Like nearly every gay man and housewife in America (and Canada…), I watched Heated Rivalry. For those who aren’t aware, it’s a gay coming-of-age story set between two major league hockey players. What sets this show…
So Trump won. Prior to his “victory,” he was ranting and raving about the election fraud that was running rampant. The second he won, it was a fair election. Amazing how that works. Meanwhile, the Democrats…
We’ve got to do things better, faster, and more efficiently. While we’re at it, let’s focus on corporatizing our structure. Surely there’s a streamlined mechanism in place to hit KPIs, track ROI, and maximize EBITDA. We…
Everybody has a bad day. This might be my favorite example. Stevie Nicks and Taylor Swift teamed up to sing Rhiannon at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, there’s this one note that’s tough to hit. It’s…
You gotta feel bad for the people of Springfield, OH. Those pesky Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats! Can you believe it? Of course not. But do people believe it? Apparently so. Rarely do I…
How many of you have worked in the corporate sector? You know, it’s the place where it’s all about the bottom line, driving revenue, and hitting those KPIs. Truth be told, it can be a pretty…
There are things that just make you laugh. Others that make you scratch your head. Sometimes both. And then there’s this. I’ve got to wonder what Paul Simon felt when he saw this. And if he…
Today’s the 57th anniversary of The Day the Music Died … On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash near…
A long time ago, I didn’t know who David Bowie was. I was young, foolish, and in 8th grade. Without a drivers license, and desperate to “spread my wings,” I learned how to navigate the subway…
The other day, I went to a grocery store. In an attempt to start eating healthier, I noticed they had wild-caught, Sockeye salmon from Alaska. Fish being healthy, and brain food, I decided that was going…
A big chunk of what I do involves looking at endless numbers of spreadsheets and charts. Spotting trends, digging into referral sources, and trying to make facts rise from figures like some sort of marketing phoenix….
On this day in 1829, the first accordion patent was granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
Lately, I’ve seen an increasing number of artists and musicians coming to me looking for help. What’s fascinating is that they’re very quick to point fingers at everything around them. Usually, fault lies within. Here then,…
Lately we’ve gotten a ton of calls from potential clients wanting to work with us. And there’s nothing we love more than clients who want to pay us tons of money. Unfortunately, client expectations often exceed…
How much money can you make off a hit song? Well … the folks at CelebrityNetWorth.com figured it out. Be prepared to be astounded by how much money one little hit song can earn … so…
On this day in 1970, Aerosmith performed their first gig at the Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, MA. Here’s a clip of the band 8 years later, live at the Music Hall in Boston.
When you work with musicians, lots of fun things happen. At the outset, the excitement is palpable — so many cool things you’re going to do, so many great ideas, and that new album is going…
Take a listen to “Sway” by the Rolling Stones. Pete Townshend from The Who, singer Billy Nichols, and Ronnie Lane from Small Faces all sang background vocals, and the strings were arranged by Paul Buckmaster —…
After verifying my info for the third time in 10 minutes, they explained that yes, they had received the letter of termination, but no, they hadn’t terminated the account. Why, I asked. I mean, it seemed like a logical question considered they’d received and acknowledged verbal and written requests to terminate the account.
Gee, they said, we don’t know.
According to anonymous sources, the remaining members of the Beatles (Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr) will be touring this summer. Plans are to be announced at a press conference later today. The tour will start nostaligically…
Today is David Bowie’s 66th birthday. Today is also release day for his new single “Where Are We Now?” Were we psychic when we asked “Where is David Bowie” back in August? You be the judge……
On this day in 1969, The Rolling Stones headlined the infamous Altamont Free Concert in Altamont, CA. Immortalized in the film “Gimme Shelter,” it’s a cautionary tale of what not to do when planning a large…
I got into a pretty heavy “discussion” with a friend the other day. He works in content marketing, and his job is to create content around a brand that helps drive focus and awareness. Ultimately it’s…
Happy 78th Birthday to Leonard Cohen! Cohen, a nice Jewish boy, has drawn from Jewish religious and cultural imagery throughout his career. Unetaneh Tokef, an 11th-century liturgical poem recited during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are echoed in…
I understand that the economy sucks. There’s no magic money faucet with cash just flowing out non-stop. I get it. At the same time, I don’t ask the Ferrari dealership to cut me a deal today because I know I’m gonna be famous in a few years.
Without going on and on and on about how last night’s Closing Ceremonies, what seemed oddest to me was the attention lavished on David Bowie. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy. But where has…
Happy Birthday to Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night. He of the exploding penis. Really. Here’s the tale courtesy of spinner.com: According to Chuck Negron, one of the three lead singers of the band that virtually…
Amanda “Fucking” Palmer raises over a million dollars on Kickstarter prompting her to scrawl the fact across her naked torso. There are her boobs for all to see. Oh, you rebel. Oh, you cutting edge, avant…
When you’re a Jewish kid growing up in the suburbs, your choices are pretty slim. You like Billy Joel, you go to Hebrew School, you get braces, and you practice for your Bar Mitzvah. That’s pretty…
Last year, my company (D.I.-Why) sponsored the New Music Seminar. It was our first sponsorship ever as a company, and we were a bit nervous about what could happen. Having worked in multiple marketing departments over…
I held off on writing a SXSW post because everybody else is. Who wants to be a sheep, right? When March rolls around, every musician and music industry hack starts frothing at the mouth. SXSW is…
Happy (would’ve been) 67th Birthday to Bob Marley. Didja know that in the early ’70s, Bob Marley and the Wailers were booked to open dates for Sly & The Family Stone? After 4 dates, Bob and…
After months of effort, research, head-scratching, and stress, I finished my book. The first copies of the The Analysis of Hype are now in the hands of those who purchased the eBook. Printed editions are printing…
Pretty much everyone knows the story of Kubla Khan. It starts out, “In Xanadu did Kublai Khan A stately Pleasure-Dome decree, Where Alph, the sacred river ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless…
Here in Boston we’ve got our knickers in a potential twist. Yet again, there’s talk of raising fares on the “T” to offset some staggering deficits. It amazes me that so many companies (and politicians…) think…
I’m the first person to tell you not to believe everything you read on the Internet. For every useful piece of information, there’s a Nigerian price lurking right around the corner. But when you’ve found something…
OK – maybe it’s a stretch, but …. Today would’ve been Harpo Marx’s 123rd birthday. Bizarre? Any excuse to add a little Marx Brothers to the festivities, right?
I’m gonna say it: I hate Kickstarter. I hate the fact that they make it easy for anyone to ask you for money. That’s not to say I’m a total Scrooge, but I keep getting hit…
Over the last few days, I’ve received 73 Facebook event invitations. It’s not because of my incredible popularity, subtle wit, or boyish charm that people want me at their event. Shocking, I know. Instead, they overutilize…
Within the last month, I’ve had two interns quit. As the lowest rung on the professional ladder, it’s not common for interns to be less than enthralled with the work they’re doing. But as companies continue…
Working with musicians, you hear a lot of “oh no, my fans would HATE that …” Venues do it too. And managers often assume an understanding of what their artists like or dislike. On nearly every…
Working in the music industry is kind of like living through a Homerian epic. There are heroes and enemies and epithets a-plenty. You also get introduced to the mighty beast known as hubris. You know the…
Today would’ve been Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday. Here’re a few of the things he’s said over the years … A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It’s a theatrica! event. I always knew…
There are times when it’s fun to be a dick. Maybe you’ve hard a really hard day; the man is just beating you down. You gotta vent on someone, and that barista seems perfect to inflict…
This past weekend the J. Geils Band decimated their audiences in Boston. This is probably no surprise to anyone who’s ever seen them perform. It’s a visceral, religious, reverential, exhausting experience. What’s amazing is that the…
30 years ago today, the rocket launched and MTV was born. Surprisingly (or not?), there’s no mention of this milestone on the homepage of MTV.com.
I spend a LOT of time at music industry events. And I spent a lot of time in college as a music business major. And I grew up in Boston. So when I see a band that’s doing everything the industry’s leading voices are recommending, I (at least…) pay attention. The bizarre twist is that NOBODY else is paying attention — except the fans!
Maybe it’s a character flaw, I’m not sure. But I want to be as nice to every client as I possibly can. Sometimes that results in over-promising, and most times it results in under-charging. As an…
So the whole industry is all abuzz about Google Music debuting. And for those that’re using Google Music, they’re not all that thrilled. It’s slow, clunky, and not exactly the Music 2.0/Next Phase/New Wave solution everybody was trumpeting from the rooftops. And so it goes. Once the music industry gives up on one problem, they just move onto another while forgetting to continue solving the previous one. That’s why I’m saying “fuck the cloud.”
Here’s the deal folks: websites are instruments for your career. Like a fine Steinway or a vintage B3, simply posessing them doesn’t equate to being a virtuoso player…