Matt's Mix Tape, Vol. 157

Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape. My life is a new mix these days. And so is this newsletter.

This week’s Mix:

• Grit vs. stamina

• Old music eats the market

• This week’s not-Florida photo

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Grit vs. stamina

Grit.

If you’re watching HBO’s Hard Knocks, you know Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is all about it. The word is plastered on T-shirts, hats, walls, and in skywriting over the practice field (probably).

Grit is often misunderstood, though.

At Write of Passage, I’m helping shape our hiring strategy and processes. Tyler Cowen’s book “Talent” is one of the main resources I’ve used to frame the way we think about people, culture, and the characteristics we want in our teammates.

Grit and stamina are highly valued.

At first glance, grit and stamina seem like the same thing. But they’re different, and uniquely valuable. On a recent episode of EconTalk, Cowen drew the distinction:

Tyler Cowen: We're both still doing podcasts, including with each other. And, you're doing podcasts as a university president, and neither of us shows any signs of letting up. That, to me, is stamina. And, I think in a knowledge economy, the returns to stamina are extremely high. Especially, if you can start fairly young.

Now grit can be important, but I think of grit is, kind of times are tough and you grit your teeth and you bear down, and you suffer through something. Don't mean to take anything away from grit. But, if you distinguish stamina and grit, I think you can make better decisions for the intellectual life. I think overall, I would prefer a person with stamina than a person with grit.

Cowen sells grit short. When you need grit, you really need it. To use a financial analogy:

• Grit: a line of credit, carrying you through a crisis or difficult situation.

• Stamina: the S&P 500, steadily offering valuable returns over a long run.

At Write of Passage we look for both. And I’d like to think, thanks to a series of challenging events over the past few years, I personally have both. Five years ago I wasn’t sure I had either of them.

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Old music eats the market

Ted Gioia published a masterpiece on the state of the current music market, and it’s pretty dire.

The music industry’s challenges have evolved:

• Twenty years ago: “Oh no, people are downloading tracks for free!”

• Today: “Oh no, no one is downloading any new tracks at all!”

Today, all the money is in old music, and new acts are suffocating.

In 2017, “old” music (tracks at least 18 months old) made up around 61% of all music streaming. That number has jumped to over 70% today—a massive change.

Why?

The reasons are complex—more than just the appeal of old tunes—but the end result is unmistakable: Never before in history have new tracks attained hit status while generating so little cultural impact. In fact, the audience seems to be embracing en masse the hits of decades past.

Money and risk drive the problem as much as anything.

Old songs are safe and profitable, especially if they can be remarketed into new TV shows, commercials, and movies. The song of the summer, thanks to the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” is a Kate Bush tune from 1985 called “Running Up That Hill.” The song reached #1 on the Global 200 Billboard chart this past July, breaking several Guinness Book World Records.

(Warning: gore, language, and general Stranger Things sliminess/weirdness):

In any case, if you’re interested in the music industry and love the old stuff like I do, read Gioia’s whole article. It’s fascinating and well-researched, even if it’s message is worrisome.

I’m not helping the situation by wearing out my 1980s playlists (my auditory comfort food) this summer. But I’m also enjoying some current bands like Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and Caamp.

Here’s a better description of Caamp’s sound and latest album, “Lavender Girl” than anything I could write:

It sounds indie folk, sure. But, at its core, it’s pure rock-n-roll and punk. It’s music that’s fighting the system of the single. Lavender Days doesn’t stray from this punk aesthetic, getting to the core of the group’s formula for making some of the catchiest music without bowing down to Billboard.

The title track:

Ultimately, the music business is playing it safe. I hope more bands like Caamp can find their way around the obstacles.

Now, back to my Hot 100 playlist from 1987.

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This week’s not-Florida photo

This is another photo from last week’s work retreat. I love the way the early morning sun lights up the mid-point of these trees.

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Thank you for reading!

Whatever you’re working on or working through: keep showing up.

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