A star is not someone who is hyped by money into the hearts of America. A star is someone who creates something by his or her wits that is so intriguing that it's forwarded to millions. Ponder that.

Bob Lefsetz

It's does not get any more clear to me than this. Bob Lefsetz's newsletter, for those of you in the ticketing and music business, is an imperative read. For 25 years he's been writing The Lefsetz Letter and beholden to no one and speaking the truth, he addresses the issues that are at the core of the music business: downloading, copy protection, ticket pricing and the music itself. Bob’s insights are fueled by his stint as an entertainment business attorney, majordomo of Sanctuary Music’s American division and consultancies to major labels.

Here's some more jewels on Adele's recent success from the wordsmith: 

All the scuttlebutt about Adele has been the chart success, BUT HAVE YOU LISTENED TO THE MUSIC? For too many years we've been inundated with look at me artists.  I'm better than you.  Watch me dance, see my big tits, come join the party.

You don't want to party with Adele.  THERE IS NO PARTY!

Hip-hoppers sing of kicking women to the curb.  This is a record made by someone who WAS kicked to the curb.  How does that feel? You know.  Because you're not a famous rapper, you're not a famous starlet.  We're inundated with them, from Paris Hilton to Kim Kardashian.  It's fun to watch the movie, but it's soulless.  And you can never say that about "21".

"21" is a peek into Adele's world.  Her inner life.  It's like we walked by a house and heard someone crying, got closer, and put our nose to the window.  And inside, saw someone who was where we've once been.  The land of heartbreak.  It's the human condition.  To the point where some hook up with someone random just to stay in the game and others get old and refuse to play anymore.

It's not about automobiles.  It's not about being rich.  It's about being human.

And here's some interesting inside information on Ticketmaster promises to artists:

I had a long conversation with a promoter who told me that with regard to a show he was promoting, Ticketmaster was guaranteeing the secondary market for the act. Let me explain this to you.  A certain number of tickets are pulled from the manifest and ultimately sold on TicketsNow.  Ticketmaster guarantees a certain gross payment to the act for these tickets, far in excess of the usual payment per ticket.  If the tickets don’t sell at the predicted high prices?  Too bad for Ticketmaster.

Blame the acts for this.  Ticketmaster Is taking the heat.

...But what shocked me was a recent conversation with a manager.  Who told me that Live Nation’s offer for his act included pulling multiple hundreds of tickets to sell on the secondary market.  I did not know that Live Nation did this.  Do I believe this manager? Absolutely.  Is this a common practice?  I don’t sell shows/talent, so I don’t know.  But, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.