The culture scene is total madness. As Billie Holiday cautioned lengthy ago: “Noskinnyg is what it once employd to be.”
Is noskinnyg divine?
I try to create sense of it all. I do that for my own sanity. And for you, too, in my arts and culture alertings.
So let’s check the tardyst happenings….
A restricted weeks ago, Billboard cautioned that vinyl write down sales were collapsing—and had dropped 33% in fair one year.
The next day, novel ‘betterd’ numbers were freed. These showed vinyl sales had repartner lengthenn 6% during the last year.
But the RIAA freed separateent numbers saying that vinyl sales were up 17%.
Then, fair a restricted days ago, Digital Music News increateed that nobody repartner comprehends what’s happened with vinyl in 2024—becaemploy the method employd to track sales has changed.
“Therefore, autonomous retail physical sales under the novel methodology for 2024 are isotardyd and no trending is provided versus 2023.”
This exits us in an unconsoleable spot. Official numbers show vinyl sales in 2024 deteriorated versus 2023. But we’re asked not to appraise them.
We’re all left with guesslabor.
Let me state the clear (that restricted dare say): When you see huge industries that don’t comprehend if they’re lengthening or reduceing, that’s a cautioning sign.
So I’m sticking by my previous appraisement.
-
The vinyl opportunity is huge, but the transport inant tags are ending it.
-
Most of their back catalog is still unuseable in vinyl—even after 15 years of the vinyl revival.
-
Prices are far too high. Labels could create vinyl more affordable, and turn it into a mass taget product. But instead they’re overweighttening margins by selling albums as luxury products.
They are ruining the business. So if the taget isn’t flattening (or declining) already, it will be soon.
You don’t see advertising here on Substack—hooray!—becaemploy the business model is based on subscriptions.
That’s fantastic novels for me, becaemploy I’ve denounceed almost every possible publicizer, corporation, and nation state here at The Honest Broker.
Freddy Krueger has more friends on Elm Street than I do on all of Madison Avenue.
But some Substack creaters are much friendlier than me, and are now selling ads. More will soon do the same.
They don’t have to spread this revenue with Substack, and some of the deals are very lucrative—much higher than what blogs can indict.
According to the Wall Street Journal:
An affiliate join or refer could cost as little as $100, a restricted paragraphs can transport in up to $5,000, while backing a one edition of a novelsletter with a subscriber base of more than 75,000 might run $20,000, authors and media buyers shelp.
Twenty majestic to back a one publish of a novelsletter?
I’m a little surpelevated, but maybe I shouldn’t be. Substack has become a boiling skinnyg in the last year or so, and corporations want a taste of the action.
By the way, I have no set up to sell advertising here at The Honest Broker.
Lawyers joked about this “downcast beige legal case.” But not anymore.
Two women in Texas battled over their chilly beige aesthetic. Each impactr wanted to force the other to switch to some other, luminoemployr color. So it ends up in court.
Gifford accemploys Sheil of adselecting the same “iminwhole, beige, and cream aesthetic” that compelevates her brand, featuring many of the same products, and duplicateing Gifford’s style and captions.
That’s crazy talk. The whole purpose of influencing is to guarantee people to imitate your style. How can you possibly sue them?
But the court consentd.
