Apple Buys EMI

Image via Wikipedia

And the Beatles join the iTunes Store just in time for Saturday's iPad launch.

The deal... Just like with Apple's purchase of Lala, no hard numbers have been released. But both Citi and Terra Firma are happy. Citi gets its money back, and Guy Hands gets to save face, Terra Firma's covenant breaches become irrelevant, there's no need to raise and inject new capital and by selling to Jobs, et al, Hands gets to spin the concept that this was his plan all along.

Yes, the catalog license was just a ruse. Because, after all, everyone knows that Mr. Hands is smarter than Doug Morris and Mel Lewinter. Lucian Grainge? He's a glorified A&R guy with a bean counter mentality. Hands played the Universal boys like a fiddle. Do you really think he'd place the Fab Four's music in the hands of such charlatans? When he can put it in its rightful place, in the bosom of Steve Jobs, and see it live forever?


What we do know is Apple's got more of a future than major labels. Which is why the Cupertino company is smart enough to immediately close down new music development at EMI. It's about the catalog baby, unless you can stunt. Which is why Damian Kulash and OK Go are coming back. Yes, that was part of the deal, Jobs insisted. Upon launch of the 3G iPad, there will be a new OK Go video, to bump sales thirty days after the Wi-Fi launch. And, one year from now, when the 3-D iPad launches, the OK Go Rube Goldberg video will be free in 3-D for all purchasers. Along with a gratis copy of "Up" in 3-D.

A 3-D iPad?

3-D TV makes no sense. Sitting on the couch with those doofus glasses. But every 3-D iPad will come with WHITE glasses! Can you imagine the rage? Haven't heard from Kanye recently? That's because he's part of the 3-D iPad launch! He's going to promote the white glasses! Dr. Dre and Beats headphones? Come on. Monster compared to Apple? Iovine's no match for Jobs. Whatever happened to that Jimmy sponsored high quality sound for computers...go the way of SACD and DVD-A?

Anyway, despite turning EMI into a catalog company, there will be a road open into the new Apple-owned EMI (for the record, the EMI name will be dropped...no, it won't be called Apple Records, because of the Beatle conflict, the record company will just be another division of Apple Inc.) Apple has brokered a deal with SonicBids, wherein wannabes can submit music to be used in iPad promotions. One wonders how this works, because of the low quantity of music ultimately required and the vast number of submissions, but that hasn't stopped SonicBids in the past, so...

In other words, Apple will be in the new music business, but only for songs they can use to cross-promote Apple products. Furthermore, if you make a deal with Apple, you cannot tie in with any other company. Steve loves his walled garden. So, if you're contemplating a deal with Procter & Gamble, don't waste your time with SonicBids.

So what does this mean for music?

The story since the purchase of Lala has been cloud-based listening. But now that Apple owns not only the Beatles, but the Beach Boys and the Band (what Steve refers to as the "Three B's"), the company plans to drive down the price of music at the iTunes Store. Yes, within thirty days, every EMI track will be a dime. The major labels wanted higher prices?? Let them wrestle with LOWER prices! Yes, music will be a loss leader, all to sell iPads, iPods and iPhones. Everybody knows the money's in hardware. Furthermore, with streaming imminent, why not blow out MP3s? It took Universal ten years after Napster to drop the price of the CD to ten bucks? Apple can see that ownership is near extinction, they want to blow out product while they can.

As for the Beatles... They will only be available in Apple Lossless format. Yoko Ono insisted. It's a way of separating John from the legacy of Phil Spector, who famously wore that button "Back To Mono". By only making high quality files available, fidelity will be luscious, you won't get the compressed Wall of Sound and Phil can rot in jail, where Ono believes he belongs.

But, you say those lossless files take forever to download, they're bandwidth hogs!

Not Apple's problem. You pay for your Wi-Fi. And good luck downloading via AT&T on 3G, which is why Jobs will reveal the Verizon iPhone and iPads before the 3G model actually launches.

Controlling the music game, owning EMI and retail, forcing the other three major companies to play on his terms or die, Mr. Jobs is now moving into the touring sphere, where the majority of today's music money resides.

A deal has been brokered with Live Nation. With every concert ticket, you get a free download of the show within twenty four hours, IN VIDEO! Well, not every concert, just those acts controlled by Front Line. Yup, starts with the Eagles. Then Van Halen, who will be back on the road, although Valerie Bertinelli will not be singing backup, Perez Hilton's information is incorrect. Irving's plowing ahead with those acts who've collapsed all their rights and can make these deals. Yes, that was Terry McBride's concept, and his old charges the Barenaked Ladies, having a deal with EMI, will immediately make their concerts available on iPads too.

With so much power residing in Azoff and Rapino's empire, acts under contract to labels will clamor for their companies to grant iPad concert rights too. Soon, well, in two or three years, you know how slow the majors work, every concert ticket will come with a video. Expect audio first. You know how the majors like to dip their toes. Then again, Jobs has hired Hilary Rosen to whip the labels into shape, telling them this is the second coming, to get on board NOW, not to screw up like they did ten years ago.

Then, there's the true breakthrough. iPads at the show.

Yes, your iPad is your ticket. The screen will display a giant bar code. And this will thwart scalpers...like they're going to buy a boatload of iPads? Then again, just like acts scalp their own tickets, there's rumor of a back door deal between Azoff and Apple to do just this, sell discounted iPads to brokers, Azoff getting his money directly from Apple...

And once you've got your iPad at the gig, let the games begin!

Sure, you can tweet, and update your Facebook page. But, for an extra fee, you can get backstage video, every fan's true desire. For even more money, you get a personal greeting from the band member of your choice, to keep forever (or as long as your iPad works...) There's been talk of a further opportunity, one involving intimate involvement with performers after the show, but so far this has only been legally cleared in Nevada. Then again, Las Vegas is a burgeoning concert location.

Will iPads dominate at festivals?

Interesting question. Do you want Coachella Crud on your iPad? Or Stagecoach Schmutz? There's talk of a new device, much smaller, called the iWrist, but with such a small screen, it may be unworkable.

As for now, Steve Jobs illustrates his mercurial nature once again, doing the unexpected, swooping in and seizing an opportunity available to all, but making it work as a result of synergy. Yes, Microsoft kicked the tires. And Elevation Partners too. But Microsoft has got no hardware, no way to maximize the value. It made no sense for Ballmer to overpay. Sure, he could put Beatle pictures and music on Bing, but that's hard to truly monetize.

Palm's got the device, but no money and no traction. Bono and Paul McGuinness met with Guy Hands, but refused to put any of their own money into the deal. Guy told them U2 might be the biggest band in the world, but he couldn't sell the company on faith. As for trusting Roger McNamee...that just elicited a laugh.

As for Google... That was the reason for the Jobs/Schmidt summit last weekend (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=60029&tsp=1) One, it distracted the press from sniffing out the EMI deal. Two, it signaled a division of spoils, wherein Apple gets music and Google gets search. Like two Mafia bosses, they divided up the landscape. Then again, Google was worried about worldwide exploitation of the Beatles, the band is still seen as subversive in China.

So the major label era is finally finished.

Steve said there's no way he's paying "Hits". Indie promotion is truly history.

Rob Stringer is cock-blocked. Yes, he wanted to sell to Apple first, but his brother nixed the deal. Sir Howard still believes he can resurrect the moribund Sony brand. Ain't that a laugh. Although there is supposedly a PlayPad in development.

Lyor Cohen... That's why he's selling his townhouse. He knew, he's out. As for Edgar Bronfman, Jr....it's like that old Paul Simon song, "Something So Right"...

"When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
But the last one to know..."

So it's Steve's world. We just live in it. All you Apple haters can either get on the bus or be left behind. Tech rules. And techies are smarter than music business people. Even hedge funders are smarter than music business people. Come on, can't you give Guy Hands credit, he played this beautifully!

(Note: Clive Calder was outbid for EMI by Apple, he saw no reason to pay so much, he had no synergy, but expect him to buy both Warner and Sony in the aftermath, which he will run on the cheap, with Billy Ocean as head of A&R.)

WORD OF MOUTH

Image via CrunchBase

First and foremost comes a good product.

Requiring no admission fee, no college degree, no qualifications whatsoever, the music business is peopled by hucksters, who employ myriad scams to get you to pay attention to their wares.

But it doesn't work.

Used to. Back when there was limited distribution, when bribing a deejay to play your song got you a leg up. But who buys music because it's got a high iTunes chart position? Sam Adams worked the system in order to get meetings with major labels. But then what? If they sign him, they might market and promote him, but that doesn't mean his music will sell. Because only good music sells.

Sucks, I know. Makes it much more difficult for you. You can't get any traction outside your family and friends. The system's rigged against you. Bullshit. If you were actually good, you'd blow up. We've got people surfing the Web 24/7 looking for good stuff, dying to tell their peeps about it.

In Wednesday's "Wall Street Journal" there's a story about Porter Airlines. I wouldn't have bothered to read it except for the fact that in Toronto, my ear was bent constantly about the carrier.

People waxed rhapsodic. The terminal was downtown-adjacent! The planes had leather seats! The flight attendants were all decked out like the sixties! There was a brand new terminal! And you only had to check in minutes before!

If Porter does any advertising, I'm clueless. But having heard the rap so much, I started spreading the word too. When Seymour Stein told me he was having trouble flying back to New York I asked him, had he tried Porter?

Porter is triumphing with a good product. And it's being sold by its users. Kind of like Google.

I remember the turning point. A phone call with a non-tech savvy friend about a decade ago. She was telling me about some Web-activity and referenced "Googling" something.

This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I'd been ignoring the search engine, I was a fan of HotBot, but now I had to try Google out, now that the hoi polloi were employing it. Hell, the hoi polloi could barely surf the Web. If Google gave them answers...

I switched to Google overnight.

But it gets better. Not only did I become a user, but a fan. I was thrilled when Apple installed the Google search window in the Safari toolbar. Yeah! It was like my favorite team scoring a touchdown. This is what people don't realize about Steve Jobs' company. We not only buy the products, we're believers. We're interested in everything Apple does. Kick the tires on new products? Shit, sometimes we buy them without even experiencing them first. Ergo, iPad pre-orders.

But it only works if you've got a killer product.

It starts with a track. And from that track, you can build a career. Just like the iPod got people to buy iPhones and Macs. Give someone a taste of an exquisite product, and they're on board.

And it's not about speed. Hell, the twenty first century is littered with products that were hits overnight and disappeared almost instantly. You've got to let the audience discover you. You've got to let people believe it's their choice. Shit, Apple is one cold computer company. But their stores are warm, the customer service is great. And this pays dividends.

Let's focus on service. Because the initial product is not the end of the relationship. Point is, you want a relationship. Dell's lame overseas customer service ended up decimating the company. Apple's made in America customer service gets people testifying. See the difference?

The music business has been about batting people over the head to sell them a product once. You bought it. It sucks? That's your problem. Furthermore, we rip you off at every turn. Just try getting a good concert ticket...what's up with that? Hell, the experience buying an airline ticket is better!

So focus on the music. There's nothing wrong with updating your Facebook page, tweeting away. But those elements are never going to make you. It's your music that's your calling card. And if your music is good enough, it will be embraced by fans and the word will be spread. No one sits at home waiting for their favorite song to come on the radio anymore... Shit, if you like something you can e-mail a friend the MP3, point to a YouTube page, there are many entry points for exposure.

You don't stand out because of the penumbra. Shit, even J. Lo lost her Sony gig. It's no longer how good you look, who you know, who you hang with... It's about the tunes.

Don't point out the exceptions. Those acts tend to be here today and gone tomorrow. Furthermore, this is a twenty first century change. When so much is available, when marketing is abhorred and tuned out, the only people we listen to are our friends. We trust them.

Marketing is the final step these days. It's about positioning. It's about imaging. Like those iPod billboards. They don't tell you much, they just remind you how hip the product is.

So don't bother attending marketing seminars. Don't listen to the major label tell you how it used to be. Just practice, practice, practice. Make something insanely great. And post it online. Hell, give it away for free. Because if it's really good, people will ultimately clamor around you to give you their money...for concert tickets, t-shits and signed CDs, even if they only listen to MP3s. Because believers need badges of honor. They want to evidence what's close to their hearts. It's the key to logos on clothing. Shit, no one wants to sport a JCPenney or Wal-Mart logo just like no one wants to help you sell your lame music. But Louis Vuitton?

And, in case you didn't know... That LV luggage lasts FOREVER!

War In The Music Industry

Image via CrunchBase

There's a war going on in the music business and rights holders are afraid they're going to lose.

The public is clueless, it barely sees the battles while it steals music. But the future is subscription, which doesn't involve only music, but products ancillary thereto, maybe even completely virtual.

If you've been following the Amazon/Macmillan story you know that the whole e-book pricing system has been affected by the iPad. There's a shift to the agency model, wherein Apple gets 30% and renders the remaining 70% to publishers. Unlike Amazon, Apple doesn't really care what price books are sold for, they're in the hardware business. In other words, they want to sell iPads. Whereas Amazon wanted to sell e-books below cost to increase the company's market share, hopefully into a dominant position.

That game's up.

But the fascinating conclusion is that the winner is Apple. You need an iPad to read that book. You're not going to buy a Kindle, certainly if the books cost the same, the Kindle just isn't a good deal. As long as e-books are not priced exorbitantly, Apple wins. And the publishers, smiling triumphantly, don't even know what hit them.

What hit them? Well, a writer can make the same 30/70 deal directly with Amazon, the online merchant already announced that. And with publishers signing fewer authors, conceding the landscape to upstarts, it appears to be just like the music business, wherein the major labels lost control.

The labels feel they've lost control to Apple. And they don't want that to happen again. So they're fighting Spotify, not even knowing what this platform and other similar companies are selling. They're not selling music, that's just the come on, they're selling the accoutrements, not only concert tickets but social networking, they're creating an ecosystem, that will rain down dollars.

There's a fascinating story in today's "Los Angeles Times" entitled "Free Online Games Moving Up A Level" (entitled "Digital Sales Poised As Game Changer" online): http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-games9-2010feb09,0,5565866.story

Two video game publishers are contrasted. One that sells discs and another that gives the games away for free. The seller of physical media went out of business. The virtual goods company is thriving.

Don't think about this as giving away music for free. Think bigger. If you can get someone hooked, what else can you sell them?

Start with a subscription. To an online video game service. Maybe $15 a month for World Of Warcraft. That's just like your ten dollar a month subscription to Spotify. Or your five dollar a month subscription to MOG.

But let's start with Spotify. In every market the company has launched, the service is free. But if you want it on your mobile device, you've got to pay. Not everybody wants this portability, but you'd be surprised how many do. And will in the future. Because by paying the monthly fee, you don't only get the ability to tote your tracks around, but knowledge of what your friends are listening to, access to the band, a first crack at concert tickets, maybe even virtual concerts.

You start with free. That's the come on. Just like with video games. Then you sell bits and pieces, not music, but items ancillary to music, the ability to go to a party, maybe even virtual. What works is unknown, but the first step is getting people hooked. If you saw how much money is made in virtual items online, clothes for avatars, ability to unlock doors for exclusive access, you'd be stunned. This barely exists for music, because rights holders are afraid. They believe in selling physical music, an album at a time. And they're so busy protecting that model, they're going out of business. Hell, just ask EMI. Instead of realizing it starts with the music, and instead of focusing on people stealing it, the question is how can you entice them to pay for it?

Certainly not by castigating them for theft, by threatening them with prosecution for copyright infringement. Instead, you entice people, giving them a free taste, just like a drug dealer, and then sell them everything surrounding the music. You can't steal an experience. And if we make your life easier...

That's Apple's plan. To get you to overpay for what you didn't even know you wanted. In the future, it won't be about owning music, it will be about being a member of the club, of the tribe. With evidence of how long you've been a fan, what shows you've gone to, the number of times you've spun each and every track. People will PAY to play in this arena, to publish evidence of their devotion, to compare and bond with others.

This is the future.

But the rights holders abhor the future.

Techies, people of the age the labels have fired or never hired, know all this. But they won't get involved in music because they just can't get the rights.

The future of music will look nothing like it does today. It won't be about ownership, it will be about belonging. You can play the video game at home, alone, or you can go online, where you're a member of the club, connecting with millions. You've got to pay for this experience. Which gamers do gladly.

The future is imminent. But only if the rights holders get out of the way. Only if innovation is unlocked. Copyright shouldn't be abandoned, but it's blocking the future. Just like rap blew up by stealing old tracks, new music platforms will be built on sampling the wares of rights holders. And like the owner of those old sampled records, the key is to say YES, to get on the bandwagon, to collect some of that new money. Instead of arguing with Activision over Guitar Hero license rates as the franchise fades away and doesn't radiate. Stay two steps ahead. Or face extinction.

The Apple Paradigm

Image by armintalic via Flickr

Insanely great products a handful of times a year.

Imagine if Apple introduced a product no one wanted. Something lame. And held a press conference every other week to trumpet its features.

Then you'd have the music business.

What's the lifespan of excitement on a laptop?

Certainly not a year. Maybe nine months at most. Which is why Apple updates them before they get long in the tooth. To drive excitement. To drive desire.

Want a new iPod?

You know there's going to be a new lineup in September.

Just like you know there's going to be a new iPhone in June.

Just like you know once every twenty four months or so, Steve Jobs is going to blow our minds with a whole new category.

In between these announcements? A dearth of information.

Well, not exactly, the minions online are constantly debating what's in the future, the same way we used to get excited about the coming albums of our favorite artists.

Instead, we now see these releases trumpeted in advance in magazines and newspapers. Singles are leaked. And when they stiff, new tracks are proffered. Then, an album comes out, with more music than anybody wants to listen to. And we're supposed to play this same damn album for two or three years until there's a new one, while the act goes on the road and cleans up. Huh?

First thing Steve Jobs did when he returned to Apple a decade ago was trim the product line, to make it comprehensible.

Time for you to do the same thing. Only release great stuff. Until you're in such demand that people want the other stuff. And don't hype the other stuff the same way you do the great stuff. Maybe you sneak out the "album tracks" unannounced on your Website, for fans only. And, I hate to scare you, but album tracks are for fans only anymore anyway.

And either make yourself totally available or cloak yourself in secrecy. The latter works, especially if you're a happening/in demand act. No one foresaw the "In Rainbows" promotion. That was its genius, not the name your own price feature. How suddenly, there was a Website, and not that much more. The band didn't give interviews, the public went crazy and built the story.

Steve Jobs is bigger than any rock star. Not because he's better one on one, but because he seems to hover above us. Delivering what we don't even know we want, but makes us so happy. Like the Beatles with "Sgt. Pepper".

We laugh at Lady GaGa because she substitutes outfits for charisma. It's the gooey center we're interested in, not the wrapping. The twenty first century is not about flash, but substance. If you want to last.

Too Much Joy !!!

Image via CrunchBase

I was forwarded this link earlier today, and I believe you may find it interesting how Warners handles digital royalties on bands no longer on their roster.

http://www.toomuchjoy.com/?p=1397

_____________________________________

I didn't read this e-mail until 8 PM.

And I immediately tweeted about it.

There are two kinds of people. Those who use Twitter and those who don't.

Please don't fall into the second category.

This ain't no MySpace, this ain't no Facebook, this is information, plain and simple.

Forget the hype, that it's those without lives listening to the minutiae of others. Sure, there are those who update their whereabouts on a regular basis. And those who think Twitter is purely for hype. Hell, I've now learned that Ian Rogers is not a discerning listener. Makes me wonder about Topspin. He's constantly tweeting that the music of every act the company works with is good. That's utter hogwash. Especially when the tunes are outside his normal flavor field.

Yes, you can learn a lot reading between the lines.

But you can also gain a ton of information.

First and foremost, you must make Twitter comprehensible.

Use Tweetdeck: http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/

When it asks to install Adobe Air, just say yes. Adobe Air powers all the hip new software, like the New York Times Reader: https://timesreader.nytimes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TimesReader?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001 (It's free if you're a print subscriber.) The Reader is much faster than your browser. And more comprehensible.

And that's what Tweetdeck is all about, comprehension. It makes Twitter understandable, listing the tweets of those you follow, those that reference to you... There are a lot of "hidden" tricks in the app. Like click on someone's name, and a column appears delineating all their details. Play around.

But only if you've got a lot of RAM and a fairly new computer.

As for competing products... Start with Tweetdeck. Power users have favorites, but I don't want to overwhelm you.

So, I got this e-mail about the Too Much Joy royalty statement and upon reading it immediately tweeted about it.

And then my Tweetdeck notifications went berserk. People were retweeting my tweet.

In other words, the word was spreading.

How fast and how far?

To the point wherein minutes, the Webpage referenced was inaccessible, a data error showed up if you got anything at all.

Sure, this illustrates that if you've got information to purvey, be sure to have enough horsepower to get it out there.

But more importantly, that interesting information spreads like wildfire. Instantly. And far.

How far?

I've only got a fraction of my regular e-mail list following me on Twitter. I don't want to overload your inbox, especially with just raw information. So I tweeted as opposed to e-mailed.

It wasn't until the middle of the next day that I got a single e-mail about this Too Much Joy post. In other words, those relying on nineties technology, which e-mail is, were a step behind.

Notice, "Hits" didn't write about it. It seems that they've buried the hatchet with Lyor/Warner and don't want to piss anybody off.

The aforementioned "New York Times" doesn't think this is a big enough story and has no infrastructure anyway. They've got Ben Sisario writing about the music business and..? Meanwhile, if something is written on one of their blogs...NO ONE READS THEIR BLOGS!

But if you're a musician, if you're a dedicated follower of music, this Too Much Joy post was pure gold. Proof that the major labels' business paradigm is theft. Plain and simple.

Tim Quirk just wants what is owed to him. A statement.

Warner can't even deliver that. And when the company does, it's inaccurate.

Furthermore, Tim reveals the fallacy of recoupment. It's not dollar for dollar, but based on your royalty rate. So, you might still be underwater, but your company can be rolling in dough!

Believe me, you can automate these processes. You can deliver accurate royalty statements on time. But the major labels don't want to. Apple has a history of everything I've purchased. But somehow the label can't find this info. It's just data. Computing power and the Internet can put this at your fingertips.

What happens first? Do the labels enter the twenty first century or do musicians avoid them?

We already have our answer. It's the latter. Major labels sign few artists, and screw them in the process. If they can't account to you on digital sales, raw data, do you really trust them with other revenue streams in your 360 deal?

The labels are old school. And everybody knows it.

Except maybe the mainstream press. Which is just as ancient in its thinking as the labels.

I was frustrated, I thought this story had no legs. But then I read this "Billboard" article: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ib78b45167c2724124247727de2177597 (and why can't "Billboard" render properly in Safari, since Macs are the platform of choice for musicians) interviewing Mr. Quirk.

The story was picked up by the "Village Voice" blog, "Daily Swarm", "Hypebot", me and the "Onion AV" blog. And if you don't know the power of the "Onion AV", you probably run a major label.

The word got out. Not via the mainstream. Those who needed to know saw it. So, unlike straight news stories that have no traction because someone shortly thereafter gets kidnapped or killed, the target audience read and digested Tim Quirk's story.

How you gonna convince people not to steal when you're stealing yourself?

The record industry never pondered that question.

You could have been there first. You could have seen the story on Twitter. As opposed to being the last to know.

What do you not know?

That's what's killing the major labels, what they don't know.

And we live in an information society. And your so-called enemy, the public, now has access to all kinds of data. Great info finds its audience. Great music finds its audience also. Ever think that the reason few new acts break is because the music's not good enough?

I know, that's heresy. Stone me.

But if you hear something good you tell everybody you know.

Via social media. Via Twitter.

GIRL CAN'T HELP IT

Image via Wikipedia

There are so many things wrong with Sirius XM I don't know where to begin. But it all starts with the programming.

Distribution is king. But arrangements have already been made with all the car manufacturers. Sure, it's important to get on new platforms, but if Sirius XM is banking on its iPhone app for profitability, it might as well go bankrupt now.

XM used to be a cult. Millions strong, people frothed at the mouth when they discussed it. Did you hear this? That? Now, we hear too much of what we already know, which we've already heard. What kind of crazy screwed up service is it where there are a hundred plus stations and everybody complains they're hearing the same damn songs over and over again?

I tried to battle perception, to fight the tide, because despite its failings, Sirius XM is still my listening of choice in the car. I don't talk on the cell, I just want to bask in the music. But how many times can I hear Ringo's "It Don't Come Easy"? And the promos... They're just as bogus as what's on terrestrial radio, as if we need to be sold on the service, as if they're programming for theoretical aliens who've never heard music before. The stations are riddled with every radio cliche known to man. Exactly the crap that Lee Abrams excercised on XM. It's so jive.

Still, some of the XM stations are still brilliant. Like Deep Tracks. And the Loft. But Outlaw Country is a shadow of XM's X Country. And the regular country station is riddled with repeats. Worst is the Bridge. Even housewives like to have sex. Listen to the station, all the rough ends have been shorn off. I like soft rock, but when I hear the promos, I wince. I want surprises. Delivered by normal people, who believe in music, not research, who don't follow the trades, but spend time checking out music themselves.

And then I stumble upon something like "Girl Can't Help It".

They've neutered the decades channels. The same damn songs again and again. Nothing unknown, and ultimately, nothing unexpected. But then you hear something you don't know, or barely know, and you have that magic radio moment, when you feel like you want to point your car towards Reno, some destination unknown ten or twelve hours away, just so you can be alone in the car, listening to the radio.

Where do we want to begin with Journey?

Do we want to state it was a completely different band before Steve Perry joined? Or say that we hated the people who loved them? Or that so much of the music was meaningless?

Or do we just want to say that Steve Perry had an incredible voice?

One of my favorite Journey songs is a Steve Perry solo work, "Oh Sherrie". And I'll admit to even coming to like "Wheel In The Sky", "Any Way You Want It" and "Lights" in their heyday. But I threw out the "Escape" cassette someone gave me. I was afraid someone would see it in my glove box.

And then came the "Sopranos" finale.

Not much was happening. Everybody was having dinner. Maybe Tony was about to be clipped. All we know is there was tension. And playing over this creepy moment was a powerful, sunny song by a band we'd never align with the best TV series of the twenty first century. Then again, Tony did not have eclectic tastes. He was positively mainstream. He remembered his eighties heyday, getting high, driving along to the tunes. So, maybe "Don't Stop Believin'" was a perfect fit.

What we do know is overnight Journey became legitimized. Enough time had gone by for the haters to admit their guilty pleasure. We could all admit this was a damn powerful song. We didn't want to stop believing, in the power of great art like the "Sopranos", of powerful rock and roll like "Don't Stop Believin'".

So I'm about a mile from my house, pushing my satellite radio buttons. And I hear a somewhat familiar hook. I know I've heard it before, but I can't really place it. I look down at the radio readout to see it's Journey's "Girl Can't Help It". Huh?

The song keeps building. It's missing some of the perfection Clive Davis insists upon. But when the tension is released, it's exactly like coming. That's what a great record is, a sexual moment.

"Ooh, there's a fire in his eyes for you"

Who knows why you broke up. But you can't seem to get it back together. You'd talk about her more, but your friends are gonna avoid you if you do, and you need them to get through. Still, you lie awake at night, thinking only of her.

"And when he calls her
She tells him that she still cares"

That's the problem. You know it's going to hurt. But you can't help but try and connect. And the problem is the feeling is about as good as ever. But the conversation doesn't end up with you getting back together, but still apart, your guts ripped open once again.

"Girl can't help it, she needs more"

The curse of modern society. No one wants to settle, no one wants to get less than he deserves.

"Hasn't found what he's lookin' for"

He felt that when they broke up he would crawl from the wreckage into a brand new car. But he didn't realize how much they truly shared, how hard it is to get that far with anybody.

"Ooh, nothing stands between love and you"

Except everything.

There are millions of members of the opposite sex. You're surrounded. But you feel positively alone, you're lonely. What to do?

Turn on the radio. Listen for that song that describes your plight.

And oftentimes, when the track's a hit, when you first love it, the words don't apply at all. And then, in your moment of despair, you rediscover it.

These are the moments I'm looking for. The unexpected. "Girl Can't Help It" is not a Sirius XM staple, I heard it at eleven p.m. on the west coast. There's no problem hearing "Don't Stop Believin'", but that won't get you through the night. You need something just for you. And radio, when done right, is just like that. A hot medium, where you get the impression you're the only listener extant, and the deejay is spinning the records just for you.

If Sirius XM is going to recover from its tailspin, it's going to be as a result of its programming. At this point, even Dell and HP make slick computers. But Apple triumphs because of the software. Not only the clean OS, but the built-in apps. Just open your ears, you can't avoid the cacophony of lemmings testifying. Satellite radio's throng was never quite as large, but it was just as rabid. But now it's like the Sculley era, the late eighties and early nineties in Macville, when only the true believers held on. Until Steve returned.

I'd say to bring back Lee Abrams.

Because to Lee, it wasn't about picking records, it was about a love for radio. The experience of tuning in and finding your one and only friend.


You can hear "Girl Can't Help It" by Googling it and clicking the LaLa button to play it.

Or you can go to YouTube to hear the same studio version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6mxYRwA0FI

Or, you can dial up this "live" take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoD-ex6LMwA

Yes, that's the dogg himself, Randy Jackson, playing the bass. Check the hair!

And yes, that's still Neal Schon on guitar, who started off with Carlos. As in Santana.

And fronting the band is the guy in tails, with the 80's 'do, Steve Perry.

But what you want to check out most is the crowd.

We used to have no problem pulling tens of thousands to the gig. When you didn't have to pay an arm and a leg to get in and the songs literally drove the culture.

"They're still standing in the rain
He can't help it, and she's just that way"

We're still waiting. We remember the power of music. We're waiting for it to come back. To be about the music as opposed to profits.

They're just that way. Like the bankers. Worrying how to make their nut, which has got many more zeros than that of the listeners.

Used to be the music was enough. To not only satiate the audience, but rain coin on the players and their handlers.

It's still enough.

We don't have a theft problem, we've got a music problem. What's the modern song that's going to end the "Sopranos"?

"Ooh, there's a fire in his eyes for you For you she cries Ooh do you know she still cries for you"

The businessmen don't talk about the music. And the players are either concerned how to break into the chart, get paid, or are so busy doing solely what they want that no one else can relate.

Still, right now, I don't give a shit.

Because when you listen to a song as great as "Girl Can't Help It", no matter how flawed it might be, its magic lifts you up from your seat, causes you twirl around the room like Stevie Nicks, makes you feel like it's JUST GREAT TO BE ALIVE!

Garth Brooks via last.fm

I guess they don't have Internet down in Oklahoma.

Or maybe Garth Brooks is still on dialup, or is too busy taking his kids to school to know what's really going on.

Apple destroyed the music business. Apple must be stopped.

Isn't that like fighting in Afghanistan when Al-Qaeda is in Pakistan?

Oops!

But this is the same government Mr. Brooks wants to protect and save the music business.

That damn Apple, allowing people to BUY single tracks! Things were much better prior to the iTunes Store, when listeners just STOLE THEM! Hell, why don't we wipe out not only iTunes, but Amazon, let's forgo licensing any Internet distribution, that'll solve the problem! I hate this crap. I write for a living and I think I am entitled to be paid for that.

As for half a day of silence... Only an old fart residing in the nineties would believe that radio still has that kind of power, that everybody's still listening. Under the first sale doctrine, we own our music, and we're listening on our iPods without worrying about what the broadcasters are purveying in between the twenty two minutes of commercials per hour.

Well, we've got to ban the iPod too!

But didn't the RIAA already try that? Suing to stop its predecessor, the Diamond Rio? They didn't win that one...

I sympathize with where Mr. Brooks is coming from. Creators should be compensated. Then again, how much? Just because you're a musician, are you entitled to be rich, to fly on a private jet?

Tell that to every other industry that's been mauled by the Internet...

No more online travel booking! You can't use Orbitz, you must go to a travel agent!

And while you're at it, no more Internet news. You've got to buy the aged news in the newspaper every morning. Or worse, listen to the inane talking heads on TV. Less information is better!

Funny how those who used to have power don't like the Internet flashlight, that sends a beam into the nooks and crannies of the power elite's business.

While we're at it, why don't we bring back Tommy Mottola! And J. Lo! You can't watch videos online, you've got to sit endlessly in front of the television, waiting for them to come up on MTV! And if you like a niche act, not a superstar like Mr. Brooks, if you like Steve Earle more than Brad Paisley, you never get to see him at all! Tough noogies!

Vegas is the right place for you Garth. It's where all the has-beens go.

I don't mind a conflicting opinion. It's ignorance I abhor.

You've got to start with the facts. People can steal music at will. How do you create a better mousetrap, that allows everyone to partake whilst paying? That's the Spotify model, that's the MOG model, that's the future we're working towards.

But you'd rather jet us back to the past.

It's like Michael J. Fox sitting at home watching reruns of "Family Ties", doomed to endure the terrible effects of Parkinson's disease. Mr. Fox didn't ask to get sick. Just like the Internet was not founded to allow people to steal music. But rather than accept his fate and stay in the past, Mr. Fox has established a foundation, he's fighting Parkinson's, he wants to go back to the FUTURE! Where he's no longer twenty, but he's older and disease free.

You get to a better place not by quelling rebellions, by denying technology, but by starting in the present and working towards the future. Isn't that the model you employed Garth? Seeing KISS and recasting their success in country music?

I've seen you perform. You're phenomenal.

But like the progenitors, your inspiration, the men in make-up, you're a has-been. And few want your new music. The way you earn our trust is making it less about you, and more about us. Hey, isn't that what the Net's about? Stop talking horseshit about retirement and truly get in the game. Create some great new material. Start tweeting, employ Facebook to get the message out. See what it's really like out there before you start running your mouth, commenting when you're clueless.

http://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1624496/nashville-skyline-garth-brooks-goes-back-to-work.jhtml