If Anyone Still Cares About Journey

[jrnyman28]

Rick Rubin is now the head of Columbia. Columbia, Journey's old label. Rick is known for revitalizing careers. He also seems to have a lot of ideas about the future of the music business. Read this article Rick Rubin The Music Man Very interesting if a bit long.

If Journey could figure out their singer issues and their direction then maybe this could be the guy...

[Andrew]

Rubin/Columbia would only want Perry back. So that's a closed door.

[jrnyman28]

I understand. I didn't really think it WOULD happen, but if the band were to figure out their lead singer deal (which could mean Perry, as unrealistic as that is) something might excite Rick. Still, thought the article was very cool...

[Rockindeano]

Rubin/Columbia would only want Perry back. So that's a closed door.

Dude, stop typing what I am thinking. I had, ready to go, this exact same statement. Rubin would probably want a perry guarantee, but I am wondering had he taken a chance on Soto? A lot of key music people were so so on Jeff, but came around to him after meeting him and seeing him live.

[jrnyman28]

but I am wondering had he taken a chance on Soto? A lot of key music people were so so on Jeff, but came around to him after meeting him and seeing him live.

That's what I meant when I thought something could excite Rick...

[brywool]

Rubin/Columbia would only want Perry back. So that's a closed door.

Dude, stop typing what I am thinking. I had, ready to go, this exact same statement. Rubin would probably want a perry guarantee, but I am wondering had he taken a chance on Soto? A lot of key music people were so so on Jeff, but came around to him after meeting him and seeing him live.

Probably would've taken Jeff, but I bet they'd make the band change the name.

[EightyRock]

If they would have changed the band name when they started out sans Perry, that might have allowed them to step out of the greatest hits coffin. It could have still had the name Journey in it, but not JUST Journey. IMO, they boxed themselves in. No record label will want them at this point. The lead singer mess is probably a joke and gets alot of laughs in the industry. They're done, whether they know it or not.

[CatEyes]

my fave bob lefsetz has much to say on the Rubin situation ...... http://www.lefsetz.com

This is from yesterday's email regarding the NYT article:

Quoting David Geffen... That's how you know a piece is irrelevant. Even if the
old man came across as pretty wise. I mean didn't David Geffen FAIL in the
modern music business? As well as the modern FILM business? And THIS is the
guy you quote? Maybe if Lynn Hirschberg had quoted the kid on the street,
someone we hadn't heard from before, instead of referencing a FOCUS GROUP, we
might have cared.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the article. Well, the first half. Wherein
they spoke about how the record business is FUCKED! I haven't seen so much
ENGLISH in the "New York Times" previously. But I couldn't stop scratching my
head and wondering what the fuck Rick Rubin was DOING at Columbia. I mean if he
really wanted to revolutionize the business, make a difference, would he have
taken a job at a MAJOR LABEL? You know he did it for the check.

He doesn't go to the office. Yup, that's gonna work, an absentee executive.
I'm not saying he SHOULD, just that this begs whether he's the RIGHT GUY!
Imagine a sports team, the Yankees, with an absentee MANAGER! Yup, play really
hard in center field while Joe Torre contemplates the game at home. He's
thinking really hard. He doesn't like to wear a uniform. But he cares. Huh?

So Steve Barnett is in the building. Isn't this like saying the THIRD BASE
COACH CAN RUN THE TEAM? You don't want someone who's officious, who can make
the trains run on time, but a personage who is an INSPIRATION!

Rick Rubin might be an inspiration to artists. But a business man? Isn't it
Def Jam that sold for all that money, not AMERICAN? And if you listen to the
Black Crowes, American's biggest act ever, they give Rubin NO CREDIT! And isn't
being a record exec first and foremost about FINDING TALENT? Sure, a great
producer makes a huge difference. But you can't polish a turd. You've got to
START with a rough diamond!

As for a new office... An expensive one, at that. Why don't you explain to
your acts, who you make record at home on Pro Tools, why you have to blow all
this money. These same acts who you don't pay royalties. Yup, that's what I DO
when I'm in a financial bind. Buy a new chair, a new car. Because if I FEEL
good, I DO good. HUH?

And wait a second, I thought Rick Rubin didn't go to the office anyway. If they
make it a pooh-bah pad, WILL HE? And will they hire enough execs to FILL the
building, unlike at Colorado Avenue?

Utterly ridiculous. A big time exec told me he could run his label group with
independent contractors. A la Silicon Valley. With only a small cadre of
full-time employees. I don't know if this is right, but at least he's THINKING!
What is Rick Rubin doing here?

Oh, Rick's made some great records. Brought some acts back from the dead. Made
a second-rate act, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, into a front liner. But if being
a producer qualifies you to run a label, fine arts majors would run America's
biggest corporations. Steve Jobs doesn't hand the reins of Apple to Jonathan
Ive, and if he did, his board would go fucking NUTS! But who is the Sony board?
Who DO these guys report to? Or is it just brother to brother, Stringer to
Stringer.

Rubin ends up looking like a spoiled kid, frustrated that he can't effect
change. Shouldn't that have been part of the deal? That he wouldn't take the
gig without monetized P2P?

But that's just the point. That WAS in the article. The labels are afraid that
although licensed P2P might SAVE them, it might KILL them too. That they might
give away the store, kill the recorded music business. They don't want that
blood on their hands, so they won't change, or will do so slowly. It would be
like Microsoft not creating Explorer, not competing with Netscape, saying the
Internet is a newfangled fad.

There IS a crisis. The major labels ARE making music free. They WILL be sold
to the highest bidder for a pittance if they don't solve their problems. But
the way out isn't hiring an iconoclastic, bearded guru, but by changing the
INFRASTRUCTURE! Changing how they distribute and CHARGE!

But change can't happen. Because instead of having student interns, young
people have got to WORK at the label. And the labels have fired not only the
youth, but everybody who does the day to day work. All they've got is
executives. So, Columbia has brought in someone hipper. This is like Apple
bringing in Gil Amelio. It's not ENOUGH!

And maybe you don't know who Mr. Amelio IS. That proves the point. The old
business is dead. Mourn no more. The new will be built not by old farts, but
young 'uns fully familiar with tech. Oh, they're not like their parents, they
don't think everything in life should be free. They're CAPITALISTS! But, if
you don't respect them, they'll rob you blind.

The youth come up with Facebook. Columbia comes up with Rick Rubin. Where
would YOU put your money?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magaz ... ref=slogin

Never at a loss for words, this is from today's email:

I don't get it. If kids aren't listening to radio and MTV plays no music and
CDs are dying, what exactly does an act need a major label FOR?

They want a percentage of touring revenue. But what are they giving up in
return?

Cash?

So, you need to give up a huge chunk of your upside so that execs can blow it as
they play hedge fund wannabes?

Credit hitsdailydouble, but did you READ Austin Scaggs' bit on Lyor Cohen?
(http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/i ... ames-blunt)

If what I'm getting for giving up so much of my income is the ability for you to hype the scion of a has-been rocker by giving him the keys to the castle for the weekend, COUNT ME OUT! There are better ways to spend money. Like taking care of your EMPLOYEES instead of having them constantly walking on hot coals, believing they're gonna be fired any minute.

Look at the major labels... The A&R is being done by lawyers. These same lawyers and independent contractors could feed someone else with money. Someone more in touch with TODAY! Who wouldn't blow all their income and deliver meager results.

Who says the major labels have to be in control of music in the future? Isn't this like saying GM should rule the auto world? After making inefficient SUVs and being trumped by the Japanese? The Japanese companies made cars that didn't
break, with good gas mileage. Instead of focusing on the bells and whistles, they put all their energy into substance. How the car actually drove. Isn't it funny that Toyota is poised to be the biggest car company in the world?

Don't ask what can be done to save the major labels, ask what they can do for YOU! And reading the Rick Rubin article, it appears very little.

Want to sell your music online and get paid? You don't need the major label, you can use Tunecore, the Orchard or CDBaby. And make MORE!

Want to get on the radio? Well, do you make the kind of music that's PLAYED on the radio? If you're a no-talent wannabe, who needs publicity to get noticed as you sell singles and never generate any touring income, the major label is FOR
YOU! Out of touch, generating heat in the dying world of mainstream media. But, if you're anything but a Top Forty popster, you can't GET ON THE RADIO! Not in any way that generates significant returns. And is it worth paying the
labels for the slot? You can use indies, who will gain in power as the majors decline, or admit to yourself that NO station will ever play your music and save your cash.

Or maybe you need the label's ONLINE STREET TEAM!

Do you send money to Africans? Do you buy penny stocks on the advice of strangers? Are you a FUCKING IDIOT? ANYBODY can tell when they're being hyped. Our shit detectors are BUILT IN! Sure, word of mouth is king, but from people we TRUST! Not the paid hypester who enters our forum and tries to sell us on a new act in such a bogus moonie manner that even a child knows the jig is up.

Did anyone say SPAM?

I'm still trying to figure out what the major label gives your average credible act. Want to use Rick Rubin to produce your record? You don't even need to be SIGNED to Columbia, his deal's not exclusive. Come to him with the cash and a
story and you can use him too, without giving up all the ancillary bullshit.

Want to get in a commercial, on "Grey's Anatomy"? You don't need a major for that either. Indies have entered the field, and a lot of these shows want HIP acts, which means NOT ON A MAJOR LABEL!

If you're looking for easy answers, maybe you're tempted by the major label deal. But really, it's like joining a cult. Giving up all control to an out of touch entity who tells you how to act. It's scarier to forge your own way. But
it's the only true way out of the wilderness.

The old guard is stumped. If radio is dead and MTV doesn't play any music and you can't hype shit, HOW WILL THEY BE SUCCESSFUL?

Do you want to put your career in the hands of THESE people? So out of touch? Jim Guerinot fought with Columbia to give away an Offspring track online seven years ago. Now, finally, in 2007, Columbia allows Springsteen to give away
"Radio Nowhere". So who's smarter here? Jim or the Columbia brass? Who should you trust?

You need a quarterback who's not guaranteed a salary, but a manager, who's HUNGRY! Whose livelihood DEPENDS on your success. Someone who doesn't manage EVERYONE who NEEDS you to hit. That's motivation for you.

What's Lyor Cohen's motivation? Hell, he's seen enough hit records. He's rich enough. He wants to go to the society ball. Russell Simmons is a self-help guru. They've all jumped the shark, to use a burned-out expression.

You need HUNGRY people. Who don't want to take most of your upside with only a PROMISE in return. People who can see the new world. Not labels who don't even let you OWN your music and tell you how to make it and what you can do with it.
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

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Please to enjoy.

Cat

[Matthew]

Rick Rubin is now the head of Columbia. Columbia, Journey's old label. Rick is known for revitalizing careers. He also seems to have a lot of ideas about the future of the music business. Read this article Rick Rubin The Music Man Very interesting if a bit long.

If Journey could figure out their singer issues and their direction then maybe this could be the guy...

What a great article. Thanks for posting it. God...I wish Rubin could whip Journey into shape....