That’s right, a fifty year old from Sweden is the most powerful person in music, on the creative side, where the goods are baked. But as I’m scrolling I see “My Universe” was cowritten and coproduced by MAX MARTIN!
The “Bulletin” is reciting endless statistics, pages of them, these labels know how to hype their vapid product, it’s a self-serving circle jerk, if you read every word you’re involved, it’s about as interesting as reading a book’s index.
I now have a free subscription via Apple News+, I thought this was a benefit, but it’s unreadable, it’s all lowbrow consumer focused news, if you’re reading this rag to know what’s going on in the music business, god help you. So I’m scanning the “Billboard Bulletin.” You can’t read “Billboard,” what a joke. It’s light, as I referenced above, it’s close to meaningless, but it’s what charts today. So with 60 million streams, I decide to play “My Universe,” and I can see why it’s a hit.
Bottom line, music does not live on YouTube, it’s not what the audience wants. Just for the record, the expensive video only has 41,979,120 views, proving that it’s what goes in the ears that matters today, the video game is no longer paramount, as for YouTube’s subscription numbers, I don’t believe them, the devil is in the details, I’m thinking a lot of people subscribed just to get rid of the ever more invasive commercials, and there have got to be a ton of trials, after all YouTube is imploring us to subscribe constantly.
So I decided to check out the play count, and on Spotify it was 60,593,807, which means the track’s success is not a manipulation, like so much on the chart, people are actually listening to “My Universe” and liking it. So I’m reading today’s “Billboard Bulletin,” and the headline is “Coldplay & BTS’ ‘My Universe’ Blasts Off at No.1 on Billboard Hot 100.” Not surprising to me, anything with BTS involved is gonna make an impact, talk about fans, BTS has an army.
Funny how Chris Martin is the one who emerged with the gravitas, not his constantly in the news ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, but Coldplay peaked back in 2002 with “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Thereafter Martin has become lighter, and if you’re serious you can’t possibly be interested, the band’s projects are only for the hard core, which is larger than the hard core of all the new bands, because Coldplay broke and matured under the old system, when TV and terrestrial radio were dominant, that paradigm has completely expired. Nor was I interested in hearing Coldplay on Howard Stern. Hoping you become aware, but then you’ve got to buy the book, and most people won’t, which is why we’ve become immune to the hype, even if we’re aware we don’t want to buy, the product is only for the hard core, why are you bugging us? But Little Steven was better on Bill Maher, he’s been everywhere. Unfortunately, Van Zandt had a bit of stage fright, it took him a while to warm up. SPRINGSTEEN WAS FANTASTIC! I’ve been down on Bruce, playing the humble elder statesman, but here he was completely relaxed, cracking jokes, it was like hanging with him at the kitchen table after dinner, opining on many subjects, reviewing history. In the pre-internet era if Bruce Springsteen was going to be on TV it was big news, you tuned in, now his work is just part of the endless sea of product floating by us 24/7.īut I watched the video. Bottom line, it was hype for the book, you got a signed book along with the video for $45, unsigned book and video for $35. Last week Bruce Springsteen interviewed Steve Van Zandt on pay-per-view: I was unaware of it until the publicity person tracked me down.