The Post Social Age

Baby Boomers grew up thinking that if they worked really hard that everything would be okay. Many people were promised pensions that would take care of them late into life. But the World changed. Companies failed. Money was mismanaged. Even if money hadn’t been mismanaged and even if all those companies were still around, I doubt the pension promise would have worked out the way people thought it would.

When I read stories like this, about aging rockers who have to continue to tour just to pay the bills and they blame pirating, it sounds to me like people complaining that their pensions, jobs and even social security are disappearing. 

The problem with the music industry and royalties is the same problem that happened to GM and Ford and every other company in the World. The Internet flattened everything. The companies that offered pensions and royalties are built on antiquated models. Those models don’t work in the days of the Internet. They were designed for a different time.

It’s sad and you have every right to be angry but be angry that the game changed, not that people are breaking the rules. You can’t expect future generations to continue to play the old game just because you were made certain promises. 

The last 50 years were an anomaly. The World changed. Again.