Retired music exec, producer, songwriter Jack Ponti has sent an open letter to Dave Grohl asking if he has the Dave’s the right the wrongs of the current music business.
The music industry is in great shape, it is only the artists who are suffering. Ponti is a rare voice from the exec side of the biz who made is fortune as both a songwriter and later a manager and label owner.
Jack’s credits are seen across albums for Bon Bovi, Alice Cooper, India.Arie and Sebastian Bach. His songs have earned him millions of dollars and millions of sales but despite being cashed up he is not content to start quiet about the horrors of the music business … and it is not because of illegal downloading.
Ponti has identified that the major labels are all sucking of the teat of greed pockets hundreds and millions in ad-revenue from streaming that is not being shared with the acts.
That isn’t even the dark side of the future. The labels stand to make billions from the float of streaming companies by using artist content as their equity into those companies.
Jack Ponti retired from the music industry this week and as a parting gesture sent the challenge to Dave Grohl to continue his cause.
OPEN LETTER TO DAVE GROHL.
Dave,
Maybe you know me, maybe you don’t. That’s not important.
Though we were connected via the same company (WPI) for a space in time.
So I decided to retire from the music business. I had a good run and have other interests.
What bothers me is leaving behind a business in ruins, and knowing the slim chances that any of these artists have to attain my level of success, or yours.
We’re lucky and blessed. I know that, I am sure you do as well.
So this all got me to thinking.
You’re still in the business, in fact some would say, you are the voice of a generation. At the very least you’re the de facto spokesman for the independent musician, perhaps musicians at large.
Was that your goal? Maybe not, but you are that guy right now.
I’m done, but you’re not, and you can make a real difference, way beyond Rick Rolling a demented church, or giving speeches at SXSW.
See we have a problem.
The problem is the industry has turned into an adrev model.
And within that model, they don’t have to share a single dime of advertising revenue with the content creators.
So while the labels thrive, the content creators starve.
No before you say that’s indie, it’s not. It’s terrible and underhanded, and to date, unchallenged.
The labels has replaced all of their lost recorded music revenue with adrev, in the hundreds of millions, maybe billions, of dollars.
It’s business as usual for them, maybe even better than before.
Google is a publicly traded company.
You just have to go their earnings report, see the numbers on adrev, assume 50% of that is YouTube and assume 50% of that is music.
I think both are low estimates.
That will give you a idea of what the labels are raking in.
Compound that with every other source of adrev, and it’s a pretty penny.
Let’s not even get into equity participation on Spotify, or advances they give.
That’s how the industry is moving forward.
They found new money, and even better, money they don’t have to share.
I have no idea what your label deal is.
Could be a joint venture, an imprint, or some elaborate P&D, that gives you access to services.
If it’s just a P&D, then your label is getting adrev paid direct to you.
If it’s a JV, are you getting paid adrev?
Taylor apparently owns equity in Big Machine (I could be wrong), so one would think she is participating in adrev.
But she has a very smart, financially savvy, father.
These other artists don’t.
But they do have you.
So my thought is, how about you sue RCA for adrev participation?
If you are already getting it, then how about you become the spokesman for content creators to get that as well?
Maybe even mobilize other artists and lay the groundwork for a class action suit.
At the very least, if not class action, then a group of artists suing.
A proper litigator can give you a million angles of a worthy suit.
You have a lot of power Dave, you can do this.
Wouldn’t this be an extraordinary legacy for you?
Actually making a difference.
I know you have the balls to take a stand.
What do you say?
Game on?
Jacki Ponti letter to Dave Grohl used with permission from Jack Ponti
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