So I’m sitting there, with the headphones on, listening to Lyor talk, thinking this is GENIUS!
That’s one of the myths of creativity, that you don’t know when you’ve done something great. ABSOLUTELY YOU DO! My favorite story on this comes from Al Kooper, he got a call from Skynyrd just after the first album came out, the band had a new song, could they come to Hot Lanta and cut it? They did. It sat on the shelf for a year before it was released. I asked Al if he knew it was gonna be a hit. Al looked me in the eye and said IT WAS SWEET HOME ALABAMA!
I don’t care what you think about Lyor, what you think about the supposed “value gap” at YouTube, you’ll be fascinated by his story, how he went from Bank Leumi to concert promoter to road manager for Run-DMC.
And so much more.
Now Lyor is optimistic on the future of the music business. He says the infrastructure is in place. All we need are some geniuses, people who can’t work for anybody else, square pegs in round holes, and the business will flourish!
Like Lyor. Like all the music business titans.
Most didn’t graduate from college. Most worked for someone else briefly, if at all. You see they had a vision and a personality that could not be constrained.
This is not like going to work on Wall Street, where you’re a cog in the wheel.
This is not like working in Silicon Valley, where you’re a team member reporting to the VC.
This is make it up as you go, fleet on your feet innovation by larger than life people.
They sniff the money, the excitement, and they act.
You will too after listening to this podcast!
