KC Confidential

SALES DIED

Remember when we were arguing about the cost of cuts on iTunes and whether Apple could sell individual tracks or had to sell the whole album?

Funny how the battles of yesterday are meaningless today.

Of course I’m talking about file sales, but if you want to talk physical…CDs are great earners, but de minimis in sales numbers. As for vinyl…the statistics are all wrong.

They’re using a suggested retail price when digital is net.

Turns out people want to own things. And if you have something cut analog and are playing it on an expensive stereo system, more power to you.  However if the album was recorded digitally and transferred to analog and you’re playing it on a cheap system, the joke is on you.

STREAMING TRIUMPHED

Music has it figured out, we live in an on demand culture.

The movie business still can’t square with the digital age. As for those bitching about streaming, they were the same ones bitching about files, about Napster.

The past is never coming back.

And in the past, the key was to get a record deal, and then you could live off the tit of the record company. So numerous acts with few sales survived, the company hoping for a breakthrough. Today, record deals are not so rich, and mainly only in hip-hop and pop, and you live or die on your streaming numbers, i.e. demand.

And what we found out is that many acts who were loved by the press and tastemakers were not so loved by the public. Furthermore, tastemakers became irrelevant, critics don’t matter, it’s all about word of mouth. And everything is available and you get paid as long as people keep listening. So, in a business where everybody sells their rights it’s best not to, best to hang in there for the payments that will keep you alive down the road.

MAJOR LABELS

The center will not hold.

Major labels will decline in market share. You don’t need them for distribution and as far as their marketing efforts… Will TV and press make a difference? As for radio, unless you’re hip-hop or pop, it’s essentially irrelevant. So you’ve got Glassnote shifting distribution to AWAL. You’ve got a lot of wannabe rappers and pop stars trying to get signed, but everybody else, who can actually play, has given up on getting a record deal – they’re focused on building an audience, primarily on the road.

VIRAL VIDEOS DIED

You can only exhibit the trick once. One Radiohead “In Rainbows,” one PSY “Gangnam Style.” The public can smell a rat – if it’s not organic, they want nothing to do with it. And just like Guitar Hero and Rock Band before it, TikTok will fade as a way of breaking artists. Once everybody knows about it, the early adopters are on to something else, as the johnny-come-latelies try to monetize what is evaporating. Continue reading →

The Greg Hall that I thought I knew was leading a double life…

On one hand, the dude I just wrote about yesterday – and that most locals and sports aficionados knew – was the edgy skeptic who liked nothing more than making sports media know-it-alls eat their words by zeroing in on their dumbest utterances and making fools of them.

Greg hated former WHB kingpin Kevin Kietzman, for example.

Case in point, this soundbite taking Kietzman to task from a 2014 column in the Platte County Landmark:

“…Kansas City is not populated by a bunch of idiot Hoosiers. This is a city filled with great sports fans – just like a lot of cities that have professional sports teams. Kevin seems to be obsessed with how the rest of the country views Kansas City and whether or not they look down their nose at us. That is a problem with him not us. I think we are pretty darn great no matter what they’re saying about us on either coast.”

Greg’s earlier works were far harsher, as he gradually mellowed after throwing in the towel on landing a sports media career and settled into being a top notch family guy.

The latter was the Greg Hall I only knew tangentially…

However as I look around the Internet at some of the tributes to him, while it’s a bit foreign to me, it’s clear that in Hall’s second coming as the world’s nicest guy, he’d left much of his angry guy personality in the rearview mirror.

Check out a couple of the tributes… Continue reading →

Nobody was closer to Greg Hall in his glory years than I was…

When it came to writing about sports media and the like Greg was a gifted hothead (kinda like a stable genius). Which contributed to his multiple media breakups like at the Pitch – and including the one with KC Confidential several years back.

That said, return with me now to the early 1990’s when a sports talk radio-aholic who went by the handle Husker, began his unusual ascent into the annals of local pop culture history.

Let’s start with an excerpt from my December 2014 column about Greg…

“I heard Husker one time on – I believe – 1340 AM and and called host Denny Trease to track him down. Unbeknownst to most listeners, his real name was Greg Hall.

Greg was one of the youngest in a large family of Nebraskans and he’d relocated  to Kansas City. A die hard Cornhusker and Chiefs fan, Hall became a regular (call in personality) on KMBZ 980 AM,1340 AM and KCTE-AM, a new station former Channel 4 weekend TV sports nerd Kevin Kietzman had signed on with.

In other words, when it came to sports talk radio Hall was everywhere.

And a clever rascal he was…”

Greg had carved out a unique niche, that distinguished him on local sports talk radio.

“For some time now a sports talk junkie who goes by the name of ‘Husker‘ has been making the rounds of area stations doing variations on David Letterman‘s Top 10 theme,” I wrote in the Kansas City Star in late 1994. “His identity: Greg Hall , a free-lance ad creative writer. His latest effort: A schtick on Chiefs honcho Carl Peterson‘s booting of former Chief Nick Lowery from the sidelines during a recent game. It’s called the ‘Top 10 Reasons King Carl Kicked Nick Off of the Chiefs Sidelines.’ Some highlights: ‘Carl can’t stand seeing anyone but him in an expensive trench coat; Nick was reading a copy of The Kansas City Star; Carl’s last suit from Peter’s Clothiers shrunk. ” And the No. 1 reason: “There isn’t enough room on the sideline for both Nick’s and Carl’s hair. ”

Clever stuff, right?

Anyone remember KC councilman/mayoral wannabe Dan Cofran and his memorable mustache?

A couple weeks after tracking Greg down, I called upon him to do the “Top 10 reasons Dan Cofran had a family of Czechoslovakians waiting in line at 13th and Locust.”

The councilman had hired the Czechs to stand in line for three days in order to get his name first on the ballot for KC mayor.

Some highlights:

“The Czechs figured waiting in line would be less boring than watching the Chiefs game; Cofran’s family was unavailable because they were vacationing in Czechoslovakia; the Czechs were cheaper than hiring out-of-work Royals. And the No. 1 reason: You didn ‘t think Cofran was going to stand out there in the cold, didya?”

From that point on, I called on Greg and used  his clever Top 10 lists on a regular basis. Until a new columnist dude named Jason Whitlock showed up at the newspaper and adopted Hall as his daily sports muse.

Greg’s main specialty though was grabbing and making fun of out-of-context quotes from local sports personalities like Don Fortune, Kevin Kietzman and Frank Boal.

He’d been faxing those soundbites on a weekly basis to the sports desk at the Star – and clever as they were – the sports know-it-alls had complained to him about wasting their fax paper and asked him to stop.

That’s how clued out the newspaper’s sports experts were. Continue reading →

We haven’t seen Adam Sandler quite like this since PUNCH DRUNK LOVE….

And that was back in 2002!

His latest big screen outing is a hard-hitting crime thriller called “UNCUT GEMS” directed and written by Josh and Bennie Safdie. The film’s location is New York City’s diamond district in Manhattan where we find Sandler totally transformed into a brash jewelry store owner.

He is also a compulsive  gambler. con-man, lousy husband and general low life who is constantly looking for the next big score.

Think of it as ‘Punch Drunk HUSTLE’!

And then he comes across a deal to be TOO good for his OWN good: A rare uncut hunk of a diamond that COULD change his life forever. But you guessed it, all hell breaks out instead with Sandler now barely surviving the collectors and enforcers who don’t take kindly to his latest scheme.

All this in a frantic and exhausting setting. Bad guys yelling on top of each other which should give many moviegoers a headache. Continue reading →

Most voters did not watch it…

Politics is show business for ugly people – Donald Trump knows this.

The RNC and DNC do not.

Come on, Trump was promoting himself using a fake name. That’s what Trump knows, fame. And his image was cemented by the Mark Burnett produced “Apprentice.”

At this point, we all know that reality TV is a creature of editing. You can look good or bad, depending upon the storyline the producers want to convey.

Donald Trump was depicted as a brilliant businessman – a hands-on billionaire who made quick decisions – who was all about the Benjamins.

And that message was conveyed week after week on network television, before it was eclipsed by Netflix and YouTube.

The issues don’t matter!

The people watching the debate already knew who they’re going to vote for.

It’s just the non-watchers who didn’t.

News trickles down to those not paying direct attention.

Oftentimes it’s inaccurate, but they don’t want to take the time to watch, to read, to research…they have other priorities.

And that’s fine.

But what they’re looking for is a star. Someone to believe in. Someone to follow. Someone to dedicate their life to.

Like musical artists.

Not actors, they play roles.

Musical artists? Their message is embedded in their songs. You believe they are these people.

But if you’re privileged enough to get up close and personal with these artists, in most cases you’re disappointed. They’re narcissistic, nonverbal and usually they are not interested in you.

The image prevails…

I could go through the history of show business and point out more stars, but one thing’s for sure, the Democrats will only win if they run one.

Tom Steyer?

I wouldn’t even want to have breakfast with him, I’d be fearful of being bored to tears.

Andrew Yang?

A nerd who struck it rich whose heart is in the right place but seems out of touch with reality, at least that which is involved with running for President.

Amy Klobuchar?

Like the girl running the bake sale. You know, like Paige Hardaway on “Atypical,” she’s always involved, always doing the right thing, but clueless as to how others perceive her.

So write those three off.

Let’s go to Pete Buttigieg.

He started off with star power, but somehow he’s lost it.

A star appears not to play the game. A star tests the limits, doesn’t shy away from them. A star, at least in the old days, is not a member of the club, but singularly in their own club.

Pete hanging with billionaires, raising money from the fat cats? Who can get behind that except for those donating?

Joe Biden? Continue reading →

Talk about confusing…

All this, “Who was Harley” stuff is getting out of hand, yet we’re way overdue for it all to fade into the nothingness.

However because the most controversial comments personality ever in the Kansas City blogosphere disappeared at the exact same time controversial KCC scribe Craig Glazer bit the dust, the mystery lives on.

At first blush, I bought into a theory that Glazer and Harley were one.

After all, I’d busted Glaze for making up fake comments section personalities, he’d confessed, and they were never heard from again.

But after stumbling onto emails from Glazer where he was furious over my allowing a Harley comment about a woman he was trying to hit on, I had new doubts.

How could Craig be so genuinely upset if he was the author?

Enter longtime comments section dude Super Dave with this comment:

“One of your writers, Hearne, reached out to me wanting my help with my IT connections to find out who Harley was,” it begins. “A request was made to do illegal things if need be to uncover who Harley was along with comments such as, “How much would this cost me to make happen?’

“What your writer didn’t know was that my friends were readers of your blog here and the Star in that past era of history long gone. What this writer might also not know is that all the emails and such related to the request were all kept and still stored in several places yet today by no less than three different people. You might call it ammunition for a later date sort of thing.

“But come on Hearne, some illegal activity didn’t need to take place to bust out who Harley was. Harley was Craig and Craig was Harley. Continue reading →

Ever wonder about Fox News see-through glass news desks for women anchors?

Hey, let’s get real…former Fox News boss Roger Aisles knew exactly what he was doing and how to get ratings.

Then along came the #MeToo movement which would eventually bring him down.

If all this sounds interesting, then “BOMBSHELL” is your movie!

The plot is a revealing inside into one of the most powerful and controversial media factories of all time and the bombshell story of the women who ultimately leveled the man who created the empire.

The newsroom drama employs some of today’s top actresses to recreate the sexual harassment claims against Fox News chairman Ailes with Nicole Kidman in the role of Gretchen Carlson, the first to accuse him.

Margot Robbie plays Kayla Pospisil, who appears to be a compilation of women subjected to Aisles inappropriateness at all levels.

But it’s Charlize Theron who steals the show. Continue reading →

He doesn’t have enough name recognition…

Welcome to the 21st Century, where you think your niche is national, but it’s not.

My favorite example is SNL… Funny or not, who exactly watches that show anymore? Same deal with prime time network television. Advertisers go for the largest share of a shrinking market, but this decline in numbers evidences the spread of attention over many more genres/influences/ideas.

Kind of like record companies and radio.

Terrestrial radio has the largest share of ears, but that no longer means it dominates, and by focusing on these outlets, record companies are dooming their futures.

That’s the story of the 21st Century, the inability of the usual suspects to pivot. They always wait too long and are supplanted by more nimble newcomers.

The monied-class and New Yorkers think everybody is familiar with Mike Bloomberg, after all, doesn’t he run Wall Street’s information pipeline, wasn’t he mayor of New York?

All true, but most people are not paying attention – they’re not actively investing in stocks and they don’t care about New York – they may even resent New York, which is why Bloomberg is polling at 5%.

Klobuchar, Yang…they had the privilege of being in the debates, which garnered ratings superior to network prime time. So, now more people know about them.

So, if you’re running a national campaign…but should you be running a national campaign?

Musicians keep lamenting that they can’t break through. Maybe they don’t have to break through, maybe they should be satisfied they’ve got an audience at all, and try to grow and superserve this audience.

That’s right, there is no Music League.

Despite the Grammys, there is no kumbaya, no coming together, no overall scene. You’re on your own, and it’s not so much that you’re competing with everyone, but yourself…which path do you want to choose?

Kinda like Mike Bloomberg himself.

He was laid off by Salomon Brothers. Rather than look for another gig at a bank, he started a whole new business, he thought he knew better.

That’s the 21st Century in a nutshell…

Do you think you know better? If you do, you can have an impact. If your goal is to compete with others on their terms…good luck.

The funny thing is as tech closes ranks, art has become ever broader.

You can’t compete with Facebook or Google or Amazon…

They’ll just buy you or put you out of business. But in art…with the distribution pipelines free, you’ve got a chance.

And this is the time for art.

When the world is focused on money, when leaders spin untruths, now is the time to speak truth to power. Assuming you know you aren’t about money but message, that if your fans won’t keep you alive you don’t deserve a career to begin with.

Bloomberg could run in New York, but he can’t run nationally. Continue reading →

So many mysteries, so few readily proven answers…

Like, the location of Jimmy Hoffa’s body? Whatever became of D.B. Cooper? Who was Jack the Ripper? Where’s Cleopatra’s tomb?

See what I mean?

To that illustrious list, now add: Was caustic KCC comments dude Harley secretly comedy club maven/scribe Craig Glazer?

That appeared to be the case.

However Craig denied it – even after he’d been busted for making up an entire cadre of fake commenters.

Then after Craig died – just over a year ago – the unthinkable happened.

Harley vanished…never to be heard from again.

At first there were a few weak-wristed attempts by copycat commenters.

But after nine long years, there was no mistaking the posers from the genuine article.

For whatever the reason, ding-dong time had come, and the hated Harley was no more.

At which point the circumstantial evidence seemed compelling…

Craig and Harley had to be one and the same.

Sadly, no death bed confession was to be had.

When last I visited Craig, lying on the hospital bed that was to be his last resting place, he was so out of it and weak that all I could do was turn on the pre season Chiefs game for him to see his newfound hero – who he called Pat Mahomes – breeze to an easy win.

His words were few and unintelligible.

So I did what any mouth-breathing columnist might do; rang the bell, closed the book and blew out the candle for both Craig and his egregious alter ego, Harley.

Even his longtime  “pal” Bill Nigro had to wonder.

Flash forward with me now to a few weeks back when a funny thing happened… Continue reading →

“Buttigieg Struggles to Square Transparency With Lack of Disclosure on Consulting”

Raise your hand if you know what McKinsey & Company is… it might as well be Blackwater!

This is what it’s come down to folks, whether you want business as usual, rule by the monied elite, or a revolution.

The Republicans had a revolution.

The RNC lost control of the party.

Donald Trump won the nomination.

And except for a few Never Trumpers, who don’t hold elected office, the whole party has gathered together under King Donald.

You see, the rich wanted more and the poor wanted change – they were sick and tired of paying for everybody else when they couldn’t make ends meet.

Meanwhile, the Democrats argue amongst themselves, paying attention to identity politics more than big issues. That’s how Elizabeth Warren got traction, by issuing policies and by being for the little guy. Sure, she used to be a Republican – she grew up in Oklahoma for godssakes – isn’t it a badge of honor to change your mind? She saw how medical bills and bankruptcy ruptured families and she wanted change.

And the Republicans – and many Democrats – hate her for it.

You see the ruling party – the elite, the rich, forget whether they’re on the left or the right – don’t want to lose control.

But they should.

As for Elizabeth Warren, she lost all credibility during the second debate, when she wouldn’t answer the question about how her medical plan would be paid for, suddenly she looked like every other political weasel. Continue reading →

From Marvel’s Hulk to meticulous practitioner, Mark Ruffalo adapts well to just about every role that comes his way…

He proves it again in “DARK WATERS” in which he plays a corporate defense attorney who usually practices on behalf of large corporations.

The film is based on the true story of how this attorney came to switch sides and single handedly–-and successfully—take on an environmental lawsuit against a mighty chemical company and expose its lengthy history of secret contamination and deadly pollution in the process. A gripping pursuit that almost costs him his family and career.

If you enjoyed the Oscar-winning investigative thriller “SPOTLIGHT,” then “DARK WATERS” is for you!

It’s been called the biggest corporate crime in American history as attorney Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) through family ties, takes on the task of uncovering the dark secret that connects the growing number of unexplained animal deaths to the giant DuPont corporation—a stunning, whistleblowing  expose that speaks volumes of American greed in the worst perspective. Continue reading →

“Did ‘The Irishman’ Take a Bite Out of the Thanksgiving Box Office”

“Don’t blame Netflix’s ‘The Irishman’ for the Thanksgiving box office being down this year.”

Just the fact they’re debating this proves the point.

The Irishman on Netflix was an event. Other than Frozen, was there a picture in the theatre you had to see?

Furthermore, platform releases died years ago, everything is day and date and that’s what Netflix affords!

You’re going to see this debate in the trades on a regular basis now.

You see theatrical distribution is dying.

Theatres don’t like it, the Academy doesn’t like it, many directors don’t like it, but the public LOVES being able to see fresh movies on streaming services.

Nothing has legs anymore. You’re here today, gone tomorrow.

If your plan is to spread the marketing of your art for over a year, you’re out of touch and dreaming or you just haven’t gotten traction yet.

No one wants to be left out anymore. When you close the door…

The dirty little secret is today’s audience can miss anything. Nothing is so important everybody has to see it. Whether it be a movie or series, or the impeachment hearings.

There are many offerings, we’re overwhelmed and we prioritize based on our own desires.

And one desire, which has nothing to do with technology, is to be a member of the group.

That’s what art affords, assuming you deliver it in a way that’s palatable to the audience.

And sure, there are Boomers who will seek out an art house film after the first week of release, and sure, kid pictures like “Frozen” might last more than one week, but that’s because it didn’t fit into your schedule. Or it was too crazy at first, with so many people going, or you were waiting for the feedback to make a decision whether to partake.

But streaming services allow people to partake INSTANTLY!

The movie business is swimming upstream in a country where Amazon’s focus is on SAME DAY DELIVERY!

I’ve got to ask you, why go to a store? That’s why malls are dying. Shopping can be entertainment, but it’s time-inefficient. And the outlets have become so talent lean, nobody is working in the store and those who do are unfamiliar with the product/unhelpful.

But we’re supposed to wait months to see a flick on the flat screen? Continue reading →

Think Grumpy Old Men meets the Godfather…

Okay, maybe it’s me, but after spending three and a half hours choking down what I was led to believe was the next big mob movie, The Irishman, I can report that I was the only one of a party of four who didn’t fall dead asleep by the movie’s end. And two of those four were 20-somethings.

“I’m curious to see how they make all the actors look so much younger,” said one prior to the movie’s start.

How, indeed…

The main stars – Robert De Niro, age 76; Al Pacino, age 79; and Joe Pesci, age 76 – are just a hop, skip and a jump from being octogenarians.

Spoiler alert: The answer to the above question about how they could be made to look younger is, the movie begins with the three amigos playing their actual ages, then flashing back to the days when they were young, up-and-coming gangsters.

Which for the most part, unfortunately, comprises most of the film.

The problem:

Even with a ton of makeup and soft focus cameras, there’s no escaping that these dudes are way over the hill.

Example: at one point De Niro dismantles a dude by tossing him into the street and stomping the living daylights out of him. Trouble is, De Niro’s body is so old and brittle, he looks like a senior citizen beating up on another senior in the cafeteria line..very unconvincing.

And one thing you will not see in this movie, is anything approaching sex or romance with a hot-looking woman. No way any of these over-the-hillsters could pull that one off halfway convincingly without creeping out the entire audience. Instead, we get matronly mom types cast as bit players that no red-blooded American movie dude would gaze at with horn dog eyes.

Am I being picky?

Of course, I am.

But unless I miss my guess, you will be too – and whatever you do – do not have a couple beers or cocktails before you wade into this sleeper. I suggest a large latte from Starbucks and a really good night’s sleep. Continue reading →

OK, Boomers…

Now that was a waste of time. I bet more people sat through the Sondland hearing than this dreary, mostly self-congratulatory, so-called debate

It’s not business as usual.

Donald Trump has proven that. So what do the Democrats say, what does the establishment say, what does the media say? Let’s go back to the old rule book! It’s almost as if Trump is Napster and the Dems are the labels.

And you know what? CDs never came back. That’s right, streaming replaced files, and reinvigorated recorded music revenues to boot!

So who is complaining?

THE OLD PEOPLE.

The boomers who think their doody doesn’t stink. Who believe since they lived through the ’60s and can wear skinny jeans and own smartphones that they know what’s going on.

But they don’t!

As a matter of fact, boomers are retiring in droves – passing the baton – but they want to give one more middle finger to those younger than they are. They want to keep everything they’ve gotten, all the spoils, and screw the rest of the public.

Now this is America.

Where no one can sacrifice. Jimmy Carter said to wear a sweater to stay warm during an energy crisis and he was excoriated. You can’t mess with the American way of life, which is all about raping the environment and pillaging while you’re at it. But if you speak to the younger generation…

The younger generation that’s into experiences, not assets.

The younger generation that’s hobbled by student debt.

The younger generation with even fewer opportunities for upward mobility than their contemporaries in Europe…and they’re PISSED!

So what do we get during the debate?

ALL THE THINGS THEY’VE DONE.

As if nothing has changed.

I’ll tell you what’s changed. We need passion. Trump is a great salesman. Amy Klobuchar starts talking and my eyes roll into the back my head. It’s a new day, talk about new day problems.

That’s why I’ve been excited by Elizabeth Warren. You can see she believes what she’s saying, the passion underneath, the refusal to play to the polls. Continue reading →