Yes. Loved that conversation. Repeat please. Admittedly, I don’t even remember how long I’ve been reading Ted. He’s become the only civilized place to read about things!
I occasionally checkout Fantano's music recommendations. But they make me wonder how much music training or demonstrable music skill he has. Can anyone answer that? I don't watch his videos, so I can't speak from experience. But I know that Rick Beato knows music, can play music, and can hear what's happening on a recording at a very deep level. Rick absolutely knows what he's doing and what he says brings with it that kind of authority. Does Fantano demonstrate that as well?
Ted at the very least you should watch Rick’s interviews with musicians. Rick is a music teacher and he was a producer for a while, but he got an interview with Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny.
I have recently been tracking the careers of my favorite writers, and even the "successful ones" say the publishing industry has collapsed and they have to do their own PR, and no one is reading, and their spirits are dour. I have an MFA, several published books, and a career in writing, but I'm not even close to their level, so I had to do a lot of soul searching and I am now wavering as to whether or not to use paywalls and even charge for what I write, since I love sharing with others and never really got into this for "ends as means" etc....
I'm curious if any other substackers are trending in this direction, and I'm asking Honest Broker readers because a lot of this space is used to discuss art and culture trends specifically with monetization.
Thoughts?
And thanks, Ted, for the amazing content and these open mic sessions!
I have the feeling that everything’s about to change—in both directions. One part of the population will stay on social media, maybe with even worse mental health issues, while another large group will start looking for a different path. That path is starting to open up. I recommend reading the interview I did with Seth Werkheiser from Social Media Escape Club, it's on my profile.
I definitely see this happening! I've remained on Social Media for the same reason my name is in the yellow pages: people can find me, but I've never been and will probably never be a "real user" of social media. Even Substack Notes feels tedious to me...
I wonder. Analogous to the smart-phone out-opters. Certainly the people reading this newsletter are resonant to what is becoming the intellectual version of the Slow Food movement.
I take issue with "I can't afford a subscription" because I see people who say this buying $6 lattes at Starbucks many times a week. What they're really saying is "I don't want to budget for writing" which is fine, but I think this is a pretty shoddy excuse. We all have to decide how to spend our income, but "I can't afford" doesn't apply to a substack that costs 5-10 a month and provides one with more "time-entertainment" than the pleasure of an empty calorie snack, etc. And I just picked a random example... It's totally fine to not want to purchase reading materials since there's no dearth of free things to read online, but to hide behind "I can't afford it" is masking what's really going on: the decline of perceived value of black squiggles on a white page...
I hear what you’re saying with a lot of people and their attitudes but there are those of us on social security/disability that aren’t buying anything extra but the basics to live. Sorry, but I truly can’t afford subscriptions. So I humbly ask for free ones and see if that’s possible. BTW, I’m a voracious reader of all manner of the written ‘black squiggles on a white page’. Especially physical books…
Hi NilaMae, I respect what you wrote and I even have given away 10 premium subs to people in your place. I really do get that. But, I truly do think you're in the minority. Most people aren't buying only the basics to live, they're in debt from buying a lot more, and then they talk about what they can and can't afford, but you're still right, and it's humbling to be reminded of this. I was once hit by a car and on disability and in a wheel chair, and it was a long, really hard time in my life. I truly understand, and thank you!
Hey Mike, I really appreciate what you did there for Nila. And I appreciate Sam Harris, for example, for offering free subscriptions to his work to anyone who reaches out via email and asks. I think it's a good model to follow and every writer and podcaster should.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to get an accurate picture of whether every person that claims "need" truly has it, but I believe if I was forced to guess, I'd err towards "most people are honest" - so I guess maybe you give a few bad actors a free sub to your work in exchange for potentially opening it up to a whole new audience that might not have otherwise experienced it. It's where I tend to fall down on the piracy issue too, which I think is very analogous.
I have too many thoughts to list here, but ALL of them are positive. I have given out at least 10 free-premium subs, and never once asked the person or vetted their integrity. I'm not even worried about people stealing my content (Afterall, if someone can take what I wrote and get more eyeballs on it, even if I don't profit, and they do, the world profits from my kind messaging, right?)...so yeah, I agree with your take, and anyone who signs up for my stuff and asks in private WILL get a premium sub. I've even said it in numerous emails I've sent (not all of them, but enough). With that said, I'm also tired of feeling cowered into pretending that poverty has nobility. It doesn't. I've been poor and had poor people steal from me. I've had poor people betray me. I've had poor people lie to me. I've also had these experiences with rich people. So really, I'm just tired of the "us/them" American distraction of talking about "rich people" like they're homogenous, but also poor people as a homogenous unit. Integrity seems to be something we all either try very hard at, try a little at, or give up on, and I just want to make sure I'm on the "trying very hard" side.
I appreciate your comment, a lot! (and hit me up if you want that sweet free-premium sub (yuk yuk yuk)!
This is why I give away free .pdfs of my poetry - if somebody (gasp) actually wants poetry but can't buy it right now, I'm happy to share. I figure if they like it enough and their situation changes, they'll buy it later.
Thank you. I think many people who love to read are in economically precarious circumstances, often (as in my case) with no way out. I'm grateful for what's available for free, and if I had some extra cash to spend, there are most definitely things I'd spend it on, including books. But I don't and can't.
You don't understand people like me, who think it's odd that people are spending hundreds of dollars a year to subscribe to anything, including Substacks. I never was around people with that much disposable income.
Of course I don't understand you! We've never met. But I'm consistent in my logic: people pay for what they want, and they abstain from paying for what they don't want. It comes down to choices. If you want more disposable income, that's a choice you have to make, and if you don't want it, it's a choice. Most Americans are in debt, not full of disposable income. So we're (in my eyes) agreeing! I didn't come in here to lament whether or not people will pay ME, but to ask if people think people will in general continue to pay for words, not "visual/auditory" content... My understanding of what's going on, in the larger trend, is that people with and without disposable income are willing to spend 100/mo on Hulu/Netflix/YoutubeTV, but not willing to sign up for 5-10 substacks at $5 a month, which is laughable less....it's apples and oranges to some, but I'm trying to talk about the fruit.
I appreciate your response. I enjoy being challenged to think beyond my myopic desire to ignore the myriad disparate realities we all exist in!
I don't understand people who have multiple subscriptions to streaming services either. . . . Even though I have a Substack, I believe it's a fad that makes some famous writers like Ted Gioia a lot of money, and others, not so much. I agree with the comment that it's a bit unseemly to keep seeing writers sort of beg their free subscribers to sign up for paid. I suspect that after a while, people are going to be maxed out on subscriptions, and get bored reading people's posts and stop paying and go follow some other fad. So I don't agree with those who claim Substack is going to replace traditional publication. BTW, Substack is keeping $1.01 from every $5 I get from a paid subscriber, so they're the big winners, when you multiply that high percentage of money they keep by the millions of subscribers. They just increased their cut by 6 cents. I just got $3.99 net from one subscriber, and before that I used to net $4.05. And the interface doesn't give you many choices for formatting that other online apps do. Just my two cents.
Agreed on Substack and similar blogging platforms being a fad. They will inevitably be replaced by other, newer forms... of blogging, whether free or for pay. It's kind of dismaying to see how trendy Substack is. (Not meant as a criticism of anyone who publishes via Substack; merely an observation on the medium.)
The thing is, Wordpress still has the nicest templates, layouts, etc. In design terms, it's far superior to Substack, and is literally easier to read.
Yet most bloggers deserted it for this platform. I'm still not sure why.
Ted’s method is a half way. Some posts are free and others are paid only. I subscribe to another substack that is 75% free post with the remaining 25% video demos and extras to the paid folk.
Yeah, I've paid Ted for his stuff since I discovered him, but my policy for paying for substacks is based on "rewarding" and "motivating" someone to keep writing, so I didn't sign up to get his paid stuff, but one time I did pay for a year of someone's substack and then they never posted again, and I still have "bitter" feelings about that...so I want to do "what's ethical" and I'm SO GLAD I posted this, and got feedback like yours. It's really helping me! Thank you!
His music posts are for paid subscribers. I wish at least a few of them were free. Agree or disagree, I do trust Ted to have interesting recs and observations on what he's listening to.
Mike Oppenheim - I'm sorry, but you are just being dismissive of many peoples' realities. Especially older folks (and I'm one) on fixed incomes.
It seems like you've never been down in the "low income" bracket, though I may well be wrong. Fwiw, I've been on SSDI for close to 30 years. It's enough to exist on, but to actually *live,* people truly need more than that.
Give us a break, please. Ask us about our circumstances and please listen to us when we tell you and others what we're facing.
Hoping that something positive comes out of these exchanges.
Hi, I'm sure you didn't have time to read my other responses, but I took time to explain what I said in further detail, and comped two people in the process. If you'd like a comp, just sign up for free and I'll comp you. I was disabled, in a wheelchair, poor, and I've always volunteered to help others at least 6 hours a week. I'm not a greedy taker, I'm not a selfish finger pointer, but I'm also not a people pleaser, and I *know* many, many people who speak out of two sides of their mouth when it comes to being poor and put out, and it's dishonest, and disrespectful to people like you.
Umm... you jumped to the wrong conclusions. I don't especially like to talk about being on a fixed income (SSDI). For what it's worth, I can't afford fancy drinks from Starbuck's, either. Subscription costs on this + other platforms add up fast.
I would love to be able to to read the NYRB, The Atlantic, etc., but as I live in a rural area, with a struggling, underfunded and understaffed county library, it's just not possible.
Sometimes it's better to ask questions than to make assumptions about people, you know?
Sponsorship? Those readers who feel compelled to purchase subscriptions for others(on a first come first served basis, or those who want to back a particular person/people can as well maybe? Idk about that one, itd be better to be anonymous). Obviously thered need to be some guardrails to prevent various issues, but i see no reason it couldnt be done.
My gut says the attention span of the average 'reader' (and I use that term loosely) is becoming alarmingly short.
It sounds like your decision relates more to choosing your target audience than making money from them. If success correlates to quantity, then lower the bar to entry will be important. No paywall pairs well with using shorter words and keeping your content brief.
If success looks more like connecting with thoughtful readers who will read, think, and use your writing to shape their understanding of their ecosystem, then paywalls are not a barrier. AND you can write material that digs a little deeper.
I'm interested to read what you've written. If you're open to pointing me to a piece that'd be great!
Really good food for thought. I write fiction, non-fiction, and also podcast about hospice and death and dying, which is my way of saying "i'm all over the place. But if you click on my little name/logo I think it takes you to my stack. BUT, I didn't post here to garner attention for my stuff. I really wanted to connect with people like you and see what others are thinking. It just feels weird to paywall stuff that I want people to read.
My wife just walked in and yelled at me for not posting a link, so she told me to do the one I wrote about trying to help my daughter pee... It's called "Vaginas Can't Aim" here you go (LOL):
I love your last paragraph! It reminds me of two things.
First, a sign outside the bathroom at a cafe... "Man, Woman, Who cares! Just wash your hands." (And don't piss on the seat! If I'm back there I might add a post script.)
Second, the concept that life is more like a thrift shop than a department store. When you go to a department store you know what you're looking for and expect it to be there - and in your size. If it's not, you're disappointed.
When you go to a thrift store you're open... Open to discover and enjoy the gems you find!
I feel this post. It is so hard to know when to post your stuff and I try to stay away from anything that makes me feel even a bit gross. Your link was well deserved and I am checking it out too.
I think you'd like mine too ;)
I was a bit shocked to see $6 a month as the ask for this substack. They are doing great work and I think can justify it, but I would feel gross asking that much.
I really have no idea how I am going to make money off this. I am just doing what most engages me and hoping it sticks.
I actually had to see a therapist a long time ago for exactly what you are describing: "feeling gross for setting a value for what you do." I identify SO strongly with that feeling, but substack lets you turn off payments but have a "pledge" button to see if others find you "gross" or "delectable." You'd be surprised. I used to do this for free, from 2006-2020, and then I was ASKED for how to compensate me, so I moved here, and the rest is history. I have not "quit my day job" but in five years, substack has become "A day job" and now I have three part time day jobs, 2 of which I love, and only one I really would like to quit someday. So try hard to see your value and appreciate yourself, if you can!
I just stepped fully into my 'essayist' voice. I have been mostly working on my full novel and memoir writing, but the posts just keep flowing lately. I am not even trying to make strategy out of it yet. Just letting it flow.
I can't imagine I could keep up at the pace I am, but I could slow it down to a ration basis if I was getting some kind of feedback on my stuff.
I can't even give the damn novels away for someone to read them and give me a critique.
I get it, though. I am asking a lot of their time. I just want to be able to produce and survive.
I don't know how old you are or what stage of your "career" you're in, but I once lost my focus and started writing "for the market" and it was a dark period for my creative mind and soul. I think your plan and path sound good, but not the worrying part. worrying is fear of the future and depression is anger at the past. If you can anchor into your flow state and write from there, everything will feel good, and then you just keep repeating that method!!! I hope this helps!
My honest reaction is that a paywall will likely limit your reach. But I don't have any numbers to back that up. The main problem I have as a reader on Substack is *discovery*; how do I use my time and attention to find good sources? This involves balancing openness to new ideas, a desire to find more of what satisfies, enlightens, or motivates me, against the risk of disappointment.
With so many topics repeated in a mimetic manner, sometimes I find a source doesn't have much depth beyond a few pieces.
All that said, I'm not sure what genre or realm it is in which you write. Just extrapolating my own experience.
One thought is to consider paywalling later, so that you might become better-known in the interim.
Wow, these are great things to consider. I guess my original thoughts were that you have to release steady free content, but then also paywalled content to reward/intrigue people, but then I started getting annoyed that I want to give people who pay me "my best stuff" but I also want to show potential premium subscribers "my best stuff." I'd like to say all of my work is "my best stuff" but some pieces hit harder than others...so that makes me want to just ask people to pay me if they like it, but not expect me to paywall, so everyone gets all my stuff (everyone who wants it). I don't know, I'm small time here, only 700 subscribers, so maybe I'm too small to really use my metrics as anything more than anecdotal...?
What you describes sounds alot like impostures. Idk, i stay right here and dont venture out much at all anymore. Pretty disgusted with alot of what i see on substack. Not the least of which is the shamelessness. Maybe all that is normal online these days, idk. I dont do anything else, except comment on nyt and live science lol, both just a waste of time i do to, well, kill time.
Treekllr, like everything else, it's a mixed bag. A lot of Substack blogs are excellent, truly, although finding them can be dependent on interests plus reading comments. I found a couple of excellent blogs by clicking on peoples' usernames and then looking at the sites they recommend. I suppose it's mostly chance, but i found novelist Elif Shafak's Substack by following a link. (I like her work, so that was a nice discovery!)
Good tip, but im not actually looking for more. I subscribed to ted pretty early in my substack career, and thats been enough for me. I ventured around early on, found some things that seemed promising, but in the end felt like it was a waste of my time. Theres so many books to read, you know? And im not trying to be a part of this online world. After reddit i realized just how much it(online content) affects me(not in good ways) and honestly dont feel like its something i need more of. I do a little shouting into the void on occasion, but i wonder if thats even as cathartic as i suppose. Probably better to go tell it to the trees.
Its all trash imo, and i dont mean the content. The whole thing ia designed to keep us right here, looking at a screen, not living life. But living life is what im after. This phone will be my last smart phone. Ill get a laptop for my internet needs(which are pretty basic) and a flip phone for communication. The social side of the internet has little i want, and comes with a high mental cost that isnt worth what i get back out of it.
Also, social media *can* be non-toxic. I only use 1 platform, my posts are private, and i just don't venture into certain areas. That means that i can focus on things that i enjoy and find interesting. I don't see much value in it otherwise. And many other people i know keep their stuff locked down, too. It allows many of us to keep our sanity.
Ik a couple people who do the same with social media. Ive never had it to begin with, so its easy for me to just not get it. It never got its claws in me lol.
But ive seen what it does to people i care about, and when viewed from the outside, it looks horrible..
There is a "middle way," though i realize that some folks are very much at one end of things or the other. Most of us are somewhere in between.
As for trusting autocorrect - never! It's only as good as the human beings who program it, and it's riddled with errors. I do use it to a degree, but it's frustrating.
I read a lot. Usually for 3-4 hours per day. And although i follow a couple of blogs, most of my online time is about reading and researching. It's just that journals, papers - and all of the magazines i used to read - are mostly digitized now. But the bulk of my reading = books. For enjoyment.
Im definitely in that middle way rn. Even with no social media(other than substack, which again is minimal. I dont even have the app and only get here through email alerts to a couple subs, and replies) i cant seem to get under 3 hours a day. This frustrates me, that so much of my life happens through a damn phone.
And im in the same boat with periodicals. I looked into getting the nyt delivered, which was stupidly expensive for just the sunday paper. So i get that in emails as well. I have no tv so its really my only source of news. This pissed me off, i really liked the idea of reading a real paper(my local papers are worthless).
So i get it, im stuck in this shit too. But slowly and surely im working my way out. I "need" internet for banking, credit cards, etc, it would be ridiculous to try to go back to paper with all that. But i dont need internet in my pocket, so i think thatll be a good middle way for me.
Plus i want that laptop so i can start burning cds again;)
Mike, I just subscribed for free to your substack but I probably have 10 paid subscriptions. I have several hundred free ones though. I would advise in terms of user experience to enable comment for unpaid subscribers and try to paywall selectively and post a lot of free posts. I know it may not work for everyone and I get that there are a handful of users who put negative comments but I would try starting with allowing unpaid comments.
Wow! I just had it on some auto setting… Do you know if there's a way to “batch change” all of the old free ones so that people can comment? I had no intention of blocking people from commenting.
To Ted's recent points about an emerging counter-culture ... I talked to a few writer friends and did a little research into the viability of starting some sort of co-op small press. It's not going to revolutionize anything per se or even make money, but I wonder if it's a potential response to a consolidating industry that seems to be getting more formulaic, algorithm-driven, etc.
I joined with other writers and did just this 50 years ago. It was called the Fiction Collective. In 1989 it became FC2. It is still in business and publishes 6 books a year. Our founding year was 1973 and it was at one with the logic of counterculture. If as a writer the only future I have is hacking around on the internet, fuck the future.
There are a great many small presses already, so perhaps trying to work with an imprint(s) that's already established might be an option?
I worked in bookstores (indie and a few chains) back when. The indies had a *lot* of small press titles for sale. As someone who enjoyed browsing in my off hours, I made many discoveries per small press titles.
The thing is, there are a couple of big conglomerates that dominate publishing now, but small presses are still around, and are often great sources for books that the conglomerates would never touch. It's similar to indie record labels vs. the ginormous corporate entities that just keep getting bigger.
I like this idea! I run a local writer's workshop and we have a thriving community here in Phoenix, and that gives me more joy than any other aspect of my writing career has. I think in-person writing collaborations are the best!
Humble suggestion – write because you have to write. Don't worry about charging. People will get to know you and decide if they like you. Be honest – that's the key. Hemingway said, "write one, true sentence."
When I hear that advise I hear Guy Clark singing in the background "ain't no money in poetry and that's what makes the poet free, I've had all the freedom I can stand"
I agree with that advice, if a person is happy working full time and writing one true sentence at a time, but when I was 21 and graduating from college, I wanted to be a professional writer, and the barriers to entry had nothing to do with that. And even Hemingway had agents, publishers, and PR people helping him, so while I have always written and always will, I do worry about budgeting time between my family, my passion for writing, and my need for income, so my post was more about the logistics within the logistics. Hemingway is an all time favorite, but he also blew his brains out after winning the Pulitzer...I weigh that when I read his advice.
Also admire Hemingway, but the suicide was due to Hemingway being Hemingway, not because writing makes you suicidal.
Or so I hope...or we're all in trouble!
Hemingway put in his time as a reporter, which did him a lot of good, including that whole salary thing. Not many jobs left in journalism, though, so that route is out.
Most creative fields are extremely difficult to succeed in, like sports. You need to be great, and in the right place at the right time, or know people. It helps a lot if your market is growing!
You could get a day job, like Charles Ives did. Then he could write exactly the offbeat kind of music he wanted, and he did. Nobody cares he worked in the insurance industry by day.
I wish I could "double heart" this, I like it so much!!! And Hemingway's suicide I think mostly had to do with hating aging, but I also think he liked to say things his "persona" would say more than address or own up to the insecure thoughts in his head, which most writers (I for one do) suffer from! :)
I think he had a plane crash or two, which may have given him traumatic brain injury (like Howard Hughes, who had multiple plane crashes) which could have led to depression.
Just being a human ain't easy, but that's where you get your material!
Thing I like about Hemingway was his idea about telling the truth: one true sentence at a time.
Boy do we need that now!
Not even whether we like a thing or not, but just: is it true?
I think our minds are biased toward negativity, so we equate truth telling to telling about bad things. But not necessarily.
Check out Ted's appreciation of Terry Teachout, back in Jan 2022, right here, for an example of positivity. You go near a person like that, you get uplifted. They are like a source of light.
Speaking of uplifting, check out Hania Rani, pianist, on Youtube, which I found thanks to Ted's recommendation.
Don't know if you ever had any "spiritual" experiences, but they can be exquisite! Hania can take you right into one, if you are in the neighborhood of it. Her recording in the Giacometti clip can take you there within seconds, which is incredible. The sound appears to come from some other dimension.
If you have more time, check out "Into Great Silence:"
You gradually are brought into a transcendent state, if you are ready to go there. No music, no narrative, no interviews...everything non-essential is stripped away...
....like slipping out of your mind, into "heart", "self," "this", "source", "God", or whatever you wish to call it. Something indescribable.
There is a reason that "truth" can be considered the ultimate goal, and why people seek it.
Thanks! My life is nothing but spiritual experiences! I was raised by meditators in Berkeley, non denominationally, and it went from there! Appreciate the response a lot, and I will check this stuff out!
I feel we're on a cusp right now, and it's impossible to say of what exactly until we get to the other side. Yes, publishers no support the authors they're willing to sign (if the author has built a big enough platform for themselves.) More people than ever can self-publish, and more people than ever are not appreciating that some level of gatekeeping was helping the public. I've read slush for a litmag - what people think is ready to publish is horrifying. The game's hard enough on people who are good writers but suffering from a little impostor syndrome. Our perceptions of "successful" are in the process of changing; pop culture is in the process of changing. I just hope the general populace gets tired of one-hit (and by this I mean literally one punch from a stranger as you walk down the street, or one inhalation) entertainment. We have to acknowledge that the new generation has shorter attention spans. That's not going to change much.
I was a slush reader for three years and totally agree. But I also have and MFA, a copy editing degree, and decades of experience, and my experiences in self publishing compared to legacy publishing was laughable. I made much more money self-publishing, sold more books, and the process took under a year, whereas traditional publishing (querying, signing with an agent, selling it to a publisher, going through their process....) took forever, and then they didn't even really help me promote...so I was promoting "their book" with less royalties...
I saw stats last year that echoed my suspicions: the average annual sales, trad or indie, is 12. A dozen books. I think it takes boots on the ground, going to independent bookstores, making friends. Creating a social media presence is not a cakewalk. It's exhausting and nearly fruitless.
That's hilarious. I sold more than 100 copies of all my novels (only one more than 500) and I felt pathetic and small and cried a lot, especially the first time...Now I feel like I should have been crying grateful tears of joy! My favorite moment as an author was when someone told me they bought all my books to support me, so when I followed up with "Which one did you like best?" they said "Oh, I don't read. I just wanted to support you."
And that's my worst fear realized: people don't like reading now. They see it as boring, hard, tedious, etc. I love film, TV, music and books, but I love reading the most, so it's weird to feel so "out of touch" with normal entertainment consumers...
another hilarious story for you: I was freshly-married when my husband looked around the living-room and said: "Can we just get rid of all this?" meaning THE BOOKCASE. NO. I started wildly digging in my mind for how I should have seen this coming? He continued: "Why read books when we have movies?" I was about to respond with *movies come from books* when he said: "My sister reads..."
"oh good, so you're familiar with the concept!" In retrospect, maybe I should have divorced him then instead of 13 or whatever years later.
People do buy books without reading them, myself included. This does not help our creative side :D I'm trying to teach myself to just write a quick review rather than a full review, so at least it gets done, but...I'm not good at that.
Books add up after a while. I had about 1,000 when I moved into my current space, and that was too many. I switched to Kindle versions, which I read on my phone or iPad, which works very well.
And I used to be a Borders addict. I loved going there; spent a lot of money there. My motto was: "A book a day keeps the ignorance away!"
LOL
"Books" are just a way long pieces of language are transmitted. Started verbally as conversations or stories, then stone tablets (ugh), then monks hand copying on paper, then the printing press, paperbacks, and now ebooks.
It's the wine that counts, not the bottle.
I should add that am strictly a non-fiction reader. And I am not a phone addict, so I don't care where I read the books, just as long as I can.
1. Yellow legal pads are the superior writing surface for drafting. (I’m less precious with them than I am with my more impressive notebooks.)
2. Buddy tales are undervalued. Don Quixote, Sherlock, etc. There’s a depth and unique balance of adventure and tragedy in male friendships. (If you do your job right, your friends grow up, get married, which will change your relationship.)
3. Relatedly, Gilgamesh is underrated. And also probably the best place for men to start with reading the classics.
4. While Aquinas (via James Joyce) might be the best definition of the qualities of beauty, it only came alive for me when I read Christopher Alexander. (Drafting this post on a yellow legal pad as we speak.)
5. Owning your tools and creativity. Trey Anastasio talking about his guitar gear: “It’s not about having the best gear. It’s about knowing your gear the best.”
This is all great. I'll admit to having never read Gilgamesh, but I'm so enamoured with that sausagefest known as Beowulf that I own like 8 translations. Davanah-Headley's is excellent and worth owning, but JRR Tolkien's is my favorite. It's so Tolkienesque~!
I was going to say Gilgamesh has expensive taste so he either plays a Paul Reed Smith or a Collings, into a Klon, into a bunch of Strymons, into a Dumble. Then I remembered what happens anytime someone gets married in his kingdom: he probably just plugs into everyone else’s amp.
Im also curious about this. I heard somewhere that the art institute of Chicago was dropping some of these groups (especially the curated social circles) and why that might be the case.
Lately, I've been getting a lot more out of telling stories in-person with small groups of people than anything I do online. This trend may continue, and I may decide to drop out of the whole online community experiment.
I have been trying without success to get them to include Ari Herstadt - who has built a “brand” around promoting the view that there are many opportunities in the “new music business”. He is pretty convincing in that view. It would a good roundtable.
A quick one: Su Terry is the proprietor of Temple of Artists, here on substack. I am currently exploring her new album, Jazz de Barro, available at Bandcamp. It's wonderful! Her writing and music is worthy of greater recognition!
My discussion point for today is "Why Do Bands Hate Touring in the Midwest"? A lot of acts used to come to the Queen City. Many still do of course. But many more don't. Bands I used to be able to catch on a tour now skip us. I may be able to catch them in Louisville, Columbus or Cleveland... or if I really want to drive, Chicago. But I see some bands even skipping Chicago now.
Anyway, long live Midwest punk. Here is a compilation of Queen City punk from the 80s everyone should know about, "We Were Living in Cincinnati: Volume 2" The first is just as good!
I came of age a bit later, but these were the kind of people I was listening to here on underground community radio, and who prepared the ground for those of us who came up in the 90s.
Speaking of Midwest punk rockers, here is the radio show you should listen to if you are still sad about the passing of that legend from Rocket from the Tombs, & Pere Ubu: Dave Thomas:
--
From Ken Katkin of Trash Flow Radio:
"On Trash Flow Radio on Sat April 26, I dedicated the entire two hours to memorializing Ohio avant-garage legend David Thomas a/k/a "Crocus Behemoth" (June 14, 1953 - April 23, 2025), who died this week at his home in Brighton, England. David served as the frontman of Pere Ubu from the band's inception in 1976, on and off, until the day he passed. Before that, he founded perhaps the first modern punk rock band, Rocket From The Tombs, which split in 1975 into Pere Ubu and The Dead Boys. David Thomas collaborated with many musical luminaries (including Ralph Carney, Chris Cutler, Mayo Thompson, Richard Thompson, Peter Laughner, and others) in Pere Ubu and in his multiple solo projex. As Eric Weisbard wrote many years ago in the SPIN Record Guide: “Before punk hardly even existed, Pere Ubu had gone a step further.” David Thomas was nothing if not far-seeing.
On today's special, I played old faves and deep cuts from throughout David Thomas's career: mostly Pere Ubu and Rocket From The Tombs tracks, but also some representation from David Thomas & The Pedestrians and Carney & Thomas. I also interspersed the episode with sound bites of David Thomas talking about various subjects of interest to him, and of David's Rocket From The Tombs bandmate Craig Bell telling me a few things about David. I'm sure many more specials about David Thomas will appear over the next week or two. So I wanted to kick off the season by setting the highest bar that I could.
Finally, with thanks to Listener Brian in Cincinnati, more Trash Flow Radio episodes are now available on Apple Podcasts. If you want to stream our archive from that platform, you can now find about 35 recent episodes at:
I wrote this for my son, in response to Ted's great piece about James Bond a few weeks ago. First part here...the link to the rest of the post is at the end...
On Being A Man
By Rob Tallia
One of my favorite writers that I’ve just discovered is Ted Gioia. He writes a blog called “The Honest Broker” on Substack, and has published many printed works on music, tech, and more (none of which I’ve read, yet, but hope springs eternal). He recently wrote a post that is quite popular on what it means to be a man—focusing on the very-real, very good male quality of being responsible—to your friends, your family, your spouse, your co-workers, and, yes, even strangers, but, most importantly, to yourself. The full post, entitled “How James Bond Can Fix the Crisis in Masculinity” has been shared many times on social media, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.
I’ve thought for a while (even before I read this post) about what qualities might be of use to the young man about to make his way out into the world, qualities that would take time to master but will make one sleep much, much better at night when one does master them. I came up with two, which are very interrelated, but should be seen as stand-alone goals. They are:
Tell the truth.
And
Do what you say you are going to do.
If you do what you say you are going to do, you’re retroactively telling the truth, of course....
I'm nearing the end of the Humanities Course that Ted outlined. Anyone else wanting to revisit and dive deeper into some of the topics? I feel like there are just so many to go deeper in it's overwhelming. I'm thinking to start with some of the Philosophy, and then add in some of the anti-tech reading list stuff.
The cinema list via youtube link also seems like another dimension to this whole thing.
One thing I'm finding is that this project has been much less teaching me a specific thing about the humanities and more of a general "feeling" for the humanities. Reading books on love and ebbs and flows while going through my own ebbs and flows has been really comforting.
Anyone else getting to the end of this incredible list?
for themselves, and maybe their small communities? I have no insight or knowledge that would make this anything other than a guess... maybe I'm getting carried away by optimism... not a frequent occurrence
Yeah, this might be a bit grandiose, and it's no more authoritative than my earlier comment, but sometimes it feels like it must have at the collapse of culture back in the fifth century, where little isolated communities kept things going.
We're losing our relevance for art, not the other way around.
I know that sounds glib, but what I mean is that collectively, we have lost our confidence in out ability to reflect on our own experience of life and express ourselves. Technology and media seem to have morphed us into Eliot's, "Hollow Men." Of course there are many creative people, but in general most people are afraid to do more than take a picture and post it on Instagram. We don't believe we've experienced anything worth sharing, and we're afraid of emotion (apart from anger).
One of Ted's insights that I really love is that music is threatening to many because music IS emotion. But today, we don't want to feel much unless it is self-validating. For the past several months I've been working on a project putting classical Chinese poems in translation to music. Now, that was a society that wasn't afraid of feeling. Tears came easily to all the great poets -- and not for sentimental reasons but with the recognition of the pathos of the human condition that we all share. How many people today see life through a tragic lens? That might land you in a psychiatrist's office. We're all head, no heart.
It's never losing relevance, because it's the human desire to communicate. Mankind is not walking away from it, but the business models are changing - out of necessity. We've supported a rent-seeking economy for too long. Go local. Go to mom & pop shops, farmers' markets; search Craigslist. Find local artists whose work you like, and give them money, even if they aren't selling something you want to own. Buy them a sandwich.
Making a living with art disappearing is different from art disappearing.
Music began with people gathering on the front porch to celebrate a little bit of free time. Art became a way for people with alternate minds to calm themselves by decorating the things they needed every day. From there it becomes an industry, and artists themselves are the market now. We're convinced that we need to drop $10K on an album that maybe 100 of our dearest friends will purchase. Why $10k? because production is also an art form. Because the audience is used to the product they've gotten from the big house publishers and make fun of the so-called "cottage industry." Independents are belittled while the model of supporting income for the producer's secretary, the janitor who cleans the halls, the luthier & electrical repair tech is becoming unsustainable.
I think we start with breaking down the facade and showing people how much of a machine is behind that simple music they listen to. You can't just demand that they respect artists (though I keep trying.) SHOW THEM. Show them how hard you're working. Tell them how much it costs.
I keep thinking of an African friend whose cousins all raced to wash his car when he came home to visit. They were all hoping to impress the Big Shot American. Finally a cousin explained to all the rest: "He's not rich. He's working 3 jobs so he can put his kids through college. His wife works 3 jobs, too."
They were all dismayed. "Oh, he should just come home, then."
This is the mindset we're fighting. And the industry is protecting its magic curtain. Artists are hungry. Buy them a sandwich.
As both a consumer and a producer, it’s never been harder to hold someone’s attention. And as someone who asks a lot from their audience—I post essays, write novels, and share long-form work that’s intentionally challenging—I’ve been thinking a lot about the unspoken contract between artist and audience. The bigger the work, the deeper that contract has to go.
I’m asking someone to give me ten, maybe fifteen minutes of real engagement—to sit with complex thought, not just passively consume or doomscroll. That’s a huge ask in a world trained for swipes and skims.
The work I’m making—memoir, novels—isn’t designed for virality. But I do hope it reaches people. Maybe even pays a bill or two someday. The trick is trying to be findable without becoming a used car salesman.
Threads like this remind me that there are people still looking for something deeper. And that maybe I’m not entirely crazy for trying.
It is weird. I would think poetry would have a chance to thrive in today's wild west where they have a change to grab attention fast, but you never see people sharing their favorite new poems or poets. Hell, even my pal who IS a poet pretty much only posts his rap/musical stuff.
I'm burnt out. As a singer/songwriter who doesn't play an instrument (uses production), and writes songs about positive and philosophical ideas in a conversational/slang way, I can't seem to find solid footing.
I'm sharing this because I believe myself and others like me are dangling just at the edges of breaking through, but the algorithms are getting less and less friendly towards speaking truth to power in ways beyond the "acceptable" methods. It's impossible to actually want to do something good and be taken seriously, in the face of algorithmic distribution.
I've consistently infused my messages into popular genres of music but after trying to play the game and having some minor virality, the algorithms just keep serving up my content to people that mock what I am doing. The algos don't find people that truly enjoy or resonate with what I am doing. (en masse, at least.) Now I've resigned myself (after 15 years overall, and 2 years hardcore playing the short-form game,) to posting my work as a retrospective and leaving short form social media for the time being.
I've been reading about lots of others "leaving" the music industry as well, and I just wonder what anyone else is doing or feeling that may be similar.
I hear you. Keep persevering. Don't make your music for clicks or likes. Just follow your bliss. What you do sounds worthwhile and the fact that you can persevere is the best weapon against the algorithms that I can think of.
I have just published an article about the first rock band I played in, back in the ancient days, 1969-1971, White Light and Basement Joy: Into the Saint Matthew Passion and Beyond.
Here are my concluding paragraphs: A Seed Had Been Planted
Remember, this experience happened to me in the countercultural 60s (which extended well into the 1970s). ASCs, as they were sometimes called, altered states of consciousness, were of intense interest to many of us, whether they were achieved through the use of drugs, or through systematic meditation, or they just happened, we wanted to know what to make of them. I’d read a great deal about such things, including Aldous Huxley’s classic, The Doors of Perception (from which the rock group, The Doors, took their name), Mircea Eliade’s magisterial Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Carlos Castenada, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, various pieces by Alan Watts, I probably read something by Timothy “tune-in turn-on drop-out” Leary, but I forget just what. And I read scientific reports of all kinds, such as those collected in Charles Tart’s 1972 anthology, Altered States of Consciousness. Then there’s William James’s classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, based on The Gifford Lectures he delivered at University of Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902.
Of these many mental phenomena, the strangest and most foreign were those in which the ego dissolved and one was just, well, ONE. In those few seconds of music I’d entered that zone. Now, I know, it’s all true. Another reality zone. Oh, not all of it, a lot of what’s been written is petty scholasticism, but there was a deep truth under all those words, and I had glimpsed it.
The thing is, many people have these experiences, and in our culture (by which I mean Western intellectual culture), they have no way of dealing with them, of placing them into context both in their live, and in the larger world. Perhaps they dismiss them entirely, or maybe the wonder whether or not something’s wrong with them (no, nothing’s wrong). It’s not a happy situation.
On the other hand, those evenings like Saint Matthew’s gig at Rick Pfeffer’s party, or the 1970 Christmas party at Hopkins Hospital, those are fairly common. Any reasonably good band has gigs like those (I mention some in my article about Out of Control). Sure some of those gigs are better than others, but they’re all in the same happiness zone. Happiness researchers talk of affective happiness, “immediate responses to events.” We all need more such evenings in our lives, at least once a week, a night out on the town, a private party, a good sports event, a movie, a picnic, whatever. They’re revivifying. The more often we revive our lives, the more likely we are to experience a high level of evaluative happiness, “a more contemplative or systemic matter, mapping a person’s overall appraisal of life and whether they are satisfied with theirs.”
Right now the world is running low on happiness, any and all kinds of happiness. We need more bands like The Saint Matthew Passion, and we need more places where those bands can play for live audiences. When we get that, maybe those mysterious glimpses of a different reality, maybe they’ll take care of themselves.
Playing with The Saint Matthew Passion showed me that I could pursue music for the rest of my life without having to be a full-time professional musician. I have done so, and with great joy, in many forms: jazz, Afro-Cuban, classical symphony, street music of various kinds, RnB, a polka or three, and – would you believe it – The Grateful Dead. Just last night I was at jam session where we ran down Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain. Great for guitar players, but they don’t lay well on trumpet. Had to give up half my technique just to play those damn tunes. The joy was the same. That comes from the heart.
Who here thinks Ted and Rick Beato should get together again to discuss music, topical issues such as AI, the future and so on?
It was their discussion that got me to subscribe to Ted. I agree, wholeheartedly.
Same.
same same
Same as Same Same
They should get together and talk, for sure, but not about AI!
Yes. Loved that conversation. Repeat please. Admittedly, I don’t even remember how long I’ve been reading Ted. He’s become the only civilized place to read about things!
It should be a weekly event.
Now we’re talking!
I have been thinking the same thing. In fact, it would be even better if they had a conference I’d probably go!
One more person who I think he should meet is Luke Burgess.
Two of my favorite people on the Internet.
Add my name to that list, great idea
His youtube channel is awesome, so yeah! https://www.youtube.com/@RickBeato
That would be fantastic.
I'd rather see a discussion with Anthony Fantano. I think Fantano would challenge Ted.
I occasionally checkout Fantano's music recommendations. But they make me wonder how much music training or demonstrable music skill he has. Can anyone answer that? I don't watch his videos, so I can't speak from experience. But I know that Rick Beato knows music, can play music, and can hear what's happening on a recording at a very deep level. Rick absolutely knows what he's doing and what he says brings with it that kind of authority. Does Fantano demonstrate that as well?
Ted at the very least you should watch Rick’s interviews with musicians. Rick is a music teacher and he was a producer for a while, but he got an interview with Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny.
I don’t care. All I want to see is you and Rick getting together. And. Frequently would be fabulous.
I’ve never heard of her, but I will check her out
I have recently been tracking the careers of my favorite writers, and even the "successful ones" say the publishing industry has collapsed and they have to do their own PR, and no one is reading, and their spirits are dour. I have an MFA, several published books, and a career in writing, but I'm not even close to their level, so I had to do a lot of soul searching and I am now wavering as to whether or not to use paywalls and even charge for what I write, since I love sharing with others and never really got into this for "ends as means" etc....
I'm curious if any other substackers are trending in this direction, and I'm asking Honest Broker readers because a lot of this space is used to discuss art and culture trends specifically with monetization.
Thoughts?
And thanks, Ted, for the amazing content and these open mic sessions!
I have the feeling that everything’s about to change—in both directions. One part of the population will stay on social media, maybe with even worse mental health issues, while another large group will start looking for a different path. That path is starting to open up. I recommend reading the interview I did with Seth Werkheiser from Social Media Escape Club, it's on my profile.
I definitely see this happening! I've remained on Social Media for the same reason my name is in the yellow pages: people can find me, but I've never been and will probably never be a "real user" of social media. Even Substack Notes feels tedious to me...
Same. it's exhausting.
I wonder. Analogous to the smart-phone out-opters. Certainly the people reading this newsletter are resonant to what is becoming the intellectual version of the Slow Food movement.
I hear you, yet there are also readers who cannot afford subscriptions. Surely there has to be a reasonable compromise?
I take issue with "I can't afford a subscription" because I see people who say this buying $6 lattes at Starbucks many times a week. What they're really saying is "I don't want to budget for writing" which is fine, but I think this is a pretty shoddy excuse. We all have to decide how to spend our income, but "I can't afford" doesn't apply to a substack that costs 5-10 a month and provides one with more "time-entertainment" than the pleasure of an empty calorie snack, etc. And I just picked a random example... It's totally fine to not want to purchase reading materials since there's no dearth of free things to read online, but to hide behind "I can't afford it" is masking what's really going on: the decline of perceived value of black squiggles on a white page...
I hear what you’re saying with a lot of people and their attitudes but there are those of us on social security/disability that aren’t buying anything extra but the basics to live. Sorry, but I truly can’t afford subscriptions. So I humbly ask for free ones and see if that’s possible. BTW, I’m a voracious reader of all manner of the written ‘black squiggles on a white page’. Especially physical books…
Hi NilaMae, I respect what you wrote and I even have given away 10 premium subs to people in your place. I really do get that. But, I truly do think you're in the minority. Most people aren't buying only the basics to live, they're in debt from buying a lot more, and then they talk about what they can and can't afford, but you're still right, and it's humbling to be reminded of this. I was once hit by a car and on disability and in a wheel chair, and it was a long, really hard time in my life. I truly understand, and thank you!
(If you want a free sub, let me know!)
Hey Mike, I really appreciate what you did there for Nila. And I appreciate Sam Harris, for example, for offering free subscriptions to his work to anyone who reaches out via email and asks. I think it's a good model to follow and every writer and podcaster should.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to get an accurate picture of whether every person that claims "need" truly has it, but I believe if I was forced to guess, I'd err towards "most people are honest" - so I guess maybe you give a few bad actors a free sub to your work in exchange for potentially opening it up to a whole new audience that might not have otherwise experienced it. It's where I tend to fall down on the piracy issue too, which I think is very analogous.
Thoughts?
I have too many thoughts to list here, but ALL of them are positive. I have given out at least 10 free-premium subs, and never once asked the person or vetted their integrity. I'm not even worried about people stealing my content (Afterall, if someone can take what I wrote and get more eyeballs on it, even if I don't profit, and they do, the world profits from my kind messaging, right?)...so yeah, I agree with your take, and anyone who signs up for my stuff and asks in private WILL get a premium sub. I've even said it in numerous emails I've sent (not all of them, but enough). With that said, I'm also tired of feeling cowered into pretending that poverty has nobility. It doesn't. I've been poor and had poor people steal from me. I've had poor people betray me. I've had poor people lie to me. I've also had these experiences with rich people. So really, I'm just tired of the "us/them" American distraction of talking about "rich people" like they're homogenous, but also poor people as a homogenous unit. Integrity seems to be something we all either try very hard at, try a little at, or give up on, and I just want to make sure I'm on the "trying very hard" side.
I appreciate your comment, a lot! (and hit me up if you want that sweet free-premium sub (yuk yuk yuk)!
Sure, I’ll love to read your black squiggles! Thank you for your kindness and understanding. It’s deeply appreciated!
Happy to help! You just have to subscribe (for free!) and then I can give you the comp. It won't let me sign you up... (no pressure!!!) :)
This is why I give away free .pdfs of my poetry - if somebody (gasp) actually wants poetry but can't buy it right now, I'm happy to share. I figure if they like it enough and their situation changes, they'll buy it later.
Thank you. I think many people who love to read are in economically precarious circumstances, often (as in my case) with no way out. I'm grateful for what's available for free, and if I had some extra cash to spend, there are most definitely things I'd spend it on, including books. But I don't and can't.
you can write me at debnation dot com and I'll send you a .pdf if you want.
great point.
Same, NilaMae, same.
You don't understand people like me, who think it's odd that people are spending hundreds of dollars a year to subscribe to anything, including Substacks. I never was around people with that much disposable income.
Of course I don't understand you! We've never met. But I'm consistent in my logic: people pay for what they want, and they abstain from paying for what they don't want. It comes down to choices. If you want more disposable income, that's a choice you have to make, and if you don't want it, it's a choice. Most Americans are in debt, not full of disposable income. So we're (in my eyes) agreeing! I didn't come in here to lament whether or not people will pay ME, but to ask if people think people will in general continue to pay for words, not "visual/auditory" content... My understanding of what's going on, in the larger trend, is that people with and without disposable income are willing to spend 100/mo on Hulu/Netflix/YoutubeTV, but not willing to sign up for 5-10 substacks at $5 a month, which is laughable less....it's apples and oranges to some, but I'm trying to talk about the fruit.
I appreciate your response. I enjoy being challenged to think beyond my myopic desire to ignore the myriad disparate realities we all exist in!
I don't understand people who have multiple subscriptions to streaming services either. . . . Even though I have a Substack, I believe it's a fad that makes some famous writers like Ted Gioia a lot of money, and others, not so much. I agree with the comment that it's a bit unseemly to keep seeing writers sort of beg their free subscribers to sign up for paid. I suspect that after a while, people are going to be maxed out on subscriptions, and get bored reading people's posts and stop paying and go follow some other fad. So I don't agree with those who claim Substack is going to replace traditional publication. BTW, Substack is keeping $1.01 from every $5 I get from a paid subscriber, so they're the big winners, when you multiply that high percentage of money they keep by the millions of subscribers. They just increased their cut by 6 cents. I just got $3.99 net from one subscriber, and before that I used to net $4.05. And the interface doesn't give you many choices for formatting that other online apps do. Just my two cents.
Agreed on Substack and similar blogging platforms being a fad. They will inevitably be replaced by other, newer forms... of blogging, whether free or for pay. It's kind of dismaying to see how trendy Substack is. (Not meant as a criticism of anyone who publishes via Substack; merely an observation on the medium.)
The thing is, Wordpress still has the nicest templates, layouts, etc. In design terms, it's far superior to Substack, and is literally easier to read.
Yet most bloggers deserted it for this platform. I'm still not sure why.
GREAT response AND don't forget about Stripe, who is getting a huge cut while giving...um, "not so much!"
Ted’s method is a half way. Some posts are free and others are paid only. I subscribe to another substack that is 75% free post with the remaining 25% video demos and extras to the paid folk.
Yeah, I've paid Ted for his stuff since I discovered him, but my policy for paying for substacks is based on "rewarding" and "motivating" someone to keep writing, so I didn't sign up to get his paid stuff, but one time I did pay for a year of someone's substack and then they never posted again, and I still have "bitter" feelings about that...so I want to do "what's ethical" and I'm SO GLAD I posted this, and got feedback like yours. It's really helping me! Thank you!
His music posts are for paid subscribers. I wish at least a few of them were free. Agree or disagree, I do trust Ted to have interesting recs and observations on what he's listening to.
Mike Oppenheim - I'm sorry, but you are just being dismissive of many peoples' realities. Especially older folks (and I'm one) on fixed incomes.
It seems like you've never been down in the "low income" bracket, though I may well be wrong. Fwiw, I've been on SSDI for close to 30 years. It's enough to exist on, but to actually *live,* people truly need more than that.
Give us a break, please. Ask us about our circumstances and please listen to us when we tell you and others what we're facing.
Hoping that something positive comes out of these exchanges.
Hi, I'm sure you didn't have time to read my other responses, but I took time to explain what I said in further detail, and comped two people in the process. If you'd like a comp, just sign up for free and I'll comp you. I was disabled, in a wheelchair, poor, and I've always volunteered to help others at least 6 hours a week. I'm not a greedy taker, I'm not a selfish finger pointer, but I'm also not a people pleaser, and I *know* many, many people who speak out of two sides of their mouth when it comes to being poor and put out, and it's dishonest, and disrespectful to people like you.
My apologies that my first reply upset you.
Umm... you jumped to the wrong conclusions. I don't especially like to talk about being on a fixed income (SSDI). For what it's worth, I can't afford fancy drinks from Starbuck's, either. Subscription costs on this + other platforms add up fast.
I would love to be able to to read the NYRB, The Atlantic, etc., but as I live in a rural area, with a struggling, underfunded and understaffed county library, it's just not possible.
Sometimes it's better to ask questions than to make assumptions about people, you know?
Sponsorship? Those readers who feel compelled to purchase subscriptions for others(on a first come first served basis, or those who want to back a particular person/people can as well maybe? Idk about that one, itd be better to be anonymous). Obviously thered need to be some guardrails to prevent various issues, but i see no reason it couldnt be done.
Mike,
My gut says the attention span of the average 'reader' (and I use that term loosely) is becoming alarmingly short.
It sounds like your decision relates more to choosing your target audience than making money from them. If success correlates to quantity, then lower the bar to entry will be important. No paywall pairs well with using shorter words and keeping your content brief.
If success looks more like connecting with thoughtful readers who will read, think, and use your writing to shape their understanding of their ecosystem, then paywalls are not a barrier. AND you can write material that digs a little deeper.
I'm interested to read what you've written. If you're open to pointing me to a piece that'd be great!
Really good food for thought. I write fiction, non-fiction, and also podcast about hospice and death and dying, which is my way of saying "i'm all over the place. But if you click on my little name/logo I think it takes you to my stack. BUT, I didn't post here to garner attention for my stuff. I really wanted to connect with people like you and see what others are thinking. It just feels weird to paywall stuff that I want people to read.
My wife just walked in and yelled at me for not posting a link, so she told me to do the one I wrote about trying to help my daughter pee... It's called "Vaginas Can't Aim" here you go (LOL):
https://mikeyopp.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/138314701/share-center?alreadyPublished=true
Thanks for the link!
I love your last paragraph! It reminds me of two things.
First, a sign outside the bathroom at a cafe... "Man, Woman, Who cares! Just wash your hands." (And don't piss on the seat! If I'm back there I might add a post script.)
Second, the concept that life is more like a thrift shop than a department store. When you go to a department store you know what you're looking for and expect it to be there - and in your size. If it's not, you're disappointed.
When you go to a thrift store you're open... Open to discover and enjoy the gems you find!
Life is more like that.
Thx for the gem!
Thank you!!! And that sign should be MANDATORY! My wife would especially like the second part, and now that I have kids, I want it too! hahaha
I feel this post. It is so hard to know when to post your stuff and I try to stay away from anything that makes me feel even a bit gross. Your link was well deserved and I am checking it out too.
I think you'd like mine too ;)
I was a bit shocked to see $6 a month as the ask for this substack. They are doing great work and I think can justify it, but I would feel gross asking that much.
I really have no idea how I am going to make money off this. I am just doing what most engages me and hoping it sticks.
I actually had to see a therapist a long time ago for exactly what you are describing: "feeling gross for setting a value for what you do." I identify SO strongly with that feeling, but substack lets you turn off payments but have a "pledge" button to see if others find you "gross" or "delectable." You'd be surprised. I used to do this for free, from 2006-2020, and then I was ASKED for how to compensate me, so I moved here, and the rest is history. I have not "quit my day job" but in five years, substack has become "A day job" and now I have three part time day jobs, 2 of which I love, and only one I really would like to quit someday. So try hard to see your value and appreciate yourself, if you can!
I just stepped fully into my 'essayist' voice. I have been mostly working on my full novel and memoir writing, but the posts just keep flowing lately. I am not even trying to make strategy out of it yet. Just letting it flow.
I can't imagine I could keep up at the pace I am, but I could slow it down to a ration basis if I was getting some kind of feedback on my stuff.
I can't even give the damn novels away for someone to read them and give me a critique.
I get it, though. I am asking a lot of their time. I just want to be able to produce and survive.
I worry a lot. lol
I don't know how old you are or what stage of your "career" you're in, but I once lost my focus and started writing "for the market" and it was a dark period for my creative mind and soul. I think your plan and path sound good, but not the worrying part. worrying is fear of the future and depression is anger at the past. If you can anchor into your flow state and write from there, everything will feel good, and then you just keep repeating that method!!! I hope this helps!
My honest reaction is that a paywall will likely limit your reach. But I don't have any numbers to back that up. The main problem I have as a reader on Substack is *discovery*; how do I use my time and attention to find good sources? This involves balancing openness to new ideas, a desire to find more of what satisfies, enlightens, or motivates me, against the risk of disappointment.
With so many topics repeated in a mimetic manner, sometimes I find a source doesn't have much depth beyond a few pieces.
All that said, I'm not sure what genre or realm it is in which you write. Just extrapolating my own experience.
One thought is to consider paywalling later, so that you might become better-known in the interim.
Wish you luck regardless!
Wow, these are great things to consider. I guess my original thoughts were that you have to release steady free content, but then also paywalled content to reward/intrigue people, but then I started getting annoyed that I want to give people who pay me "my best stuff" but I also want to show potential premium subscribers "my best stuff." I'd like to say all of my work is "my best stuff" but some pieces hit harder than others...so that makes me want to just ask people to pay me if they like it, but not expect me to paywall, so everyone gets all my stuff (everyone who wants it). I don't know, I'm small time here, only 700 subscribers, so maybe I'm too small to really use my metrics as anything more than anecdotal...?
Thanks for such a thoughtful response.
What you describes sounds alot like impostures. Idk, i stay right here and dont venture out much at all anymore. Pretty disgusted with alot of what i see on substack. Not the least of which is the shamelessness. Maybe all that is normal online these days, idk. I dont do anything else, except comment on nyt and live science lol, both just a waste of time i do to, well, kill time.
Treekllr, like everything else, it's a mixed bag. A lot of Substack blogs are excellent, truly, although finding them can be dependent on interests plus reading comments. I found a couple of excellent blogs by clicking on peoples' usernames and then looking at the sites they recommend. I suppose it's mostly chance, but i found novelist Elif Shafak's Substack by following a link. (I like her work, so that was a nice discovery!)
Good tip, but im not actually looking for more. I subscribed to ted pretty early in my substack career, and thats been enough for me. I ventured around early on, found some things that seemed promising, but in the end felt like it was a waste of my time. Theres so many books to read, you know? And im not trying to be a part of this online world. After reddit i realized just how much it(online content) affects me(not in good ways) and honestly dont feel like its something i need more of. I do a little shouting into the void on occasion, but i wonder if thats even as cathartic as i suppose. Probably better to go tell it to the trees.
Its all trash imo, and i dont mean the content. The whole thing ia designed to keep us right here, looking at a screen, not living life. But living life is what im after. This phone will be my last smart phone. Ill get a laptop for my internet needs(which are pretty basic) and a flip phone for communication. The social side of the internet has little i want, and comes with a high mental cost that isnt worth what i get back out of it.
Also, social media *can* be non-toxic. I only use 1 platform, my posts are private, and i just don't venture into certain areas. That means that i can focus on things that i enjoy and find interesting. I don't see much value in it otherwise. And many other people i know keep their stuff locked down, too. It allows many of us to keep our sanity.
Ik a couple people who do the same with social media. Ive never had it to begin with, so its easy for me to just not get it. It never got its claws in me lol.
But ive seen what it does to people i care about, and when viewed from the outside, it looks horrible..
There is a "middle way," though i realize that some folks are very much at one end of things or the other. Most of us are somewhere in between.
As for trusting autocorrect - never! It's only as good as the human beings who program it, and it's riddled with errors. I do use it to a degree, but it's frustrating.
I read a lot. Usually for 3-4 hours per day. And although i follow a couple of blogs, most of my online time is about reading and researching. It's just that journals, papers - and all of the magazines i used to read - are mostly digitized now. But the bulk of my reading = books. For enjoyment.
Im definitely in that middle way rn. Even with no social media(other than substack, which again is minimal. I dont even have the app and only get here through email alerts to a couple subs, and replies) i cant seem to get under 3 hours a day. This frustrates me, that so much of my life happens through a damn phone.
And im in the same boat with periodicals. I looked into getting the nyt delivered, which was stupidly expensive for just the sunday paper. So i get that in emails as well. I have no tv so its really my only source of news. This pissed me off, i really liked the idea of reading a real paper(my local papers are worthless).
So i get it, im stuck in this shit too. But slowly and surely im working my way out. I "need" internet for banking, credit cards, etc, it would be ridiculous to try to go back to paper with all that. But i dont need internet in my pocket, so i think thatll be a good middle way for me.
Plus i want that laptop so i can start burning cds again;)
Mike, I just subscribed for free to your substack but I probably have 10 paid subscriptions. I have several hundred free ones though. I would advise in terms of user experience to enable comment for unpaid subscribers and try to paywall selectively and post a lot of free posts. I know it may not work for everyone and I get that there are a handful of users who put negative comments but I would try starting with allowing unpaid comments.
Wow! I just had it on some auto setting… Do you know if there's a way to “batch change” all of the old free ones so that people can comment? I had no intention of blocking people from commenting.
Thanks for the heads up, and the sub!
To Ted's recent points about an emerging counter-culture ... I talked to a few writer friends and did a little research into the viability of starting some sort of co-op small press. It's not going to revolutionize anything per se or even make money, but I wonder if it's a potential response to a consolidating industry that seems to be getting more formulaic, algorithm-driven, etc.
I joined with other writers and did just this 50 years ago. It was called the Fiction Collective. In 1989 it became FC2. It is still in business and publishes 6 books a year. Our founding year was 1973 and it was at one with the logic of counterculture. If as a writer the only future I have is hacking around on the internet, fuck the future.
There are a great many small presses already, so perhaps trying to work with an imprint(s) that's already established might be an option?
I worked in bookstores (indie and a few chains) back when. The indies had a *lot* of small press titles for sale. As someone who enjoyed browsing in my off hours, I made many discoveries per small press titles.
The thing is, there are a couple of big conglomerates that dominate publishing now, but small presses are still around, and are often great sources for books that the conglomerates would never touch. It's similar to indie record labels vs. the ginormous corporate entities that just keep getting bigger.
I like this idea! I run a local writer's workshop and we have a thriving community here in Phoenix, and that gives me more joy than any other aspect of my writing career has. I think in-person writing collaborations are the best!
Humble suggestion – write because you have to write. Don't worry about charging. People will get to know you and decide if they like you. Be honest – that's the key. Hemingway said, "write one, true sentence."
When I hear that advise I hear Guy Clark singing in the background "ain't no money in poetry and that's what makes the poet free, I've had all the freedom I can stand"
I agree with that advice, if a person is happy working full time and writing one true sentence at a time, but when I was 21 and graduating from college, I wanted to be a professional writer, and the barriers to entry had nothing to do with that. And even Hemingway had agents, publishers, and PR people helping him, so while I have always written and always will, I do worry about budgeting time between my family, my passion for writing, and my need for income, so my post was more about the logistics within the logistics. Hemingway is an all time favorite, but he also blew his brains out after winning the Pulitzer...I weigh that when I read his advice.
Also admire Hemingway, but the suicide was due to Hemingway being Hemingway, not because writing makes you suicidal.
Or so I hope...or we're all in trouble!
Hemingway put in his time as a reporter, which did him a lot of good, including that whole salary thing. Not many jobs left in journalism, though, so that route is out.
Most creative fields are extremely difficult to succeed in, like sports. You need to be great, and in the right place at the right time, or know people. It helps a lot if your market is growing!
You could get a day job, like Charles Ives did. Then he could write exactly the offbeat kind of music he wanted, and he did. Nobody cares he worked in the insurance industry by day.
I wish I could "double heart" this, I like it so much!!! And Hemingway's suicide I think mostly had to do with hating aging, but I also think he liked to say things his "persona" would say more than address or own up to the insecure thoughts in his head, which most writers (I for one do) suffer from! :)
I think he had a plane crash or two, which may have given him traumatic brain injury (like Howard Hughes, who had multiple plane crashes) which could have led to depression.
Just being a human ain't easy, but that's where you get your material!
Thing I like about Hemingway was his idea about telling the truth: one true sentence at a time.
Boy do we need that now!
Not even whether we like a thing or not, but just: is it true?
I think our minds are biased toward negativity, so we equate truth telling to telling about bad things. But not necessarily.
Check out Ted's appreciation of Terry Teachout, back in Jan 2022, right here, for an example of positivity. You go near a person like that, you get uplifted. They are like a source of light.
Speaking of uplifting, check out Hania Rani, pianist, on Youtube, which I found thanks to Ted's recommendation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NTVXaxHBQQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRdoYfZYUY&t=14s
Let me throw in an Eva Cassidy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRdoYfZYUY&t=14s
Don't know if you ever had any "spiritual" experiences, but they can be exquisite! Hania can take you right into one, if you are in the neighborhood of it. Her recording in the Giacometti clip can take you there within seconds, which is incredible. The sound appears to come from some other dimension.
If you have more time, check out "Into Great Silence:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eoF3ntg87A
You gradually are brought into a transcendent state, if you are ready to go there. No music, no narrative, no interviews...everything non-essential is stripped away...
....like slipping out of your mind, into "heart", "self," "this", "source", "God", or whatever you wish to call it. Something indescribable.
There is a reason that "truth" can be considered the ultimate goal, and why people seek it.
My 2 cents...
Thanks! My life is nothing but spiritual experiences! I was raised by meditators in Berkeley, non denominationally, and it went from there! Appreciate the response a lot, and I will check this stuff out!
I feel we're on a cusp right now, and it's impossible to say of what exactly until we get to the other side. Yes, publishers no support the authors they're willing to sign (if the author has built a big enough platform for themselves.) More people than ever can self-publish, and more people than ever are not appreciating that some level of gatekeeping was helping the public. I've read slush for a litmag - what people think is ready to publish is horrifying. The game's hard enough on people who are good writers but suffering from a little impostor syndrome. Our perceptions of "successful" are in the process of changing; pop culture is in the process of changing. I just hope the general populace gets tired of one-hit (and by this I mean literally one punch from a stranger as you walk down the street, or one inhalation) entertainment. We have to acknowledge that the new generation has shorter attention spans. That's not going to change much.
I was a slush reader for three years and totally agree. But I also have and MFA, a copy editing degree, and decades of experience, and my experiences in self publishing compared to legacy publishing was laughable. I made much more money self-publishing, sold more books, and the process took under a year, whereas traditional publishing (querying, signing with an agent, selling it to a publisher, going through their process....) took forever, and then they didn't even really help me promote...so I was promoting "their book" with less royalties...
I saw stats last year that echoed my suspicions: the average annual sales, trad or indie, is 12. A dozen books. I think it takes boots on the ground, going to independent bookstores, making friends. Creating a social media presence is not a cakewalk. It's exhausting and nearly fruitless.
That's hilarious. I sold more than 100 copies of all my novels (only one more than 500) and I felt pathetic and small and cried a lot, especially the first time...Now I feel like I should have been crying grateful tears of joy! My favorite moment as an author was when someone told me they bought all my books to support me, so when I followed up with "Which one did you like best?" they said "Oh, I don't read. I just wanted to support you."
And that's my worst fear realized: people don't like reading now. They see it as boring, hard, tedious, etc. I love film, TV, music and books, but I love reading the most, so it's weird to feel so "out of touch" with normal entertainment consumers...
Ce la vie! (so it goes...?)
another hilarious story for you: I was freshly-married when my husband looked around the living-room and said: "Can we just get rid of all this?" meaning THE BOOKCASE. NO. I started wildly digging in my mind for how I should have seen this coming? He continued: "Why read books when we have movies?" I was about to respond with *movies come from books* when he said: "My sister reads..."
"oh good, so you're familiar with the concept!" In retrospect, maybe I should have divorced him then instead of 13 or whatever years later.
People do buy books without reading them, myself included. This does not help our creative side :D I'm trying to teach myself to just write a quick review rather than a full review, so at least it gets done, but...I'm not good at that.
Books add up after a while. I had about 1,000 when I moved into my current space, and that was too many. I switched to Kindle versions, which I read on my phone or iPad, which works very well.
And I used to be a Borders addict. I loved going there; spent a lot of money there. My motto was: "A book a day keeps the ignorance away!"
LOL
"Books" are just a way long pieces of language are transmitted. Started verbally as conversations or stories, then stone tablets (ugh), then monks hand copying on paper, then the printing press, paperbacks, and now ebooks.
It's the wine that counts, not the bottle.
I should add that am strictly a non-fiction reader. And I am not a phone addict, so I don't care where I read the books, just as long as I can.
Liked: "I should have divorced him then..."
I identify with 1000% of this hahahah :) First marriages are "training wheels" for the real one...
Well! How'd you get in here E-wing?
I've been thinking I need to hit you up soon, but I'm 99.9% off of FB.
There's been some unfortunate news, but I'm sure you must have seen over there.
Soon...
I thought I responded to this...you have my email, yeah? deb at debnation.com is the easy one.
I probably did, but def do now. :)
debnation? You have an entire *nation* now? Sign me up!
Five things on the top of mind lately:
1. Yellow legal pads are the superior writing surface for drafting. (I’m less precious with them than I am with my more impressive notebooks.)
2. Buddy tales are undervalued. Don Quixote, Sherlock, etc. There’s a depth and unique balance of adventure and tragedy in male friendships. (If you do your job right, your friends grow up, get married, which will change your relationship.)
3. Relatedly, Gilgamesh is underrated. And also probably the best place for men to start with reading the classics.
4. While Aquinas (via James Joyce) might be the best definition of the qualities of beauty, it only came alive for me when I read Christopher Alexander. (Drafting this post on a yellow legal pad as we speak.)
5. Owning your tools and creativity. Trey Anastasio talking about his guitar gear: “It’s not about having the best gear. It’s about knowing your gear the best.”
This is all great. I'll admit to having never read Gilgamesh, but I'm so enamoured with that sausagefest known as Beowulf that I own like 8 translations. Davanah-Headley's is excellent and worth owning, but JRR Tolkien's is my favorite. It's so Tolkienesque~!
Good call! Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain is also really good.
But what guitar gear would Gilgamesh have? An Ibanez with too may pedals, I suspect. Enkidu, on the other hand: Les Paul + Vintage Fuzzface.
This is the best comment. 😆 Yeah, Enkidu seems like the no nonsense guy who says “I plug straight into the amp.”
Prolly a 75-watt Marshall...🙂
I was going to say Gilgamesh has expensive taste so he either plays a Paul Reed Smith or a Collings, into a Klon, into a bunch of Strymons, into a Dumble. Then I remembered what happens anytime someone gets married in his kingdom: he probably just plugs into everyone else’s amp.
Meanwhile, I have visions of Enkidu with a Coodercaster and a five-watt valve amp, fully cranked, straight up.
Don Quixote has been good this year, but a little bit of a slog, stopped around 200. Were you able to go through it in one go?
I started reading it in Spain and reading it at home brought me back to that trip. The good news is that it’s fairly episodic, so you can set down and pick back up again. At least in the first part: https://open.substack.com/pub/armchairnotes/p/don-quixote-the-greatest-novel-you
Keep it in the bathroom.
😂
I just wanted to say I'm a regular reader and enjoy it very much.
Me too!
Ted - how influential do you think patronage networks are in art and culture?
Im also curious about this. I heard somewhere that the art institute of Chicago was dropping some of these groups (especially the curated social circles) and why that might be the case.
Lately, I've been getting a lot more out of telling stories in-person with small groups of people than anything I do online. This trend may continue, and I may decide to drop out of the whole online community experiment.
Preferably with food on the table and lots of wine to go around. The Italians (and Spaniards etc) got it right.
Don’t have anything to ask or share, just want to say appreciate your writing and what you do!
Ted!! Ahem!! You are overdue for another interview/convo with Rick Beato.
I have been trying without success to get them to include Ari Herstadt - who has built a “brand” around promoting the view that there are many opportunities in the “new music business”. He is pretty convincing in that view. It would a good roundtable.
Ari's Take is a fabulous newsletter.
Cool. But I think I am quite happy with the idea of a Bill and Ted; Oops! I meant a Rick and Ted reunion.
A quick one: Su Terry is the proprietor of Temple of Artists, here on substack. I am currently exploring her new album, Jazz de Barro, available at Bandcamp. It's wonderful! Her writing and music is worthy of greater recognition!
https://templeofartists.substack.com
Agree!
My discussion point for today is "Why Do Bands Hate Touring in the Midwest"? A lot of acts used to come to the Queen City. Many still do of course. But many more don't. Bands I used to be able to catch on a tour now skip us. I may be able to catch them in Louisville, Columbus or Cleveland... or if I really want to drive, Chicago. But I see some bands even skipping Chicago now.
Anyway, long live Midwest punk. Here is a compilation of Queen City punk from the 80s everyone should know about, "We Were Living in Cincinnati: Volume 2" The first is just as good!
https://hozacrecords.bandcamp.com/album/we-were-living-in-cincinnati-vol-2-1982-88-archival-compilation-lp
I came of age a bit later, but these were the kind of people I was listening to here on underground community radio, and who prepared the ground for those of us who came up in the 90s.
Speaking of Midwest punk rockers, here is the radio show you should listen to if you are still sad about the passing of that legend from Rocket from the Tombs, & Pere Ubu: Dave Thomas:
--
From Ken Katkin of Trash Flow Radio:
"On Trash Flow Radio on Sat April 26, I dedicated the entire two hours to memorializing Ohio avant-garage legend David Thomas a/k/a "Crocus Behemoth" (June 14, 1953 - April 23, 2025), who died this week at his home in Brighton, England. David served as the frontman of Pere Ubu from the band's inception in 1976, on and off, until the day he passed. Before that, he founded perhaps the first modern punk rock band, Rocket From The Tombs, which split in 1975 into Pere Ubu and The Dead Boys. David Thomas collaborated with many musical luminaries (including Ralph Carney, Chris Cutler, Mayo Thompson, Richard Thompson, Peter Laughner, and others) in Pere Ubu and in his multiple solo projex. As Eric Weisbard wrote many years ago in the SPIN Record Guide: “Before punk hardly even existed, Pere Ubu had gone a step further.” David Thomas was nothing if not far-seeing.
On today's special, I played old faves and deep cuts from throughout David Thomas's career: mostly Pere Ubu and Rocket From The Tombs tracks, but also some representation from David Thomas & The Pedestrians and Carney & Thomas. I also interspersed the episode with sound bites of David Thomas talking about various subjects of interest to him, and of David's Rocket From The Tombs bandmate Craig Bell telling me a few things about David. I'm sure many more specials about David Thomas will appear over the next week or two. So I wanted to kick off the season by setting the highest bar that I could.
Finally, with thanks to Listener Brian in Cincinnati, more Trash Flow Radio episodes are now available on Apple Podcasts. If you want to stream our archive from that platform, you can now find about 35 recent episodes at:
<https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trash-flow-radio-waif-88-3-fm/id1765637968>.
As always, you can stream or download the April 26 episode, ad-free, in ONE part, from:
Stream: Trash Flow Radio April 26, 2025 (RIP David Thomas Special) (121 mins):
<https://vimeo.com/1079141883>."
will have to listen to The Modern Dance today, I had no idea that David Thomas had died
For sure! What an album an musician. I hope his legacy and memory live on.
One of the all-time great rhythm sections - Scott Krauss and Tony Maimone.
I wrote this for my son, in response to Ted's great piece about James Bond a few weeks ago. First part here...the link to the rest of the post is at the end...
On Being A Man
By Rob Tallia
One of my favorite writers that I’ve just discovered is Ted Gioia. He writes a blog called “The Honest Broker” on Substack, and has published many printed works on music, tech, and more (none of which I’ve read, yet, but hope springs eternal). He recently wrote a post that is quite popular on what it means to be a man—focusing on the very-real, very good male quality of being responsible—to your friends, your family, your spouse, your co-workers, and, yes, even strangers, but, most importantly, to yourself. The full post, entitled “How James Bond Can Fix the Crisis in Masculinity” has been shared many times on social media, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.
I’ve thought for a while (even before I read this post) about what qualities might be of use to the young man about to make his way out into the world, qualities that would take time to master but will make one sleep much, much better at night when one does master them. I came up with two, which are very interrelated, but should be seen as stand-alone goals. They are:
Tell the truth.
And
Do what you say you are going to do.
If you do what you say you are going to do, you’re retroactively telling the truth, of course....
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DuQrXynzjqlm4qxM-LclsKSO14sA6YsU/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111749318057233957370&rtpof=true&sd=true
I'm nearing the end of the Humanities Course that Ted outlined. Anyone else wanting to revisit and dive deeper into some of the topics? I feel like there are just so many to go deeper in it's overwhelming. I'm thinking to start with some of the Philosophy, and then add in some of the anti-tech reading list stuff.
The cinema list via youtube link also seems like another dimension to this whole thing.
One thing I'm finding is that this project has been much less teaching me a specific thing about the humanities and more of a general "feeling" for the humanities. Reading books on love and ebbs and flows while going through my own ebbs and flows has been really comforting.
Anyone else getting to the end of this incredible list?
Hello everyone,
My question for you is:
Is art losing its relevance for us? Is mankind walking away from it?
I think some numbers are telling us that.
You know, I wonder this all the time. But I also notice more people producing art all the time and in new and interesting ways.
Sure! But producing for whom?
for themselves, and maybe their small communities? I have no insight or knowledge that would make this anything other than a guess... maybe I'm getting carried away by optimism... not a frequent occurrence
That's something already.
Yeah, this might be a bit grandiose, and it's no more authoritative than my earlier comment, but sometimes it feels like it must have at the collapse of culture back in the fifth century, where little isolated communities kept things going.
We're losing our relevance for art, not the other way around.
I know that sounds glib, but what I mean is that collectively, we have lost our confidence in out ability to reflect on our own experience of life and express ourselves. Technology and media seem to have morphed us into Eliot's, "Hollow Men." Of course there are many creative people, but in general most people are afraid to do more than take a picture and post it on Instagram. We don't believe we've experienced anything worth sharing, and we're afraid of emotion (apart from anger).
One of Ted's insights that I really love is that music is threatening to many because music IS emotion. But today, we don't want to feel much unless it is self-validating. For the past several months I've been working on a project putting classical Chinese poems in translation to music. Now, that was a society that wasn't afraid of feeling. Tears came easily to all the great poets -- and not for sentimental reasons but with the recognition of the pathos of the human condition that we all share. How many people today see life through a tragic lens? That might land you in a psychiatrist's office. We're all head, no heart.
I'd say that art comes mainly from the head, but not the rational one.
And we're losing those faculties.
Depends on what one considers is art. Christ in a bottle of urine doesn't qualify for me. Michelangelo's sculptures do.
Yawn, that controversy is 30 years old, which tells us you don't really have anything to say about art.
I haven't seen this Christ in a bottle of urine to say if I agree or not. But maybe what you said is part of the question.
It's never losing relevance, because it's the human desire to communicate. Mankind is not walking away from it, but the business models are changing - out of necessity. We've supported a rent-seeking economy for too long. Go local. Go to mom & pop shops, farmers' markets; search Craigslist. Find local artists whose work you like, and give them money, even if they aren't selling something you want to own. Buy them a sandwich.
Buy them a sandwich? How are we going to make a living with art? And without professionals, what will become of art?
Making a living with art disappearing is different from art disappearing.
Music began with people gathering on the front porch to celebrate a little bit of free time. Art became a way for people with alternate minds to calm themselves by decorating the things they needed every day. From there it becomes an industry, and artists themselves are the market now. We're convinced that we need to drop $10K on an album that maybe 100 of our dearest friends will purchase. Why $10k? because production is also an art form. Because the audience is used to the product they've gotten from the big house publishers and make fun of the so-called "cottage industry." Independents are belittled while the model of supporting income for the producer's secretary, the janitor who cleans the halls, the luthier & electrical repair tech is becoming unsustainable.
I think we start with breaking down the facade and showing people how much of a machine is behind that simple music they listen to. You can't just demand that they respect artists (though I keep trying.) SHOW THEM. Show them how hard you're working. Tell them how much it costs.
I keep thinking of an African friend whose cousins all raced to wash his car when he came home to visit. They were all hoping to impress the Big Shot American. Finally a cousin explained to all the rest: "He's not rich. He's working 3 jobs so he can put his kids through college. His wife works 3 jobs, too."
They were all dismayed. "Oh, he should just come home, then."
This is the mindset we're fighting. And the industry is protecting its magic curtain. Artists are hungry. Buy them a sandwich.
Of course I'm on this fight too, but does it matter?
Yes. Mostly because I can't stop myself.
And that's why we're still in it.
As both a consumer and a producer, it’s never been harder to hold someone’s attention. And as someone who asks a lot from their audience—I post essays, write novels, and share long-form work that’s intentionally challenging—I’ve been thinking a lot about the unspoken contract between artist and audience. The bigger the work, the deeper that contract has to go.
I’m asking someone to give me ten, maybe fifteen minutes of real engagement—to sit with complex thought, not just passively consume or doomscroll. That’s a huge ask in a world trained for swipes and skims.
The work I’m making—memoir, novels—isn’t designed for virality. But I do hope it reaches people. Maybe even pays a bill or two someday. The trick is trying to be findable without becoming a used car salesman.
Threads like this remind me that there are people still looking for something deeper. And that maybe I’m not entirely crazy for trying.
I think of how poetic the old letters were and how obsolete poetry became to most of the people today.
It is weird. I would think poetry would have a chance to thrive in today's wild west where they have a change to grab attention fast, but you never see people sharing their favorite new poems or poets. Hell, even my pal who IS a poet pretty much only posts his rap/musical stuff.
Lyrics are still more popular. But even so...
It seems like there are a lot of poets on substack actually. I found a community of them.
In as much as an online group can be a community.
But see bitpunk.fm for one example on subslack
I'm burnt out. As a singer/songwriter who doesn't play an instrument (uses production), and writes songs about positive and philosophical ideas in a conversational/slang way, I can't seem to find solid footing.
I'm sharing this because I believe myself and others like me are dangling just at the edges of breaking through, but the algorithms are getting less and less friendly towards speaking truth to power in ways beyond the "acceptable" methods. It's impossible to actually want to do something good and be taken seriously, in the face of algorithmic distribution.
I've consistently infused my messages into popular genres of music but after trying to play the game and having some minor virality, the algorithms just keep serving up my content to people that mock what I am doing. The algos don't find people that truly enjoy or resonate with what I am doing. (en masse, at least.) Now I've resigned myself (after 15 years overall, and 2 years hardcore playing the short-form game,) to posting my work as a retrospective and leaving short form social media for the time being.
I've been reading about lots of others "leaving" the music industry as well, and I just wonder what anyone else is doing or feeling that may be similar.
- Chad Rising
I hear you. Keep persevering. Don't make your music for clicks or likes. Just follow your bliss. What you do sounds worthwhile and the fact that you can persevere is the best weapon against the algorithms that I can think of.
thanks, Dan!
How can we remain antifragile in an AI-driven world? https://www.whitenoise.email/p/eleven-rules-to-stay-relevant-in
I have just published an article about the first rock band I played in, back in the ancient days, 1969-1971, White Light and Basement Joy: Into the Saint Matthew Passion and Beyond.
Here are my concluding paragraphs: A Seed Had Been Planted
Remember, this experience happened to me in the countercultural 60s (which extended well into the 1970s). ASCs, as they were sometimes called, altered states of consciousness, were of intense interest to many of us, whether they were achieved through the use of drugs, or through systematic meditation, or they just happened, we wanted to know what to make of them. I’d read a great deal about such things, including Aldous Huxley’s classic, The Doors of Perception (from which the rock group, The Doors, took their name), Mircea Eliade’s magisterial Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Carlos Castenada, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, various pieces by Alan Watts, I probably read something by Timothy “tune-in turn-on drop-out” Leary, but I forget just what. And I read scientific reports of all kinds, such as those collected in Charles Tart’s 1972 anthology, Altered States of Consciousness. Then there’s William James’s classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, based on The Gifford Lectures he delivered at University of Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902.
Of these many mental phenomena, the strangest and most foreign were those in which the ego dissolved and one was just, well, ONE. In those few seconds of music I’d entered that zone. Now, I know, it’s all true. Another reality zone. Oh, not all of it, a lot of what’s been written is petty scholasticism, but there was a deep truth under all those words, and I had glimpsed it.
The thing is, many people have these experiences, and in our culture (by which I mean Western intellectual culture), they have no way of dealing with them, of placing them into context both in their live, and in the larger world. Perhaps they dismiss them entirely, or maybe the wonder whether or not something’s wrong with them (no, nothing’s wrong). It’s not a happy situation.
On the other hand, those evenings like Saint Matthew’s gig at Rick Pfeffer’s party, or the 1970 Christmas party at Hopkins Hospital, those are fairly common. Any reasonably good band has gigs like those (I mention some in my article about Out of Control). Sure some of those gigs are better than others, but they’re all in the same happiness zone. Happiness researchers talk of affective happiness, “immediate responses to events.” We all need more such evenings in our lives, at least once a week, a night out on the town, a private party, a good sports event, a movie, a picnic, whatever. They’re revivifying. The more often we revive our lives, the more likely we are to experience a high level of evaluative happiness, “a more contemplative or systemic matter, mapping a person’s overall appraisal of life and whether they are satisfied with theirs.”
Right now the world is running low on happiness, any and all kinds of happiness. We need more bands like The Saint Matthew Passion, and we need more places where those bands can play for live audiences. When we get that, maybe those mysterious glimpses of a different reality, maybe they’ll take care of themselves.
Playing with The Saint Matthew Passion showed me that I could pursue music for the rest of my life without having to be a full-time professional musician. I have done so, and with great joy, in many forms: jazz, Afro-Cuban, classical symphony, street music of various kinds, RnB, a polka or three, and – would you believe it – The Grateful Dead. Just last night I was at jam session where we ran down Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain. Great for guitar players, but they don’t lay well on trumpet. Had to give up half my technique just to play those damn tunes. The joy was the same. That comes from the heart.