Tag Archives: Billboard

A Whole New Dimension in Music

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The music industry is about to go through a major transformation and we will be witnessing it in the next year or two. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one who is so amazed by these changes. I guarantee you that if John, George, Elvis and Michael ever came back, they would be shocked to learn that Billboard has added a whole new feature for charts that has nothing to do with the sales of songs.

Starting in May, Billboard, the world renowned music trade publication, will be ranking songs being discussed and shared the most on Twitter. The real-time charts will be published on Billboard.com as well as through the publication’s Twitter feed.

Having been a Billboard reader for decades, this change is mind-boggling because the entire music industry lived and died on the weekly sales charts. In order to rank on the top of the list, you had to achieve more sales that week than any other artist.

Now the whole complexion is changing when Billboard starts showing which artists and songs are being discussed the most. Sales will still be reported too but chatter is going to have a major influence on popularity.

This is going to be an interesting journey in music because Twitter, like all social media, can be manipulated by users who have millions of followers. One good tweet can have a huge impact on trending and future Twitter conversations. Read more about it in The New York Times.

From where I stand, this is going be a very interesting new twist in the music business. I will report any new findings

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Karen And Aaron, A Love Story

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I wanted to officially document the greatest love story of all time that just happened to take place in the consumer electronics business. Since I or others may never get around to writing a book about it, I thought my blog would be the most appropriate platform to tell the Romeo and Juliet story of Aaron Neretin and Karen Fisher. 

Aaron Neretin

Aaron was for decades a well known and highly respected editor, writer, and researcher in the consumer electronics business (Home Furnishings Daily, Fairchild Publication and Merchandising, Billboard); and Karen was a celebrated super agent for interior designers (Designer Previews) and a magazine and book author (Home Furnishings Daily, Cosmopolitan,  American Home and Esquire). They both received numerous industry awards.

Karen Fisher

They were as opposite as day and night except for their love for each other. She was tall, very thin, very statuesque, wore designer clothes, played tennis several times a week, and did the round of elegant parties in the most exclusive of places. She was never married, never had children. He was tall, big, and round. He loved the horses, Las Vegas, his children and grandchildren — not necessarily in that order. Aaron was well-read, a brilliant speaker, and loved being the life of the party. You often heard his voice before actually seeing him in a crowd. Karen was more reserved. 

They both died last year. She from brain cancer in her early 70s and he from a broken heart in his early 80s. While they became a couple late in life, they still had close to 25 years together.For a good many of those years they maintained separate apartments. They did live together most weekends and more often at the end when she was helping to take care of him after some heart issues. The irony was that she became terminally ill and he ended up taking care of her.Then he just didn’t want to live without her. He suffered a massive stroke and died a few months before her. 

The purpose of this story is to let you know their love affair can only be described as   some thing larger than their distinguished careers. Most industry people only really  knew the surface of it. I was there when they met back in 1966 at Home Furnishings Daily.We all worked together in the city news room and our desks were literally back to back. I was also lucky to have known them decades later when they reunited as the most loyal and devoted life partners. Eliot and I spent many joyous times with them both in New York City and Miami Beach where we all split our time. Karen and Aaron introduced us to a Turkish restaurant in NYC on 10th avenue in the 50s called Taboon. We still go there and start every meal with a toast to them.

It is so interesting to reflect on how these opposites expressed their true love. They shared a devotion that only the most brilliant and practical could manifest. Their life together was simple.They stuck to the true basics that can only make the most grounded happy: tons of laughs, good company, great conversations, and a steamy love life. I think they both confided in me. The thing that intrigued me most about them was the way they spoke about each other. He praised her for building a fantastic business and she praised him for just being fantastic. How refreshing!