Friday, November 30, 2007

James Taylor/Carole King at The Troubadour

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an intimate performance by James Taylor and Carole King performing together at The Troubadour here in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. It was the first show of the evening that is slated for two performances a night over three nights. It was amazing to see two of the most talented songwriters and performers in music sharing the same stage in such an intimate setting backed up by Russ Kunkel (drums), Leland Sklar (bass) and Danny Kortchmar (guitar). It is in these settings that I see the magic of music being created that I have based my new business model over. There are abundancies of these types of magic happening on stages all over the world every evening that I find are untapped to the consumer based on either geographical or time limitations. I will explain more later but my mission is simple;

To connect people to live music.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Younger Guard

Howie Klein, former President of Reprise, responds to Doug Morris's interview in Wired here As a former A&R person, had I continually missed on opportunities on artists that touched the commercial masses I would have lost my job (fired by someone like Howie, although I never worked for him). By his own admission, he failed to execute on what could have been a industry saving "catalyst" due to corporate "experts"? As more and more of these guys get out the first thing you always hear is that it was someone else's fault (except for all those records that touched so many people, that was solely due to them).

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Old Guard

I used to work for Doug Morris at Atlantic Records. In fact it was Doug who gave me my first A&R job for which I am indebted to him for. But as much as I admire Doug as a record man, this current article in Wired here really makes him look as though his time has passed. I think much of the same can be said of the others who hold court over the record labels as well. As the business of selling cds continues to diminish and their inabilities to adapt and adopt new technologies, the audience for their paradigm has moved on. The question is, have they also left the music behind as well?

Monday, November 26, 2007

Why Blog Now?

I have been in or around the business of music for almost 30 years. From a kid working behind the counter at the local mall's record store in Iowa to being a successful A&R executive at both Warner and Sony, I have been very fortunate to have a front row seat watching the power of music and the affect it has on individual emotions to the large media organizations capitalistic demands. I just feel compelled now to share some of my own thoughts and actions to what I believe this industry will look like moving forward. Because the industry as I knew it is GONE. May it rest in peace!!!!!