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 sea.” Some know it from the intro to Citizen Kane, others were forces to read Coleridge in college. Regardless, it’s one of the most famous poems of the last few...
Fixing the MBTA
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 they can continually cut spending in order to raise revenues. The natural logic is that if you spend less, you’ll earn more. Unfortunately that just...
It’s Twoo!
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 so unbelievable, so fantastical, that it must be obviously a joke –and it’s not– this must be (further) shared with the world! For quite a few years...
RockGeek Fact of the Day #9063b
Sponsor me?
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 up to back people’s projects. Somehow, it seems fundamentally wrong for me to “invest” in your project without getting a return of some kind. And yeah, I know you get a copy of the CD, a...
Enough, ok?
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 the tool so much that it becomes noise — and therefore irrelevant. As a marketer and promoter, you want to hedge your bets in the best possible way...
Uphill Both Ways
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 to squeeze free labor out of the unpaid masses, I had to stop and think if I was actually being unfair. Maybe I was overworking my interns and they decided to quit rather...
Marketing by the numbers
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 count, they’re wrong. This is never more apparent than the world of technology. Last night, I saw a grandmother proudly pull out her iPad to show off pictures of her...
Sometimes the bear eats you…
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 type: brash CEO who boasts on and on and on about how their service will revolutionize the industry. There’s also the musician who assumes that their talent is obvious to everyone and...
RockGeek Fact of the Day #69
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 I was a star And now, the rest of the world seems to agree with me. I dress to kill, but tastefully. I guess I’ve always lived the glamorous life of a star. It...