Hi Bob,
A friend just sent me this link, it's to a googledoc spreadsheet that lists over 400 musicians and music industry people and other creatives who lost their homes. I thought you might want to see it, if you haven't already.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jyJ-NM2qP-iRk1LJ8l3dc7e0M3IhHlo3E7Agvo9JOAQ/edit?gid=0#gid=0
The sheer scope of it hits home harder when you read the names of the musicians and the industry folks and their jobs.
Be safe.
b.b.
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From: Mike Caren
Subject: Re: Apple Music's Per Stream Payment
It's funny because you lay it out perfectly here but even most who read it, will go on with the wrong understanding/explanation. Needs to be even simpler, though it can't because it's actually more complicated. You have to also factor in the country, and the type of account. And it's always changing but here's how I try to explain it.
If the streams are coming from India (huge Spotify country), that user is paying $.10 a month for a mobile account. So his 100 streams in the month means each are worth 52% (after pub) of $.10 divided by 100. $.005 per stream. Even at the higher US rates, it's different rates at subscription music only, premium bundle (higher rate but less than music only if heavy podcast use), family plan (even less per user), or add supported (least).
Now if half your streams are coming in from outside the US, especially India, Brazil, Philippines, etc, the "$5k per Million" stream narrative makes no sense. I've seen songs around $1k per Million streams that are 90% International.
US User paying $11 for a bundle that listen to podcasts and audiobooks 25% of the time means less money for music then someone paying $9 for music only. Do you know how someone gets a music only account on Spotify? I don't. Very hard to figure out.
I don't expect anyone to figure this out. At some point tech solves it. Our distro platform Www.Release.Global is one of the very few that tries to show you what your streams are worth in real time. So if you had 10,000 streams yesterday, you know if it's worth $1 or $20 and can make decent decisions. We also do projections on it so you can figure out what you're likely to make over the next 6 months. It's really hard to be an independent artist working in the blind. Tech should solve this for everyone but the industry has a habit of keeping people in the dark.
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Subject: Music Eclipses Cinema
Bob,
I always learn from your interpretation, and it's an honour for this student to see his professor interpret his work. This line sticks with me: "Music is like the stock market. Over time it only goes up. Sure, there are dips here and there, but in the long term…"
We see this in what music made from cinema (in the US cinema pays nothing to music) when compared to what music makes from video streaming like Netflix. Not only are the tariffs higher, (in Europe cinema typically pays 1% and SVOD 2%), but there are more rights involved (performing, mechanical and sync) and growing subscribers. So cinema's decade-long pain is the streamers gain and ...the music industry looks at this and says "I'll have a martini".
But this is part of a wider trend. As linear dies, on-demand thrives and music gains ground. Look at how radio (which also payis US labels nothing) migrated to Pandora (where outta nowhere SoundExchange gave birth to a billion dollar business and counting).
This is why music isn't just a stock, it's a hot stock - the tide is turning in its favour, and all the variables that surround it are simply putting more wind in copyright's sails.
Will Page
Edinburgh, Scotland
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Subject: Re: Oscar Nonsense
This is the best column you have ever written. You have reported facts. FACTS. In my business - concert promoting - I have agents calling me on slow-selling shows asking me if I've hired a street team to put up posters and distribute flyers. As if, as you say, it's still 1999. In 2025, the posters and flyers on your phone! Then the conversation moves into suggestions about cutting prices on tickets to fill up the hall. At which point I remind them, doing that will not only piss off people who've already paid tickets at full price, it will further keep me from breaking even. They don't understand that people decide to go to a show based on being a fan of the artist, ticket price is a secondary concern. I'm not selling pizzas or tickets to the circus. I'm selling concert tickets. If you're interested in going to the show, you'll pay list price. If you're not... I can send a street team to hand people $50 if they will sit through a show they don't want to go to... And they still won't take the money.
Only one market addresses the "papering of the house" properly: New York. I promoted a show at Carnegie Hall last year that was about 400 shy of a sellout, and the agent was obsessed about making sure those seats were filled. They have an official "papering the house" company in New York that distributes comps to people who are registered on their website on 48 hours notice. The requirements are they must show up in person to pick up their tickets, usually at a location just down the street from the box office (the Carnegie Hall box office fully cooperates), and they MUST stay in their seats the entire show, or a company rep who is a "marshal" at the show will note their departure and take them off the list. This is just brilliant!
Brian Martin
Martin Media
San Francisco
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Subject: Re: The Allee Willis Movie
Allee Willis saw me on the street in Detroit playing my cardboard box bass. She asked me to be in her music video and gave me the date to be at The Masonic Temple.
Just like that! She asked me all kinds of personal questions wanting to know who i was. AWESOME!
Chris Badynee
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Subject: Re: Apple Music's Per Stream Payment
Years ago I was working on sponsorship programs with both Brooks & Dunn and Jeff Foxworthy. Ronnie Dunn said the same thing. They had 18 trucks on the road, a big band and crew and traveled between gigs on buses. Foxworthy flew private, got picked up at the airstrip in a limo, went to a 5 star hotel then to the gig where he talked for 90 minutes. Then limo with back to the hotel or if the gig was close enough to Nashville back home on a private jet. And didn't have share his performance fee with other performers.
Stephen Knill
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Subject: Re: Apple Music's Per Stream Payment
Hi Bob,
I know a number of video, lighting, set carpenters & sound techs who tour with comics .
Trucks of gear, just like music tours
Cheers, TS
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From: Ross
Subject: Re: The Yacht Rock Dockumentary
Bob
I agree that the actual documentary was absolutely awful but I need to say something here in advance of that.
The concept of these goofballs making their mock u mentary videos in the early 2000's was funny for a minute and then they got traction they really didn't deserve.
For some of us the music of The Doobie Brothers , Steely Dan, Toto, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald were a part of our soundtrack to our lives.
To disparage or diminish it by calling it Yacht Rock because these goofballs got traction gives them even more traction. That is my problem with this documentary.
My problem is that it was ever made in the first place as a "Yacht Rock" doc.
It should be made but not in some marginally excusable way.
The actual music is some of the most influential and important music and now its become some kind of parody.
Not cool in my book.
My pals Michael McDonald and Steve Lukather and Steve Porcaro etc .. should be in a viable and real documentary about all that music.
The fact that they were interviewed and I can only imagine the gold that was never used so Thundercat and Questlove and whomever else was given screen time makes this doc so off the mark from the get go.
Commingling quotes from the just deceased Quincy Jones, trying to give this thing credit is not cool.
It's sad and messed up.
So I agree, after I watched it I had to watch the Stax doc to get the bad taste out of my mouth about this one. Once again not because of the music but because of the Yacht Rock premise in the first place.
The Yacht Rock premise is bullsh*t.
On one side note , I did work for years in Rumbo, The Capt and Tennille's studio in Canoga Park thats not there anymore. It was an iconic studio for 30 years.
Rumbo did have a nautical motif inside studio A and Darryl Dragon, the Capt did wear a Yacht hat on stage. They are probably the closest thing you could call Yacht rock.
Even then, Darryl was one of the most talented keyboard players and innovators behind the scenes so to somehow disparage it all is not doing any service to the amazing talent that is being represented in this term.
So be it
A bad idea from the start … it should never have been made this way.
I only hope someone someday makes a real doc about all this music in a way that honors it like the Stax doc, Muscle Shoals, Motown , The Wrecking Crew
And the Immediate Family documentary.
Best back
Ross Hogarth
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Subject: Re: Re-Mike Pinera
So glad you gave Mike Pinera a moment he so deserved... blues image blew my mind when I saw him in la at THEE EXPERIENCE ...the owners were from miami and so was BLUES IMAGE...they were the house band....BUDDY MILES used to sit in on drums a lot ... I saw them probably more than any other band in the 70s and loved every set Shep Gordon
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From: Denny Somach
Subject: From Denny Somach. Re: Mike Pinera
Hey, Bob
Thought you might like this story.
In the late eighties I was hired to be a consultant on what turned out to be the first music informercial. The guy who hired me was Kevin Harrington, considered the father of infomercials. We had a planning meeting in Tampa. There were about ten people in the conference room including Mike Pinera, who brought his guitar with him. At the end of the meeting Mike got his guitar out and started to play "Ride Captain Ride." When he sang the second chorus, he substituted Ride Kevin Ride and of course everybody loved it. I'm sure it wasn't the first time he did this. Mike really knew how to use his signature song. Kevin did pretty well, he was an original shark for two years on Shark Tank.
Regards,
Denny
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From: Chris Epting
Subject: Re: The Anita Pallenberg Documentary
Minor correction, Scott Cantrell did not kill himself "in the Catskills." It was in South Salem, which is in Westchester county. I grew up near there as a teenager and we met Scott just a few days before he died because we always used to stake out the house in search of Keith. He was our age, just 17 years old.
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From: Bob Herman
Subject: Re: Monkey Man
Hi Bob,
That's actually Bill Wyman playing the vibraphone that you hear in the beginning and on Monkey Man.
Best of health,
Bob
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Subject: Re: Mailbag
Bob
I would like to remind Mr Rose that Tower Records was not necessarily against the 5x5 cd package . We were pushing a 5x7 package that is what DVDs are in.
Russ and I felt it would allow readable liner notes and better graphics.
Of course now you can download music without the pesky plastic wrapped jewel box and booklet you need a magnifying glass to read.
Oh well....
Stan Goman
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From: Robert Margouleff
Subject: Re: Alice Brock
Hi Bob,
This is a fascinating article on Arlo Guthrie and Alice's Restaurant. I attended the Stockbridge School and graduated in 1958. Ray Brock was my shop teacher. Arlo was a few grades behind me. The first rumblings of Vietnam and Kent State are in my memories!
The Stockbridge motto was "All Human Beings are Equal in Dignity and Rights," based on the UN charter. I live by those values to this day, and Stockbridge changed my life forever.
My book "Standing On The Edge" is dedicated to the memory of Hans Maeder, the school's founder and headmaster.
Robert
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Subject: Tate McRae
Bob,
As someone who regularly reads your emails, I thought you'd find this interesting. I receive a regular email from my local arena (Kia Center in Orlando). Playing two nights there is someone I've never heard of, Tate McRae. Out of curiosity I looked her up on Spotify. Two songs with over a billion streams each! In addition, she has nearly as many monthly streams as Chappel Roan. (Who I'm well aware of)
I know you sometimes write about artists today who garner a lot of listens yet the average person doesn't know. Maybe this is a good example?
Chris Adams
Orlando FL
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Subject: Re: Snapshot
Bob,
As an owner of a 600 cap room its even worse for us promoters. The artists this year revolted against merch cuts. They are asking for no promoter profit, as if we don't do that. No cut of VIP, even though they setup a rent-free popup store in our room to sell merch and do a mini show that requires additional time and overhead. Crazy times!
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From: Kristy Carruba
Subject: Re: Entitlement
Well said, Bob!
I do everything I can in my daily life to be NICE to everyone and I got to my breaking point a few months ago in my tiny NY suburban town where the sense of entitlement has gotten out of control.
I have a theory...you can tell a lot about a town when you go to the supermarket and notice if there are shopping carts all over the place or if people put their carts away. In my town, nobody puts their carts away. A few months ago I was in a smaller parking lot and I watched a women leave her cart about 10 feet away from the cart area. I literally said "Are you really not going to put your cart away?" She looked at me like I was insane and left. I never say anything on the town FB page but I just had to vent about it and the responses were so insane that it was finally clear I NEED TO MOVE! I mean there isn't any excuse. Small child...you can see the car from where you need to go put the carts away, in a rush, need to make a call or get somewhere...we are talking about 30 seconds...a minute maybe if you're in a massive lot...I don't get it. I spent a month in Alpharetta Georgia and a month in Nashville and while I'm sure the entitlement situation stretches to these parts as well...all carts were put away...every time. I found people generally nicer and more aware of their fellow man. Of course I'm just one person and it's just my observation but I will lead by example and do what I can in all ways to PUT MY CART AWAY! We have to do better.
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From: John Lyndon
Subject: RE: Hit Records
Excellent point about the hit record, Bob. My brother Twiggs Lyndon was the original road manager for the Allman Brothers Band. He told me that after Fillmore East was released, the band thought they were huge, then Ramblin' Man hit top 40 radio, and they found out what huge was all about.
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Subject: Re: The Eve Babitz Book
I lived across the street from Eve Babitz on Formosa between sunset and fountain in 1965 and 66 and in the same building with me downstairs was Neil Young and Dickie Davis and one of the apartments and that's where I met Richie Furay.
She was a ton of laughs.
Val Garay
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Subject: Re: Justin Baldoni Sues The New York Times
Bob:
There is an obvious solution to fact-based content. Repeal the portion of Sec 230 of the 1996 Communications Act that shields platforms like X and Truth Social from libel claims. This antiquated law from almost 30 years ago might have made sense in the infancy of the internet. But today when social media platforms dwarf traditional media? We've given tech an unfair advantage.
It's perverse that people can sue The NY Times with a readership of 11 million or the Washington Post with 2.6 million or The Wall Street Journal of 4.3 million for libel but Musk with 200 million followers or Trump with 87 million can say whatever they want and have it go unchallenged. I get it for the small timers, for people with modest reach, say under 1000. But once you get to scale, you're publishing and you should be responsible for your words. You think these platforms don't have the money to have content moderators for large accounts? Last I checked Facebook and X were doing pretty well and way better than the traditional media that have to do fact-checking.
Repeal this shield and restore fact-based content online.
Proud to use my name,
/JMR
_______________________________
Jon Michael Richter
Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel
Nugs.net Enterprises, Inc.
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From: Richard Wissak
Subject: Sedaka
Another great interview. Neil's dad ( Max Sedace ) drove a taxi for my father and was a very sweet man. Somedays he would pick up the cab in Queens and drive back to Brooklyn to drive young Neil to Juilliard. When Neil had his first taste of success he offered to buy Max a medallion instead of him having to lease one. Max was a modest and humble man and said no thanks. Later on I saw Neil give a great performance in '75 at the BL. He's written so many great songs from a time gone by and is still a mensch. Thanks for putting him on.
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
You'll get a kick out of this. When I was in 4th grade (9 YO) I wrote fan letters to Neil Sedaka and a few other music stars of the late 50s era. While I got some autographed, generic photos back from most, Neil is the only one who wrote a personal response and autographed photo that I still have. It made me a fan for life. Never met him but kept them and figured one day I'd meet him and we'd have a moment. Or at least I would. Ha!
Jim McKeon
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From: Harvey Lisberg
Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
I enjoyedthe episode but was surprised tat Is this the way to Amarillo wasn't in Neil's radar it was his biggest ever record in uk 9weeks at no 1. It was Neil's first hit for tony. Christie before Rocket Records even heard of his resurgence. Regards Harvey
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Listened in one go. Breathtaking. What a legend. And I'm not even that familiar with his work, yet! (Born in 1975, Holland.)
But it only took one question, and one answer. Epic. His voice. His stories, histories.
These kind of conversations are priceless. Belong in a library or something, you know what I mean.
Keep it up, Bob. Stay healthy, take care.
Bert van Kalker
Groningen, Hollan
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Thank you so much for this. I'm 51 and wasn't all that familiar with Neil Sedaka. How enjoyable to hear his story, and you did a great job of pulling it out of him. You always do.
Love your podcast.
Best Regards,
Jay Luttrull
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From: paulmlanning
Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
So good! His odd career stands apart from that of his contemporaries. You opened him up.
By leaving Rocket, he became another artist who exited a fruitful nurturing setup for a payday but nothing more. Like Mary Wells, Roy Orbison, and the Righteous Brothers.
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
One of your best
David Littauer
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Good show
Neil is often overlooked
He is an amazing artist.
Thanks
Ray D'Ariano
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From: Tom Clark
Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Man I REALLY enjoyed that one Bob!
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From: Jeff Baker
Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Absolutely loved this interview……………
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From: Audrey Joy
Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Regarding your Neil Sedaka podcast: I enjoyed it very much.
I never met Neil, but I knew Esther (his mother-in-law) and his daughter Dara; I grew up in Monticello, N.Y. Dara and I went to the same orthodontist. My parents and I used to "bump into" Esther at various social events--she was quite a character, but a nice lady. She told me that she would introduce me to Neil at some point, but it never happened.
The Sedakas's summer home was located in the gated community across the street from our housing development on the outskirts of Monticello (the town of Forestburgh).
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Amazing interview with Sedaka, a look into how it used to be done…knock on a door, play your songs and (maybe) sign a deal.
At 85 the guy is totally together, what a a great memory and career.
I remember at 9 or 10 years old waiting for 'Breaking Up is Hard to Do' to play on the radio because it sounded very different from everything else to my young ears…. and it was done in an hour !
Frank Vilardi
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
My favorite part of this episode:
Neil mentions that his Mom took a job at 'A&S Department Store' and I thought, as an East Coast / CT latchkey kid of limited means in the 70''s and 80's, 'Abraham & Straus'!….and then when you picked up the story a little later in the episode you just say 'So your Mom was working at Abraham & Straus…'
Jason Cilo
President
Meetinghouse Productions, Inc
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Re: Neil Sedaka-This Week's Podcast
Loved your Neil Sedaka interview, but what I most loved about it was that from the outset, your enthusiasm for this interview was palpable, even more than usual. It was infectious and I could hear it in your voice with every question. I got the sense that you were thrilled to have the opportunity to pick the brain of a "student of the game" with a legendary career, who has done it all by now. There was this great heartwarming sense that you love what you do so much, like "holy crap, I can't believe this is my job!" and it was nice to hear. Oh yeah, and Neil was a joy to listen to as well! Love your work, Bob, thank you!
Steve Zahradnik
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Subject: Re: Astral Weeks: A Secret History Of 1968
Hi Bob,
It is a good book about a magical time in Boston. As the book describes, Van played a lot of pick up gigs at high school dances and other less than glamorous venues in '68. One of them was at the Scituate Yacht Club, to about 300 preppy teens and a sliver of 10-15 slightly hip suburban druggies, of which I was one.
I thought he sounded great and after the break went over to talk to him. He was barely talkative and didn't have the patience to feign interest, but he blurted out "Christ, can you find me a girl to talk to?" "I can do better than that that, hold on" and brought over a couple of friends of mine who were gorgeous twins, and Van broke out a huge smile. I don't think I have ever seen him smile, in concerts or even in pictures, but I think the twins made his night!
Barry Marshall
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Subject: Re: Astral Weeks: A Secret History Of 1968
Thanks for expanding awareness of this phenomenal book by introducing it to your readers.
I read it when it came out, and your review is a fine summary of the highlights.
As you may recall it was about at the time of this book release that Van released -- for one day only -- the "Catacombs" live recording, on iTunes, likely to keep the copyright. He then pulled it immediately.
True Van fans snapped this up and it has been widely shared on the grayer parts of the internet ever since -- it is a fascinating recording of many of the Astral Weeks songs long before they were waxed. I'm hoping for his legacy's sake (which he has worked hard to tarnish in recent years) that he makes this an official release before he departs this realm.
jimeddy
Ann Arbor
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Subject: Re: Astral Weeks: A Secret History Of 1968
I was there to do some recording with Kweskin and Lyman. I'm not sure why they called me to come up from New York. Reading the book, which I just finished, it seemed like there were plenty of bass players available in Boston already in their orbit. In '67 I stopped playing upright and went solely to electric bass which would have been unusual for those guys in 1968. But maybe that's what they were looking for.
I had been good friends with Terry Bernhard, the pianist and later, failed bank robber. We both lived for a time in a brownstone on W. 76th, between the park and Columbus. In UK this would be described as a "bed sit". Several other musicians also lived there.
Terry was an extraordinary jazz pianist in the Bill Evans tradition and I, a wanna be Scott LaFaro. He had an upright piano in his room and we spent many hours daily jamming. This was mid '60s. After a while we all moved and lost touch. I don't remember who it was that actually contacted me. But the unexpected call to Fort Hill Boston years later had to come through Terry. I knew a little about the Mel Lyman community from a friend whose ex wife had moved there- with Terry!
So, up I went, Fender Bass in hand. I stayed with Terry and Susan in their house on Fort Hill in the community. It seemed like a normal home at first except that there were a number of people moving around the house, coming in and going out. OK a commune I thought. (that's not what they called it) There was definitely a weird vibe.
I met Jim Kweskin at the studio in Mel's house the first night. We set up, did sound checks. There was a music stand for me with some lead sheets. We waited. Then word came that the session was cancelled. Mel didn't feel right, or wasn't well or… don't know. And there was that weird vibe again. Everyone was sort of "looking over their shoulder".
Second night, Mel did come in, said hello, didn't play, sat in the booth for a while and left. We did put down a couple of tracks. And that was it. I never found out what they did with them, never saw my name on any of the records. It might have been an electric experiment.
All I can say is that during my brief encounter with Mel Lyman I did sense a vey strong aura or vibe about him; very high energy. It was not a positive vibe though, nothing like I felt when I had been in the presence of any of the Indian Swamis I sought out in those days. The whole scene felt heavy and dark and I couldn't wait to get back home to NYC the next day.
Bob, thanks for the post. The book filled in so much that I didn't know and had wondered about, especially the bank heist and my friend Terry Bernhard. This guy was a sweetheart, a sensitive and soulful musician. Wow!
Andy Muson
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From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: Apple Music's Per Stream Payment
Here's the problem. You and I want groundbreaking art, something new that speaks truth to power. Here's why I think it's not going to happen: because musicians just getting started can't develop a fanbase simply by playing (although playing can maintain a fanbase). They have to develop it with marketing expertise that relates to social media and the web. And if they're starting out, they won't have the money to pay for serious marketing chops, any more than the Beatles could have hired a web designer and marketing guru when they played clubs in Hamburg. And today, you have to stand out in a fragmented, siloed sea of hundreds of millions of songs.
The first year I was a full-time musician I made the equivalent of $450,000 in today's dollars simply by playing live around the east coast and being on one album. That money bought me time to become a better musician, buy better gear, practice my guitar and keyboard playing (do people still spend untold hours practicing their instruments?), and develop as a songwriter. It bought me time to build my own synthesizers and bring unique sounds to our music, which progressed over three albums to the point where Seiji Ozawa heaped praise on our final album.
Would my career have followed that arc if I had instead spent my time working the social media world, seeking our every possible opportunity for self-promotion, and analyzing playlists so I could design music that fit the requirements of algorithms and playlists? I doubt it.
Spotify is not the villain. Spotify saw a need and filled it. That's the way things work. But Spotify and streaming services can't provide the same kind of climate that allowed music to flourish in the 60s. They called Dylan "Hammond's folly" at CBS, but Hammond provided a climate where Dylan ultimately became, if not a top album seller, massively influential. Spotify will never do that. It's not their gig.
Today, a musician has to decide whether to build a fanbase on today's terms, or become an artist. That artist may very well be producing the kind of music you and I would love so much to hear, but we'll probably never hear it. Sure, Rick Beato makes money doing YouTube videos. But have you ever heard a Rick Beato album or single? He's working on the periphery of music. He won't give you music that's raw emotion and speaks truth to power. The best he can do is find people who can, and enhance it. Of course, that's valid for its own reasons, but it's not the droid you're looking for.
"But you're unsuccessful. Sorry. We're all struggling. It's every person for themselves these days."
Success wears many faces. After graduating from being in a touring band, to a studio musician in New York, to doing a string of successful new age and classical productions, to having a fling with the DJ scene in Europe, I realized that my (highly subjective) definition of success was evolving as a musician so I could write music with more emotional impact. The irony is that by making that decision, I discovered aspects of the music-making, compositional, and recording process that translated into books that do in fact provide significant income. Yet they don't prevent me from developing as a musician. Instead, they encourage me to dive even deeper so the books can be a corollary artform.
If I ever write music that could be that elusive unicorn we all seek, only a few thousand people will hear it because I won't spend time promoting it. I don't have enough time left in my life to waste it trying to get the attention of others. If they find it, great. But to me that's not success, that's popularity. Success is what happens when I come up with something musical I've never done before that gives me chills.
I've never been a big fan of ars est pecunia. But being on the wrong end of the mortality curve, I'm less of a fan than ever. As long as the measure of musical success is money, art will take a back seat, and we won't get that groundbreaking music we crave.
Craig
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Subject: Addressing Antisemitism and Cancel Culture in Music
Dear Bob,
Recently, my scheduled event at Harbin Hot Springs was canceled due to complaints rooted in antisemitism and hateful rhetoric, targeting me as a Jewish musician and Zionist. Since this incident I spoke with the FBI, filed a police report, and submitted a cse to the ADL. This cancellation is part of a broader campaign of harassment I've faced since October 7th, including antisemitic hate speech, threats of violence, and coordinated efforts by some members of the New Age and spiritual community to prevent me from performing at festivals and events.
One particularly disturbing example is an email I received from an individual named Derek Cyr, which reads:
"Winner winner canceled dinner! Keep your psychotic Zionist genocidal sh*t out of our peaceful communities!!! I am watching you and will have canceled anywhere you go. Maybe you should just get the f*ck out of here and go to 'Israel.' You are so proud of your 'country' and its genocidal war crimes why not go take part in them coward!!!"
This individual has also sent threatening messages via Instagram, stating that he is "watching me" and intends to target me at performances. His language, along with that of others who have joined this campaign, reflects a troubling and dangerous pattern of antisemitic hate speech.
As a Rabbinical and Cantorial student and an artist dedicated to interfaith dialogue, my mission has always been to build bridges between communities through music, including fostering understanding between Jews and Muslims. My work is rooted in love, compassion, and peace, and I categorically condemn violence in any form.
Unfortunately, misinformation and a misunderstanding of Zionism—intrinsic to my Jewish faith—have been weaponized against me. Zionism, as I embody it, represents a spiritual and historical connection to the land of Israel, as reflected in over 90% of Jewish scripture, prayer liturgy, and theology. Yet my commitment to this deeply personal and religious belief has been mischaracterized as political extremism, fueling this backlash.
I believe this issue transcends my personal experience and speaks to a larger cultural reckoning in the music and spiritual communities. Cancel culture, driven by misinformation, has created an environment where Jewish artists are increasingly silenced or vilified for expressing their identity.
Blessings
Mikey Pauker
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From: David Terry
Subject: Re: Apple Music's Per Stream Payment
Like you said…
"People may not know this, but I publish the same STEM videos on both YouTube and Pornhub. While YouTube generally generates more views, the ad revenue per 1 million views on Pornhub is nearly three times higher."
Zara Dar (Darcy)
www.linkedin.com/posts/zaradar_people-may-not-know-this-but-i-publish-the-activity-7283930698137141250-50_U?utm_medium=ios_app&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link
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From: Kevin Cronin
Subject: Re: The Allee Willis Movie
Hey Bob,
I met Allee twice, both on the set of an AXS TV game show. I found her to be quite warm and fuzzy, and supportive, and funny, and odd, and cool … and that haircut, and those outfits. You definitely knew Allee was in the building … in the best of ways. My great friend and fellow songwriter, Shelly Peiken was close to Allee, and always sang her praises. That is a strong endorsement.
But I am responding here to applaud you for capturing the essence of what drove Allee, and me, and so many others whose careers were driven by an insatiable need for acceptance. Being famous is great, but there is more to it than meets the eye. …"fame never makes you happy, never in and of itself. But those with a deep hole inside pursue it, they believe it's the only way out of their internal hell. And it's not always hell, but you just don't feel like everybody else, you just don't feel accepted, but if you're famous...people will love you, right?"
You nailed it Bob. You understand it. And it feels good to be understood. Thanks … kc
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