meta-roj

doing a little scratching around the surface, i get the distinct impression that the recently-pass “medicaid prescription health benefit” is a great example of betting on stupidity.

if you’ve been with me for a while, you know i don’t think that’s a great plan for business – does it still work in politics?

will the electorate recognize it before the next election? “you’ve been had” is a pretty functional soundbite, but it really takes more than that to realize just how had we’ve been.

i’ve tinkered with the high end of the music business here, but it’s really not my thing. that said, it’s foolish to ignore the rareified air and amazing dollars floating around up there, and one thing tim oren and i agree on is the cultural significance of these pop stars.

but today (well, yesterday), the new york times shares the missy [elliott] methodology. today we have a third-party comment on a second-party analysis of a pop phenomenon’s formula for success, so the margins of error are, well… grand.

that said, since there is no perfect model, this model has demonstrated success for at least one performer, so it’s worth taking a peek.

lay on the plan

we introduce the plan, in five simple life-changing steps. you can do this easily in just 1440 minutes per day!

step 1: get help
step 2: get into the grooves
step 3: get nasty
step 4: get ripped off
step 5: get over yourself

(you can count out this plan on just one hand. and it works!)

get help

the times article talks about musical collaboration, but i want to take this a couple steps further. nobody can do it all. most bands wouldn’t switch-up their instruments on every gig – sure, your guitarist might be functional on drums, but you got a drummer for a reason. specialization is valuable. consider the variety of skills and talents it takes to make a living in this business of music. embrace the philosophy and realize that you may be a great singer, but if you’ve never managed to balance a checkbook, it’s time to ask for help.

musical collaboration is a great thing (and something i definitely encourage), but that’s just not taking this point far enough. get help. lots of help.

get into the grooves

singles. singles. singles. i talked about it in here, and it’s come up before, but it’s about infecting brains with a single track. for some performers (and this model isn’t for them), a concept album is important – for some it’s critical.

what counts is breaking the ice on that relationship with your audience, and the tool you have to do that is your song. so make it count. make it good. polish it up and practice it and take it to the next level, and then find a way to get it into the ears of your potential fans.

get nasty

controvery helps. at the very least, it gives your audience something to talk about. prince knows it. missy knows it. push boundaries and challenge people. innovate. you may chase off the casual fans – and that’s ok. what will keep you eating better than ramen is the fans that connect with you on a deeper level – the ones that stay with you for years.

get ripped off and
get over yourself

these really overlap a lot for me. embrace your fans even if they are other musicians. take this all the way back to “step 1” and turn it into an opportunity to collaborate.

stay true to yourself and your art, and don’t lose your head (you aren’t all that)

that wasn’t so hard… now get out there and work it!

the new york times is reporting (and others are too) that roy disney has resigned from the board of the company his uncle founded. i’ve often said that uncle walt probably wouldn’t recognize the company that disney has become – and that is a sad comment. on his way out, roy sent a letter to ceo michael eisner calling “once again” for his resignation.

the purported text of this letter is included in the extended post. roy has requested that the text of his letter be published, so there’s every reason to believe that i have found the actual text – that said, watch for the official version in an upcoming disney 8k.

i do want to emphasize a few points from mr. disney’s letter – things that i consider important lessons for businesses in general, and not just mr. eisner.

point #3:

you have tried to build parks “on the cheap” and they show it and the attendance figures reflect it.

point #4:

The perception by all of our stakeholders — consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers — that the company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the “quick buck” rather than long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust.

point #5:

The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee

if disney can screw these up, anyone can screw these up. there is a high burden on public companies to set and meet expectations (and this is a subject i should expand on in some detail someday), and those expectations often drive good companies to flirt with (or even fully embrace) evil.

i’ve mentioned it in the past, but (it’s worth beating the dead horse) banking on stupidity is a bad long-term plan. some of us will eventually figure it out or see through your illusions. and those of us that do are, today, empowered to share that insight with the entire planet.

disney should be thinking in the long-term. it’s in a unique position, as a company, to focus on the long term, because it’s got amazing assets and a legacy that could carry it past quarterly paperwork.

with this resignation (and a few other maneuvers on the board at disney), it will be interesting to see if the company finds its soul again and gets back to the business of creating a wonderful experience for people, or if the track that eisner is on drives the company all the way to the dark side.

the edges are fraying at disney – and this peek inside isn’t very pretty. i hope by the time we thaw uncle walt, the disney corporation is recognizable once again.
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