quantify the value of a gardenia's scent, wafting on the afternoon air? When is enough enough? How can our balance sheets not be screwed up when the formula from which they are derived is deeply flawed?
The thing about the mob, is they gave people what they wanted... sex, booze, entertainment. That's what sells, right?
as an indie musician,We (indie musicians) can't compete with that. Besides, not many people want to hear something new like they did in the 30's, 40's and 50's,... they want to hear carbon copies of what they have been TOLD are great artists...most of the public have to be told it's good, before they will give it a chance.
At least here in the States that's the case, in other parts of the world I get airtime, and sell cd's/mp3's, but not here... Perhaps an issue with music education? Not understanding diminished, flat sevenths; substitute chords and the like, and only basic primitive rhythm's and chord structure.
Now, it's about the almighty dollar, and you better sound like the last biggest thing.
I have to say, I'm ok with that, i don't want to impress lemmings anyhow, just intelligent folks will do for me.
Derek,
Your ending comment is provocative. "Let’s not forget why we’re really doing what we’re doing. Are you helping people?
Are they happy? Are you profitable?" To that I would only add, "Are you happy?"
The changes that we see may be life imitating "art" - the art of our favorite electronic creations - gizmos, like computers. It seems to me that whoever is running the show has become extremely conscious of every jot and tittle. That is machine-like, detail-oriented behavior. Just like the things we stare at in an almost altered state of consciousness - the computer screen. People become like what they behold.
What we need to remember, reinforce, and resurrect is the human element. And a great deal of that is the freedom of imagination, creativity, and humor. [What musicians and other "artsy" people do best!]
We can go around blaming the system that things have changed and "it" isn't fun anymore, or even that the world is going to end. However, I'm a firm believer in the idea that you get out of it what you put into it. If things are as they seem, well, hey, this is a time like never before then to plug in the imagination, take it a step higher, and create something else. [Besides, it drives the "MBA types" nuts... LOL!] I don't care a fig about that stuff myself, and I'm sure not going to let a bunch of robots take the stage during my show, so to speak.
Your questions are valid ones, worth taking a retreat day off and considering. Sometimes the changes we don't like are there to shake us into a new way of thinking, or even considering getting off the beaten path we've been traveling. Thanks for putting this out for consideration.
Harmony & happy trails,
Yvonne
When I lived in Vegas I heard a lot of similar stories about missing the mob. In the old days, if you blew all your money gambling (as some dummies do) the mob would put you on a Greyhound back to your hometown. The corporate scum who run Vegas now wouldn't even consider such a thing. They have totally dehumanized it and turned it into Disneyland.
A Classic example of what happens when we Complicate Simplicity.
Taxi Drivers are awesome to chat with on the globe Derek! I love this attitude of the driver! For me living in Thailand for 15 years and working in Russia last 3 years, it's so much easier working with corruption and mafia. It's family oriented, we don't sign any papers, if we don't vibe with whatever we originally agreed upon anymore, then we let it go. Are we still happy? Are we going with the flow? Yes, or No? Simple. Money is energy - it comes in and goes out and more comes in and more goes out; happily creating and no worries; flows beautifully.
I worked for months with a very experienced pianist who played with the Treniers in Vegas for some 20 years, occasionally backing up acts like Sammy Davis Jr. and the rest of the Rat Pack. Anyway, he told me when the MOB was forced out, the musicians followed, to be replaced with pre-recorded backing tracks and the like. Prior to this, everybody got paid on time and there was live music everywhere.
Ah yes, the good `ole days!
yes DEREK ...i would be more happy
just like you donating your talent to teach all of us ...money is not a natural creation is the opposit
of ..fan / music/ freedom/leberty of expression...tell than all as you are we love ..i whish you could make some new music ..what ever happened in las vegas stay in
las vegas ...i'm tired now ..keep on living my brother
A keyboard player I know moved to Vegas about '92 to work in a lounge band. Two years later he moved to Tahoe. The small-time band gigs were drying up. He said the suits at Bally's et al decided that the bands (aside from the big shows) were unprofitable. You could fit eighty more slot machines where that stage is!
For the mobsters, the bands were part of the lifestyle, like the molls (and the two occasionally intersected, which could land you with a really bad lead singer...)
The Borgias were big patrons of the arts, too.
Derek,
Nice, accurate assessment.....Let us never forget why we do what we do.
Blessings,
Sam
I have a line in one of my books that says about teaching music -- "If you win the lottery and quit teaching, you were never properly motivated to teach in the first place." Teaching is not about complex financial issues. It's about helping. Though money is necessary to live, it is not the primary motivation in teaching or in the arts!
One of my favorite quotes is from a Kentucky humorist of the early 20th century. James Tandy Ellis said "Mathematics are for people who neither expect nor derive any pleasure from life." Lol
Thank you to the person who suggested we read about the forced child labor in the cocoa industry. If that doesn't put everyone's two feet on the ground, what will ?
The mob has always existed.It just changes its id. tag. Big money
is war is povery is the total
unbalance in this world is the reason that the Earth is dying.The most generous and sharing people are the most poor. Music should always be a celebration of love and joy. When it becomes a business you have to be so careful to hang on to your soul. We lost the best to that shit...Janis, Jimmy, Judy Garland...Michael Jackson.................many more..........
Thanks to you Derek for provoking us !
To each his/her universe-taxi drivers included -
Big hug to everyone who has written tonight from Wichampi.
Another comparison is the debate of nationwide Healthcare. It's partisan political verbage based on Republican vs. Democratic values but repeatedly rejected by Republicans based on its cost. Reps happen to pride themselves on the core support of Christians yet they reject abortion, openly support an enormously costly and murderous war against civilians, and reject Healthcare for Americans who can't afford it. This is essentially definitive hypocrisy - it puts a price tag on Life. In this context, should musicians play only if they can afford to?
I couldn't agree more. Shallow thought and greed have fucked things up royally.
The IRS is the MOB!!! They just wear more conservative clothes and Govt. badges.
I'm with you Derek, I run my "business" by pure instinct. Look what happened with you CD Baby... It became the right thing at the right time. All based on your intuition and a burning desire.
As I get more involved with the "Talking Heads" and the "Bean Counters" I find myself laughing my ass off! Half of these guys have no clue what it takes to create something, they just read about it in a book; passed a test and got a piece of paper proclaiming they know something.
Sure, they serve a purpose. Most of them are standing in the unemployment lines now making busy work for the Govt "Mob".
Love the metaphor. Vegas sucks now. That cabbie had it right. Used to be a place you could have fun at a reasonable price. Not anymore.
Great story - I worked in Corporate America a long time before I slowly worked my way out and finally landed on this farm here in Oregon. Thanks for reminding me why we are here.
It makes a great point. If you get wrapped up in all the other stuff, you forget to have fun.
RE: THE MOB,
MY FATHER LEGENDARY COMPOSER,
PRODUCER STRESSED THE MUSIC BUSINESS ONCE WAS "ONE" WORD...
THE MUSICBUSINESS (NOT MIS-SPELLED)
AND MEANT ONE THING. THEY FIXED THE SPELLING, AND NOW IT IS TWO WORDS AND HAS TWO MEANINGS!
KEEP IT IN MIND.
I'm NOT profitable, but I still love doing what I do!
This so totally rocks. Thanks, Derek, for helping us all keep things in perspective. You're a freaking genius & a helluva good guy all around.
Nancy
Great stuff. I am enjoying ALL of these thoughts!
There used to be a mob in New Orleans and many other cities who ran a lot of the music clubs and frankly the musicians were paid well - cash money and never had to worry whether it was gonna happen or not - were they always fair to everyone - of course not - but the cabby has a point - and I miss thme too...end of story
Great point, Derek. It's not as much about a life based on net worth as much as having a life worth living. I'd also take bliss with a great partner in a studio apartment over 28 acres of spacious loneliness.
The Word says that what is in your heart is what comes out of your mouth... and as face reflects face in water, so the heart of man reflects man... I think you're on track! May the Lord Bless you indeed!
Gloria
"it sucked all the fun out of this town." yeah when anything is run by
)
"Corporation" and not by passionate
or fun individuals (like artists and old fashioned gangsters
then you can sign the death warrant for anything like powerful
or visionary music. Corporate Culture basically SUCKS!
Bill Thurman
Did you realize that one day the ocean will rise about 10 feet and cover most of South Florida? South Florida is very flat except for all of the hundred foot high landfills... Those will then
become the Islands of South Florida and New Yorkers and New Jerseians will scratch and claw to buy ocean front property on these remaining isles of paradise.
e
Thanks for the reminder. What I've decided to do (re the bottom line and avoiding bean counters) is this. I make my CDs cheap and sell them cheap. My own working formula is live recording, mixing, and pressing for a total of $3k or less. Then I sell at shows and on CDBaby for $10 or less. The first 300 (which do sell at $10 each) pays for the product and I can move on to the next one. Find the number that works for you.
Being of Italian descent, I understand. Beyond that, I understand.
"Let’s not forget why we’re really doing what we’re doing."
That is the large part of the heart of the matter -- What do you want to do? Why are you doing what you're doing? How can you do more of it? Are you learning? Having fun? Growing? Why ARE you doing what you're doing?
When you're walking in your truth, doing what you love, honoring your calling, your life passion, then you attract and draw in everything you need...and then some.
Then, for some, there comes the monkey-wrenches and the love of music and what you're doing changes. What once fueled you and your circle, becomes weighty, a make-or-break point. That does not have to be, especially with all of the wonderful opportunities that are out there.
What I have found helpful is to put like-minded people around you that can and will keep that core "why we're here" spirit going, still taking care of business. Your music and what you're choosing to do with it, whether it's a record label or band, stays in the guiding forefront.
My longtime good friend and music lover Boni Lonnsbury, who started and heads up the multi-award-winning In Touch Today company in Colorado, is a great ascriber of this. Start by identifying what YOU want to do, and create a life you love from that foundation.
Keep in mind why you're there doing what you're doing and grow more of it. During the harder times, this will pull your through and put you over the wall. Consider teaming up with a good coach like Derek, an investment in your musical present and future.
By the way, starting with less than $500 (I think it was around $250), Boni's company is now worth over 5 million dollars and growing. She's a trailblazer, a light for women especially who might want to have their own company. Passion lights the way. Boni loves what she does and the employees and contractors love what they do. It shows, it shines, it attracts.
You doing what you absolutely love to do--be it producing albums, performing on-stage, penning songs, or hosting a radio show--your circle of friends, your community, and the planet benefits, as do you.
Visualize. Step out there and create a life you love with your musical muse, whatever that may be, and as Derek has shared: "Let’s not forget why we’re really doing what we’re doing."
Metaphor or not, it's a good story. And believe me, it's basicly true. Not just here in Las Vegas, but within the music world as it has evolved into the rip off monster money machine it has become.
I create music for two reasons, my own happiness, and to tell true stories of my own life, or of other people's lives I have known or have been told about.
The mafia here in Las Vegas DID help out musicians and they treated most intown musicians like family. Hell back in the 1960's and 1970's most musicians living in Las Vegas were considered part of the mafia "even if they weren't."
I use to go see concerts of well known artists in "Las Vegas" back in the 1970's and no matter who it was you were seeing, the ticket price to watch them was no more then $9 or $10 dollars per ticket. Look at the ticket prices now a days.
I accidently met John Lennon in Los Angeles while I was waiting for my friends band at Capitol Records to record a demo for them, Mr. Lennon and I sat and talked for several hours. We became friends and stayed in touch throughout my Army days during the mid and late 1970's. The year I got out of the Army "1980" John Lennon invited me to come to New York and lay down a guitar track on his song "Clean up Time." The month was August, of 1980. I told John that I'd have to get out of the arrangement I was currently in with "Country Joe" but John said, NO, stick with your arrangement and we'll do something together at a later date. Four Months later John was assassinated in New York.
He was one of the old time musicians who'd help out unknown musicians as long as they had some talent.
The mafia was bacisly the same way here in Las Vegas towards musicians, these number crunchers in the music industry today have no sense of talent, all's they see is $$$$. There is no friendhsip, there is no honor with these types.
I've had cd's available for sell on CDbaby since 2004.
Now CDbaby is telling all independent artists who are selling their cd's through CDbaby, if they don't sell cd's within a 12 month period, we'll be charged for cd storage fee's, plus CDbaby can no longer only take 9% of our sells, they need to take more.
This is NOT the same CDbaby as when Derek owned it, CDbaby has changed with the times, and I feel this change will hurt CDbaby and unknown independent musicians in the long run.
Thanks for the story Derek.
~Mark Johnson~
Yep. That's a good story.
I appreciate the fact that you still have that perspective.
It is a perspective that is missed.
Change is good sometimes.
Change isn't good other times.
CD Baby isn't the same, I'm said to say.
Jim
The mob took over the corporations, then the corporations took over the US government, now there is no need for being nice. ~ Sarge ~
"The more the plumbing is overworked the easier it is to stop up the drain"
This always happens. I see it happening right now very close to home - if you get my drift baby!
"If it ain't broke - don't fix it"
Yo Derek, Great story ! I can agree, it's not about the bucks as much as the adventure. I do my little shtick for free if they have no bucks. My life is great for me and if some bucks appear in it they are just iceing on the cake. I trust the process of life and know that all my needs are always taken care of. And, guess what? They are! Blessings, W. T.
Ketchup...?...on a hot dog? YUCK! Must be some kind of 'Northerner' or something...ha-ha. Probably doesn't even put picante sauce on his eggs either!?!
Ten to twenty years from now...THESE DAYS RIGHT NOW will have been 'the good old days'.
One more:
-- Derek
Are you helping people?
Are they happy?
Are YOU happy?
Are you profitable?
Isn’t that enough?!?
Jamie, that's SUCH a good one that I'm updating the original article to include it. Thank you!
LA GOODFELLOWS INDIETRO,MBA PRESA SU COME COCKROACH
"... as soon as you focus on your art and leave the money behind, you may just discover that this focus turns out to be the secret of actually breaking through and making money." - Seth Godin
Awesome, as usual! Thanks!!
Utah Phillips used to say he was trying to make a living not a killing.
Didn't hear about the 'storage' fee on CD Baby - indeed a rip off.
All this aside, don't put ketchup on that hot dog (and never in Chicago)
Derek,
It's the ketchup. The little small surprises. It's the joy. I guess that's missing the mob. The energy of it all. The hustle an bustle of getting things done; Doing your work and expecting good things. You just can't nickle and dime every little itsy bitsy thing and expect that same kind of joy. Sometimes, you just have to relax and know... all is well and a profit can't hurt... it's just the icing.
i remember reading this on CD baby during my orientation period..very very true and basic...Love people and make money...simple..
awesome derek. thanks for the lift!!
Todd
Corporations have sucked the culture and very life out of this country. Now they have gone multi-national and are draining cultures in the rest of the world too thanks to marketing tactics that imply it will make their society better.
Someone suggested that when the studios, labels and networks cease to be money makers the corporations will drop them and creativity will be back in the hands of the artists. Let's hope that day is not far off.
a-fucking-men, brother! bigger does not always mean better. we dont always need more more more.
as a result of a ton of groundwork i did the last five years, i finally got offered two record deals this year. which i was thrilled about, right! i mean, that's the ultimate, right?! that's what the GOAL is, right?!
right...?
i sat down and had a long look at the details and did the math on everything.
i figured out that these labels would need to sell upwards of 20 times - TWENTY TIMES - more cds than i've sold on my own in order for me to make as much money as i currently do acting as my own label and publisher. and if i signed, it would mean paperwork, lawyers, handing all of my years of really hard work over to total strangers (who can't possibly think it's as important as i do), no longer owning my own cds ...
it was the first time i had a really long hard think questioning what i'd never questioned before.
and it was totally empowering for me to go back to both these labels and say "thanks but no thanks - i've got a better deal with myself. and actually i'm totally happy with the size i am right now."
Derek, I have always sensed your innovation and sincere dedication to whatever you undertake. Now in this other world, outside of CDbaby (which will always reflect you work and attention to detail)you are providing new encouragement and ideas. Yes, we all would like the old days and even some of the problems would be welcome in comparison to what plexes us now. With your many subcribers I wonder if you would help to expose a recent work of mine. The story of a jazz musician who struggles to overcome great hurdles to rediscover his music and succeed. "The Rushing-Manbaby and the Crooked Road to the Big Time." A very apt tale that could apply to many of us in the music world. Check it out at www.lulu.com/donalberts I'm doing book signings now. Be glad to send you a copy. Thanks, Don
AS a musician in Las Vegas I saw the change from the mob to the corporate and it just went down hill through the years. I'm sure every time a hotel orchestra was let go a corporate head got a bonus that was in the millions.
Thanks
Now GIVE me some friggin Katsup or else!!!!!!
oh my day would be made better if I could just tattoo that story onto the foreheads of the mba schmucks where I work.(and have them understand it's meaning)
but then again, I'm sure they'd devise a way to charge people to view it.
gah
Derek, I am keeping before my mind that I am doing these writings, including my tweetings for future generations.
I hope it will be a help to them; that they will be happy with my words.
Yes, I am happy to be able to do this worthy work.
As a hermit: a self-originating philosopher, poet, artist, n’ publisher it is enough, but I am also a nuptial hermit, and I have a take care of my family, and have a minimum that I may continue to keep on writing.
I feel, and I know that I have a few more books within me … but … Thanks for the blog Derek.
With well being, Richard.
That mentality is prevalent in most of the world today. No one likes to be out of their comfort zone, so it does not matter who serves me, as long as it is for me and profitable for them.
Helping people goes so much farther then that. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the multitude,etc. and they condemned him for all he represented.
Because of his sacrifice for our sins, we have no condemnation for our sins. He already paid the price.
The price for His sacrifice is our salvation from sin and its destructions of our life, peace, and joy.
What does that have to do with this story? The mafia is money hungry, disrespects, law, life and personal salvation, and takes away a mans support for his family, through the adiction of gambling.
None of this has an element of worth in the sands of time for time is short, but eternity is forever. You cannot buy that, nor get it except through the blood of the lamb of God.
I'm just waitingt for you to start another site.
What's the old saying "Keep it simple Stupid"? It's like income tax, which was invented in the late twenties, would be so much easier if they made it less complicated, better yet--how about a new amendment to abolish it! I think Al Capone would agree with that if he were still alive!
aloha Derek. I love it & will tell it to my son, he's aiming for college soon
GREAT MESSAGE! I HOPE YOU SENT IT TO THE GUYS AT CD BABY, WHO HAVE PUT UP THEIR PERCENTAGE AND ARE NOW DEMANDING EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO DOWNLOADS, ETC. ETC.
Hi Derek
Money, money, the point of the view of "How To Be Happy Now ? ...miss the mob culture"
Thanks for this post.
Jeff Youngblood, If Obama keeps going, we will have a government that will own even Las vages.
You need to get your information from a reliable source. You are losing more then a job in Vages, you are losing any trace of freedom America once stood for.
Washington has been taken over by a Natzi, Communist type of regime, and has sent all our money elsewhere, England and China.
They now own the big banks and are buying up all the small banks, who hold the morgage on all the business, and homes. Get the picture?
I have twenty articles of documentation of the, 'one world government,' and Obama in line as the great saviour, to run our lives, without freedom.
Both parties are to blame, but a segment of the Republican party are trying to stop the tide, but it may be too late. To many people like you are in bed with the enemy of America, and do not even know it.
wow, 180 comments.
Derek's becoming the new mob boss!
and I approve!
Music production is my bag anything from producing top ten Irish tunes to no 1 trance trax,radio pilots to live radio mixes for the BBC.I also mix live sound for a venue in Brighton uk called the Prince Albert,best rock n roll pub in the UK. I get a lot of other engineers talking about frequencies,shouting in my ear when Im mixing a band"you must drop the mid" "you should cut the 10 Htz" "use compression everyone does"
I know everyone has their views about should and shouldnts but you know my view is.Stand back enjoy the show and let me mix please. I go on feel and if it feels good then i hope people will enjoy the band and not notice the mix.job done. If you asked me exactly what knobs and faders I tweaked every second I really couldnt tell you> I go on the moment.
I think people can get caught up in the small ins and outs and miss the fell and the bigger picture..
Maybe the mob had a bigger picture and you could just forget the price of the ketchup because you just got on.
why not think about every heart beat or how you walk all the time.BIGGER PICTURE.
Thats me.
I try to maintain balance in that thinking, cause it doesn't hurt to look at that info, but at the same time you don't want it to dictate your business
AAAAAAAAAAMENNNNNN!!! Scripture says, "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and looses his own soul?" In this day and age of a fast pace and advanced tech and all, if we're not carefull, we start to loose bits and pieces of our souls. Then what? Keep it simple, be a complete content person cause after all, you've never seen a uhall following a hearse
Enjoy the blessings God gives and not cought up with all the hype. Great segment....
I've calculated that if I can spend 10% less time crafting a song with 18% fewer notes, repeat the same 9 syllable chorus 4 times (instead of 3), and do an abbreviated bridge, while performing it on an instrument with only 2 strings (chinese fiddle?), then I'll be far more profitable...if I can sell the song. - Aloha, Doug
How true! I miss the old family style "Mafia," or "my family," from N.Y. to Vegas, the new mob is a heartless version of the old mob under the guise of business people/government organizations. Alas, pay it forward, do what you love, and the rest will fall into place......
I like the story and the message it carries. Las Vegas used to be more fun. The pawn shops used to be better too.
I believe that it´s easier to help people when all our needs are covered. When somebody happens shortages usually prevail the survival instinct.
For that reason an interesting question could be:
Can I help people even without having money in the bank?
I don't like the NEW corporate c.d. baby either.
I miss the mob, lead by Derek ''Capone'' Sivers.
But I can't blame you for being a success . . .
I wish we could all be like you!
My problem after making Records for 30 years is all I care about is making grate records. I'm terrible at selling them LOL I guess there's a certain type of insanity in that. I keep waiting for a partner to come along that is as passionate about selling records as I am about making them. Until then all I need to sell is enough to make the next one.
Derek, I hear ya.....
Where I am we're currently organizing a literary weekend, something called the Written Word Weekend. I live in a small country town in the north west of Ireland where everyone been hit with the economy crisis, sure, its nothing new, nor unexpected. In fact if the truth be known you could see it coming from miles.Our event was created to have fun and challenge ourselves to get out and read our own work. In Ireland, everybody's a poet, everybody's a musician. everybody knows their history and everybody's drop dead funny. And in the circles that I run round, everybody flies with idea off the seat of their pants. Its grassroots. Its guerrilla. Its cool. At the early stages of getting the literary weekend going we were approached by a program that offered financial assistance toward advertising and promotion. It sounded like a good idea, so we put our efforts into forfilling their criteria. Soon the whole event revolved around forfilling their criteria. Every week there was a new hoop to jump through just to get to that auspicious moment when the the lad behind the desk said yes, everything is approved, you've every bit of information complied, well done. And we said 'Great, so when do we get the cheque?' And he said
' After the event is finished and you pay everything, return the receipts to me and you'll have your money within 3 months'
I began to laugh hysterically. 'Why didn't you tell us this in the beginning, ? Why wasn't it in the information package? '
"We forgot to include to. We didn't think that anyone would begin a project without having the start up money. Very few people take the risk"
Bollocks. But that was answer.
There was such satisfaction calling up the design people and telling them to remove all logos while at the same time reducing our order of signs. We've taken back our project. And it feels so good. http://writtenwordweekend.blogspot.com/
Nice! Very very nice.....made my day in fact
A good point. I believe what comes around goes around and if everyone is happy and benefiting in their own way then positivity is reached.
I don't remember who said "the one who is buried in a golden coffin with the most cash is nonetheless dead"
Screen Jockeys! They caused this so-called "recession". Havard knuckle-heads! Philistines!
An ex-patriate US idiot was here on 15mill PA Stuffed our national carrier. Bring back the PMG.
Great lesson as always...
Thanks again Derek, nicely put, the corporate language is totally self serving, and keeps their bank accounts topped up with other peoples losses. I'm with you
How true. Nice analogy.
Great story.
Now mob wear ties and clean freshly ironed shirt, possibly white, did you know that ?
They move up in the society and became those banks, insurances, corporations or whatever else entity managers, who just care of their own profit .... so we ended up having to pay extra for ketchup in a hot dog.
But it is not over ! In a while we will end up paying the sugar we put in our coffee, you'll see.
Just to keep things funny I'll tell you what .....
"do you know the best way to p**s off an Italian ?"
"tell him Chinese mob is stronger"
Cheers everybody !
I have heard this story before -bring back the mob!!! Yeah right! The mob now are the MBA types or banking business managers.....Asking for a "busines plan" that is completely empirical rather than creative and inspiring ends up as "paralysis through analysis" which clouds the original vision and distorts the product. Not always, but an analogy
is when A&R people want your band to "change the drummer" or "use our great remixer" but then the result has lost its original vibe which A&R were interested in to start with!
No mob but a better mix of management?
Derek, we agree with you and we miss you! If you ever want to start up again you won't be short of customers!
Unfortunately that happens to often. People set out to do something because it is fun and then they let the money take over. Pity.
The Ghost of Al Capone winks and says with a smile " See we are the good guys"
Thank you! Great story.
Peace and love,
David.
Dennis Derby
Hi Derek, As it says on my busking street guitar; Smile, Be Happy!
Nothing else matters too much.
Hope to see you in London.
I guess it depends what your outlook on life is and what your goals are.
I agree with the fact that everyone (including the MBA's) should have a level where they are aware of what is a "comfortable position" to be in but I also believe in "free spirit and creativity" and therefore if someone's in it to make money either "as" or "with" the artist then provided he/she does the job right and above board then there shouldn't be any resentment.
its all about personal choice, that what makes us all individuals...
Unfortunatelty the music business doesn't always work like that but there are a lot of "good guys" out there who will work with the artist's to achieve the best results, you just have to find them and weed out the bad seeds
well thats my thoughts on it anyhoos, change with the times and work to your advantage!
WELL THE MOB KNEW HOW TO TURN A DOLLAR AND THEY ARE AT THE CENTER CORE OF HOW AMERICA IS BEING RUNNED
damn nice looking hotdog.
I agree with this attitude. For anyone that is interested, there is a biblical principle that is being referenced here. Leviticus 19:9 and Leviticus 23:22.
This is a great food for thought!
Well - you can worry so much about the business side that you lose the joy - not a great way to go!
I couldn't agree more....
When the MOB ran all the clubs, musicians worked seven nights a week plus week end afternoons. "Those Were The Days"
A great story...nobody can pay us to play...
we do that for the love of playing. What they do pay us for is set up , tear down, travel , rehearsal etc. ad infinitum. Thanks for being an inspiration Derek!
Gettin' Sentimental 'Bout the Mob: When I was teaching in NJ about 30 years ago, it was comforting to know that, since I was teaching ex-convicts and since everybody in NJ has or at least claims to have, a cousin who is "connected," if anybody REALLY bugged me they could go away for way less than the price of a used car. Hey, no problem. Cruel, stupid, but comforting. Our union boss was named Marcoantonio Lacatina, and yes, he was fat. Joe Conforte ran a good whorehouse in Nevada, but they didn't admit blacks -- wonder if that's changed?
I have an MBA. As a Christian Warrior when make these decisions I question the motive(s)...
Can I honestly do business with approval from a Higher Power? Do I have everyone best interest here?
We are living a sign of the times here so will I focus on God or money? I can not serve two masters?
So much for the Master's degree...
DJB
It's a very intresting remark - but the cab driver nailed it thoroughly.
Doesn't matter what the business is - did it create customer jubilation.
As musicians or in our daily life's work - we must always keep our customers happy. Make them feel wanted or the only one we are serving.
When I preform I may pick someone out and sing directly to them for a few bars - it has an amazing effect on both the preformer and the person(s) watching you. They feel an attachment -then the lyrics were written only for them.
These are the secrets to success. But in this new day and age - it is harder to get heard because of the corporatization of music.
CD Baby was started by you helping out friends - with out it there would be no venue for poet song writers like me
so --- I thank you --for that.
I wil stick to the tried and true - please my customers - over n over n over.....
Martin Bradley / The Hawthorns
I go back to'59 when there were two traffic lights on the strip. I too miss the mob. If there was a problem it was quickly and quietly'resolved'.
The MBA's are doing the same damage to AC they did to Vegas. Oh for the good old days.....
Derek SOLD CDBaby???!!! Which rock have I been living under that I missed this????!! Eek, Oh No!!!!
This is just such shocking news that I need to put on the kettle, make a cup of Fortnum & Masons Strong Breakfast Tea and calm myself.
Derek, was this post directing a pop at the new geezers at CDBaby?! I do hope not as I keep waxing lyrical about YOU because YOU are CDBABY!!! Oh my head, I need to lie down to take all this in. Please say this is not so!
I'll never go to Vegas now either! Sounds like a poohole!
Big Hugs and Blue Skies.
Mel.xxx
No this definitely wasn't directed at the new CD Baby. I'm just taking the time to write down useful stories I've been telling for years. But yeah I left CD Baby two years ago and sold it a year ago. The announcement is here. I emailed it to everyone that day, but sorry it sounds like you didn't receive the email.
That's JUST what I needed to hear this morning! Thanks for helping us keep things in perspective.
I think it's not really an either/or situation;micromanaging/bottom-lining things.
The truth is, if you had not done your own micromanaging you would not have been able to do anything significant for anyone.
This means that both are necessary, but remembering one's main goal must always be the catalyst that the practical, micromanaging aspect systematically accommodates.
And being a grateful recipient of your help on CD Baby, I know you had to have had a healthy respect for both aspects.
Yep. I'm one of the runaways from "Vegas" - for some of us, it was a wonderful place to be - AND - I SO agree with Jamie (#163) - I'll continue following that idea as long as I'm walkin' this planet.
Derek, thank you for all your work - you help a lot - AND - you're good company along the way.
Sin city,fun city spectacular star-studded shows,
Chance is fortune's appetite what else in life to know.
"Tone of business" the winning factor every Hot Dog his chosen rank,
Where service is always greater than the Gods-charging for catsup! A detestable prank!
Have you no heart? Have you no soul? Economics or an ill-suited maniac,
Picking pockets full of wishes we could use a little slack.
For what is worth if anything what more can a quarter bring?
Snuffing the dream from an American tradition who could stomach such things!
Sweet savory catsup we clamor for it's speciality,
The hope of all passion lies in digestion in Vegas the hot dog is king.
Business should never be above itself, it's need to express good taste,
Microcosm of the most rarest delights with this I rest my case.
To me if you are completely happy and content it means there's nothing to strive for and you're too comfortable. I like a little discomfort as a motivator to keep pushing, not too hard, but still keep pushing myself in whatever I do. Everything can be a major accomplishment but it's also important to seek that next accomplishment.
I love the metaphorical value of this..
I like it!
I am a professor in a business school who teaches MBAs .
I fear many too folks choose to become MBAs because the main thing they have found in life that they like is money.
It's kind of sad.
I believe that people with a passion for the *product* rather than the *profit* turn out to be the most successful at running a business.
I think the MBA weasels taking over Vegas is like legalizing pot and taxing it. Once its organized, legal and taxed nobody will enjoy it. Making a crime legal is taking all the fun out of it.
Hi, Derek... Some people may miss the mob - and I can understand why: "To live outside the law, you must be honest." as Bob Dylan said. Unlike these weasels in power all kissing the asses of Goldman Sach executives!!! ... I miss CD BABY - the way it used to be. They have already changed it TWICE in one year and have totally screwed-up the text on my pages. I can't even log in with my old password anymore. And the new one they emailed me doesn't work either. ... Where's The Lone Ranger & Tonto when you need them? ... Happy Trails, bro! You're the best! - YOWZA! - George Koumantzelis / The Aeolian Kid
PS You can post this if you want.
Wow...I needed to hear this right now. We often get so bogged down in the business aspect of this that we forget WHY we started doing this in the first place...the MUSIC!
My grandfather really hated "Harvard Business School types." He was a very successful salesman with Cushman Motors: so much so that he was earning more than district managers. This didn't go well with the new management. Thus he lost his job since he didn't want to change positions.
Thanks for reminding us about the fun part too. I sometimes need to relax a little.
Derek,
So far it seems ok but I hope CDBaby stays close to your vision now that you've handed over the reigns. Ever since the sale was announced I get a funny feeling in my tummy every time I log in, not knowing what kind of new fees are going to pop up here and there. I guess that says a lot about the value of the baby you created, but I hope she doesn't grow up and decide to take a different route. I feel like cdbaby and the culture around it (e.g. your blogs, side projects, community, etc.) is the best thing the planet has to offer independent musicians.
i agree- as busy as we tend to get we need to take time to laugh and have fun!
On the other hand, it might be a long, cold winter, grasshopper...a little planning and good money sense can be a help. Many of us have seen our employer tank because the MBAs did not understand the business.
I thought you were going to talk about the Mob as the Majors...
I miss the Majors. I miss a focus for the industry and a standard. I miss big beautiful arrangements that cost money and tours with full horns sections. I'm afraid that all we'll see now are the lone dinosaur acts roaming the earth till their extinct, leaving the rest of us to eek out a living in a sea of mediocrity. I miss "the Show" in baseball vernacular.
I miss the Majors.
Robyn Hayle
I had a very similar conversation in a taxi in Vegas. He also mentioned that crime was no problem for hotel patrons back then. Cause if you screwed with the mob's customers, they would screw with you. I wonder if it was the same guy.
Great article again, Derek.
TommyH
PASSION......and alove for what you do.. That should be the base foundation of any business venture..
i was told that by a super succesful man a guy wha started with nothing and did things he enjoyed which kept him interested.whcih means youll pay attention to the business not the bottom line which in turn makes for great customer appreciation
and loyalty.
a friend of mine wanted to start a record company.. i said lets put out my records.. tehres already a built in market- he said well i wantto do analysis and see what music TREND would be most profitable i told him- man you have the cash to do what i passionately want and need to do-*atthe time i didnt and short run disc companies were ot around.. i said dont talk to me again til you have some passion nothing runs on cold numbers that means anything it inspired me to make proposals to 26 different disc manufacturers with an idea to do short run affordable cds.. they charge more, and we the people can afford 100 cds - but not 1000 put all the money back into the next run or titles and you have a plan.
i miss derek at cdbaby...
I run a very successful small recording studio in the middle of nowhere, and still play out a fair amount too. The studio is booked several months in advance, we do very good work, and I charge the most reasonable rate I can that still allows it all to work. I have been a client for several years of a business coach - a brilliant woman with a former career as a performing musician. We would often go round and round and back and forth about my business practices, or lack of them. While much of her input and our conversations were very helpful, I really came to realize that, yes, I know that my way of doing things is often not the "proper" way of doing business, but that I don't like the proper way, which is often quite adverserial, and I did not want to live my life in that mindset. I totally agree with the gist of this story, and many thanks to Derek for his continued work.
The taxi driver makes a real good point. It's the same corporate mentality that has ruined american radio stations.
Brillant analogy! I've been saying for decades that this is what happened to R&B music. The MBAs came in and started cloning everyone and now if you hear a song, it could be one of 5 female singers, you need to wait to hear the name of the artist to be sure. The intention was to hire them for the "biz" side of showbiz and for them to leave the "show" to us, but then they eased inside of our lane, steered everyone in the wrong direction and we have been driving to the point of no return for the most part...
That was a great email... very powerful. However, that hot dog looks pretty nasty!
I can really relate to this story. I hate major corporations but I love to have fun.
Good article. If you go back to the 50's, Nashville was just a corporate machine turning out cookie cutter music. Same session musicians, same writers, same arrangements, everything on the clock. Sam Phillips at Sun Studio in Memphis, discovered some of the greatest Country, Rock and Roll, and Americana artists ever, (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, etc.), by focusing on the music and what was unique about an artist, not how he could fit them into a predefined marketing plan.
In the 70's, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofersen, did the same thing with the Outlaws. Nashville did not want their sound or their musicians in the studio. The Nashville moguls wanted them to fit their idea of what Country music was. Thank God, Waylon and Willie and company told them where to go.
Here we are in 2009 and Nashville is still the same. Same sessions cats, same writers, same arrangements, same marketing model. Just the boots, hat, and cleavage of the week.
How does this relate to the article? Too much focus on the business side versus the music side. The tail wagging the dog.
Jerome Unger, Dante's Bop
Wonderful story! I think, however not having the mob involved in the music business is great. cdbaby represents this to me.
Here's a quote I just came across this morning that fits this conversation:
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
-Oscar Wilde
Luckily, most of us artists fiercely protect our individuality. We must do it in our finances too! I know I got really exhasperated with being micromanaged and I know other musicians who have had their "managers" control and then run off with their lifetime earnings. Nah. Watch your own wallet.....
Luv ya Derek, always fun to read your blogs and stories
I'm with post 20.
The old gray mare ain't what she used to be :(
They turned her into spam
In response to this, with a "Summa Cum Laude" business degree from Westminster College, I can only say that my biggest lesson in marketing has since then been to throw away the MBA road map! The more we can be free spirits, the more our band succeeds. We're coming out strong this Summer, and that includes giving our music away. It's working! Thanks Derek, for another great reminder.
Derek,
Thanks for inspiring me yet again. You make me realize how much I love what I do. I am the luckiest man ever for achieving my dreams. I will not take my life for granted. Sometimes I think $$$ is on par with sex and drugs in that they can all be pitfalls in a way.
Peace out homies.
Bernstein, the accountant in Citizen Kane, told the reporter "Well, it's no trick to make a lot of money... if what you want to do is make a lot of money."
The important question is: What else are you making?
Doesn't MBA mean "Money beats all?" The best restaurants and other businesses I have seen have not been run by MBAs. They were run by real people, who are not maximizing their profits, but are maximizing their happiness. Isn't that what it's all about?
Rocko says you should shut up your mouth.There ain't no mob,and even if there was, we, I mean they,ain't going anywhere.
We'll get these suits straightened out, as soon as we figure out what they are talking about.
Watch your ass.
Bumpy
Slowly but Surely Micro managed companies close down. When MS left our company, he left because A- he got a ton of money for creating a company that was so needed and B- Most of all, he said it wasn't FUN anymore. Once the corporate world bought us out, life here changed. It went from loving the fact that you put in 100 hours a week to get a job done that you knew mattered to an industry that needed some organization. To I HATE MY F*CKING JOB and the only thing that keeps me going back is the people. Well corporate is again selling us and now we are going to a company that doesn't allow you to speak out loud and the phones blink instead of ringing. I will probably get fired for breathing too loud.. But that is what happens when you get swallowed by Corporate.
I respect Mom & Pop places and people with ideas from the heart and challenge themselves to do what they want to do. Not listening to a schematic thingamajig telling them do this and more money will come.
Eat at small little whole in the wall places, NOT Chain food "restaurants" run by corporate stiffs. Small whole in the wall places have real cheese. Chain food has fine yellow powder that they add water to. Hence crazy corporate chemicals created to save a buck, fill their pockets with cash so they can go to Mom & Pop amazing restaurants.
Here's another way of looking at Derek's anecdote - what was the last true innovation of the Las Vegas experience? Remove the morality of the Mob from the equation, it's a pretty clear they continually worked at innovating to increase their profit - from in-casino entertainment to off-track booking, Vegas kept growing as a concept. Also, as mentioned by several others, Mob-run Vegas pushed for more customer satisfaction. Wise guys couldn't point to a spreadsheet, but they knew gamblers stuck around for a free drink from a cocktail waitress, knowing that players would keep gambling which was the true profit-source. Would an MBA-type make that leap of faith?
Yes Derek...
Find out what works and what is satisfying...that's what it's all about. Yet, it seems like a hard thing to do for most people. Greed works into this too...you must be satisfied with less in art...it is a conclusion that has historically played out...again and again. Good story...good share.
WHATAWE TAWKINABOUT !!!!
CIAO, CARLO STUTIANO.
Yup, i like simplicity. If maximizing profits makes it more confusing by too many options or harder to understand, it's out. I maximize fun time.
the river is always the same, but always different. How can one tame that? Enjoy and let it flow.
Great insight. I don't miss the actual mob too much. LOL!! I grew up in a mob controlled neighborhood and there were good and bad things about it. Those questions are good questions to think about.Thanks
Great lesson, but often hard to live up to in the real world.
As a working musician, it's hard to not get caught up in trying to make sure that you're always bringing in money to live - and trying to make more than you did the previous year, as a mark of "progress".
But these concerns are almost always to the detriment of the creative aspects of who we are.
My grandmother was a nurse in the 40's. She once took care of the one of the biggest mobsters in NYC...he gave her a lift afterward and told the driver "Take her anywhere she wants to go"...
Its odd that a mobster would take care of her in that way...but she was there to provide for him when he had a real and felt need.
Sometimes its the people that everyone fears that not only supply the "fun" but also supply a source of security and strength - they've got your back (for that moment at least).
While, it seems that the people who are trying to maximize at any cost are usually the ones full of fear... because they don't actually hold any power.
Seems I'm always trying to ketchup with where I'm headed.
It always costs more than a quarter.
The mob still runs the show.
Otherwise major labels would have been gone a LONG time ago.
It's just that now they are legitimized, subsidized, supersized.
Hey, let's do lunch again soon!
I'm a working musician living in Vegas, mostly working elsewhere. I have noticed there are two types of tourists that come to town. The ones that want to see big production shows and the ones that are looking for the "Old Vegas" style music venues like piano bars, trios, entertainers that did "live" shows interacting with the audiences. Sadly the latter group of tourists is usually disappointed for there is little if any of this entertainment on the Strip. If they find it, it's because they have stumbled into the small bars and restaurants in neighborhood communities that don't have the money for mass promo.
I see this as direct evidence of the corporate mind that is looking for $$$ per square inch.
In this mind there is no way to justify a piano bar, band or singer for a small cover charge or God forbid for free, to entertain the patrons who want to enhance their vacation experience with music. In my mind... there is nothing better when the audience and the musician create a relationship in a moment based on mutual appreciation for the music and each other. Everyone always comes back for more no matter what the cost or revenue.
So I see you are still a bad vegan!
So the same metaphor with music, right? Sometimes the waterfall of keeping a website, and keeping a one line promotional, PHP to Rails back to PHP, blah, blah, distracts from the prime directive: one, two, three, rock!
Striking a balance of taking care of bidness and making music is a tricky one; one I am yet to master.
Thanks for everything,
Cliff
Love it! Thanks mucho, Derek!
Imagine working as a micro-manager. How dull would that be? Surely you could save that 1.2% by not employing someone to save 1.2%
When we compare the mob and corporate society the differences are not that great. They manipulate the law, and control both people and governments. Corporations do terrible things to people knowing that they can't, or won't fight back. They break the US anti trust laws everyday by manopolization of everything they touch. I clearly remember the lawyer who went after Sony, BMG for the illegal practice of bribes to radio personel get their music played over everyone else. What happened to him? Lets not forget that ruthless
corporate greed and corruption is the main reason for our countries current financial mess.
Great article/story. Music is my husband's and my hobby. And no, we're not making any money at it but we are having a good time and making people happy. I guess we give too much away, but it's more a ministry for us to share. It's all about fun!!
hi whats up derek.thanx man,good to hear/read your uplifitng words.I feel much better now after reading your topic.im like yea just to help some friends,fun hobbies and profit is all that count, i was drifting out of focus until reading this topic.Yea i miss the mob too bro.youre a good mentor.Yea they belike whats your "timeline objective?" "finnancial status?" and blahblah its like, forget all that stuff man we just having fun helping friends and making some profit hahahaha F---all that tech stuff!! haha
I love your little story.yes coporate giants get in the way of everything.here's one for you.A musician friend recently asked me if i was aware that the goverment was bringing out a new code to find out the names of all musicians.Where they play,how often,how much they charge and how much they get paid.The code is 8 sheets long with questions and stipulations.I'll bet it's to tax the musicians for bringing music into peoples lives and putting a smile on their faces.
I agree with your Vegas taxi driver.
I was watching a tv show about running a small business and the suggestion was made that you annually replace 10% of your employees. I thought that was the coldest thing I ever heard. MBAs should be forced to work on a chain gang and live on bread and water for a year as a requirement for graduation. Maybe that will teach them a little compassion. It's sad that murderers and thieves have a bigger heart than the people who run business now.
Bravo! (I miss the mob, too.)
Yeah, it's always easier when the bad guys are gun toting thugs.
Still, point taken.
That hot dog looks yummy!
That's absolutely enough, imho. Enough in, enough out and everyone's happy. Good way to live.
More about maximizing happiness...
By the way, I have seen a lot of bean counters, but I have never seen a happy one. Some times you have to be a bean counter to survive, and I hate that. I can't imagine doing it all the time just to maximize profit when you are already making enough. Life is too short for that.
A corporation popularized the "ketchup" spelling...for the guy whose wife worries about such things.
Can I pay my bills?
Do I love what I do?
Are some people happy because of what I do?
Profit-Schmofit.
For lower forms of human life, money inspires the indulgences of the 7 deadly sins, whether it's managed by lawless murderers or corporate executives. It's two sides of the same coin, one raw and violent, the other legal, controlled and just as devastating in other ways. What's needed is a balance between the two with a dose of understanding and compassion for humanity, and a respect for the rights of the customer. That's how successful businesses get that way.
Are you rethinking letting your "babys" go?
Enjoying your work and keeping your head above water is what counts. I remember Ringo Starr sayingin an interview, that even if The Beatles had never made it, they'd most likely still be playing R & B in a bar somewhere in England because it was what they loved to do.
It's nice to make money, but the creative impulse is what is important.
Thanks for the reminder: Don't forget to get back to the basics!
I agree. I mob did run things better in NYC in their heyday. The Gottis threw one hell of a July 4th party through the years in Brooklyn...though I have not been to one...they took care of the neighborhood. Kind of twisted eh?
Yea about the mob. We have one in Washington that's taking more out of our pockets than we're putting in. No accountability, no asking the American people about what they want.Where is our government, by the people and for the people?
Looks like the "Gimme More" government is going to be the end of our soverign nation.
Well put, Derek. Thank you for that. More in than out. We/you/I get another shot. My happiness comes from knowing I have done my best today, and will do the same tomorrow. And if we all succeed, we all succeed. No zero sum. My gain is not your loss. The opposite, actually.
I'm not so sure I'd lift the mob up as a social network to emulate. However; our world as I see it lacks focus, commitment, drive, energy and ambition beyond self.
There's no passion. I was once asked "what would you do for a living - even if you never got paid." Well that was an easy one. Music, of course.
I can't imagine having to make my artistic decisions based upon a bottom line. I sing because God gave me a voice and asked me to use it for His glory.
That quote won't make headlines, but it's authentic, it's me and it's true... to do anything else? "Foggetaboutit!"
With great affection,
Mary
Who puts ketchup on a hotdog?
Never had any desire to go to shitty Vegas for the sole reason that that is where everyone goes.
A perfect vacation? Myself, a cooler packed with cold beer and rum drinks, and a deserted sunny beach or island. And all the damn ketchup I want.
I love this story! Its a perfect example of the differences between loving something you do and doing it for money. Plus a great follow up (a couple of blogs later) from "The Power of No Reward" you had posted.
Nice story! After all, we are not here for the money, but for the "thrill" and for enjoying ourselves. I asked a good friend what he wanted to be remembered for, when he's gone. (I later realized that I'm asking myself the same question). It's absolutely not for "being good at earning money". Who wants to be remembered for that? I would rather be remembered for have created something, like a great painting, or a lasting piece of music, or even for helping a friend. - And I guess that taxi driver wasn't here for the money either, but for enjoying life.
Yeah, nice story. They traded one mob for another far more mercantilist and ruthless one. There is no mob quite like the corporate mob.
Hey Derek,
Great story. The problem is that we have to make our music/art in spite of the business people. For artists the bottomline has always been way "down there", but when artist fees are being cut back and executives are raising their own salaries at some major companies, it's no better than Wall Street. The question I'm asking folks now is, how do we, make a living,keep our soul and yet take our art / our craft back from the MBAs.
Its about the journey not the destination right?
That describes our schoolboard right now: doing things profitably but with no heart/common sense. Should you find yourself with bread in both hands, exchange one for a bunch of narcissi.
Gen
Hey D
Keepmthe wisdom coming. Its great stuff. I hope the MBAs are subscribing- they need to hear you
At first I thought you were going to equate the Mob with the Majors. I miss the Majors. There, I said it.
I miss the promise of big beautiful records that cost money and tours with full horn sections. I miss the days when there was a point of focus and a level standard.
I miss "the Show" in Baseball-ease and top breaking singles instead of endless Youtube moments creating a sea of mediocrity with a few shining lights.
I miss the days of intellectual property.
I miss the Majors.
Now not only will the few not have any fun, no one will ever have that kind of fun again.
Well done!
Robyn Hayle
I'm an MBA, not feeling the love here! :P
Exactly what conference were you attending? Why do you give any credence to one opinion and post it-a cabby's gripe session, that's all. What do you know about the Mob?
You are right. What is essential is try making people happy. If your clients are happy they will pay you some cash and you will be happy as well. I come from the Czech Republic (Europe) and some of the entrepreneurs just think about money and not about how to help their clients. But this is wrong. You need to first think of a how to help people solve their problems and then bother about cash.
thats an inspiring story,
most mba dudes think only abpuy themselves
That's why America is the way it is. suffering. TO GREEDY to have fun. Sharing life,money and talents is what's fun. There is enough fun for everyone if we share.
I am optimistically hoping that the new CD Baby management will follow the Silvers path faithfully. My fear is that the new way forward in the music business will not be the vision that Derek Silvers so lovingly and successfully pioneered and nurtured. He's miraculously opened new doors for recording artists that were unimaginable 15 years ago. That avenue of expression must stay open!- AM
So, MBA's don't like to dance? They don't sit at a bar and get all weepy over some sad song? What does your plumber friend do when he hears some music? Who is in the audience? A bunch of musicians?
I believe in doing what ever makes you happy give it you're very best and enjoy the great ride God has given us so have fun and ride on.
Yeeeee Haaaaaa !!!!!!!
Noe (Jag)
We live under a rainbow, and that is enough
Well I grew up in the New Jersey area. Is it organised crime or organised government? It's a crime to conduct business without the sanction of the law. Who makes these laws, people.So who is to say who is in charge. Just one bully to another. So the mob, the family, the gang, whats the difference. The mob could afford extras( they avoided taxes)just like the big corporations. So in that light I go with the goodfellas and get the extra ketchup. Prego! P.S. I'm an advocate of non-violence, but i get the point the driver made. Never under estimate the wisdom of taxi drivers, they recieve an abundance of testimony every moment, they see and hear all on grass root level. Ha, I drive a cab myself, just another lesson in going to town. Dereck, story telling is the best medicine and with a touch of humor helps it go down.
Hello Derek,
Love your philosophy on life. Priceless!
Nice I Understand The Concept
I remember a friend talking about truck driving and the freedom, the space, travelling all day.
Now, the companies use GPS to control everything for the beam counters overlords. They know how much time you take peeing or resting, in fact, they tell you when and where you will.
They tell you the path you will make and the time it will take you to do it. And is only the begining they really want to make good use of the "every second being monitored" satellite tech.
Yeah, I remember .99 cents steak and eggs breakfast in the sixties! They just wanted you to gamble! Joyce
Makes me think of the people that say sorry its not personal its business ~ well sorry if you are dealing with me, its personal, I am a person and it affects people!
I don't know about the mob or MBA but that hotdog looks damn good!
hands clapping...hooting and hollering...crowd singing in hand holding, tie dyed unison... "'tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free." you are a generous guru.
"Let's not forget why we're really doing what we're doing" ... I couldn't have said it better myself.
My only want out of my music is for it to bring the same (or greater) income as my day job so I can concentrate my efforts on what I love to do.
... And if not? So be it. It's something I needed to do anyway. ;)
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a craving for a hot dog.
That's genius! Exactly. It's that same idea when someone is trying to get you to add a zillion twitter followers or myspace friends. I hate the numbers game.
yeah that something, the way thing have change these corporation is all about profit,they dont care how they get it.
Derek, I listen to quite a bit of music myself and because I am a musician/songwriter it is a schizophrenic activity. Half of me is lost in the myriad of almost endless sounds and songs out there and the other half of me is screaming, "My god they have got to be kidding". I cannot speak for anyone else, but creating music is a very personal activity. Even if one is collaborating, that collaboration is very intimate and exclusive. Then you birth this thing and put it out for anyone interested to hear, Of course we all want to hear, "This is the best song I have ever heard". We all have egos that need stroking. However, if someone asks YOU what you think, I think you should ask them "What is it that you are expecting from me?" If they want to know if you like it, and you do, you should be honest and tell them. If you don't, the opposite response. Do they want your professional opinion about getting their songs heard, advice on networking, etc.? You have acheived a status in the music business that makes people seek you out because you have been successful in your endeavors. I think it is the burden of the person[s] seeking your advice to clarify what they REALLY want from you. Otherwise they cannot expect to receive what they really want.
good story BUT what is "MBA type" relevance?My experience is that people who are doing the simplistic thinking do not actually have MBAs and are acting according to some bad movie version of what a good business executive does and says. After all, that clear thinking guy who led us into a war and a recession had an MBA.
There is so much truth in this I just can't stand it. The mind reels with connections. Now if we can just find a way to get lean and mean I think there's a little more bang for the buck to be had from this. Let's start with an HMO style structure,control distribution and tell people what art they really need and funnel the profits our way. Oh wait that's already been done.
Derek,
There was a time when people started record labels (like Jack Holtzman and Electra) or people worked for labels (like John Hammond Sr. at Columbia) because they truly loved music and,like yourself, in the process of doing something good, from which many people benefited, they themselves made out quite handsomely. Nowadays, most everything is run by lawyers and accountants, whether it be the local hardware store or the record labels, and the quality of everything has suffered greatly. Derek, thank God that both the digital revoltion and folks like yourself are enabling a resurgence of musical creativity and hopefully a way for both the musicians and the marketplace to benefit handsomely as well. Perhaps we can one day find a respite from the stench of corporate greed, which is threatening the well being of so many people from all walks of life, the world over.....t.
I'm all for maximizing my position, but if I can't enjoy doing it, I'd rather fly by the seat of my pants. Now THAT'S a hot dog! No extra charge.
Greatpoint Derek. My staff have been down lately because we have had smaller attendants at shows this due to the economy. They need to read this.
Between GWB, Wall St. and this particular post, I'm afaid to let my MBA be known (lol). Really, I think it is all about balance. You have to have fun or it isn't really worth it. But, you also must take care of business or else life will take care of you, sometimes not a positive outcome. It's a new day now within the "creative arts" business and everyone wants a piece of the action. Just witness the MJ saga that is unfolding b4 our eyes. Nothing stays the same-nothing. Derek left CDBaby and look at the changes that have taken place since his short departure - some I agree with, others????. Bottom line is: Will we as artists (whether full-time or part-time) stop creating because of the analytics or will we continue to fight the good fight which is to spread the joy that we've been endowed with? I choose the latter while also choosing not to bottom out in the mayhem.
Peace everybody!!
Ha. Nice insight. I'll reiterate what others have said about the "enough" checklist.
We're nowhere near profitable yet. We'll be doing well if we can break even.
But we get to create and play music.
That has to be enough, or why would we do it? Lord knows there are easier ways to make money.
I never told no one but I was a torpedo for the MOB and went State evidence. Federal Witness Relocation gave me the choise-Toss pizza in the MidWest or a studio cellist stint in the LA studios....I blew it....I went to LA
I think its better to see the most lofty side of this topic, which to me is yes you can bring your own ketchup. Following a crafty comment above...My uncle lives outside Vegas and always tells me how nice the people can be and that a vacation trip from me would be nice, and before I do the one thing I tend to do; panic the weather is foul, remember its only a dry heat you should worry about, hehe Seriously read between the banter its great vacation spot. Personally Id rather tug a showgirl reservation than a dog, however tastes do vary...
Any comments, Derek, on CD Baby's relaunch fiasco? I know you let it go, and it isn't your problem. Just wondering if you have any thoughts on the matter. Regards.
-- Derek
Nope.
Such a great metaphor for the music business too. Never thought I would say it in relation to the the label industry...but I miss the mob too!!
Great blog Derek! You've said it all in a nutshell.
I miss the way they treated artist. Roses in your dressing room, yea a dressing room. Limo to the gig from your hotel. Beautiful food trays, Champaign!! They really knew how to make you feel like a STAR!!!
Now your lucky to get energy bars and water.................Sad
Right you are, Derek. And that formula works in every aspect of life, art, sport and business. Imagine if a sports team wanted to hire only super-athletes, who were perfect in every way? Do you think that they would get a winning team? Hell no, because they would have absolutely no creativity, no variation, no surprises and no soul!! This holds true for everything. Take it from someone who has done it both ways, and is still learning and trying to get it right himself!
The Beatles thought about replacing Ringo at one time (and this is a true story), so that they could get a better, more technical (and hopefully more versatile) drummer. They tried out a bunch of hot-shot, great drummers and you know what finally happened? They realized that Ringo, with all his limitations, was one of their keys to success. When he returned to their studios for rehearsal and recording, his drums were covered with flowers to welcome him.
I sold some great, old acoustic guitars years ago to replace them with expensive, modern acoustics with cutaways (from some well-known, high-end luthiers that I will not mention). Well, you know what? I have gone through a bunch of high-end acoustics and have regretted ever selling those old guitars, because (regardless of whether I could easily access the 17th fret or not) they sounded and played great and were very versatile. So, micromanaging and trying to get every detail perfect is not always the key to success, artistically or otherwise.
Well, if you're more profitable, you might be able to help more people. Then they might be happier, and you might be happier, too.
Why not do better when you can? ;)
If I ever get more beans than I can count myself, I have too many beans.
That is a great story and I agree. In my business, I have no employees. It's just me doing everything. I know what I need to make to cover what goes out and hopefully there is something left afterward. That is all I need to know. My job is fun but if I did all that analysis it would be a drag and fun is the reason I got into this work to begin with.
Wow Derek! That's a great story!...Remind me to never pay .25 cents for ketchup on my hotdog (even if I do go back to Vegas one day soon?). I'd rather sing for my ketchup than pay for it
I think I'll send my Demo CD to Heinz right now! Pour now, collect later. lol
Derek, Wow again! You have a great brain and a good spirit. Your insights shine a light on our path. Your ability to help us all grow is amazing.
Anna
PS Did I say that I admire you? Oops, I meant to. And there's no stopping you!
Paraphrasing the Beatles here just a bit:
"And in the end, . . . is it how well we did, or what good we did, my friend ?"
Yeah I've dealt with mobsters and their ilk for 25 years and the yuppie scum MBA types too. How did Woody say it? Some rob you with a pistol some with a fountain pen.
Great story Derek...I think your philosophy with CDBaby is perfect as is...almost anything can be micromanaged to death to the point where it either takes all the fun out of what you're doing, or the project totally loses sight of it's objectives to begin with...of course if an idea can help everyone make more money or enjoy more success, I'm certain you'll be the first to try to help everyone along...
You've ALWAYS had a great business platform the start (you're success isn't an "accident"), you try to make it as fun as possible and at the same time try to help indies go forward and be as successful as possible...
You've also almost single handedly ended the monolopy that the Majors have had over the market probably since commercial music began...you've given the indies world wide exposure for the small amount of money it costs to be on CDBaby, are constantly trying help help further musicians to help themselves and you DON'T try to screw them in the process (virtually all indies in the past were screwed out of a fair chance at big market success by the Majors in the past...CDBaby has broken that stranglehold the Majors previously had on that market)...you've done a magnificent job my friend and if what you've done for the indies and the music biz in general isn't success, then I don't know what is! Keep up the GREAT work Derek, the indies are truly blessed your there trying to help as best you can!
Hey Derek my man... that's a nice family you got there. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them. Know what I mean?
I swear you are the ONLY guy in the music biz who says what you say. I am so grateful. Sometimes we need someone to give us permission to focus more on writing music, recording and performing and less on bean-counting.
If it ain't broke don't fix it!
Back to the reason why I started music in the first place .My reasons for making music always were ,and still is ,just about making music. I know plenty of people who are grabbing attention from their promotional efforts , but I always thought that my music would do the talking . Naive ? Maybe so , but I feel like I'm real , and that takes me where want to be , in my shoes , where I am . Lots of philosophy behind that .
"Making it" . Define that for yourself , but leave mine for me . If it means having your picture taken with famous people the finger pointing towards each other ,that just looks like a proctologist convention .I've been in the company of some music stars , but I didn't want to act like a tourist with the photos and the autographs .
The further I go , the less any of that matters to me . I feel like I'll be in it long enough that I don't need anything to remind me of when I was in it .
In this line of thught , I am more creative , consciousness being more important than material success .
Cheers , Mark
Ah yes, the "mob" to me refers to the mobs of people at the record stores flocking to "buy" a new album (remember vinyl?) of their favorite artist instead of trying to download it for free via internet piracy. Those were the good old days when musicians actually got paid for their work. Nowadays as a musician/songwriter if you don't love music for it's own sake then you're probably not doing it.
Cool post, Derek. So true that it hurts.
"The Mob" still exists, now we call them bankers and politicians. Thanks for being you Derek.
Been reading the stories...pretty cool. The profitability one ...here's another.> > > I'm Canadian and BLESSED. I have grown kids (2), a house, cars....a wife who is my BEST FRIEND..food...and I play guitar for a living in a 3-pce rock band. How much better could life be...I'll tell you how much...My wife and I live in Mexico for 4 months a year (winter of course) and just lay on the beach.> > > One morning on the beach we watched as an old Mexican pulled his little rowboat onto the sand and unloaded his catch of 3 fish. An American bean counter was jogging down the beach (they do that..we LAY on it). He stops and strikes-up a conversation with the old man who tells him that each morning he gets up at dawn, catches a few fish, brings whatever he and his wife cant eat to the market at ten and sells the surplus so that he can buy tortillas, rice, beans, water...maybe even a chicken.> > > The jogger says...hey, you know...if you got a NET and got your neighbor to help you, you could catch ten times as much fish. After a couple of weeks you'd have enough money to buy another boat and net. You could then hire 4 people to fish FOR you. All you'd have to do is go out in the morning to make sure everything was ship-shape and then once when the "fleet" returned to offload and get paid. You could be off work and fishing or whatever by noon.> > > The Mexican looked-up in wonder and said...I dont understand...why would I do that when I have everything I need right here and I'm off at TEN!???> > > The bean counter looked over at me with a confused look on his face and said about the Mexican..."they just dont get it". I smiled and said..."someone sure doesnt GET IT" and off he went.> > > I'm not rich...remember, I'm a guitar player. I dont have a FANCY house, nice clothes, dont eat out....It took me 45 years to realize what's important in life and I learned it from experiencing living with impoverished people who are genuinely HAPPY!> > > OK now...Derek, you give so much advice...here's a little FOR you.> > > When I do a gig, I bring spare EVERYTHING. Not just strings, adaptors, mics, mic clips, cables...but extra guitars and a spare head. I can break every single piece in my chain at least once without it putting a hiccup in our show.> > > OK so...CD baby just had a make-over and ever since, the site has been, well, to put it mildly, not working worth a crap. Why on earth wouldnt you try out the new system before implementing it? Like maybe a beta release or something.> > > CDbaby makes a FEW bucks. You'd think that this would be a no-brainer. A week of being down is very bad for business and maybe even fatal.> > > Shit...the sweeper is on wipeout and I cant miss it...I'll finish later.> > > Thanks again for the cool messages,
Love the story and all the comments left by all the folks!
Derek check the one about Uncle Carl.
Eddie Wells
The modern world is run by accountants and lawyers and ... look where we're at now: in a mountain of debt that no-one can see the end of. Derek's ** "simple philosophy" ** is right-on, works, and is karmically correct.
Sam McNally
Musician
Australia
I think the new business model in general is moving away from "systems and process" read corporate, back to "personalized connection." Is it good for all parties, is the deal fair? That is all that anyone needs to know. I don't want profit at the expense of others!
And maybe, just maybe, this is also why the Major Label recording industry is running into problems.
How simple, yet powerful. It all goes back to the true statement that, if you follow your passions (which hopefully don't involve ripping people off), enough money will follow. Nice commentary, Derek! Cheers...
Just in from the wilderness to check emails and saw this one. The music biz is about the buzz. Either you're in "the mob" or you're not. There's no inbetween. All of the "indie" stars have a financial or inside Godfathers. Most musicians I know cry about not being in the mob and then admit they would hate it, and that only insane money would make it worth while for them to participate long enough to get out of it again as quickly as possible."Until you're something, you're nothing; and when you're something you're everything." And then you're in the mob.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
I Timothy 6:10
http://bible.cc/1_timothy/6-10.htm
Focus on the Art, not the dollar; share the Art; the rewards are higher. Thanks Derek.
You can't have everything... where would you put it all?
Brilliant article. Its not all about the money. Its so much more about whether we are able to help everyone succeed in their goals.
Thanks again Derek
Great article Derek! Thanks for all the insight over the years.
Dude, I'm in Vegas right now and watching the dick's kill a great hotel that we have been to before and really enjoyed just last year. SInce when is it good business to treat your paying customers as criminals? We will be looking for a different hotel for next year and the cause is that MBA mentality. All the rules, restrictions and small amenities gone make it less enjoyable. Add to it treating people like jerks at every turn just past the front desk. I would say an business that does not reward customers is on the way out. Increasing every inch of property for the highest return and watch the people that were paying the bills go away. Why do musicians see clubs on the way out so long before the stupid club owners. Build on strengths, make people feel special, watch more people show up for the great experience! Works online and selling CDs too!
I remembered watching an Andy Griffin episode when Guber was told by a guy you could be making more money. Guber followed the advice and hated the road he now was traveling. It was not until Opy asked him several questions then told him just do what you love. He was so happy and went back to loving what he did with his profit he had before. Sometimes non musicians will ask me did you make a profit to go that far. I decided to stop answering that question. It is none of their business and they can't understand that my level of profit is different than theirs. Growth is necessary but based on what I think.
Thanks Derek for helping me stay grounded.
Well... that says it all right there
doesn't it? Very cool... Thanks Derek!
Just re-reading this blog in light of the absolute train-wreck that is happening over at CD Baby now...
...maybe they should have read this before they went and tinkered with something that wasn't broken.
R.I.P., Derek's version of CD Baby. :(
"Derek SOLD CDBaby???!!! Which rock have I been living under that I missed this????!! Eek, Oh No!!!!"
Methinks you might have a new blog post just on this topic.
I'm sure what he really means is that he misses the 'old mob'
I agree with you Derek. Profit is nice, but the reason is more important.
Danny Brooks
Great illustration of what is wrong in corporate America today. Bean counters have taken over and all the focus is on quarterly returns and maximizing profit. That's what drove the banks to ruin and why there is precious little heart in most businesses these days. Leave the accountants to check the tax returns and let the business be run by the folks who care about the customers and the end product! Thanks for another superb piece, Derek!
Loser Dave
i started playing to meet girls.
the money was completely unexpected but welcome.
it will never be my motivating factor, i do it because i love doing it.
well, and for the girls.
are we happy and helping evolution; the whole of all lifeforce?
exactly what "The Secret" talks about..if we aren't happy; we are on wrong path..
Tks Derek; enjoyed blog.
Joy
My father has been a successful businessman for 40 years, and he actually encouraged me to drop out of the business program at school and pursue my band's career. We've been successfully running our band like a business for 2 years now and have never once made "forecasts" or "projections" or "cash flow statements." Business is just a bunch of BS terms for common sense things we should all be doing anyway. GREAT ARTICLE! I can't wait to use the taxi driver story as well!
I disagree with "happiness" folks, happiness is a very lofty goal, not a guarantee, and maybe not even in your life's destiny.
Check out www.stinkingthinking.com and see what they say about happiness.
That's why our Declaration of Independence in the US states that the "PURSUIT" of happiness is a right, not the "GUARANTEE" of happiness.
think again, y'all.
I play at a club that was recently bought by businessmen like the ones your cabbie friend described. They took a well-known place with great entertainment and a fun scene and sucked the life out of it by obsessing over pennies and intimidating the staff. The result? Even more lost business because no one wants to go there.
Right on,
something to make you go hum.
Seems some of us have forgotten or forsaken happy for how much did I make today.
I am sure the cab driver is not an MBA weasel or micro-manager, but his concept is right on. There's a lot more to life than a bunch of stupid "bottom line" numbers. Health and happiness are the things that matter. Great post, thank you.
These corporate MBA types are the NEW MOB and they are even more ruthless. MONEY is their ONLY god...and nothing else matters. They'd sell their mothers into slavery if they could profit from it.
They ruined Atlantic City too--I got dropped after TEN straight years of drawing consistently great crowds. It didn't matter; one size fits all--they don't have a damned CLUE as to what's really going on...all they do is read statistics.
No wonder this whole country is so screwed up.
The Duel of the Artist and the MBA. Missing the Mob... what an interesting way to put it. He'd rather live in a town where there is a total lack of ethics over a maximized profit.
As one who heard about the glories of Las Vegas all his life, and then was completely dissapointed when I finally got there (I wont go back) I've learned quite a lesson from this and your cabbie nailed the issue in four words.
The only place where I can say that the MBA's have won and I still love to go is Disneyland. They Shop-vac my wallet, but I still walk away loving the experience. I know many would disagree with my asessment, but does anyone know why the MBA's have succeeded here where everywhere else, they fail miserably? (music industry included)
i really hate the whole "business" approach to music..sounds silly but really. it sucks the life out of it... not to say it should be ignored, but there's people that enjoy that area.. marketing, financial etc so let them do it...otherwise it conflicts to much..if that makes sense..the whole corporate approach is elaborate ways of not getting things done i think
Somehow I came across your blog tonight and this story has confirmed in my heart something I have been feeling all weekend. Thank you for the wisdom and inspiration.
I was around when Ocean's 11 ran Vegas. If you followed the rules you never got hurt and you always made money. I also was in the music management business before the big corporations really took over and shielded record companies from real talent that would walk thru the doors with guitars on their backs and A&R people would welcome the artists in and listen to what they had to offer, right off the street. Sometimes I'd like to turn the clocks back to that time before corporations made artists; when artists made artists.
I just put those 5 little questions on top of my "To do list" that I open every morning, so that I can remember it before I plunged into whatever it is I have to do...
"Are you helping people?
Are they happy?
Are you happy?
Are you profitable?
Isn't that enough?"....
yeah really good to keep the basics in mind.
thanks Derek
YEA
Enough is OK!
Perhaps this is the problem with CD Baby's new "makeover": they brought in the bean counters! Whatever it is, it's now kept me from getting my newest album on there for about 2 or 3 months! Derek, please come back and get them back on track! Please!
I remember a story my goombah Sonny (A Bronx Tale?) told me once. (Yes, he's still alive and he's 81....not dead with his head blown off like it depicted in the movie. Anyway,he said he was at the Sands hotel in Las Vegas sitting at a table...and "Ole Blue Eyes", (Frank Sinatra) was sitting there and a waiter brought him a glass of water. Frank gave the kid a $100 bill. Everyone at the table, amazed, asked him..."Why did you give him $100?" he said..."Because he didn't ask me...he just brought it."