It's summer, and that means it's time to shake things up and do things differently. We're breaking from our usual newsletter format to bring you an awesome convo between Rick Beato and Ted Gioia that really hit home with what we're doing here at Sleeve.
Ted Gioia, a super insightful historian and writer on culture and music, gives a killer analysis of the current state of the music biz. It's a 1.5-hour chat, but trust me, it's worth every minute. I've already watched it twice. Gioia dives deep into why we need more freedom and independence in making music. He says, “I worry about our musical culture if (...) the most important people in music now are the CEOs of Apple, Google, Spotify, and the hedge funds buying catalogs. I worry about a situation where people who don’t genuinely love music, who don’t genuinely care and know about music, are now making decisions about what everybody wants to hear based solely on profit maximization.”
Gioia's concerns highlight a major issue: “People don’t love music as they used to. I’m not gonna be the old man yelling at the clouds, I don’t blame these people, we have not served them well, we have not given them a music culture that can engage them to the extent they are capable of being engaged. I believe the power brokers in the music business are letting them down.”
But there's hope. Gioia believes the audience is not to be underestimated: “I believe people want to have their mind expanded, I believe they want to experience new things. I believe they want musical experiences that’s not just formulaic. I wish more people would do like me, and assume the best of my audience.”
Gioia's own success on Substack shows the power of independent platforms. He says, “I have complete control on my platform, I have complete ownership - I can charge subscriptions and get to keep 90%. Everything is in my control: what to publish, when to publish, if something should be behind a paywall or not. If I leave, I can bring my email list with me.” This captures the spirit of what we're building at Sleeve.
We're giving musicians the freedom Gioia talks about, providing a platform where they retain control and ownership of their content while building real connections with their fans. We're all about "assuming the best of your audience." By giving musicians the tools and autonomy they need, Sleeve wants to spark the curiosity of music lovers and make sure music stays a personal and powerful experience.
Check out the convo here:
You can follow Ted on Subtack here:
Substack
Stay tuned,
Anna
