Image by midnightglory via Flickr

That's why I'm here. In Nashville. I'm speaking at the International Entertainment Buyers Association. Or, I just did. You missed it!

What a fascinating crew. So many of the buyers are from fairs.

I just got a long lecture on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. A bunch of 'ropin and 'tyin and then live entertainment, twenty nights straight! They've had Rascal Flatts, ZZ Top, the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift...

In other words, there's a whole 'nother world out there between L.A. and New York. Which might want to see people like Phil Vassar. Who performed just before me in the ballroom. I'm a fan. But he looks like a guy you'd be sippin' a beer with down on the dock. No harm meant, it's just that I expected some wiry guy who barely ever saw daylight. Or maybe it's just that it's a disconnect to experience someone so talented, who can sing and write, who looks completely normal. It's a beautiful thing.

The way the band plays. The way Phil works the audience.

You see in country music, being able to play is not enough. You've got to entertain! You've got to sing for your supper. Or, as Chubby Checker said last night, it's all about the audience. Yes, he was angling for gigs, but it was fascinating to see him work this inside crowd. He got 'em up on stage twisting, singing along, laughing, having a good time. And a good time is what it's all about, right?

Well, I'm not sure it's about a good time anymore.

Is it a good time buying a car? It's so expensive. You're afraid of being ripped off. If you make a mistake, you're not going to be back in the market for years. Kind of like buying concert tickets. Huh?

I just had a fascinating conversation with gentlemen who run an amphitheatre in Virginia. They spoke of the problems outside the metropolis.

They have a deal with Ticketmaster because so many of their customers pay cash. Ticketmaster has outlets, where they take cash. Yup, you may hate the ticket fees, but Ticketmaster is not always the bastard.

Then again, like Live Nation in New Jersey, these promoters charge a parking fee on every ticket. A buck. It's a pass through, goes straight to the city, for cops, other infrastructure. So when customers arrive, they don't have to pay, they just park.

But getting customers is not that easy. Because people just don't know about the gig!

That's their number one problem, getting the word out.

And they said that radio, newspapers and TV don't work.

In other words, they've got a marketing budget, they just don't know where to spend the money!

The days of tying in with a radio station and having the word get out are done. Now we're in the murky land of social media.

Yup, these guys have been FORCED to employ Facebook and Twitter. Because that's where the people are. No one's paying attention to old media.

You've got to have someone under twenty five working all these angles. He could be your number one employee!

And then there's pricing.

They talked about a Coldplay show, not theirs, where lawn tickets were ultimately blown out cheaply. People complained. Sure, they were mad at Live Nation, but they were really mad at the act!

Ticketmaster may have shielded the artists for a while, the public may have been too stupid to know performers have been scalping their own tickets, but the artists are now taking the hit for discount tickets. If you paid thirty dollars to sit on the lawn and somebody else paid ten, you're pissed! You may never want to see Coldplay again.

So who's going to fix this problem?

It's got to start with the acts. The days of exorbitant guarantees are done. The acts can't afford the blowback. I can't get the tickets I want, they never went on sale, and now someone paying less than me is sitting closer than me? Huh?

So far, promoters have been taking the hit. Live Nation is selling discounted tickets to fill their buildings while the artist has sat on the sideline and laughed. No longer.

That's the story of 2009. How the act suddenly has less power.

Kind of like the movie business. The $20 million paydays are through. There's just not enough money left. DVD sales have tanked. If Live Nation, if no promoter can survive, who is going to pay all these acts?

We don't have a promoter crisis, we've got an act crisis!

Sure, the promoters have issues, but the acts are not immune. They've got to give promoters tools to work with. Like lower guarantees and a share of the upside.

The major problem is getting people in the building.

Some day there might be a site telling everybody who's in town. But so far, no Internet location has broken through. Because every listing site is about money first and the customer last. Too much advertising, too much focus on profit. The Google way used to be the music business way. Build it first, figure out how to monetize it last. Be a great band first, figure out how to make all the dough last.

Speaking of dough, these Virginia promoters had multiple jobs. The days of grand slams in concert promotion are done. The margins are too thin. One of these guys is both a promoter and a manager!

The glory days of the music business are history. They'll only return when the glory days of music come back. That's in process. But it's going to take a very long time, especially if the usual suspects have their way...baby boomers who focus on getting rich first and care about the consumer last, if at all.

The Grand Finale of the Industrial Age

Image via Wikipedia

Another great depression? Or the greatest-ever buying opportunity? Here's why...this economic mess is nothing like the 1930's, why it's time to start buying, NOW and what stocks will out-perform the coming rebound.

Don't let media's short-term, micro-view blind you to what's really going on in the world. Put aside fear and negativity and get ready to rake in unimaginably-huge profits as you cash in on the...3 unstoppable macro trends about to reshape the world.

In the next 15 years, we will gobble up more of the Earth's last remaining natural resources, than we did in any period in the past. This great natural resource binge will turn Wall Street on its head.

Rising commodity prices will start to bear down on every aspect of our lives...from the costs of our tomatoes to the price we pay to heat and cool our homes...from the value of our blue chips to the income we receive on our CD's...$2,700 gold...$9 gas...plummeting indices...soaring inflation...and plenty of bear markets.

But also, expect a commodity bull market, the likes of which we have never seen before, one that will dwarf every other that has come before it.

Last century we had three commodity bull markets. They were from 1906-23, 1933-53 and 1968-82. Each one was bigger, and wreaked more havoc, than the one that came before it. This final one promises to outdo them all. By the end of it, many things will be different.

Most paper assets will be shredded. Millions of American retirees will find themselves on the breadline. Vital commodities like oil, gas, uranium, cobalt, molybdenum will be greatly depleted. But almost all commodities whether abundant or not, wil no longer be cheap. In fact, their costs will become more prohibitive, that it will finally force industry to seriously develop new alternatives, like renewable fuels, and new industrial materials made from bio and nano-materials. But until that time comes, commodities will rule the day.

Commodities will inpact almost every area of your life. Whether you want to be invested in them or not, they are going to affect your assets...your lifestyle...your costs of living...the kind of car you drive...what kind of house you live in...your investments. They'll determine the fate and fortunes of companies, countries and individuals everywhere!

Commodities will make you rich. Or they'll make you poor. It's your choice.

5 Simple Steps To Copyrighting Your Music

5 Must Do, Simple Steps to Properly Copyrighting
Your Music and Keeping Others From Stealing It!

Step 1:

Record your music (this can also include beats and productions work), whether by writing it down as sheet music or making a recording of it. Remember registering your work with the Copyright Office has lots of advantages, versus simply choosing not to copyright. Its always better to be safe then sorry, especially nowadays with the Internet and file sharing going rampant.

Step 2:

Register your copyright by submitting together in one envelope, your completed application, filing fee and copy of the music you wish to copyright either in the form of sheet music or a recording to the Library of Congress Copyright Office. The copy of your music will be stored as a matter of public record.

Step 3:

Learn that by copyrighting your music through the Copyright Office, you gain the protection of the United States Customs Department from your work being imported illegally for someone else's gain.
This falls under Intellectual Property Rights protection. The copyright owner must register their copyright with the U.S. Customs service.

Step 4:

Know that if you choose not to register your music, and you find someone else is profiting from it, you must register it with the Copyright Office before you can file a lawsuit. However, having your work registered before an infringement occurs entitles you to collect lawyer's fees and statutory damages, instead of just actual losses, which can mean more money for you.

Step 5:

To make the entire process of copyrighting your music, easy, secure and 100% mistake proof visit http://www.CopyrightYourMusicInMinutes.com/main to get a full copy of the new, step-by-step music copyrighting course "Copyright Your Music in Minutes".

Note: Visit the site listed above within 48 hours of receiving this notice and you can get the entire "Copyright Your Music in Minutes" course, including all of the step-by-step audios, videos and forms that you'll use to properly copyright your music for only $9.97 (Instead of the regular cost of $97.00, instantly saving you nearly $100.00!!!)



As always, much success and enjoy your weekend!

The Spotify Guys

They're Swedish!

Martin Lorentzon couldn't stop saying how much he loves L.A. Because in the winter in Stockholm, it gets light just before nine and dark again around three, and that's just too little daylight, for too little time. If only winter were a couple of months shorter, it would be tolerable.

Then again, Sweden's got better cell service. You don't get the dropouts we do in America. And the tech companies are more open.

Speaking of tech companies, Martin made a mint. After working for Alta Vista in San Francisco back in the nineties, he started a company in Sweden that...let's just say it counted data. I'm afraid most people reading this wouldn't understand it if I explained it. And there's your digital divide right there. People who like to win on intimidation and those whose educations allow them a superior vantage point, enable them to move mountains, change worlds, make tons of money.

And Martin put his millions in with Daniel Ek's and they founded Spotify. Which the labels were glad to extract an advance from, but were surprised actually launched and was successful.

Are you following their latest products? Wherein you can download 3,000 odd tracks to your laptop or mobile device? It's just like owning them. Of course, you get this privilege only if you sign up for the premium service.

And they've got software for not only iPhone, but Android and soon BlackBerry, they're the anti-Apple, they're not a closed system, they want to play with everybody.

And they just might end up dominating. If the labels will realize that streaming is inevitable and play ball.

Oh, they're playing ball so far. That breakdown that hit the Web re Spotify's costs isn't accurate, they've got special deals with the labels, but they don't go on forever, Spotify's got to prove its mettle, it has got to generate profits.

A couple of days back, Martin Lorentzon e-mailed me, he was in town, did I want to get together?

Normally, I say no. It's a one way street. You demonstrate your wares hoping that I'll help you out. But Spotify is revolutionary. I was intrigued. But I wasn't sure of the agenda.

So I showed up at the Mondrian today to find a well-dressed man of forty, voluble, polite and excited. Not a passive manipulator, but someone intent on ingratiating himself.

And after catching up, hearing a bit of history, Martin's iPhone rang. I could see it in big block letters. It was Daniel Ek. He was coming down.

Wow.

Where to begin?

Spotify employs P2P software, that's why it's so damn good. It takes 2-5 seconds to ramp up each and every song, which has reduced bit rate during that window, but usually that's a relatively dead window and the listener isn't paying close attention anyway. Yes, there are tricks. Only seventy five percent of the song is downloaded, an algorithm provides the remaining twenty five percent. This is how they all do it, it's de rigueur. And the files don't only come from Spotify's servers, bits and pieces come from other users with the software installed on their computers. Net effect? It feels like you own the track. Usability is equal to iTunes. You can fast forward, rewind, there's no lag time.

But that's on your desktop. What about your mobile?

Well, that's a bit different. You see then Spotify depends on the network. Which is why they've limited sign-ups in the nations they've already launched in. They want the streaming experience to be perfect on your mobile device, after all, you're depending on it, their servers and their wallets cannot be strained.

But if you want to pay, you can get Spotify instantly.

And in order to use the mobile app, you've got to pay.

And when you do pay, you can download the aforementioned 3,000 tracks to your hard drive too, which truly is like owning them. Of course, if you stop paying, you don't own them. But if you start paying again, they return magically.

Daniel was focused on the rental issue. Needing to make purchase available too. I think that's bullshit. You can't listen to the hoi polloi. In America we rented movies on videotape, bought them on DVD and are now renting them again via Netflix and Redbox. Who says America is anti-rental? It's all about the user experience. And the Spotify user experience is so good, that you don't need to own once you've got it.

But what about Apple?

Martin and Daniel wonder too. Why exactly did Apple approve their app? They gave it a 50/50 shot. But Cupertino said yes. Was it because Apple was worried about the backlash or Apple just doesn't care that much about music. Better to take thirty percent of apps than the small margin in music. Then again, since the Spotify app is free, there's no gross to skim from. Then again, you can't stream music in the background on an iPhone. If you go to write an e-mail, you lose Spotify. Whereas you can listen to your iTunes library while you surf on your iPhone. All of which begs the question, will Apple compete? Will Apple suddenly roll out a streaming service? The guys at Spotify DON'T KNOW!

But someone will. Streaming is going to rule. It's just a matter of when.

So when do we get Spotify in the U.S?

At the end of this year or the beginning of next.

Oh, I get it. These guys are in way over their heads. They can't get it together. They promise, but don't deliver.

Absolutely wrong. They could launch tomorrow, they just don't have all the rights. You see a certain company doesn't believe in free. So, they won't let Spotify launch with the European model. But, without the free element, is Spotify doomed to fail?

Believe me, Spotify wants people to pay. They want to integrate so many desirable elements into the paid model that you'll want to pay. Being able to see what stars are spinning, what your friends are listening to. Yes, merging social networking elements with music, something absent from iTunes. But you can only convince people to pay if they get to try the service out. And so far, other than a handful of the connected, no one in America has Spotify, few even know what it is!

Daniel felt this was a problem. He had to convince the community, the artists and executives. I laughed. This is like MTV. Once you see it, once it launches here, word will spread like fire, people WILL WANT THEIR SPOTIFY!

Daniel feels he could have 50 million users almost instantly. But it's too soon. He doesn't want to risk messing with usability and doesn't want to burn through the company's cash that fast. Yes, it costs to stream, not only server power, but licensing fees. Also, he wants to tweak the service. They showed me some unreleased elements, but they've got tons more. They want to build it so you will come.

What a radical change from those in the music industry, and from those in tech a decade ago.

Ten years ago, the techies were arrogant. They wanted to rip off the music industry's wares. The Spotify guys are different. They want everybody to make money. But they want the time and support to make it happen. Honestly, they're not exactly sure of the business model, they're figuring it out. They want most people to pay, they want different tiers, but the customer is king, you've got to serve the customer. Which the music business has not done in eons.

These are not charlatans. These are not guys in it for the fame.

They are in it for the money. But shouldn't the music industry love them for this, feeling the same way?

They're smart. They know tech. They don't intimidate physically, they make their moves via their intelligence, which flummoxes the music industry. An industry that likes to bully and rip partners off.

But is that paradigm truly sustainable? In an era where the customer is savvy enough to steal whatever he wants? If you think free availability of music can be eradicated, you don't know dick about computers. The only answer is a better mousetrap. Spotify is the first step.

Most people bore me. It's all about them. They want to tell me how great they are, why I should endorse what they're selling. But I was positively riveted for two hours. I felt like I was at ground zero of the music industry. Right there at the source. Better than meeting Bob Dylan, who doesn't talk much anyway. Better than hanging with the rock stars of yore who feel they're entitled, never mind the underschooled and inexperienced nitwits of today. As for dealing with the label people, other rights holders, it reminds me of the sixties, there's a huge generation gap. My eyes roll back in my head, I just can't waste the time. But today, in the lobby of the Mondrian Hotel, I was excited. These guys want to deliver more music to more people and get them to pay for it! And the service is so good, it is worth paying for.

So I don't want to hear one naysayer. You can still sell tracks at iTunes as a hedge, you can even sell CDs. But streaming is the answer and these guys are the cutting edge. They wanted the conversation to be off the record, but I insisted it couldn't be, word has to GET OUT!

P.S. Let me make this perfectly clear. If you've got the premium service, you're not reliant upon a wireless connection to listen to music. You can download a little over 3,000 tracks to your mobile permanently (as long as you continue to pay, of course). So if you're in a dead zone, or camping in Timbuktu, you can listen to your music - as long as you can keep the battery of your mobile charged! (No, your music doesn't disappear if you run out of juice, the songs remain, but without power, you've got to bang on rocks, you've got to make your own music!)

P.P.S. Please read Chris Anderson's "Free". The guy's been beaten up so heavily regarding the Long Tail that his new book has been ignored. But check it out. Primarily because it explains the concept of "freemium" upon which Spotify is based. I'll reference the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium But Anderson does a much better job of explaining it. Giving numerous examples. As for being afraid of the future, free's been around for eons, Anderson makes this clear. Stop being afraid of losing what you've got and start figuring out how you can make it in the future by reaching so many more people!

Hyundai Responses

Hey Pat,

Funny you say this. I work for Jeff Bridges and yes, he is the "voice of Hyundai" but just last week he turned in his 7 series BMW for a new Hyundai. Sure he got a deal but it drives great, has a kick ass stereo system and all the bells and whistles.

The Dude LOVES the car..

Jean Sievers

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Pat,

While of course I don't know about the music business except that I've learned to swing from vine to vine as best I can for the last 35+ years, I can say this: here at our camp, we have a 2006 Hyundai and an old simple tank Mercedes. Both cars are fantastic, the equal of each other. The Hyundai, of course, is far more fun, more bells and whistles...:) The Hyundai was a complete surprise to me when researched-I was very very broke (as opposed to now when I'm just very broke)-the price was amazing, the warranty also great and buying it was a great move. Interestingly, very under the radar, not a sexy car, just reliable, great, inexpensive to run (cheapest gas, as opposed to the old M, which takes 91), and liberating. The tank Mercedes came after in a family transaction, and it also was a great surprise, showing that in the old days, they too made great, reliable, solid cars, a product you could really trust to be excellent--but no fun stuff like the Hyundai has--all the cool features in the Hyundai, for about $200 a month.

Out here in the wilderness, musicians are indeed scraping out a living, actually attempting to deliver a quality product to our audience. I'm fortunate to find a small, demanding, but loyal audience now--and they buy cds. But you have to put your all into every show and every cd, or they'll just shake their heads at you sadly...you don't want to see that.
Happy hunting.

Wendy Waldman

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Pat,

Just finished a three week tour of the US. We had a KIA. Handled like a dream and talk about being economical. Definitely helped us make extra money on the tour!

Peace

Barry McCabe

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Pat -

We did 175 shows in about 40 cities in the midwest and south in 2007 in a Sonata. Three guys over 6'2'' with P.A. , drums, guitars, and luggage. Hell...we slept in the damn thing most of the time as well. When it was all said and done we put close to 110,000 miles on it and the only thing I ever had to do was change the tires and the oil.

I always felt kind of like a D-Bag rolling up to venues in a Hyundai when everyone else had vans and shit...but you really couldn't beat the damn thing.

Dave Huffman
guitar/vox
Jakob Freely

_____________________________________

I bought a new Hyundai Elantra in 2001 for a little over $13,000, just after they had brought in engineers to make good cars, but well before their name had any of the stigma removed. I got a great deal because Hyundai still had mud all over their name, and I wasn't taking any crap from the dealer. And actually, my sales guy was kind of awesome, and we went back to him when my wife needed a new car after coming here from Australia.

Since then, everyone in my family has bought a Hyundai - wife, brother, sister, mother, father, everyone. I'm still driving my Hyundai with 140,000 miles on it... It was less expensive than, but bigger and more reliable than the Civics and Jettas my friends had bought.

I felt like I was in on a big secret. It had a great warranty but I never needed it. The tech manuals were all available online for free, which encouraged me to get my hands dirty and do some of the smaller things (thermostat change, a few comfort upgrades) myself, or see exactly what work I was paying for before I went in. Hyundai corporate has a site where you can give direct feedback on upcoming models & features and get 'inside baseball' type stuff if you're a superfan.

And the community that built up around this otherwise nondescript looking, seemingly boring car I bought easily rivals that of the Nine Inch Nails communities I work with, not just in size, but in friendliness and socialability (is that a word?) - ElantraXD.com, ElantraClub.com, and more.

The Genesis Coupe apparently destroys the Ford Mustang.

If my Elantra ever gives out, I'll be replacing it with a Hyundai that perhaps better suits my income now that I'm nearly a decade older.

--Matt Dunphy

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nice post. very surprising.
i own a 2008 Veracruz. it is the raddest car EVER! i've owned a honda, toyota, subaru and porsche.

fuck perception.

hyundai is killing it!

Renata

_____________________________________

Pat, I just rented one two days ago and thought the same thing but until you mentioned it was I reluctant to toot their horn.

Arma Andon

_____________________________________

Pat -

You nailed it. After years of getting my requested RAV-4 from Hertz - I was handed the equivalent Kia model a few months back at the Indianapolis airport. Was initially bummed, and even a little embarrassed to drive away in such an unsexy thing. At least Toyota is Toyota I thought.

My reticence was however - gone in the proverbial 60 seconds. Wow. Amazing little car. I wanted to buy one that day. While I do enjoy my German driving machine at home, that one rental experience has totally recalibrated my thinking on this topic. You're right - consumer perceptions can be changed about any brand.

Deb Wilker

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I am a Honda guy.
I had a similar experience...

In April, we drove an "unwanted" rental Hyundai Sante Fe from Vancouver to Santa Monica, and back ( sorry, we should have called you!). We went with this rental company because they had cross border unlimited mileage ( others don't, read the fine print).

We put 5000 kilometers on that baby in 10 days, and not once did we wish it was a Honda!

Surprised me too.

Tom Bona
Toronto

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HELL YEAH! I've driven a Hyundai for 3 years. If it can handle New Jersey AND Los Angeles traffic, it can handle anything. Even drove it straight across the country. Hasn't needed ONE repair yet. They've been making a name for themselves and it's taken years, but now everyone is getting hip to it. ole!

Greg Garbowsky

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Hey Pat,

You should go drive one of the Genesis's for a hoot, they are a fun car! Take traction control off and do some donuts; throttle modulation is perfect, engine note is great, peeling rubber is like a switch....not sure how long the engines hold together the way I put a car through its paces but sure fun to play with for a while & hand the keys back.

And when you are done having a blast, back to reality and safety with traction control on and it forces you back in line of a "normal" driver.

They've sure come a long way since their "Stellar" beginnings....& I'd buy one of their backhoe's if I was in construction.

R.

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Hi Pat,

You gotta drive the 300 horsepower Genesis coupe....it's fantastic! Like you, I was just blown away with how much car you get for the money.

-ca

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I love my Hyundai!

For a BMW rival, check out the Hyundai Genesis sedan and coupe. You will be even more surprised! Unbelievable. Do the online coupe 'test drive' which was taped at a track.

Harry Reynolds

_____________________________________

Pat - My 2005 Acura TL came off lease in late 2008 - it was a great car and I was considering leasing a new one, notwithstanding that it is now much uglier. But, I decided to check out Hyundai first. I ended up leasing a pearl white Genesis - the lease payment is LOWER than the TL and there is no comparison. The Genesis has EVERYTHING - great stereo, nav system with huge screen, bluetooth, backup camera, heated and cooled seats, etc. and it is a real rear wheel drive luxury sedan - much more comfortable than the TL. I got the 6 cylinder and it is a rocket - I can't imagine what the optional 8 cylinder is like. But, I get 28 mpg highway.

So, two months ago my wife's 2006 BMW 530xi came off lease and, guess what? We leased another Genesis (black this time) - monthly payment is half of the BMW! Frankly, the Genesis is a better ride, faster (with the 6 cylinder) and the technology is MUCH better - the BMW was always in the shop for a "system reboot". They really never got the iDrive system down in Munich, I guess.

Alright, I now have to say I drive a Hyundai (even though you won't find that name on the car - only Genesis) instead of an Acura or Beemer. But, the cars are fantastic, have bumper-to-bumper coverage for years and I'm about $600 a month lower in total lease payments than I was a year ago. And, my iPod syncs beautifully with the system and sounds great through the mighty Lexicon stereo.

Cheers - Jock Clark

_____________________________________

Hey Pat -

I took your advice. I totalled my Chrysler and bought a Hyundai Azera. I love it. Thanks!

Larry Butler

_____________________________________

Pat,

I am really glad to hear that you enjoyed Hyundai - my dad works for Hyundai, responsible for Genesis/Genesis Coupe and YF sonata which will be introduced in North America next year - they really deserve the praise because they worked really hard on it and invested in billions. In these days people want value, and hopefully music industry will understand to lower the price yet bring up the overall quality - just like what Hyundai is doing. Sure people who can afford U2 will always go to U2 shows.....but what about the others?

Ky Choi

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I can relate. My wife and I got "stuck" with one in Hawaii and loved it. What blew us away was the trunk space (we're not light packers). Holy shit -- didn't have to throw any bags in the back seat or on top of our kid!

Niels Schroeter
Surfdog Records

_____________________________________

Hundai's rock. A solid car for the money. A great value. We took a test drive in a Sonata and bought it right there. The ONLY car we looked at! We were sold.

Bettine

_____________________________________

Pat:

My father has had a top of the line Lexus sedan for five years. My brother-in-law just got the Genesis. Now my father is seriously considering replacing his Lexus with the Genesis. It's a sweet, quality, high-end ride. And he swapped out the Hyundai logo for the Genesis one on the trunk. Over a three day visit there was at least one person a day stopping him in a parking lot asking if the car was a Bentley. People were mistaking his Hyundai for a BENTLEY. Yep Hyundai got it right with that one.

Reis Baron

_____________________________________

And check this out: http://www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org/. Very philanthropic company - they've given to our program for years. I guess when you're actually making money you can give more of it away!

I might have bought one but they didn't have the size I was looking for.

Best,

Jeremy Shatan
Special Events Director
Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Fund

_____________________________________

Dear Pat,

About a year ago I was cut off of a highway in the Chicago area and almost hit a semi-truck in the result of a careless driver. I made a spit-second decision either to hit the semi dead in its side or turn my wheel as sharp as I could and hope for the best. I ended up flipping my car 5 times in the highway, going to the emergency room in an ambulance and being able to walk out of the hospital a few hours later. Did I mention I was in a Hyundai?

I honestly don't know how I could have managed sleeping in my own bed the same night after the horrific incidence that happened. My Hyundai was totaled but it kept me completely safe and alive. I am proud to say after not having a single complaint with my Hyundai I decided to purchase another one! The roadside assistance and warranty are amazing too not to mention great acoustics and stereo system...who would have thought?

Sincerely,
Leslie F.
One very happy Melfi reader and Hyundai Owner.

_____________________________________

I've been a Hyundai owner for 6 years now. I love my Sonata and will never buy another make than Hyundai. Plus America's Best Warranty ... 10 years. Great idea, too, with the comparison to the music industry's present situation.

R. Emmett McAuliffe Esq.

_____________________________________

Pat -

About a year ago, I was involved in a Hyundai Genesis test-drive program through Road & Track Magazine and Acme Branding, a Michigan marketing company. After a brief orientation and a videotaped interview, we let five participants use a new Genesis for a week. This went on for a total of ten weeks with five different participants a week. Most of them were car-types who had experience in other luxury car brands. Most, like you, were skeptical about driving a Hyundai - until they came back after riding around in the Genesis for a week. To a fault, all were duly impressed with the experience, and a couple or them said they would buy a Genesis the nest time they traded cars.

The video interviews were collected as an effort to supplement the wonderful ad campaign that Hyundai had launched with the Genesis, but I'm told that the dealers (as the economy became more of an issue) wanted advertising more along the lines of "no cash for 30 days," and the ad company was dropped. You don't hear too much about the Genesis these days, and I haven't seen many of them on the road around here, but the the car can easily go head-to-head with any luxury brand - for ten grand less.

Best,
Edgar Struble

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Hey Pat,

I'm glad your eyes have been opened. I was in Korea in 1979 and again in 1981. ALL the taxi drivers drove a car called the Hyundai Pony. That's a lot of cars, and those guys drive like maniacs. They drove the shit out of those cars, and I always wanted one, they were fantastic. This was before Hyundai was sold in America. And now Hyundai has great cars here too. I think the styling of these cars is awesome, better than any other car to my eyes.

It's too bad American cars suck so bad. Yes, they have statistics showing how reliable US cars are, and what great gas mileage, blah blah. But these statistics don't hold up. What does "best in class initial quality" mean? What class? At what point does "initial" expire? Three months? Nobody wants a car that's noisy, where interior plastic pieces start popping off after six months, and exterior pieces discolor and warp after a year. Americans COULD build the best cars in the world, but we don't for some reason.

Between Hyundai and Samsung, South Korea is really doing something lately. It's a great country.

Jack Huggins

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Pat

We rented a Hyundai last August while in Miami.
Didn't really want to, but like you this was all they had. Beside it was
about 95 outside with 100% humidity so what can you do...we took it. We needed the aircon.

Good lord were we surprised! Top quality, well built and damn spacious.

If it had the V6 in it instead of the standard 4-banger, I would have
bought it and driven the damn thing all the way back to Toronto!

And people wonder why the big 3 died...

It's all about quality and bang for your buck. Thinking of a Santa Fe to replace the Saab.

Rob Johnston

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Great note. I rent a car every week, and I ALWAYS ask for a Kia or Hyundai.

It really is something when you see how simple it can be to be
disruptive. Price is different than value, that's for sure.

Ethan Bauley

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Hello Pat, I bought an Accent in 2002, insisting that I wanted the one in the ad for $7999. It is the best built car ever. Last year they made the mistake of running an ad with an Accent for $8999, so i bought another one. Nobody will believe how great these cars are.

Paul Martin

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Pat,

I, too, recently rented a Hyundai (at OC's John Wayne Intl), drove all
around your Pico hood, visiting day-job clients, slack-jawed at how cool the car handled, and how 'solid' it felt. You're right about this:

I have a day-job so I can afford to have a band. My value-proposition is this: if you send me a mailing/postal address, I will send you a free promo CD. At shows, I announce: here's a stack of free cds, just sign our email list to take one. I took my cue from a piece you wrote about singer-songwriter who mailed music and personal notes to folks who wrote him from myspace. I gotta tell ya: the shit works.

Yeah, postage and materials get expensive, but the value in the interaction can't be beat. I've long abandoned myspace (just a billboard for my band these days, as those "friends" likely don't even exist or have moved on) for Facebook --far less anonymous and superior web analytics are provided. AND these folks interact, they write back, they comment on my blog, they send me money even though I don't ask for it, and send friends to the band's shows and websites.

I've mailed out over 800 CDs to folks all over the world. And even if I never make it out of my latin rock niche or even my city, the emails, the kind words, the support, and folks' opening up their lives to me in response to me doing so for them...all of it makes making and performing music all the more worthwhile, and teneble.

Giving Away Music in SF,
Investing in my Future,
Jorge

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Pat,

Word! Great analogy. I get visions of Jerry Seinfeld snapping in the air stating, "Anyone can just TAKE the reservation, but the reservation keeps the care HERE." But I digress.

The real gem for me in this story is the fact that I'm going to send this to my mother. We went car shopping at the beginning of the year for what her heart was set on, a Toyota Corolla. She had $10K to spend and I knew it would be a stretch getting something for that amount, but the economy is in a slump right? Maybe we can strike a deal.

Not so. These dealerships don't budge for anyone. What does he suggest? "We have a nice Elantra for $9K, but we can't put you in the Toyota for that amount." Huh. Not even a used one for $10K. I pushed the Toyota with my mom because I've become somewhat loyal. And she wanted a Honda, which I KNEW she couldn't afford.

He brought the Hyundai around. How cute and snappy! My mom was already set on not buying it before she drove it and made remarks such as "it looks like a rollerskate", "these cars are cheap and I never hear anyone talk about them". It goes on and on. We head out for the test drive and I'm suddenly wanting one for myself. I even ask to take a spin for myself. LOVED driving it!! I thought to myself, "A Hyundai Elantra, for $9K even! What a great deal!"

Reluctantly, my mother caved because she desperately needed the car. She complained tirelessly for MONTHS about how it looked and all the perceived "problems" with Hyundai. We thought about summer and how we're going to take her car (because the parking fees for residents are cheaper than non-residents...with the extra bonus that she's officially a "senior citizen" and we pay even less. I even tell her that I'll drive even when we take her car (because it's such fun to drive). She still complained.

Next thing I know, she shows up to pick me up for our first trip of the season to the beach. I notice she's got new sunglasses. I say, "Hey ma, nice shades! Did you lose your other ones?" She responded, "No...I thought they looked nice when I drive the car. See how they match?" So now she's having a love affair with the Elantra.

Nicole V.

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Pat, Hyundai has come a long way.

I worked for Mercedes-Benz selling cars until March of this year. Earlier this year, at the official GLK model training they actually spent 15 minutes to talk about Hyundai and how they're #1 at CSI (JD Power & Assoc. Customer Satisfaction Index) and how Mercedes was #9 (if I recall correctly). The Hyundai Genesis has Mercedes on its heels and worried that it's going to dip into their C-Class sales.
As nice as German cars are, they typically aren't problem free and can be quite expensive to fix (even VW's).

As far as GM goes; I think GM has delivered a sub-par product far too long and consumers are jaded. The Cash for Clunkers program sales results speak for themselves.

GM is a dinosaur and should be extinct.

Mark Reda

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Interesting and refreshing look at our egos. Our egos prevent us from doing a lot of fiscally responsible things...like buying a Hyundai, Honda or Kia.

I had a similar experience with a Kia a few years back. Apparently Hertz in Atlanta had secured a bunch of KIAs. Instead of getting the usual ugly full sized Ford or Chevy they gave me a KIA. I shuddered a little bit and drove off. It was a great car. Drove a bit like my Benz and had lots of options. Boy was I surprised. I was a bit embarassed by my elitism.

Rocky Del Balzo

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Hey Pat,

This year, my partner's Kia was totaled in a hail storm here in Austin. We bought a Hyundai Elantra and we could not be happier. While we were shopping, a Nissan sales manager tried to persuade us into changing our minds by saying "A Hyundai is not a Sentra". To which I replied "You're right. The Hyundai gets better ratings and has a much better warranty." He didn't like that very much. Truth hurts.

I always enjoy a quality product at a fair price. You're right. This is the era of value. I give away my tunes and also sell them for 69 cents/song. And by the way, I sell more music on my website and at itunes when I let people download my songs for free.

Not a shameless plug. I just felt the need to share, so I'll sign...

-Anonymous

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After reading your blog today, I am going to buy a new Sonata. These cars may be Korean, but they are made in the states for the most part. The South is the new Detroit. I live in Alabama now (left Nashville and the music Business). We have the Mercedes plant down the road. They make all the M,G and now C class here. Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan and BMW all have plants in the south east. The good ol' boy network in Detroit killed them selves. Between the unions and the greedy execs, they made a poor product that no-one wanted. They were so concentrated on their pay-checks that they lost touch with the consumer. Sound familiar?

Keep Preachin' Brother

Brian Henry

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My brother in law bought an Elantra about two years ago. He drives about 60 miles round trip to work everyday. The car has basically paid for itself already.

And my mother in law bought a Santa Fe last week. Beautiful car. Decent gas mileage for an SUV and $5k - $10k cheaper than the other SUV's in it's class. She actually sold her Lexus SUV for the Santa Fe.

Jeff Sackman

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As a frequent traveller I've had the "wow it's a Hyundai" experience myself. But here's what they did after the debacles around Eileen's car. They didn't try to convince anyone that the car didn't have problems. They went away, licked their wounds & came back with a better car, and a better car, and a better car. They listened & learned, then they put a 100K mile warranty because they knew that was the best way to rebuild customer confidence.

And they learned all this from the Japanese who 40 years earlier did the same thing. The running joke became the #1 selling car in the US. Hard work, a great product, an ear for critiscm and a belief in themselves.

But the labels aren't paying attention. They're got the same old car in a different color & they're trying to tell the public it's all new & everyone else is buying one so you should too.

I type this from my room at the Hard Rock Hotel which is not really hard rock or much of a hotel either!

Philip Barrett

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Pat,

With regard to the Hyundai - back in May, I was driving home from dinner on a trip to St. Martin with my friend and mother in our Hyundai Getz (compact) rent-a-car, when an SUV came up behind us, side swiped us and blocked our car with theirs. Three thugs jumped out and rushed the car and one opened my door which happened to be unlocked and tried to get in. My mother screamed and I threw the car into reverse and started driving with the door open to get around their car. I got back on the road and they caught up to us once again smashing into the back and the sides of the car, trying to disable the wheels, and at one point, hit us so hard that the car was pushed across to the other side of the road through bushes into a shallow ditch. The thugs came toward the car once again and I thought for sure the wheel was broken, but I had to try. The car miraculously was still able to go and I got back on the road. With the pedal to the floor and the wheel wobbling all the way, I skidded around the dark windy mountain roads until finally we came upon a good Samaritan sitting in his car who helped us, but not before the thugs caught up and smashed into us once more. The chase lasted about 20 minutes and I thought we were going to die at least three times that night, but I didn't give up, and neither did that little Hyundai. I will never judge the value of a Hyundai again.

With regard to the music industry, yes, time to rebuild. Music will always have value to fans, no matter how high or low the price, but shame on the Industry if it doesn't adjust to the current economic climate. Let me point out that Collective Soul's show at the Fillmore in NYC went for about $35 a ticket, and Lenny Kravitz's show at the same venue is going for $65 a ticket atthe same venue...does that mean that CS's music is less valuable because the tickets were cheaper? I think not. I'm a fan of both artists and I saw Collective Soul three times on this tour. I don't think I'll be seeing Lenny at all, just on principle. From my wallet - Collective Soul = +105, Lenny Kravitz = -65. Multiply that by every other music fan who thinks the way I do and it starts to add up...

Vanessa A. Ferrer

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My family including myself have been GM customers our whole lives. Once my third GM vehicle began falling apart after the warranty ended this past spring (paint peeling in the exact same spot on all four quarter panels, replaced a new head gasket at my expense at 3grand etc etc etc) I decided it was time to start looking for another GM vehicle. Why ANOTHER GM you ask...because GM was all I knew. I went back to the GM dealership I had bought my 2 previous vehicles from hoping they would cut me a better deal considering I had previously bought two brand new vehicles from them AND I figured they would cut me some slack because of the recent problems I was having with my vehicle (that I purchased from them) and I had expressed how UNHAPPY I was with my current GM vehicle. Long story short I figured they would give me a decent trade in on my vehicle so I could upgrade to a much more expensive vehicle (yup still willing to give them more money...much more, considering what I had my eye on). Other than the paint peeling on the quarter panels (which they could fix for next to nothing), and the fact I needed new breaks, my car appeared to be in mint condition. I have been meticulous in maintaining the exterior and keeping up with regular maintenance. They offered me a MAXIMUM of 1000 dollars for my car towards the 40 thousand dollar vehicle I wanted to buy from them. So basically they were saying the vehicle I spent 30 thousand dollars on 5 years ago at that dealership was worth NOTHING now and a was a piece of shit. At that very moment I WAS DONE with GM FOREVER!!!!

One week later I ended up buying the first vehicle I test drove (without test driving anything else)... a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD!!! Once i took it for a test drive my mind was made up in nano second (I was also a person that shit on Hyundai in the past). The price was right and they actually gave me 4000 dollars for my GM which was 3000 more than what the actual GM dealership was going to give me AND they gave me another immediate 4000 dollars off the sticker price without me even having to open my mouth. SOLD!!!! I have never been happier with a vehicle. Did I also mention 0% financing over 5 yrs and a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty?

As far as ticketmaster goes...there is ABSOLUTELY NO INCENTIVE in buying tix early for a show other than paying more money for the tix and getting shittier seats. I attended the SOLD OUT KISS show (I know Gene's your favourite) in Toronto last fri which was sold out the day tix went on sale. I checked on ticketmaster the day of the show and 4th row on the floor suddenly came available (which as you know typically happens as excellent tickets ALWAYS get released days leading up to the show). Instead of buying the tix on line and paying all of those wonderful "convenience" fees and service charges I went straight to the box office and purcahsed the same tickets...MINUS the 29.50 "convenience" fee PER TICKET. Yup I saved 60 dollars NOT using the "CONVENIENT" services of Ticketmaster.

P.S. Kiss is my favourite band but excellent job with putting Gene in his place at CMW. I have not heard a muttering about SIMMONS RECORDS since.

Mark Kniahnicki

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Hi Pat,

I am pretty new to your list, having been talked into joining by Christine Lavin after she played my venue in Portland, ME. (What a sweetheart!) I have been lurking in the background, reading and trying to pick up a few nuggets that might help my venue succeed in these tough times but have been reluctant to contribute...until now.

This last email meant a lot to me. I manage and book a small 200 seat venue in Maine. We have a great room, very intimate, great sound, with a friendly and comfortable environment. We have had our share of success and very slow times but one thing we have always stuck with is this - no additional fees for ticket purchases! If it says $20 on the website or the poster, it's $20 to get a ticket. No handling fee, no service charge, no BS venue fee.

Granted, we handle our own ticket sales through our website and by the phone and our costs are significantly lower than the big venues but the model is the same. Why do these charges exist? They are purely designed to rip a few extra bucks out of the consumer's wallet. They hope that when folks get far enough in the order process to see the actual cost, they will just suck it up and keep going.

If these fees are legit, then why not just include them in the ticket price, that is at least honest. Our customers really appreciate our policy and they let us know. They feel good about buying the ticket in the end because it's actually less than what they expected, because they expected some BS fee. We also do our best to keep the ticket prices as low as possible. Venues work on percentages, as we know, the higher I can make a ticket price, the more I can squeeze out of a show.

There have been times when I could have padded a ticket price for a sure sell-out show but we resisted. We want to present a fair price and provide a great night of entertainment. We are content with our profit, when there is one, and don't feel the compulsion to maximize it at the expense of our customers.

The industry has been pushing people for too long and it doesn't
have the legs to stand on anymore. People want honesty. They want to pay a fair price for a performance or a CD - get a good value. If you give them that, they will continue to support you. Well, at least I hope so.

I bought a Hyundai in 2001 - a little Accent. It was the first year they came out with a really good product. I am old enough to remember when they were the absolute worst car on the road but all of the consumer reports pointed me toward Hyundai. I took a chance and I am still driving my little Accent today. It is not fancy or flashy or particularly fast but, in 8+ years I have never had to make a repair on it that was not covered by the warranty other than routine maintenance. It still gets 35 MPG on the highway and drives like a little sports car.

I'd like to drive something new at this point but I have no reason to replace this car as it runs like a top and has been fully paid off for several years. Value. That word used to apply to every aspect of business in this country but has been sorely missed of late, particularly in this screwed up music business. So, leave it to the people. The people are smart. They want value and those that provide it will persevere. Well, at least I hope so.

From the front lines,

Tom Rota

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I am 56 years old. Until recently, I had been in the music business for my entire adult life - I have never had a full time job that was not music biz related. I have been to thousands of concerts - many that were free to me and many, many concerts that I paid for out of pocket. It is something I have always been a fanatic about and still love to do. I did not hesitate to buy tickets before I ever worked at a record label or later on when those much loved and sorely missed record company tickets were not available.

Unfortunately, the number of concerts that my wife and I go to has decreased significantly due to the egregious cost of tickets along with the ridiculous add-on fees. It is not that we cannot afford it but that we find it objectionable to go to a show that costs as much as airfare to Hawaii. So, we generally skip the big shows (mostly artists we love but have seen many times over the years) and pick and choose very carefully all the others.

As a caveat, I have to say that after all these years of shows we are spoiled and just a bit snobbish of where we sit. I don't want to be in the far corners of the orchestra nor in the upper realm of the balcony.

You recently wrote about tickets offered by Goldstar. Roger Daltry is a good example of a show we might have gone to see but chose not based on the prices. Then this morning I see the weekly email from Goldstar and suddenly those same said rear orchestra and rear balcony seats are available at half-price.

One has to wonder if this show had been properly priced to begin with would it have sold out without the indignity of having to sell the remaining seats at half-price.

pb

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yeh we've had bmw's for years - but only because robin's company pays for them, the gas and the maintenance.

they are a joy to drive - but good lord, yeh just the starting price. we just got the new 750li and it is quite an advance. nothing like it.

me, i just paid of my lexus sc 430 last year and will just drive it into the ground.

we are all tired of being fucked in the ass over everything - robin was bugging me not to shop at gelson's anymore - too expensive - well, guess what - yesterday went there - big sign out in the parking lot "see our new lower prices, hundreds of lower prices"

and at the greenday concert in San Diego - promoter's rep wandering around with a sandwich board sign on here saying KILLERS TICKETS FOR NEXT WEEK'S SHOW 20 BUCKS

It is a new era. The Great Gatsby time of our generation is fucking done.

Christmas sales are going to be horrific.

William Anderson

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Exactly. The music industry has a small window of opportunity to remain viable. I can pretty much download anything I want these days for free. But it takes time, and it can be frustrating dealing with dead links and trying to find a high quality copy. Of course, it still takes less time than it would take me to drive to 4 different stores trying to find the $18 disc. If the industry can make available high quality downloads at reasonable prices ($10 a record is not reasonable), I'm in. They can have my money. But technology is going to continue to improve to the point where I'm not going to have to deal with those dead links and poor burns anymore. If the industry waits too long, it will be too late.

James Filiault

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Hey Pat,

I'm from Mallorca, Spain, quite far to you guys but, on this particular article, i've felt quite identified... I am a big Muse fan, and when the new cd came out, i went and bought it... i am an Spotify user as well, and the whole album is there for you to listen, for free. Still i wanted to "own" the physical cd, part because of my supportiveness of the band, part because i wanted to see the artwork, the touch/feel experience of the music... it turns out that there are many different editions, being the least expensive 21 euros, that is, almost 30 bucks for a cheap piece of cardboard and plastic. Still i bought it, but, then is when i totally identified with your bottom line on this article, where was the value in this? Just because i am a fan, do i have to get ripped off, specially when it is to get something that's out there for free???

Cease to fool the fans and try to find a reasonable price where all parts win, and you might sell your cds, at least to those who still have an aim to own the actual format, not the music only.

regards,

Javier Ruiz

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Hi Pat,

South Korea is a great example of how Value works, but certainly not the only great Asian example. My Korean girlfriend, who had to move back home, introduced Me to a world of Value. All of it is predicated on various price points for similar goods, some knock offs, some high standard originals.

We're not hearing about the battles the Major Labels are having in Asia, as they've all but given up fighting P2P. The real sound recordings, as released by Majors, are pirated and sold within hours of street dates. Concert prices, however, have maintained their integrity.......surprisingly. Cheap sound recordings, but expensive Live shows.............and everyone lives with it.

As for the Cars.................they are principally valued by the exchange rate. As long as the value of the producing countries currency is kept low, they can pay their workers less, and sell competitively. Look for extremely aggressive trade tariffs, and massive problems with importing things We've come to Love.

We in North America have simply let our currency develop too much artificially created Value. Think of the U.S. dollar, valued at half of its current level, and then see where We would be shopping.

Randy Geider

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As long as you know the Korean mantra of merchandise/business is to take whole systems already in place, (Toyota, Mercedes SONY) and copy (rip off) them completely into a car that is made up of 6 different exact models from other sources. They "sample" good stuff and create a car that has no originality whatsoever, but that creates value , as you say..the result is fine(Jonas Brothers ...not Everley Brothers or Bee Gees).

Marty Simon

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Brilliant! Unfortunately the music industry still seems to subscribe to what that guy in the Nixon White House used to say (I think it was Charles Colson) "If you've got 'em by the balls, the hearts and minds will follow." Except they (the music industry) can no longer find the balls...

Brian Illes
Mechanicsville VA

Extra Credit Reading

Just want to hip you to this week's "New Yorker", the "Money Issue".

There's so much good shit here, I almost couldn't turn out the light last night.

Start with Tad Friend's article on Nikki Finke, "Call Me ” Why Hollywood Fears Nikki Finke". Not only are Ms. Finke's personality and working agenda delineated, you learn how the movie business truly operates. Stay in until Joel Silver leaks Joel Robinov's sexist comment and then says that maybe they both might have made it. Wow, such duplicity is not evidenced in the realm of ordinary households. When that executive lies to you, know that your mind is not playing tricks, it's truly an untruth. Like the President of a major label who told me the quote I read from a ubiquitous rock star in a London paper was untrue, even though, of course, it was real. Damn, if say it's so, it is!

When you're done reading about Ms. Finke, and her petty wars with Patrick Goldstein, who knew everybody took this stuff so seriously...

Oh wait, I almost forgot the most significant point!

It's not about movies.

One of Ms. Finke's favorites is "Legally Blonde".

Nikki doesn't care about movies, she cares about power.

And if you think David Geffen isn't all about power, read through to his quote. Wow. I can't tell you how many phone calls I've gotten from people wherein King David has...

So when you sit home and complain that the labels aren't about music and the movies suck, know that you're right!

Then read the story on Google.

I've got to quote this one passage, it's priceless:

"Diller was disconcerted that Page, even as they talked, stared fixedly at the screen of his P.D.A. 'It's one thing if you're in a room with twenty people and someone is using his P.D.A.,' Diller recalled. 'I said to Larry, "Is this boring?"'

'No. I'm interested. I always do this,' Page said.

'Well, you can't do this,' Diller said. 'Choose'.

'I'll do this,' Page said matter of factly, not lifting his eyes from his hand-held device.

'So I talked to Sergey,' Dillerr said. 'I left thinking that more than most people they were wildly self-possessed.' Later, Diller said, he came to think that what might be construed as rudeness was also purpose."

There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear. But nobody from the old guard, nobody with money, no one whose picture appears in the society pages of the "New York Times", treats Barry Diller that way. But Larry Page of Google did.

They say that the younger generation can't focus. Bullshit. They just don't want to waste time in a world where there's more information than you can ever graze.

And then there's David Owen's article on executive compensation. Turns out the expert, Nell Minow, says regulation is the wrong strategy. It's about shareholder power, to penetrate the CEO-controlled boards.

Whew!

The article about the guy who's got the market analyzed based on pi is fascinating too, and I've just started reading about Obama's economic advisers...

Pick up the physical magazine, it's the October 12th issue.

But you can read the Nikki Finke article online here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/12/091012fa_fact_friend

Whilst the public is entertained by the gossip circus, while people are anesthetized by TV, those in power rule absolutely. Read this issue of the "New Yorker" if you want to know how the game is played.

Value

I rented a Hyundai.

They pulled up this eggplant colored piece of shit, with the Coke-bottle flairs over the rear wheels, and I winced. A Hyundai? Wasn't there anything else?

This was it. I had already waited in line for twenty minutes at National where I am supposedly an Emerald member...crock of shit huh!!! This had just come in. Had just been cleaned. There were no other cars even though I had reserved a full size car.

So I got behind the wheel and took off down the expressway.

A thousand miles later, dropping off the car in downtown San Francisco, I regretted parting with it. I debated making an offer for the automobile right there. I'd become enamored of its purple color, had bonded with this machine with absolutely no rattles, great sound insulation, decent handling and phenomenal gas mileage.

That's right, a Hyundai.

I remember the early nineties, when my friend Julie bought one. For less than $5000. A true POS. With a carburetor after everybody had switched to fuel-injection. This rickety machine truly decomposed on the go. Parts were always falling off. It's a wonder she could drive it to the junkyard. Where it went, when its value had been used up, but long before the death of other cars born that year.

And when people started showing up in Santa Fes a decade and a half later, I thought they were just too cheap to buy a CR-V. Or a RAV4. That's how I knew someone was a cheapskate, if they bought a Hyundai. A Korean car?

But that was before Samsung became the new Sony. Before everything we thought we knew turned out to be wrong.

I drove BMWs for ten plus years. They are the ultimate driving machines, or one of them, but not only are repairs ultra-expensive, they're frequent. The purchase price is just the starting price. Budget thousands a year just for maintenance. And, if you read the car magazines, you'll see that they've had numerous problems with their BMW test cars, like engines seizing up. As for Mercedes... Great car, but they don't handle like a BMW. And if you're not looking for that handling finesse, maybe you should consider a...Hyundai?

Happened to me again in Denver. National once again. They were going to give me a HHR. I'd rented a Malibu, not bad, but I'm not gonna drive around Colorado in this miniaturized imitation panel truck from the thirties. No fucking way. Didn't they have anything else?

The clerk winked and said he could offer us a Hyundai...

SOLD!

That Sonata was smaller than the Azera I'd rented the previous fall, but just as lovable. I'm telling you, if my present car got totaled this afternoon, I'd buy a Hyundai. Why waste all that extra money on a shinier nameplate? It's just a car. And, unlike its American counterparts, Hyundai is more than a car, it's like a pet, it's adoptable, you fall in love.

I mention all this because my eyes bugged out when I read the sales reports. Yup, Cash For Clunkers ended, and sales swooned. The right wingers thought the program was a disaster, everybody worried about the future. You see GM's sales dropped 45% from September 2009. Chrysler was down 42.1%. The Japanese superstars? Toyota fell 12.6%. And Honda 20.1%. Granted, Ford only dropped 5.1%, and that's good, but in the entire top ten, only three automakers showed increases. The aforementioned BMW showed a slight uptick, of 3.6%. But the fifth largest automaker, Hyundai, sold 31,511 vehicles, a whopping 27.2% INCREASE! And its Korean brother, Kia, sold 21,623 autos, a 24.4% increase! HOLY SHIT!

Seems the brand is no longer tarnished. People don't think twice about buying a Hyundai. They want something good, at a fair price, and they're flocking to the Korean manufacturers.

What this means is it's never too late for the music industry to regain the hearts and minds of the consumer. But it must offer good products at fair prices.

Instead, the labels have been like GM. Help us out! Do something about file-trading! Meanwhile, the consumer doesn't want this overpriced Top Forty beat-driven crap. Not in quantity.

And concert tickets? I'd say they're at Mercedes-Benz level prices, but they're more akin to the numbers for Ferrari, or Rolls Royce. Maybe U2 and the Eagles can command such high prices, but most people can't afford them. And buying a concert ticket is worse than buying a car. With the Internet, you can now comparison shop for automobiles. The dreaded sales manager routine, the endless rip-off negotiation, has been to a great degree decimated. But who knows what the price of a concert ticket will be until you click through to the final Ticketmaster page. The add-ons are like undercoating and floor mats, shit you don't want that they insist you buy.

And I don't want to hear one more SOB say that lowering prices devalues the product, not one. People aren't resisting Hyundai's because they're too inexpensive. Hell, now Hyundai is marketing the Genesis, an almost as good Lexus/Acura/Infiniti for almost ten grand less.

This is the era of value. Rather than insist that the customer come up to your price point, come down to his. Meet him halfway. Show that there's a partnership, the same way Hyundai agreed to let you return your car if you lost your job. An idea so good, other manufacturers imitated it.

People are hurting. They want entertainment. But they feel priced out by the music industry. And they're sick of being screwed. Time to rebuild.

Remembering Richard L Johns

Talk about the week from hell. I made it through all the emotional turmoil of three suicides in one week. The killer emotional roller coaster was definitely Saturday when we laid down to rest my step son Richard Johns whose life was suddenly ended at his own hands. Rick was the son of my first wife Debbie and a first crack at fatherhood for me in my earlier years.

I lost track of him, as well as Debbie for many years until the day came when I met my first natural son Kevin also born to Debbie just a few years ago. The journey to the past brought visits with many that loved me in those days. The warmth of the day came from revisiting times of old. It amazed me at how comforting it actually was. I had not seen Debbie in 30 years. The day was celebrated with many memories of Rick. He was quite the amazing father himself. He left behind 3 children from 2 marriages. A little over a year ago he divorced his wife Jennifer, the mother of two of their babies. Apparently, that was a mess. The pressures of the times, the divorce conditions, the alimony, the child support, the physical sickness he endured, a house in foreclosure and other conditions brought about a mood that I guess he just didn't want to be here anymore.

Visiting, consoling, music and the like made the day as wonderful as the day could be considering the circumstances. It was a great feeling to support Kevin who was very close to Rick. Got to see my daughter-in-law Brenda and yup, that special little granddaughter of mine Kendra. I felt strong enough to strengthen Kevin for the loss. He was strong, although it was obvious, his real feelings were on the surface.

Then it snapped...the mood changed and the situation was a set of circumstances like I have never ever witnessed before in my life. I learned about Satan that day as well. I learned she had "boobs", and fake ones at that. OMG, the wrath of a woman, the ex-wife from hell. She decided not to go to the memorial service. I pondered that as I heard about it, the thought that it meant that Rick's children were not afforded the opportunity to say good-bye to their Dad, the lack of respect she displayed not being there and the obvious hate she had for Rick...and quite frankly, for life itself. Are you serious? What makes a person hate so much, gives a person permission to disrespect so much and even teach children this lesson? I was floored.

Brittany, Rick's oldest daughter from his first marriage was there despite this set of circumstances. She was amazingly strong, spoke of the joys, the pains and the love she shared with her father. A military funeral took place and the emotion of the flag being handed over to her was very emotional.

We all moved on to a reception dinner and Satan stepped up again. Now brace yourself for this one. Remember, earlier I had told you Rick's house was in foreclosure? My son Kevin, some of his friends and Brittany moved all of his furniture and personal belongings to a storage unit figuring that the Lender would be taking possession of the house sometime soon...a pretty normal thing to do, no? So Satan calls the police on the day of the memorial and attempts to have Kevin arrested. They actually called him at the memorial reception to warn him that they were coming to get him. They did come and Brittany indicated that she took all of the things, not Kevin, making it ok, as she is his daughter and lived in the house with Rick.

You are serious!!! This woman pulled all of this off with absolutely no remorse, paving her karmic road for the future. I have gone my way a few times in my life and have always, always been as loving as the day we fell in love, especially since children were involved.

I am reminded of many of my music friends that have been married and divorced several times with anger, remorse and even death. I am reminded of love lost that once was found. I am reminded that anger is Satan's greatest tool. I am reminded of how truly I am blessed to have been married to honorable women, all but one that is, that had the class enough to let us go with honor, in honor of the love we shared, rather than whatever it was that broke us up.

I highly encourage those of you that follow this blog that are friends of mine that complain about personal tragedy with their men or women to use this as a teaching moment... a moment that you cherish, rather than despise as did Jennifer. I leave with this major question. How, just how, can a love that is once found, be lost with such hate? How can you, as a woman bear children for a man, be one with one another at some earlier time, and justify such behavior?

And then, as my sixteen year old singing wonder Alexis says, "What About Me", you know, the child you both had together...in this case 3 of them. How will they fair through their life when they figure it all out?

Makes me really think about the words of my daughter Jenna when she first came to me concerned about the hurt she felt when I divorced her mother. It's now 14 years later and she still hasn't gotten over it and she was anxious to see the end of the current relationship. Paying attention to the things that really matter in life, might serve as a cool piece of advice for all of us...and you know how I am about children...it's the responsibility of all of us to protect them at all costs...and that includes "mental" abuse as this woman has laid down as part of her karmic debt.

As a Dad, it goes without saying that I was literally crushed, emotional and certainly hurt to see a son and even a step-son go through this horror. So I ran away again, after it was all over...and I am not telling where I am or when I am coming back. Ireland worked last round, but not this time. There is a favorite place somewhere in the US I love to be...so if you know me well enough, you know where I'm at...and if you're not busy come on down, but bring your swimming suits and a couple of guitars, cause I suck at guitar but I am writing on this occassion for sure.

The drag of it all, I knew something weird was coming from a recent reading from Anne in Ireland...and where is Carlos and Amanada through all of this? That mystery woman scared them off suggesting I was ready for my own credits in life...oh sweetie, how'd you get so smart? Thanks for being there in their place, because you truly were, way more than you know. Thanks to everyone of you that have been with me on this emotional journey. I have tried to respond to all of the emails I have recieved from all of you. I know I am loved and cared for...and I am so thankful for that, especially at this time.

Fireflies

Alanis Morissette via last.fm

I needed to take a shower.

Some things are immutable. You've got to show up for appointments on time. But I couldn't get up from the computer, I needed to hear "Fireflies" one more time. And then again. And again.

That's the mark of a hit record.

Not where it is on the chart, how many people have bought it, but whether your mood completely changes when you hear it, and what you desire most in life is to hear it again!

Driving on Pico I caught the tail end of the song on Sirius XM's "20 on 20". Reminded me of the old days, driving on the Santa Monica Freeway, pushing radio buttons, desirous of hearing "Sexual Healing" one more time.

One listen is almost enough. To make you want to hear it once more. Then, with each listen you want to hear it one more time. You play it again, getting into a trance. Kind of like Alanis Morissette's "Hand In Pocket", getting infected is worse than contracting swine flu. Better than any drug, a hit song will make you feel exuberant and alive, even if the rest of your life positively sucks.

It's not about the lyrics. Hell, you catch the lyrics last. But I love that he uses "bizarre", as in "my dreams get real bizarre". Don't yours? Happens all the time, you barely remember what happens, but you wake up off-kilter, positively alone except for the characters in your nighttime escapade who are too often fictional, or possess different personalities than the people with the same visages in real life.

Where does the magic start?

Sure, there's an ethereal intro, but it's not riveting.

Then there's that hooky groove, with the big bass beat, without sounding like what's on Top Forty radio, which is only groove, sans melody. This guy with a thin voice is singing up and down the scale, this is not a Timbaland production.

Then there are the strings! Brian Wilson knew the power of strings, they're not anathema to pop music, they're not inherently schmaltzy, they add meaning, and texture.

Then the processed vocals when the song breaks down, kind of like Steve Marriott in "Itchycoo Park", if Steve Marriott was a wimp.

Then, when the verse begins again, there's more in the track. The calliope-like sound brings in joy, those strings add counterpoint. The line about the disco ball warms you up, then the whole track comes alive, like a denizen finally awaking from a slumber.

Then, back into that verse groove. You may tire of counting sheep, but now you're fully enraptured, you've left the planet, you're in music wonderland.

"I'd like to make myself believe"

That this track will be inspirational, that it will cause the business to do a 180, that melody will return, that music will eclipse marketing, that a whole row of infectious tracks will come driving down the pike.

Doubtful.

But this guy did cut this wholly alone, in his basement. He didn't go on "American Idol", didn't need Kara DioGuardi to polish it into oblivion. All he needed was tools, to follow his muse.

I'd like to make myself believe that music this good doesn't need a major label to break through. That just putting it up online is enough to get you started. That appears to be the Owl City story, then again, who knows where truth lies.

But the truth is "Fireflies" is a freakin' great track. The best on the Owl City album, but not the only good one. Check it out:

http://www.owlcitymusic.com/home.aspx

Or: http://www.myspace.com/owlcity

Or, you can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-4ln_sXty0&feature=player_profilepage

Read the Owl City story here: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/59802492.html?page=1&c=y

Top Producer Leaves Legacy Behind

We laid Noel Taylor, a top producer and close friend of mine to rest today in Forest Hills, NY. Noel, burdened with the death of his son recently was on overload and took his life with an overdose of sleeping oills.

Together, over the years, we produced many sound tracks together. Noel, your spirit will be be missed. My heart goes out to you. Hopefully you will find the warmth of God wherever you are. Truly He will overlook this deed in favor of all the joy we brought to many with our music here on earth.

You will truly be missed by all of us. Travel safely in the hereafter and do drop in on me. As you know I am in routine communications with the other side. Your visits will be welcome to help me complete some of the unfinished work I have have the task of completing. I will look in on your daughter Rebecca every now and then to see to it that she makes it through this tragedy. She is a mess. Drop in on her, let her know, you have finally found peace. I love you brother.