Here's a Map to 'The Honest Broker'
Let me take you on a tour
I want to welcome new members to our community—and there are a lot of you. Come in and make yourself comfortable!
The number of subscribers to The Honest Broker has increased 30% in just the last ten weeks.
Some milestone events have grown our community.
The “State of the Culture” article in late February went viral—and generated more views than anything I’ve ever published.
Several follow-up articles also attracted new readers, notably articles on TikTok, coffee, AI, teaching humanities, and the origins of Western music (very different topics—which shows how hard it is for me to predict the response to any specific piece).
Last week, The Honest Broker was honored with the “Blog of the Year” award from the Jazz Journalists Association—thank you voters!—which also gave us a boost.
My appearance on Rick Beato’s video channel brought lots of new friends here—just like it did when I made my previous visit to Rick’s studio in 2022.
Finally, parts of that interview are now showing up on other platforms. (One short video of me talking actually got more than two million views on Instagram in just 48 hours.)
If you want to support my work, take out a premium subscription (just $6 per month).
I don’t have any experience with audiences that large. Just a few days ago, I wrote here that “I like thinking small. I like thinking of each reader as an individual.”
So I really don’t know how to adapt to a larger venue—that was never the plan here.
I guess I’ll just keep acting as if this is an intimate conversation among friends.
But I do need to show hospitality to our new compadres. So today I’m offering a quick tour of The Honest Broker. But let me apologize in advance—because my broker’s shop is a bit eccentric.
A Map to The Honest Broker
You should expect the unexpected here. But this is a reasonably accurate summary:
I tend to publish articles three times per week, more or less.
The articles cover a wide range of topics (more on that below). Music is my main concern, but almost anything related to arts, media, or culture can show up here.
Around 65% of the articles are free for everybody—and you can share them widely.
The remaining 35% are partially paywalled—but even these usually have a meaningful portion of the article available to everybody. You don’t hit the paywall until you are well into the article.
Premium subscribers also get access to “The Vault” which includes more than 400 articles from my archives (mostly literary essays and my best-of-year albums lists).
Premium subscriptions cost $6 per month or $50 per year.
Newcomers will want to sample the goods. So here’s a quick overview—with links to representative articles.
The 14 Sections of the The Honest Broker
If this were a real broker’s store, I would break it down into 14 sections. Here’s the layout:
1. The Origin Story
My origins article is the single best guide to what I do, and how I ended up here. So I put this at the front of the store
2. Other Memoirs
I often share personal memoirs from my motley life. Here are some examples:
3. Music Writing
Music is my driving passion, and I write about it often. Here are some links:
4. Futurists and Futurism
I often try to predict the future here. And I also look at great thinkers from the past who demonstrated an uncanny ability to anticipate social changes.
Here are some examples:
How Did a Censored Writer from the 1970s Predict the Future with Such Uncanny Accuracy?
The Future of Big Cities—as Predicted in The Decline of the West (1922)
5. Advice Columns
You should probably never take my advice. But that doesn’t stop me from giving it—and these columns tend to be popular with readers. Here are a few examples:
6. Music as a Change Agent in Human Life
This topic is the core of my vocation. I keep returning to it, and frequently write in-depth essays on my heroes—people who change the world with sound. Here are some examples:
7. Media and Tech
Much to my surprise, the most widely read articles here are usually about media and tech. That’s surprising—I never saw this as part of my main mission. But I speak about these subjects with extreme frankness and (perhaps occasionally brutal) honesty—and many respond to this, because they feel oppressed by manipulative command-and-control technology.
Here are some representative articles:
8. List Articles
I often write elaborate list articles—usually about music. They are often so long that I have to publish them in installments. Here are a few:
9. Books and Writers
I occasionally write about literary subjects. For example…
10. Open Mic Day
Every few weeks, we do an open thread—and you run the show. Here are some examples:
11. My Online Book
I’m publish a book in installments on The Honest Broker. It’s called Music to Raise the Dead. I try to make each installment self-contained, so that you can enjoy it even if you haven’t read other parts of the book.
The book will eventually have 11 chapters—each in the form of a question. I’ve published eight-and-a-half chapters here so far.
If you want to start at the beginning of the book, click here. Below are links to some of the installments.
12. The Best Recordings of the Year
Every year I share my picks for the 100 best albums—all styles, all genres. I need to warn you that my selections are often unconventional. So you are likely to encounter music here that you won’t learn about elsewhere.
13. Opinions
I have plenty of opinions—some of them a little outside of the mainstream. Here’s a taste:
14. Other Miscellaneous and Sundry Offerings
Almost anything can show up here. So don’t be surprised by occasional articles that defy categorization. Here are a few examples.
That tour was a little longer than I anticipated. But I hope you found it useful.
I’ll be back in touch soon.
I don’t stop often to comment but now’s a great time to do so. Thanks Ted for all your great writing. I look forward to it and know I am always in for something that will make me think.
Wow! This map is the map to the hidden treasure of your Substack - thank you! As the mother of a musician, your writing has given me much insight - thank you.