EXPERTED FROM BOB LEFSETZ'S APRIL FOOLS DAY (hint, hint) LETTER: "...Yes, the waiting IS the hardest part. But FINALLY, after FIVE YEARS, the music business has moved into the FUTURE!
...Egged on, of course, by the Grokster Supreme Court hearing.
Oh, there was a DEVASTATING conference call subsequent to Tuesday morning's court session. Thomas H. Lee HIMSELF got on the line and asked HOW DID YOU GUYS FUCK THIS UP SO BAD??? I'm about to take this company public, and all you're doing is insuring that everybody HATES US! Refusing revenue, don't any of you guys have MBAs? Can't we license SOMEBODY??
Andy Lack about blew a gasket. He went on about the DualDisc. How if they only gave it a little more time, got Matt Lauer to demonstrate it on the "Today Show", people would reject the free product, hell, over time they'd be able to RAISE the discs' price!
Clive Davis seconded this notion. After all, he was famously quoted in the "People" Grammy Daily as not having an iPod, and only listening to CDs!
Zach Horowitz was flummoxed. This was HIS strategy, holding out forever, beating the bad guys in court. But now, with the Supreme Court Justices suddenly so HIP as to technology, could they REALLY pull the wool over their eyes?
Mitch Bainwol, of course, said nothing. He's the mouthpiece, but he's got no power.
As for Alain Levy, he was not on the call. Having to fly commercial instead of private, he couldn't get a signal on the plane as he crossed the Atlantic from New York to Paris. Rumor has it that Zach said EMI didn't count anyway, but no one will confirm he actually uttered these words...
...Jimmy started dialing, doing what he does best, using TWENTIETH CENTURY technology to its best....
...in one of the great strategic moves of ALL TIME, Jimmy proceeded to reach one level DOWN the food chain. To those who've seen their compensation hammered while their bosses have raped and pillaged.
...And what's the deal?
You can buy a LimeWire trading license for five bucks a month. Take all you want, GO FOR IT! But, if you DON'T buy a license, Mitch Bainwol's gonna SUE YOUR ASS!
...Yes, as of Sunday night at 2 a.m., coinciding with the advent of Daylight Savings Time, you can buy a LimeWire trading license online. Right on the P2P company's site. At first Jimmy wanted the licenses sold through U2's Website, always eager to self-deal, juicing the Irish band's visibility, but everybody else railed about the ticket pre-sale debacle, and he backed down...
...LimeWire skims a 10% fee, for administration (and profit!) The remaining 90% goes to the label. Which then splits the money, after publishing, with the act 50/50. God, give Don Henley credit, he not only saved Thoreau's Walden Woods, he saved Sheryl Crow, Marilyn Manson, My Chemical Romance, all the MODERN artists!
Yup, every trade will be tracked. Monies will be divvied up. And then ultimately split, as per above.
...And, in addition, the LimeWire license is only for a YEAR! The plan is to get all the ISPs to kick in two or three bucks per subscriber, and then ELIMINATE the trading license concept COMPLETELY! But Jimmy thought it imperative to make a deal NOW! To try and regain some of the industry's good will. To try to stave off the results of a bad Supreme Court decision.
Utterly amazing. The man who conspired with Carly Fiorina, who helped broker the U2 iPod deal, who even tried with the FARM CLUB, has shown that he really DOES get it, and has DELIVERED!
