You Might Make A Difference; Part Two —
Last week I wrote about how one might make a difference if they try. I took my own advice.
Again, I used my company’s blog as a forum to test an idea and it seems to have legs.
I remarked on the announcement from Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Warren Buffet (Bershire Hathaway), and Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase) that they were joining forces to create an insurance cooperative/company to provide health coverage for their 1,000,000+ employees.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/30/technology/amazon-berkshire-hathaway-jpmorgan-health-care.html
Seems like a good idea.
And then I had a brain idea!!
A handful of large multinational corporations not withstanding, the music business is but a collection of independent business persons working together. From the biggest stars to the newly minted indie…producers, attorneys, managers, roadies, sound engineers, copyright analysts, royalties accountants, A&R pitch men, the door woman at the Troubador….every last one of them needs health insurance. And I believe that we might be able to collectively bargain for better rates and better coverage.
In my article I mentioned that from my experience in real estate, I knew a handful of people that kept their license current and board dues paid simply to be able to get group rate health insurance.
And I believe the same spirit may be utilized for the music business: an association or cooperative that offers multifaceted benefits for folks that work in the music business.
No sooner than I published the idea did the emails and calls come rolling in..offering ideas and suggestions, where work toward this ultimate goal had already been done, and how I was wasting my time. I take all of it with a grain of salt, but am generally not knocked off the path simply because something hadn’t been done before.
From a high level, I am organizing a steering committee to better understand the viability of this idea.
So, here’s my request for help:
Do you know anything about associations and their ability to underwrite/enable their members to get health insurance?
Do you know anything about health insurance company incentives or rationale for working with large groups?
Are you interested in helping 500,000+ folks that work in the music industry get coverage?
What I am reading and watching –
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, republished some of his good ideas.
Principles: Life and Work
From Amazon:
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.
https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021
I then found a video he made and offers for free on the fundamentals of how the macro economy works. I found it to be a really good explainer, as someone who knows a wee bit already, but will likely add value to folks that are pure beginners as well.
This week in space travel –
You’d have to live under a rock to have missed the launch of Space X’s Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket on Tuesday. Elon Musk used the launch to test the rockets that will ultimately take humans to Mar’s. The payload this go round? A Cherry Red Tesla Roadster with a space man at the wheel, Space Oddity playing on the radio, and “Don’t Panic!’ on the dash display. Oh, and a live stream via YouTube that is still broadcasting.
What’s on the radio –
Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
This Rube Goldberg Machine –