Always a great READ!! Bob Lefsetz McGuiness could never break another hit act. Thats the mark of a great manager, the ability to do it more than once. One of the best managers most people have never heard of? Gary Borman. He built Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban, and knows its whos onstage who counts, not the genius behind the curtain. Thats the downfall of the music business, the belief that suits count more than artists. Blame Clive Davis. Blame Tommy Mottola, who eclipsed him. Today if youre not famous you dont count. Only thats untrue. If you need a public victory lap to rationalize your life dont become a manager, a thankless job to begin with, although sometimes financially lucrative. Credit Paul McGuinness with building U2. But nows a good time to get out. Because the band is at a crossroads. It took all the money out of the market with a multi-year stadium trek, and without a hit single, it will probably never be able to tour at this scale again. Hits. Thats what U2 is dependent upon. If it wants to keep the mantle of the worlds greatest rock and roll band, which it sole from the Stones decades ago, even if Mick Jagger doesnt know. But rock is dead. At least on Top Forty radio, where hits are made. Whats a poor boy to do? Become a VC, like Bono did with Roger McNamee and Elevation. Or try and save the world, which Bono is also doing. But if he wants to stay a relevant musician, thats a much harder goal to achieve. But hes got Guy Oseary in his corner! To believe Guy Oseary is a great manager is to think Cliff Burnstein can front a band and Irving Azoff can play in the NBA. What Guy does best is get into the head of Madonna and make her believe hes indispensable, which hes not, Madge has had a series of managers since she broke through, even the aforementioned Mr. Burnstein, who helped her stay relevant with Ray Of Light. But Madonnas relevant no more. Pains her, but athletes retire. And in music, the game changes. Its less about age than fads and desire and other elements elder people just cant keep up with, who oftentimes look bad trying to keep up with. Its like seeing your mom in skinny jeans, even worse, guys with toupees. If youre not willing to admit your age, youre gonna have a hard time in popular culture. And so often music is youth culture. And you can tour to your core, but as you age that core cannot fill stadiums, not usually. What were seeing here is a generational transition. And Im worried that U2 is playing with the B team. If you know McGuinness, hes a force of nature. Someone whos all what hes promoting 24/7. Its not easy to find someone like that, who lives and dies for you. Hes essentially Colonel Parker, but with a fairer deal and a worldwide viewpoint. In other words, no ones gonna care as much. So U2 has lost its rudder. And although Arthur Fogel is brilliant at what he does, one of the absolute best, U2s problem is not touring financials so much as creative issues. They need Cliff Burnstein. Or the equivalent. Someone with vision who will argue with them. Because theyre in a crisis. As for Madonna... Shes so over the hill she doesnt realize it. Shes chasing what once was, poorly. Shed be better off admitting shes done and establishing a residency in Vegas. But the moment she ceases to believe shes relevant is the moment Madonna dies inside. Thats her hunger, to always be on top. Its a fascinating movie to see her descend. Arguing with Lady Gaga? So its sad. To see our heroes lose their individuality, just like the concert promoters before them. The best label in the world is XL. Because its fiercely independent. Martin Mills doesnt ask his boss before he goes on the record, there are no public shareholders, Richard Russells only goal is to make great music, thats not repetitive. Unlike U2, which is hiring producers du jour in a desperate effort to have a hit. And the only person who seems to be able to deliver those hits these days is Mr. Russell. Who makes you think about where his productions are coming from. Even Rick Rubin has lost the thread, his hit ratio is way down. Music has always operated best when unrestricted. When those involved were free to reinvent the wheel at their leisure, to test limits, be offensive and charm us all at the same time. Tying up with Live Nation is no different from selling out to Google or Microsoft. Where youll get paid, but youll lose control, happens every day, the founders get frustrated and leave, and their products often go into decline. But music is not a product. When done right its not evanescent. It pricks our hearts and stimulates our brains and makes us believe life is worth living. Bono once had that power. Hes sacrificed it. So goodbye eighties rock. And goodbye eighties pop too. Were in a new era, where the most stimulating productions emanate from bedrooms, get traction on YouTube and are shared virally by the general public. Theres business and theres music. Business aint bad. But musics in sad shape. Because everybodys looking to sell out. But true artists just want to get in. By doing it their own way. Leading generations away from the powers-that-be to the promised land. Gene Simmons may be all about money, but great artists are not. Theyre about music first. Bonos lost the plot. Madonna too. Im stuck in the middle with you. -- Visit the archive: lefsetz/wordpress/ -- twitter/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, lefsetz/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, lefsetz/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=1ff0b777cd39bc38a849fc5d98dd7c76 To change your email address lefsetz/lists?p=preferences&uid=1ff0b777cd39bc38a849fc5d98dd7c76
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 19:37:47 +0000
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