For The Record- 16. March. 2024
Won't you show me something true today?
Welcome to another edition of For The Record, the weekly newsletter that brings the world of music news straight to your inbox. Part essay, part good old-fashioned link drop, this is a benefit for paid supporters of On Repeat.
On Repeat is 100% reader-funded. And as always, there are 7-day trials for anyone looking to test the waters.
This week, we’ve got news on Spotify, SxSW, Strictly Discs, and Spinal Tap.
All that and a LOT more, including the story behind Blister in the Sun, a cool airport exhibit, and saving a Deadhead bar in Byron, Iowa.
A quick bit of housekeeping before we get to it:
First, a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the reader survey so far. If you haven’t, please do so! It’s open for a few more days. Click here to participate.
One of the comments I received was a request to occasionally leave For The Record in front of the paywall, so in that spirit, this week’s is open to everyone.
Second, our annual sale is still going. There are only a few days left to take advantage of it, so don't wait!
📻📻📻
A little over two years ago, Neil Young gave Spotify an ultimatum, declaring, "I want you to let Spotify know immediately today that I want all my music off their platform. They can have (Joe) Rogan or Young. Not both." Young was protesting what he felt was Rogan’s amplification of life-threatening misinformation and Spotify’s platforming of it.
Spotify chose Rogan, Young pulled his music, and that was that….until now.
This week, Young announced he was returning to the platform. "Other music services [including] Apple, Amazon, Qobuz, Tidal... have started serving the same disinformation podcast I had opposed at Spotify," Young wrote on his website. "Because I cannot leave all those services like I did Spotify, because my music would have no streaming outlet to music lovers at all, I have returned."
Ok then.
It would be easy to point and laugh here; earlier this week, I posted on X Twitter that I was torn between a smug “I told you so" and a vague disappointment.
It was hard to see how this would ever last for the former. At the time of his exit, Young noted that Spotify represented most of his streaming income. That’s hard to ignore, even for the most principled among us. We all like money and making more of it. I get it.
Still, at least partly, the idealist in me held out hope. In a world where everyone seems to be chasing the same pennies, Young pulling a Bartleby and preferring not to was refreshing.
And it was a standoff Young was never going to win. Rogan was never going to leave Spotify, nor would Daniel Ek ever force him out. There were simply too many listeners and too much revenue in play. Young could claim a patch of moral high ground, but it would always be a pyrrhic victory. The same goes for listeners leaving the platform.
At the time, I noted:
It’s a noble move but an ultimately ineffective one.
Social Media was awash in #cancelSpotify posts. People worldwide were posting purported screen grabs of them canceling their paid subscriptions. Again, a principled move (assuming they did it). But a largely performative one.
The reality is that these cancels won’t amount to much more than a rounding error on the platform’s bottom line.
People love them some Neil Young. But more love Rogan. And even more than that, love Spotify. We love us some ease of access and scale. For better or worse, both are here to stay.
As much as I love to be right—and believe me, I do— on some level, I also hoped time would prove me dead wrong.
Young recently lost his last shred of leverage when Rogan’s show became available on other platforms, including the ones Young has kept his music on. When that happened, a pivot became too much to resist.
“My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did with Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.”
So now Young has decided that he’s made his point, and we’re welcome to start “Harvest Moon” or whatever again. Cool. But it’s hard to see this in anything but an economic light, especially since Young is now adding his hope that Spoitfy's “sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it.” Apple Music, TIDAL, etc., have offered lossless audio all along. Again, nothing wrong with that as long as it comes with a little intellectual honesty. Something I’m just not seeing here.
Hindsight and armchair quarterbacking are easy to do, but from this observer’s perch, Young’s mistake was a strategy that amounted to attacking free speech. Please do not “at” me about free speech not existing on private platforms/the internet. I know, and I get it. But in this context, it matters. Young wanted to silence Rogan and was willing to sacrifice a lot of access to his catalog (and money) to do it. Where he went wrong was his overestimation of the market to agree and/or follow him— listeners and musicians alike.
It's an easy shot to take when you’re in the rarefied air he occupies — less so for up-and-coming artists. That doesn't even take into account America’s addiction to the culture wars.
The bigger issue—and one I hoped Young would quickly adopt —was the question we still should be asking: Why did we let these platforms get this big in the first place?
Any artist can pull their work from Spotify, but what’s the alternative?
Where can they get access to an audience at the same scale? Yes, platforms like Tidal exist- and their pay-per-stream is higher than Spotify. But it’s a much smaller listener base.
This is akin to people screaming that they’re done with Twitter tweeting things like “FOLLOW ME ON GAB!” in all caps, only to realize that they’re going from a packed stadium to a dinner party.
And an often boring one at that.
Instead of these performative pulls of the exit handle, we should be working collectively to foster competition amongst platforms so that leaving one for another sparks meaningful change. Right now, the reality is that most people will go somewhere else to listen to Young and then come right back to Spotify for everything else.
And Rogan will keep right on doing what he does.
This is pretty much how it played out. Had Young taken this tack, I’d like to think things may have ended differently— or at least could’ve started moving that way. It wasn’t his battle alone to fight, but he wields a big influence. Used correctly, it could’ve been a catalyst for good. Instead, it amounted to, well, not much. The minute he made it a free speech issue, it was over.
A few people left ‘cause Young took a stand. A lot more simply went somewhere else to listen to his music and then returned to Spotify for everything else.
And now they won’t have ever to leave at all.
And now for some links:
Various Artists:
311 showed up on Tiny Desk on…3/11. You’d think the dad jokes would write themselves, but when something is too easy, it becomes paralytic.
Jittery White Guy’s 1000 Favorite Songs project is chugging along. This week, he’s featuring Pere Ubu’s ‘Waiting For Mary.’ I will never miss a chance to talk this band up or Cloudland, the record this track is on.
This is the band at their most accessible, but if they’re new to you, they are well worth the time/energy it takes to get into them.
“I was speaking with somebody once, who I had kind of met randomly, and who was also a musician, and they started saying how much they loved ‘Blister in the Sun,'” Gano says. “And he kept saying ‘And, you know what it’s about; everybody knows what it’s about.’ And I’m like, ‘Tell me!’ And he said, ‘Masturbation.’ And that was the first time I had ever heard that. And the song had been out for 15 years!”
Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano on the story behind ‘Blister in the Sun.’
Speaking of forces for change: When good people come together, extraordinary things can happen.
Neneh Cherry has a memoir on the way.
Obligatory Kylie content.
In case you weren’t already cynical enough, here’s some incredible “Hello, fellow kids” energy from a certain airline CEO at SxSW.
Incredible (in a good way): The Boss joins John Mellencamp onstage for ‘Little Pink Houses.’
My favorite record store recently opened early for a special occasion. This link goes to FB, but it’s pretty cool.
From the music/aviation Venn Diagram overlap: A new exhibit at SNA showcases Orange County’s musical legacy.
We lost Karl Wallinger this week. Many will remember him from his time in the Waterboys. That’s credit rightfully earned, but his World Party project was spectacular and overlooked. 1990’s Goodbye Jumbo record is an all-timer.
Erik Loomis visits the grave of Tommy Ramone.
Eric Carmen and The Gap Band’s Anthony Walker also passed away.
I’ll never be able to write enough explanations of how this thing works and be able to convince some people that I’m not bullshitting here, I get it. There’s just not enough words to make it clear enough. And I’m betting that I’m still going to get a few “But why don’t you…?” - in other words, someone might kindly be offering ideas as to how I can play “in their town.” I understand and am flattered, always, that people really do want to see me play, and I’m thankful for that, but maybe it would be less frustrating to just accept my description here, and that I’m not playing somewhere because I don’t like where you live.
Ahead of his upcoming tour, Graham Parker resurfaced this article on the realities of touring.
Speaking of tours, Sting will be heading out on tour this fall. 10cc, John Fogarty, American Football, and Weezer will also hit the road.
A trial date has been set for the murder trial of rapper Pop Smoke. Charges against three men acccused of stealing notes attached to the Eagles’ Hotel California have been dropped.
Pedal steel covers of Joy Division and The Cure? You bet.
If you know any drummers, make sure to check on ‘em over the next several weeks: Spinal Tap sequel begins filming.
Pavement fans got a 1-2 dose of goodness this week, with the band announcing a box set of 7” singles and this tour rider making the rounds on social media.
📻📻📻
AV Club:
📻📻📻
Got a hot tip, take, or news story? Want to see more/less of something in these weekly updates? Hit me up! My DMs are open.
Enjoy your weekend!
Drive South,
Kevin—
Great read as always. I love how balanced and pragmatic your reasoning is. What bothered me the most about Young's initial stance was the virtue signalling, and the "it's him or me" melodrama. You hit the nail in the head when you talk about competition. And I would add, not only in terms of platforms/channels, but audience. Young's miscalculation was thinking people would follow him blindly just because he is Neil Young. Trying to silence other voices is never wise. You just got to work harder so people listen to (and hear) you more, not stifle others who also have an audience and some leverage. Happy weekend!
Well, well, well, woulda ya look at that #1 song? Not my favorite 'mats song, but I'll take it.
RE: Mellencamp & Springsteen, I have been reading some grousing about how John appears disengaged, almost irritated, that he is performing. Not here, but there was a lot of fanfare around Springsteen stopping by while he was out running an errand for Patti.
When has John Mellencamp ever presented himself as Mr. Happy Go Lucky? And no one has ever called him a "ray of sunshine." He is, by his admission, his children's, ex-wives, bandmates, and friends, cantankerous (and that's being kind). That's part of who he is. You either appreciate it, or you don't. Let's not forget that the man's nickname was (might still be) "Little Bastard." And if you don't appreciate those things about him, I wouldn't suggest going to the show. He's an artist in every sense, and, ya know, maybe mustering the energy to play "Hurts So Good" for the billionth time may be challenging. That being said, his most recent setlist is pretty hits-heavy. His songwriting is Springsteen-adjacent... not his disposition.