THEN
MTV was our national jukebox.
NOW
There is no national jukebox. There is no universality. Want everyone to know your name? THEN KILL someone. Making music doesn't lead to ubiquity.
THEN
Being on the cover of "Rolling Stone" meant you made it.
NOW
Being on the cover of "Rolling Stone" means you've already made it and the magazine is kissing your butt, your PR person negotiated interview parameters, all so they could sell more copies on the newsstand.
THEN
TV shows were on network and they were either hits immediately or canceled.
NOW
The best TV shows are on cable, and most take years to gain traction, as a result, there's little backlash. People don't complain about "Walking Dead," "Breaking Bad" or "Sons Of Anarchy," because they've earned their keep. Try to jam Lena Dunham down our throats and there's backlash. And backlash draws attention now, but burns your career our faster. Wanna last? Start slow.
THEN
Albums sold double digit millions.
NOW
You're lucky to sell one million. Except for Adele. Then again, isn't it interesting that she can sing and write. What a concept, TALENT!
THEN
CNN was on 24/7 and featured news.
NOW
There's little news on CNN and if you want to know what's happening, you go to the web. Hell, CNN's site is better than the channel!
THEN
You couldn't sell a record unless you had major distribution.
NOW
Anybody can sell a record. Don't be sour grapes. If you haven't made it, it's your fault, the barriers to entry are incredibly low.
THEN
The charts meant everything.
NOW
Charts are meaningless. Then again, youngsters don't care about who's winning, only who THEY'RE interested in.
THEN
David Bowie comes back and he's not only in the press, he's all over MTV and the radio and he has a hit with "Let's Dance."
NOW
David Bowie comes back and he's not on the radio and there's no music on MTV and he doesn't have a hit.
THEN
Rap was a view from the street.
NOW
Rap is a view from 36,000 feet, outside the window of a private jet.
THEN
Honesty was in rock.
NOW
Honesty is in country.
THEN
Musicians were leaders.
NOW
Musicians are followers.
THEN
You discovered new acts when they opened for your favorites.
NOW
You discover new acts at festivals, you don't even bother to get there in time to hear the opening act at a regular show.
THEN
TV networks had 90+% of the audience.
NOW
TV networks have less than 30% of the audience.
THEN
Only insiders knew who ran record companies.
NOW
The execs are more famous than the acts.
THEN
The key to success was a good manager.
NOW
The key to success is a good manager.
THEN
It was all about the album.
NOW
It's all about the single.
THEN
The radio was the tribal drum.
NOW
The mobile phone is the tribal drum.
THEN
You could see upcoming bands in clubs.
NOW
Challenged record companies have stopped supporting clubs so it's difficult to see new acts at a fair price in an intimate setting. Oh, you can go see crap acts at a cheap price in an intimate setting, but who has that much time to waste?
THEN
Radio was the filter.
NOW
There is no filter.
THEN
Jimmy Iovine was all about the music.
NOW
Jimmy Iovine is all about the money.
THEN
You salivated over magazines and fanzines, which there were not enough of.
NOW
You rely on websites, of which there are far too many, almost none of them of high quality.
THEN
Record reviews mattered.
NOW
Record reviews are irrelevant.
THEN
You were thrilled to be inside the building.
NOW
You can't stop bitching about security, the seats, and the lines at the poor, overpriced concessions.
THEN
You came home from the gig and told everybody about it the next day at school.
NOW
You're at the gig and you tell everybody about it from your phone.
THEN
You didn't think your opinion was universal and deserved to spread.
NOW
You're pissed if you don't have millions of followers.
THEN
It was clear who had talent.
NOW
Everybody thinks they have talent.
THEN
Stars were in bed with their fans.
NOW
Stars are angry with their fans, pissed that they're stealing their music and won't buy their crappy albums.
THEN
Music was expensive and everybody had little of it.
NOW
Music is cheap and everybody has more than they want.
THEN
People wanted your free music.
NOW
People don't want your free music, hell, they've got the music of superstars free on their computer!
THEN
Facebook was cool.
NOW
Facebook isn't cool. If bands can fade, why can't websites?
THEN
You spent hours downloading music from P2P services.
NOW
You just watch what you want on YouTube. Just like the deficit, piracy in music is a red herring. It's just too much effort. The reason you can't sell your music in prodigious amounts is it's just not good enough, not enough people care. When we had limited options and unlimited time we were interested in your substandard work, now with unlimited options and little time we are only interested in the very best.
THEN
The A&R man said he couldn't hear a single.
NOW
There is no A&R man, none with any signing power.
THEN
The record company was the bank.
NOW
The concert promoter is the bank.
THEN
Videos were expensive and mattered.
NOW
Videos are cheap and matter.
THEN
You had to wait hours for your favorite video to come up on MTV.
NOW
You dial up your favorites on YouTube and listen to them whenever you want, as many times as you want…but you must still endure the commercials.
THEN
You didn't have time for TV because you were listening to music.
NOW
You don't have time for music because you're watching TV.
THEN
Movie stars wouldn't appear in TV series.
NOW
Movie stars are eager to appear in TV series.
THEN
Record companies were cool.
NOW
HBO and Showtime are cool.
THEN
Documentaries were rare, you went to the theatre to see them.
NOW
Everybody's got a documentary and you can watch them all online but you don't want to, because you haven't got enough time.
THEN
The man wasn't to be trusted.
NOW
Where do I sell out?