“Panos’ Brew” is Sonicbids founder/CEO Panos Panay’s weekly (or more) post about whatever happens to be on his mind. Look for musings and observations on entrepreneurship, the state of the music business, his experiences with members, interesting things he’s seen in his travels, or just about anything else.
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Michael Jackson was world-famous because he was supremely talented. He sold 120 million records across the planet because, simply put, he made great music. He was by all accounts an exceptionally hard-working perfectionist; he wrote some of the best-known songs of all time; he was a shrewd businessman; and he pioneered moves that have changed the face of modern dance. 
Michael Jackson was also the last superstar of his kind. He was the last in a lineage that can be traced all the way back to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra; then Elvis; The Beatles; and finally Michael. They are all entertainers that changed both the way that we listen to music but also pushed cultural and societal boundaries to a whole new level.
Michael Jackson single-handedly gave rise to the hit-driven, superstar-centric music business of the late-70’s and 80’s. If you think about it, when most of us think of the “music business” we think of the one that Michael Jackson created: mega-selling albums; lavish music videos that get played non-stop on MTV; consecutive Billboard Chart-topping singles; songs that get endlessly played on cross-format radio; stadium-filling tours with huge productions; superstars that collaborate with consumer brands to promote colas or cars or clothing. In other words, everything that I often declare as an anachronism on this blog.
In a funny way though, Michael Jackson also helped give rise to the concept of the modern, empowered artist. He was the first artist to really demand and get complete control of all aspects of his career: he wrote his own songs; he co-produced his own music; had complete oversight of the way he was marketed; chose his directors and had total creative control of his videos; negotiated by all accounts some of the most favorable recording deals ever; understood the value of owning your music publishing when Madonna was still a drummer in a New York underground band called “The Breakfast Club”; and knew that in the end, the only thing that matters, is your relationship with your fans (all this in a pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook era).
Michael Jackson’s death (on my birthday of all days) represents the formal passing of the Superstar era. There will never be another Michael Jackson just like there will never be another Beatles, not because great music is not created every single day today but because the era of the mass market is over. (Music today influences us as a collective force, rather than an individual one.)
It’s worth remembering though, that besides giving birth to the music business of the big, bloated budgets and hit-obsessed labels, Michael Jackson also helped create the concept of the artist as a proactive entrepreneur.
Here’s to you Michael, the world’s first empowered artist.
Panos
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