Bob Lefsetz Nails It, Again!
The times they are a changing and oldsters are out of sync with the world today and how music finds an audience in these modern times.
By External Source
VIDEO
Promotes your own brand but gets no traction with others unless it goes viral, which is very hard to do and is usually based on a combo of infectiousness and a je nais se quois in the clip itself, like "Despacito." Just being on YouTube with millions of views does not mean anybody other than your fans is aware. Hell, there are tracks with 50 million streams on Spotify you've never ever heard.
So what we've learned is the oldsters, who grew up in a major label dominated world, have been left behind, and they don't even know it. When you hear septuagenarian David Crosby complain about streaming payouts know that most kids have no idea who that is, and their heroes are not complaining and are selling more tickets. This is akin to how the media missed Trump. The landscape changed, and everybody who'd been in the game forever thought they knew better and didn't.
Going forward it will be about being elevated by your culture. The noise will start in the community, will burgeon online and will be evident on streaming services. Hell, compare Spotify with Mediabase, radio is months behind and it will only get worse as terrestrial tightens up its playlists. Radio is selling advertising, the goal is to get you engaged and keep you there. Whereas streaming services don't care whether you listen or not, hell, it's better for them if you just pay and don't listen at all! – Excerpted from The Changing of the Guard, The Lefsetz Letter
