Category Archives: Commentary

A Commentary

A Commentary: A Zeitgeist of Insignificance – The Problem with Our Musical Values

We are the ones who hold the means to reverse this destructive and dehumanizing trend – and all humanity will suffer if we fail.

By Dawoud Kringle

The economics of the digital age have had an unfortunate effect upon the music business. Digital piracy and the futility of competing with free downloads, and the payments offered by streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music have contributed to a constant economic devaluation of music. Progress is being made toward new models for rights and royalties in the new music economy that favor the professional musician as equally as the non-musician in the music business.

Continue reading →

Commentary: The Music Industry and the Mafia

How Organized Crime Shaped Our Business

By Dawoud Kringle

“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” – Hunter S. Thompson

Continue reading →

Daniel Ek

Daniel Ek and “His” Spotify…the Ruin of the Musicians Community

Daniel Ek, Spotify…Daniel Ek, Spotify…Daniel Ek, Spotify?  Ek owns nearly 9% of the Spotify shares, but has 37% of voting control?!

An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle

Daniel EkDaniel Ek was born February 21st, 1983 in Stockholm, Sweden. He graduated high school from IT-Gymnasiet in Sundbyberg in 2002, and subsequently studied engineering at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology before dropping out to focus on his IT career. At age 13 he started a business making websites for clients from his home. This was successful; he went from charging $100 to $5,000 per website. Ek soon recruited students from his class to work on the websites from the school computer lab (he was reputed to have bribed them with video games). His earnings eventually reached $50,000 per month and by age 18 he was managing a team of 25.

Continue reading →

RIP Eddie Van Halen 1955 – 2020

Text by Dawoud Kringle

On Tuesday, October 6th, 2020, Edward Lodewijk “Eddie” Van Halen died of cancer at the age of 65.

In 1978, I was listening to the radio, and the DJ of the local rock station announced that he was going to play something from the debut album of a band named Van Halen. Then Eruption came on. As Van Halen’s jaw dropping display of chops smashed through the speakers and seared itself into my ears, I stared at the radio, unable to believe what I was hearing.

Continue reading →