Columbia Records co-chairman Steve Barnett posted this comment on my last story “Mud Wrestling At Sony Music”.
Wayne,
I am not sure what your ultimate agenda is, but clearly you seem to take great joy in publicly disparaging those of us at Sony Music who have actual careers in the music industry and who work in extremely challenging times to help our artists achieve their goals and hopefully share in their success.
For the record, I had absolutely no knowledge in advance of the item in HIts that you referred to in your latest column, had I know about it, I would have tried to stop it, as it was inaccurate on a number of fronts.
I do not take credit for the achievements of Adele, although I am extremely proud that she is a Columbia artist and our company has worked tirelessly on her behalf.
I challenge you to subscribe to even the most basic of journalistic ethics and base your industry analysis on facts and don’t rely on rumor and innuendo, nor on the leaks of anonymous sources – real or imagined,
Steve Barnett
"Psst. See, Doug. I do have balls. I really put that Rosso wanker in his place. How dare him suggest that I had anything to do with a gossip item saying that I'm brilliant!"
Steve:
I would like to thank you for reading my column. It’s gratifying to know that important record label executives actually take the time to pay attention to my piddly little writings and take them seriously enough post a comment on the site. In fact, it’s really kind of strange, don’t you think?
I would imagine that you’d have more important things to do, especially if what I wrote was complete nonsense. Perhaps it’s a way to show Doug how bold you are given the paranoia that’s rampant in your company.
It occurs to me that whom you should really be upset with is Hits Magazine for running the item in the first place. You wrote that you had “absolutely no advance knowledge of the item in Hits” however I notice that the item is still up on the Hits web site with absolutely no retraction, correction or public expression of outrage from you or Sony Music.
What about my source’s assertion that you have had Hits Magazine on the payroll for years” If you didn’t “know in advance” of the item, I wonder where they got it? Have you begun another witch-hunt to discover who leaked that outrageous item to your friends at Hits? Odd  how it makes you brilliant and Rick Rubin a disaster, isn’t it? You have to admit that given the circumstances, it does smell fishy.
As for my sources, I assure you that they are just as real, if not more so, than those of Hits. The reason I protect my sources is exactly the same reason that Hits protects theirs. Trying to out my sources leads one to believe everything I wrote is true. If it weren’t, why would you be so concerned?
You mention my agenda, which is really quite simple. It is to get as many readers as possible. Full stop. I am not a reporter, even though I occasionally break news. I write opinion, analysis, and commentary in a provocative, satirical and, yes, snarky style. That’s what people like to read and I seem to be good at it. I report and comment on rumors and topics that people are talking about. By the way, even your buddies at Hits have a section called “Rumor Mill”—full of innuendo, unnamed sources and unproven rumors.
I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but I’ve been a vocal critic of the record industry for the last 25 years. For the record, after graduating from college, I had my first job in the music industry when you were in the second grade stealing marmite sandwiches from little girls’ lunch boxes.
My mission is to tell it like it is—to pull back the curtain on the hypocrisy, egotism and hubris of the music industry and its executives. These executives take themselves way too seriously. You’re not going to win a Nobel Prize for taking a vapid Glee CD to Number One on the charts. Your comments conveniently prove my point.
You seem to feel that I have some personal ax to grind. That is not the case. The truth is that I treat all of you the same. You are all just copy as far as I’m concerned and I have little to no respect for most of you. If you feel that I’m picking on you, well then, it must be your turn in the barrel that day. Just ask Fredo or Junior Bronfman. Hits seems to be the only place where I can read about how wonderful and successful you are.
I’ll leave you with a couple of words of unsolicited advice: lighten up…mate.
PS
Happy Rosh Hashanah (that’s a Jewish holiday, if you were wondering where so many of your employees were last Thursday and Friday)
© 2011, Wayne Rosso. All rights reserved.
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Wow. Two grown men.
Well, one and a half maybe
The artists have been put “in the barrel” by execs over and over. It’s nice to see some of the execs, that make all the money “taking it” for once….keep up the good work Wayne!
Wayne – your response is low class and not that smart. You need to lighten up yourself.
You put down Barnett for bothering to reply to your first attack.
Don’t you think people have a right to defend their name?
Sure. And don’t I also have the right to defend myself?
Evidently you didn’t seem to get where I was coming from. But that’s OK. Somebody has to defend Barnett since he doesn’t do a very good job of it himself.
WR