MIKE "GOON" MCGINLEY requested a relatively positive missive from me today. He's an AOR kind of guy. Not hit-driven... As I mature (yes, relatively) I try to focus on simple pleasures. One of my greatest simple pleasures? Sitting in a hotel lobby in good club chairs shootin' the gift (been waiting 25 years to use that expression) with friends I love and/or admire. Discussing anything. I love a good impromptu salon and holding court. I'm in STOCKHOLM at the BRILLIANT MINDS conference. It's held at THE GRAND HOTEL and the lobby and bar have been filled with a very disparate, creative group of thinkers from all around the world with all sorts of acumen and backgrounds. Heaven from the club chair... A highlight of the conference thus far. A discussion between CROOKED MEDIA's JON LOVETT and MATTHEW FREUD on propaganda. I wanted it to go on for hours, it was just getting started. I learned about EDWARD BERNAYS. A fascinating character. About to be reading... I was looking at the SPOTIFY charts a little while back, it's quite remarkable. DRAKE. THE FUTURE. Drake and The Future. Literally, a large portion of the chart. I cornered my friend STEVE STOUTE in the bar yesterday afternoon. He's been in and out of the music business for a long time so I peppered him with questions. So the labels get a big f***in' check from services, right? How much do those artists get? And if you were either artist (or any big one), once you're established and delivered on your deal, why would you ever re-sign with a label? I'm sure label CEO's checks are getting bigger. But what about the artists? There is no industry without the music. And I also think artists should own their masters...  My only issue with international travel to idyllic cities like STOCKHOLM? As my father would have likely asked: "How do you get the GOOGLE to stop speaking Swedish"... MLB’s Statcast is a breakthrough technology transforming what we know about—and how we play—baseball. It's changing the way teams evaluate players, how fans watch games on TV, and how hitters swing. SportsSET: "The Statcast Revolution"... I'd like to have a referendum on referendums. Hard enough to get things done during a term, let alone this nuttiness. Political greed does have some karma. I'm not a populist. I don't like mobs. Like bulls running off a cliff. "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - WINSTON CHURCHILL... Happy Birthday to MICHELLE RUBELL, PETER CSATHY, LIZ HERON, DEBORAH ROLDAN, JOHNNY HAM, DOUG EVANS, GABI RUBIN DEVEAUX, FRED MCINTYRE, SCOTT KAMINS, MARK DORISON, CHRIS RUSSELL, and BILL CAMPBELL.