So I was standing in the bathroom, this is where I do some of my best thinking. If you want to be creative, don't sit in front of the computer, don't try to work at all, take a shower, go out for a hike, you'll be surprised when your synapses will fire with a great idea. Like the article entitled "The Death of Radio?," that idea came to me when I was in a rush to get my act together to go to lunch with Felice. I asked her if we could delay, because oftentimes the idea leaves as fast as it comes, but she didn't want to and I wrote after lunch and it wasn't as good as it would have been, but it worked nonetheless.
So in this case I'd been contemplating what to watch on the flat screen next. Having burned through almost all of the legendary series, we started to dive into movies, but...
I've got a list on my phone. Two, in fact. One for series and one for movies. And there are a ton of great movies I haven't seen, not going to the theatre anymore, because I just can't calm down and relax on demand, never mind the Covid break. But I didn't want to. Emotionally. And as you get older you learn to trust your gut. It'll fail you occasionally, but very rarely. My gut told me not to get married, if only I'd listened to it.
And that's when it hit me, I can't get invested in a movie. It's ninety minutes, sometimes even a few hours, then it's done. Might be an emotional roller coaster, might dazzle me, but then it's over. But I want to be all-in, I want a relationship, I want to dive in deep and marinate, I want a long experience.
I'm not talking a week to week drip. When you binge a series it's in your mind all day, that you're going to watch an episode that night. Actually, multiple episodes, how many will you be able to fit in? And no one else is watching at the same time, so you can't discuss amongst your friends, it's private, like we used to own our records. You remember, that's what separated you from the casual fan. You loved certain acts that never had a hit, that most people had never heard of, that you could turn people on to. Even better, sometimes they later broke through to superstardom and you could say you were there first, you knew which previous albums to buy, you basked in your knowledge and status. That's what it's like watching a great series, especially at a time different from its release. Even well-distributed series, ones that had been bandied about previously, like "The Americans." I mean how good could this FX show be? Very good, excellent. And the funny thing is it got better as it went along, and the finale was satisfying. But watching years after it aired on cable, I felt like I owned it, I talk about it all the time.
But it's rare that an American series hits that note. Right now we're watching a legal series, of which there have been tons in the U.S. But this BBC show is just a bit more real. Just when you think it's "L.A. Law," it surprises you. Oh, and the English don't assume you're dumb, they don't offer bottom of the barrel fare, the English respect you, think you come to the series with a modicum of knowledge. They don't slow down so you can understand, they don't explicate, they're movies, but much, much longer. Used to be movies were highbrow and demanded respect, even American ones, but that's gone, too often it's lowest common denominator, entertainment, and that's not what I'm looking for, I don't want to leave the theatre and forget about it, I want to keep thinking about it. But with a series, there's so much more to think about!
We live in a Tower of Babel era. Everybody has different interests, everybody is into different stuff. And online is a cesspool of self-anointed experts who will insult you if you express a contrary view, especially an unpopular one. So you feel so lonely. It's like we're all in a different race, not even playing the same game.
So we look to invest.
And it doesn't only apply to art. People invest in politicians, many are even invested in Apple. It gives them an identity, something to believe in. However, because of sunk costs, it's difficult to get someone to change their opinion, abandon their investment, they've spent so much money, time and effort demonstrating it, they're just going to throw that overboard?
But I'm talking about art.
And let me be clear, this is different from fandom. Although aligned. Fandom can be more blind, based on less information, it's a status, that you oftentimes display. Investment is private. It's a one to one relationship. It's about the bond, as opposed to the external. You don't need to boast, you don't need to buy and wear merch, it's something that transpires in your head, it's not brain dead attachment, there's thought put into it, the investment may not be able to be taken to the bank, but it's more valuable than currency.
So how do you get someone to invest?
Well, you need a lot of product. Aka the series. And in music, you've got to have a lot of it. If you make one album and tour, even if that album is a gargantuan hit, investment can be involved, but it can be thrown over more easily. No, investment is about careers. And unlike in the old days, you can't wait two, three or five years to release new music. Because the audience is too hungry, it will move on and invest in something else. Now if you're a classic rock act, any act that made its bones in the last century, in the pre-internet era, when there was scarcity, it can be different, but if you're starting today...
What are you providing that people can invest in.
And it's not only music, it's your identity, your personality. When you post hype on social media that works against you, you're not respecting the audience, which already knows everything about you, you're not playing to the invested, but everybody else, and that's contrary to the whole investment paradigm. It's a core that grows outward, the attachment frequently goes unspoken. There's magic. And if you sell too hard the magic evaporates.
And you can't sell out and you can't rave about the money you're making. That's for blind fandom, which will accept anything you do. But to create investment, fans must truly believe they're number one. Forget lip service, it's something you can feel. It's credibility and so much more. This is about the long term, moving mountains, making a difference, not a momentary flash in the pan.
But most artists don't want to do this, they want it to go faster. But if you go faster you lose investment, and therefore you lose an audience that will keep you alive over decades.
Give me something to hold on to, not something I can see in the financial pages, but something human. Which is why you should post online. To demonstrate your identity, to nurture the bond. And the bond is always fantasy, you're filling a hole in people's hearts. So it's not about being friends with your audience, it's not about revealing absolutely everything, there must remain blanks, so people can fill in the gaps, create a whole world in their head. It's like they say, you don't want to meet your heroes. And I've met many, and I must say the mantra almost always applies.
Now there are tons of people watching movies, going to the theatre to view superhero flicks. Then again, there are those invested in food and housing shows on TV. They're invested in the hosts, there are endless episodes, there is something to hold on to. I know, it's a conundrum, because this tends to be cheap reality programming, but there's a lot of it, so people can invest in it.
And then there's "Suits." The story of the summer. It's not like the series got any better, it's just that people can binge it all on their own schedule, they can own it.
This is the future of entertainment today, investment, substantial, for the long haul. It's not something that delivers headlines, but how many read those headlines anyway? Too often press is there just to satiate the creator. The only way to grow is via word of mouth. Which means you need to get one person invested so they can turn someone else on. Believe me, this is different from fandom. If you're moronically telling me how good something is, I ignore you. Like too many who tell me what to watch. They thought it was great, I need to see it. And then I research and find it's mediocre or terrible. And then I wonder about the person suggesting I invest hours of my time. Do they even know the landscape? Are they watching or investing? Same deal with people who tell me about great movies. There are certainly some great ones, but they're rare. But these people are employing old school values, casting themselves as the cineastes of yore. Above the rest of us. But the script has flipped, series are the great entertainment of our era. "The Sopranos" was better than any contemporaneous movie, and people quote it all the time, I mean watcha gonna do...
Yes, people were invested and still are invested in "The Sopranos." And "House of Cards." "The Sopranos" broke premium cable wide, "House of Cards" broke streaming wide. Just one show.
Just like in music. Despite the charts, acts are not really competing with one another, each one is unique, with its own audience. One creative act can bypass the entire commercial system and go straight to people's hearts. But they've got to have something special, that je ne sais quois, and almost nothing does. Which is why despite there being endless series on offer, very few are worth watching.
But while I'm at it, people were invested in HBO. Now they're invested in Netflix. They've got a relationship with the outlet they do not have with Disney or Paramount... Those streaming outlets lack breadth, lack soul, they're Wall Street first, not audience first. How can you be invested in Max when Zaslav cuts product for tax savings, for the bottom line? Those shows with fewer viewers are the ones people invest in, that keep them subscribing, disrespect these people at your peril.
I'd like to say that incoming provides with me a lot of great tips, but I'd be lying if I said so. It's kind of like A&R people, talk to them, they've never found a great unsolicited demo, never happens. The people sending them think they're great, but they've got no idea how the game works, they don't understand the landscape, never mind having no perspective on their work. It's one thing to compete, quite another to transcend.
I'm looking for transcendence, so I can invest.
And I'm not the only one.
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