What worries Taylor Swift doesn’t worry me.
In case you haven’t noticed, this Taylor Swift girl is going somewhere. She’s got a future, that one. You heard it here on TheProducersPerspective.com first. Mark my blog.
Taylor has always been a star, but her wattage amplified to the nth power last week when her new album “1989” sold over 1 million albums in 7 days. That’s a lot of downloads, yo.
She also made news when she yanked her music from the super-streamin’ Spotify music service, which allows users to stream any song they want for free. Don’t misunderstand . . . the artists do get a few shekels when someone streams their song, but Taylor argued that it was like, totally, way less than it should be. So she dumped Spot, just like she’s gotten dumped so many times over the years (something tells me those dumpers are regrettin’ it about now).
What Swift and so many musicians (and movie makers for that matter) are worried about is people gettin’ their stuff for free. Free streamin’, illegal piracy, it’s all the same sort of thing to these folks . . . because what they produce is the exact same whether it’s paid for or not. Because recorded music or recorded film is the same, whether it’s paid for or not.
See where I’m going with this?
Live entertainment can’t be pirated.
The experience of listening to or even watching a recorded “live” event doesn’t compare to seeing the live event. So we don’t have to worry about what worries Taylor and all of Hollywood. That’s why I encourage the telecast of plays and musicals in movie theaters around the country – because we’re not threatened by piracy. In fact, recording our stuff only encourages audiences to attend it live. Because it’s not a replacement like it is in the other industries.
So, rejoice and be glad! Because when you think (or blog) about it, we, in the theater, are the lucky ones. As more music and movies can be downloaded and streamed and seen through osmosis, the live event becomes more rare, more special and worth more money.
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Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.
