This is a column by Al Kooper for EQ Magazine back in 2001. I wanna start off by saying I chose the music business back in 1958 to express myself and to make a living. I’ve shared apartments with rodents (the furry and fleshy kind) in New York City, and I’ve rented houses in Los Angeles that Ringo moved into when I vacated. It’s been a bumpy, crazy ride. I’ve been cheated...
Evolving the model – Marketing 102
When I sit down with potential clients and companies, I almost never go in with a set agenda. It’s impossible to have a “one size fits all” style proposal or product. And I make a point, in that first meeting, to do more listening than talking. Let them tell you what they’re looking for so you can make the appropriate pitch afterwards. This is hardly a new-fangled idea...
Navigating the two way street
I just got off the phone with a recruiter. His client is looking for a Director of Marketing who understands SMO. His test, in determining whose candidacy deserves to move forward, is to simply ask them to explain what SMO is. This is hardly a revolutionary technique, but what’s interesting is how people break out the ten cent words to explain two cent ideas. The underlying challenge, which...
I’m just looking for the bridge…
I’m not sure why I find this so amusing, but …. For those of you interested in playing “The Crunge” by Led Zeppelin, here’s how to count it out (courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia, so you know it’s true …heh…) Intro measure: 1 x 9/8 Part 1: 7 x 9/8 (or 4/8 + 5/8) 1 x 8/8 (or 4/8 + 4/8) Part 2: 3 x 4/4 1 x 5/8 1 x 2/4 3 x 4/4 1 x 5/8 1 x 2/4 3 x...
If the Jews wrote the hits …
Here’re a few thoughts on classic rock tunes if they had (truly) been written by my brethren – the Chosen People: 1. Dirty Deeds Done for a Very Reasonable Price – AC/DC 2. Stairway to Brisket – Led Zeppelin 3. Twist and Kvetch – The Beatles 4. I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Cake) – The Four Tops 5. Stayin’ Alive (Thanks to My Son the Doctor)...
The end of an error … never challenge the listeners.
No less than 8 different people called to let me know that WBCN was going off the air. In a move calculated on a P&L sheet and nowhere else, one of Rock’s flagship stations (41 years of broadcasting …) has been running essentially on fumes for the last 5 years, and since it’s hard to sell advertising on stations with no listeners, something had to be done. I get that. Radio...
The moment true insanity started …
Watch it all, but pay attention to the absolute hysteria at 3:44. Has anything in music been the same since? The clip is from “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.” Thought of as the greatest performance of the night, Michael performed “Bille Jean,” showcasing a new direction in his dancing and debuting the now signature Jackson move – the moonwalk – to the...
Elton and Eminem and Timbaland and …
Springsteen played Bonnaroo. McCartney played Coachella. Elton recorded a track with Timbaland. Somewhere, somehow the lines are becoming blurred. Speaking of McCartney, let’s not forget that Rockband – Beatles Edition comes out on 9/9/09. Can a Rolling Stones/Miley Cyrus duet be far behind? As they head down the rock icon/megastar road, artists are having a harder time attracting new...
A Phish-y lesson …
Last night I trekked down to the Comcast Center to see Phish. Admittedly, I’m only a passing Phish phan, but the ticket was offered, seemed like phun, and off (oph?) I went. In my own defense, I’m far more fascinated by what’s going on backstage and not on stage. Phish, in all their earthy-crunchy, hippy-dippy, love all approach, are also seemingly shrewd business pholks...
Let Us Learn in Order to Do … and the reverse!
Growing up, I was a nice, Jewish boy. Hebrew School three days per week, youth group activities on the weekend, and a Bar Mitzvah that pulled out every stop. I had, no exaggeration, memorized the Erev Shabbat service and could recite the prayers and passages verbatim — in Hebrew and English. In fact, I even knew the page numbers for each section of the service. Some might call me a geek...