Deja Vous? I hope not...(Michael Jackson / Anna Nicole)

While the world awaits the coroner's report on the death of Michael Jackson, and the cause of his death is purely speculation, details that are coming out in the media seem all too reminiscent of the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Whether that turns out to actually be the case, we do know that Michael Jackson struggled with addiction to painkillers...which is enough, IMHO, for a bit of reflecting on the care (notice I did not say "handling") of addicted clients.

On Friday, February 09, 2007 on this very subject. I wish I'd never have to repeat it again, but maybe it might help someone.


Did Hollywood Kill Anna Nicole Smith?

While the definitive cause of Anna Nicole Smith’s death probably won’t be in for weeks, regardless of the autopsy result, anyone who saw her recent interviews on Entertainment Tonight could see she was obviously impaired by substance abuse. (When someone’s eyes are going in two different directions…) So, I’d like to talk about the addicted celebrity client.

Did Hollywood kill Anna Nicole Smith? Speaking as someone who grew up around chemical addiction in a small-town, non-showbiz family, I really don’t think so. I think the addiction gene or addictive personality (whatever your belief happens to be about the root cause) is either there, or it isn’t.

But, also speaking as someone who’s been in the role of agent, artist manager, and prior to that, as personal assistant, do I think Hollywood contributed to the death of Anna Nicole Smith? Absolutely.

When you have people making money from whatever the celebrity’s status quo is at a given moment, someone in the mix will have an interest in keeping the celebrity in that money-making status quo…Even at the risk of a self-destructive celebrity. (The same status-quo dynamic happens in non-showbiz families too, by the way, but because the motivation is usually more about fear of change than about big money, it’s less overt and is more subconscious.)

It comes down to the kind of people the celebrity surrounds him or herself with. If a celebrity with an addictive personality (or the addiction gene) is surrounded by “yes” people who tell them what they want to hear, that celebrity is going to be in trouble.

I’ve heard some managers and agents say, “It’s none of my business.”

I disagree. It is their business, and getting help for a troubled client is part of being a good manager or agent.

If you work in the industry long enough, you see first-hand that creativity is often borne of pain, and that many clients had troubled childhoods or estranged family relationships and seek fame as a way to fill a void. So to make money off that client and then ignore their need for professional help when that pain (or the attempted numbing of it) gets out of hand is not only irresponsible, it’s inexcusable.

If you have signing privileges (i.e., power of attorney) and can sign your clients’ name on contracts, it’s your business. If you travel in the immediate vicinity with your client (reports say at least 6 people were staying at the hotel with Anna Nicole Smith) or are privy to the details of your clients’ day to day life, it’s your business. If you have keys to your clients’ home, it’s not only your business, you have no excuse not to get them off to rehab ASAP. More than once if necessary.

(And I’m talking hard-core, real-deal rehab like-Betty Ford or Hazelden…not Rehab Lite.)

I’ve heard a lot of people comparing Anna Nicole’s death to that of Marilyn Monroe. I disagree with that as well. Marilyn died in 1962, pre-Betty Ford Center, when very little was known about addiction or even about the addictive nature of some of the prescription medications she was taking.

This is 2007, and we all know better.

Meanwhile, the headlines surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith are getting stranger by the minute…The latest, courtesy of MSNBC, is that Zsa Zsa Gabor’s 9th and current husband, Prince Frédéric von Anhalt, says he could be the baby’s father. And it gets even more bizarre: In his press conference today, Prince Frederic (who allegedly essentially bought his title) said Anna Nicole told him she’d always wanted to be a princess, so he’d tried to make that happen for her by attempting to adopt Anna Nicole. But, Prince Frederic said, Zsa Zsa wouldn’t sign the adoption papers. (I kid you not, folks. I saw him say this in the press conference with my own eyes.)

That all these people are coming out of the woodwork with press conferences after her death just proves my point: Anna Nicole needed someone to protect her. If not a good family, then at the least, by very good management…

Very good management does exist, by the way. But unfortunately it doesn’t usually make for very interesting headlines.

Copyright 2007 & 2009 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

New Name for American Idol?

Wow, must the producers of American Idol be ticked (more specifically, the artist management arm of the show): Just when American Idol had finally achieved a sense of legitimacy within the music industry and we'd almost forgotten the Taylor Hicks debacle...BAM!

No surprises on American Idol's finale tonight, but I am thinking American Idol should be renamed...Here are a few suggestions:

"Rock" Star Lite (with the word "rock" in ironic quotation marks, as shown)

The Guy (or Girl) the American Idol Audience is the Least Afraid Of

The Music Idol of Christian Conservatives

The Guy Next Door Who Can Sing and Had Some Nice Moments but Who Doesn't Have as Much Star Quality as the Guy Who Really Should Have Won

The Guy Who Has Some of the Elements of the Total Package But Still Needs a Little Work on One or Two of Them

The Guy or Girl Most Appealing to Fox

Come on People! Kris Allen is talented, and he has some nice moments. But when Kris himself on the winner's stage seemed genuinely shocked and said, with true sincerity, that it should have been Adam, there's a problem.

As I wrote in our MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback column on MusicBizAdvice.com, of the two finalists, Adam Lambert is the total package: vocal ability, stage presence, looks, star quality, and needs the least development to be great.

Kris Allen has some, but not as many, of those elements. I'm not saying he doesn't have the potential. I even chose him as one of my favorites on one of his performance nights in the early part of the competition. But an idol needs more than potential. It should be there already. Adam already has it.

Idols are supposed to be different than the guy next door. Paraphrasing what Simon Cowell said recently in an interview, stars sparkle like diamonds and should be rare. I wholeheartedly agree.

On the upside, at least Adam doesn't have to sing or promote the winner's song ever again!

Advice to next year's wannabe winners on Idol: Pretend to be an evangelical, and talk about it a lot in interviews. Looking at the show's track record of winners, you'll apparently have a better shot.

(I'm kidding, so relax. I have nothing against religion, just a problem with those who try to make their own religion everyone else's. Believe whatever you like, live and let live, and don't exclude others who don't happen to believe what you do. Excluding others on the basis of their beliefs is what led to a whoooooooole lotta trouble in Germany, among other places.)

Someone, please bring back Rock Star (and its music director and house band with it)...It was sooo much better than American Idol. And a hell of a lot more believable!

Meanwhile, if you want to read our week by week rundown of the entire American Idol season, it's here:
http://www.musicbizadvice.com/American%20Idol%20Armchair%20Quarterback.htm

LIve Nation / Ticketmaster Merger and the Future of Live Music? Stuff Everyone's Forgetting

Lately there's been a lot of back and forth discussion in the industry about the proposed Live Nation / Ticketmaster merger and its possible effects on the music industry (particularly the live concerts end of the business). With the recent judiciary hearing on whether the merger should even be allowed, more of my colleagues, former bosses, mentors, friends, and even foes are piping in.

Do I have a solution? No. Just suggestions. But whether the merger happens or not, there are some points everyone seems to be forgetting:

1. Despite the current economy, Movie ticket sales are up because people are looking for an escape. They could be spending that money on music tickets instead.

Why aren't they? Because just 20 years ago you could buy a ticket to see a top act for only a little more than twice the price of a movie ticket. Now a concert ticket costs more than 10 times the cost of a movie ticket.

Doesn't anyone else in this business think it's insane that in many markets, an airline ticket is cheaper than a concert ticket? (In Los Angeles in recent years, I've seen fares to Europe that were cheaper than the face value on a ticket to see the Stones or Madonna.)

The music business is collectively putting itself out of business by way of greed, and it's gotta stop.

2. Everyone seems to forget the simple concept of perpetual audience growth: new customers across several demographics.

Whether it's Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers, or the Eagles or Bruce, when you break it down, the majority of "new" customers at big shows are the kids of parents who happen to be wealthy enough to take them. Since it's the parent buying the ticket, that means in reality, it's actually one demographic for all those artists. (As opposed to what would have been two or three separate demographics a mere 15 years ago.)

With such an ultra-targeted demographic (whose kids are off to college soon, and whose 401ks have imploded) how can there possibly be growth?

Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers fans grow up. And God knows I love the Eagles, Bon Jovi, and Springsteen, but however much we'd like them to, they can't tour forever (though I'm starting to believe Bruce and Bon are part Energizer Bunny). Who's the next round of arena acts, and who will go to see those next acts? Remember what's happened to symphonies in the US during the past 20 years? The audience is literally dying off without a new audience coming in.

3. More on audience growth: In many areas of the US we now have an entire generation and a half of kids who haven't had music programs in their public schools. (I know a lot of you reading this have kids in private schools with great music programs, but your kids get tickets for free, so we're not talking about them.) How can you generate interest in something that doesn't exist?

Ask the average 17 or 18 year old who goes to a public school what was the last concert they went to. (Or better yet, if they've ever even attended one in their life.) I stopped asking intern applicants "what's the last concert you went to" long ago because most haven't been at all.

And in case anyone hasn't noticed, MySpace and Facebook are actually a passive, as opposed to an active, way to enjoy recorded music. It's thinly disguised as active, but the main attraction on MySpace isn't the music; it's how many Friends kids rack up to become "famous" themselves. (If music were really the main attraction, wouldn't they be called MusicPlace or MusicBook?)

4. Do we really need a new damn arena every 10-15 years???

New arenas = higher venue costs= higher ticket prices. Yes, in many cases fans voted for them to be built. But fans are concerned with economic prosperity for their towns, not show expenses. That's our job.

(And now that some of the banks from those branded arenas have imploded, now what?)

Suggestions for dealing with the challenges

I don't have a solution, but I do have suggestions. At first glance some of them may look like the ship has sailed, but in the right hands, I really don't think so. Everything comes back around, just in a different way.

1. Figure out a way to get back to basics: Music. Not ring tones (Muzak is dead, won't ringtones, which are essentially the same thing on a different device, die too?). Not texts. Not games. Not anything that doesn't put the music at the forefront.

2. Hire people who start in music and work their way up... Not former telecom execs, not computer guys, not your brother-in-law who worked at HBO...not people from other industries. Hire people with a passion for music and for making money at it. I'm not saying don't hire business-minded people. I'm saying, hire business-minded people who want to make money in music, not just make money.

After all, isn't that the secret to Irving's success? Regardless of what you think about him, the man knows music and the people who perform it.

Remember the first piece of business advice successful people always give to someone who's tying to figure out a career goal: "Follow your passion, apply hard work, and the money will follow."

And what about Clive Davis? The man worked with Bob Dylan 1963 and is still a name in the business because he gets the music.

3. Remember the concept of "Sell to the Masses if you want to wear a Rolex". We've gotta find a way to keep ticket prices at bay so more people can afford an escape.

Selling to the masses worked for Ebay. Selling to the masses also got our current president elected.

Some artists are doing their best to try to keep ticket prices at bay. But there's a hell of a lot of pressure to make those Boxscore numbers so people will keep hiring them, and it's become a vicious circle.

4. Work with team owners and city officials to find alternatives for building new arenas. Empty arenas would be everyone's problem, so everyone needs to be in on prevention.

5. Have more respect for the fans. Remember back when you were a music fan? (If not, I'm sorry, but you're in the wrong business.) Fans pay our salaries, so the least you can do is be grateful. If not for the fans, none of us would have ever had a music industry job in the first place.

And I'll let you in on something: more than ever, fans are aware of their importance. Why do you think over the past 15 years fans are more likely than ever to sue if something goes wrong at a show? It's because they resent the flat-out greed they've observed in the industry over the past 15 years.

We've gotta stop holding music fans hostage with ticket prices before we lose them completely.

6. Think like the entertainment moguls did during the Great Depression.

The media is filled with people comparing today's economic crisis to the Great Depression. Yet despite the unemployment rate of 25% in the 1930's, the entertainment business was booming. Expensively made movies were kicking *ss at the box office. It was also the dawning of the Big Band era, which ushered in commercial radio and the recording industry as we'd come to know for nearly 60 years.

In fact it was only a couple of decades ago that the entertainment industry was still thought to be one of the few industries that was "mostly recession proof" because people would always need an escape.

If people in the '30's took advantage of the opportunity to develop business models and multiple new technologies that created demand and made live music affordable for consumers, why can't we?

I haven't said anything in this we didn't already know. It's just time we remembered it.

Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com


c 2009 MusicBizAdvice.com

Rock Magazines Available (Office Cleanup)

The stack o' rock magazines in the office is getting way out of hand, so they've gotta go...

It seems silly and very uncool to throw them into Recycling when there may be a music fan out there who's looking for a particular cover with their favorite artist on it...

Therefore, Researcher Extraordinaire has put them up on Title Trader for your perusing pleasure.

Most of the magazines are in very good condition, either having never been read, or thumbed through once or twice. A couple of them may have items such as CD titles circled or highlighted, but nothing major...So, no worries about Christina Aguilera having a Sharpie mustache or devil horns...

(Address labels are blacked out, of course.)

Enjoy!!!

Soraia Single and Video for "Not the Woman"

You may remember the interview we did with Soraia lead singer, Sue Mansour.

When Sue was in L.A. last fall, Webmaster Extraordinaire and I took her to Irv's Burgers and to the original Barney's Beanery, where we sat in Janis Joplin's old booth and tried to soak up the energy.

Well, aparently Sue soaked up just enough, because when I was listening to the new Soraia single I couldn't help noticing a more ballsy quality to Sue's voice. I always liked Sue's voice a lot, but on this single she sings with more of the up-from-the-bottom-of-your-toenails big voice stuff Janis was known for live...but without sounding like Janis.

Makes sense? No? Check it out for yourself.

Soraia's new single "Not the Woman" is in rotation on Sirius Radio's Alt Nation Channel 21, and the video is on MaxMouth. The track was produced by Obie O'Brien, best known for his work with Bon Jovi.

New Articles On The Main MusicBizAdvice.com Website

New articles on the main MusicBizAdvice.com website:

How to Fill Out the New All-in-One Copyright Form CO

Music Business Survival: How to Find the Truffles in the Music Industry Dirt

Also: When the stock market took a dive today I updated this article with additional information that further explains how the financial crisis affects indie musicians and national-level baby bands and how to keep from getting burned: Mortgage Foreclosures / Credit Crisis Means Local Promoter, Club, and Small Label Crisis? How Musicians Can Avoid Getting Ripped Off.

Don't forget to join me on Twitter...I'm really having a lot of fun with that and love the challenge of being limited to 140 characters (even less if you're posting a public reply to someone).

Have You Registered to Vote? Are You Sure?

Are you registered to vote? Are you positive about this? (Seems some voters who voted in the Primaries have discovered themselves not registered.) Voter registration deadline is s early as October 4 in some states.

Are you registered at the address where you'll be living on Election Day? (Seems some foreclosed voters are mistakenly being told they won't be allowed to vote, and there's a lawsuit.) And does your photo ID match the address on your voter registration? If not, better head to the DMV. Meanwhile, check out these resources:

Here's another excellent resource of voter information I stumbled upon while reading email this morning (I subscribe to their newsletter and clicked a link).

Whatever your party, whomever your candidate, register and vote. And when you do, be sure you're not wearing anything with a candidate's name, picture, or political party on it: hats,

T-shirts, stickers, anything. We've been informed that anyone doing so can, and most likely will, be legally prohibited from voting, because the ballot is supposed to be secret. The poll workers are supposed to let you leave the line to remove the item and then come back...But some poll workers may not remember this rule, and you don't want to accidentally miss out on your opportunity to vote.

So don't take the chance: Save that "Go Barack" hat or your "I'm in love with John McCain" T-shirt for the celebration AFTER you've cast your vote at the polling place. (Thanks ReverbNation for this info.) Tell your friends!

But do vote. If you don't vote, you lose your right to complain, protest, or even make jokes about the candidates, winners, and losers...

...And what's the fun in that?

Edited 9/287/08 to provide additional voter information, and to correct a punctuation error--RR