"What really happened between Kesha and Dr. Luke":
tinyurl.com/2s47yjmc This is the "Hit Men" of its day.
But nobody seems to know this, because nobody seems to have read it, and you can't unless you subscribe to the "Los Angeles Times," which nobody seems to do anymore, the paper having shrunk itself down to near irrelevance.
This story launched online six days ago. Was in print yesterday, on the front page. How many e-mails do you think I've gotten about it? ZERO!
But if you want to know how the music business really works you should read it.
It's about the money, it's always about the money. And most people don't know it's about the money, because they're employees, they don't know what it's like to run a company, they're not exposed to the shenanigans of those who start and run enterprises. Because if you don't have sharp elbows, you're going to be taken out.
So...
If you read the above article, you'll conclude Dr. Luke never raped Kesha. That it was all a ruse to get out of her contract. That she signed with full representation.
Leverage. There it is, your first deal will be crappy. Unless you're somebody, and probably you're not.
And how talented are you anyway? Sans Dr. Luke, Kesha's career has faltered, but Lukasz Gottwald has ultimately had more hits.
Everybody came to her defense. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift gave her $250,000. And Dr. Luke might not be the most lovable guy around, but that's different from raping someone. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
This is the "Rolling Stone"/UVA story of its day. A "Rolling Stone" reporter made up a rape story, the truth came out and heads rolled. Well, the editor of "Rolling Stone" at least. What will be the aftermath of this L.A. "Times" Kesha/Dr. Luke story?
Nothing.
If you want to know how the music business really works, read this article. Forget all those websites giving you false hope. All the nobodies noddering about nothing. At the elite level, it's business, with a lot of dollars involved. And you need no degree to be in the music business, on either side of the recording console. Having said that, most of the winners are whip-smart, street smart.
As for the legal system... The wheels of justice turn very slowly, but they do turn. And you can say whatever you want, get your minions agitated, but that does not mean you'll skate. This is the story we're seeing with Trump right now, this is the story of Kesha and Dr. Luke.
As for the final settlement... Dr. Luke got no money, because Kesha is probably near judgment-proof and it would cost him millions more to find whatever she has and to get it. So what he got from Kesha was...
"Only God knows what happened that night."
Hmm... You're suing and you don't know what happened? And there's no evidence?
How about the attorneys who took this case.
And Kesha switched managers... The talent will always screw you.
As for Kesha's mother... Let's just say she's a piece of work.
This is the music business today. People trying to get rich and famous with no CV. But you probably don't know what a CV is anyway, which proves the point.
Music is one of the rare enterprises where no qualifications are necessary, everybody can play. But not everybody can be successful.
As for the public? It's completely ignorant, not knowing that most of the acts it reveres are two-dimensional people built into stars by the machine. It was always this way, you always need people to prop you up, to grease the skids, to get you and keep you on your way, but whether the underlying "artist" is truly talented...that waxes and wanes. This is not the sixties and seventies, and the eighties were dominated by MTV and CDs, the big money era began. And we presently live in the blockbuster era. If you want to be in the Spotify Top 50, you have to align yourself with the people in this article, or those similar to them.
I was absolutely riveted reading this story, and I already knew it! Because it was all there, the way the music business really works. And I'm the only one who seems to have read it.
Nothing shows up in the Google News, NOTHING! As for music news outlets, this story is too hot to touch, and in a world where everything passes, why take the risk.
Do I know exactly what happened that night? No. But I did read this article, and if you do you'll draw your own conclusion, but I'd be stunned if you come out believing that Dr. Luke raped Kesha.
But if you don't read it, it doesn't exist.
Dr. Luke is still a pariah.
I'm not saying Kesha isn't entitled to work, isn't entitled to get the best deal possible. But I am saying that false accusations can impede a career, and it might take years for the truth to come out, and that's too late.
If a tree falls in the forest...
If a tree falls in Los Angeles...
This story is just a microcosm of the world we live in. Where truth is fungible and the public can be convinced something is true when it may not be.
Once again, READ THIS!
--
Visit the archive:
lefsetz.com/wordpress/ --
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart:
ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple:
apple.co/2ndmpvp --
www.twitter.com/lefsetz --
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters,
Unsubscribe To change your email address
this link 