profitable, and it takes more than a few albums by a few superstars, no matter how great they are, because the fact that they’re going to sell a million albums does not increase your rates, and does not increase the amount of time they’ll book at the studio to produce that album.
Of course Joel’s experts didn’t know that a studio where successful albums are recorded will garner a steady flow of business among artists who hope to capture their own lightning in a bottle—as we later saw at the Bearsville Studio. In late 1970, Albert Grossman would open that facility less than a mile from the Tapooz property. One of thecountry’s most sought-out independent studios for thirty years, Bearsville Studio was the origin of albums by the Rolling Stones, Foreigner, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Patti Smith, Jeff Buckley, Van Morrison, the Band, Dave Matthews, Phish, and dozens of other major artists.
But on this day in February 1969, John and Joel primarily wanted to know more about the festival—though I thought that the studio idea had begun to grow on John. They asked about the festival’s size and location, ticket prices, and the overall budget. We said we were not prepared to discuss the festival. John and Joel seemed an unlikely pairing as festival partners, but more suited for the studio project. They were smart and had a great staff in place to design and set up a studio operation. Artie and I could provide the right aesthetic and ambience. Artie told them, “We’re already pretty far along with some other people on the festival, but okay, we’ll come back and bring the budget.”
Artie and I had been discussing a possible festival partnership with both Alan Livingston, who brought him to Capitol Records, and Larry Uttall, head of Bell Records. A couple of days after our meeting at Challenge, Larry called Artie to say he wanted to meet to discuss Bell’s involvement in the festival. We were thrilled by the news, and Artie contacted John and Joel to let them know what was up. “We’re already set with the festival,” he told them, “but we’d still like to follow up on the studio.”
John and Joel were bitterly disappointed—from our brief description, they’d been bitten by the whole idea. I believe they were viewing it as a somewhat unconventional but lucrative investment possibility—and one that might be fun. “Every time we find a project we like, some big corporation comes along and grabs it out from under us,” Joel told Artie. Artie and I talked it over and decided to go back and see them again before making a final decision. We both liked them, and the thought of working with a couple of guys our age appealed to us. If they would agree to both projects, we’d consider going with them.
As we were still in the early stages of planning, I had not put together final numbers for a festival. Extrapolating from the Miami budget, I had figured a total cost of about $500,000. I drew up a rough plan requiring a cash investment of $250,000. The balance would come from advance ticket sales. I figured $100,000 for talent deposits and $150,000 for pre-event staff, legal, office, site leasing, site prep, and production. I hoped to rent the Winston Farm for $5,000, but that was still up in the air. As a model, we figured 100,000 people attending a two-day festival at $5 or $6 a ticket per day. We could have our dream and make a profit. (Of course, this would all change as the concept evolved and the festival went to three days with an estimated audience of 200,000 per day.) After a few additional meetings, John agreed to finance the festival and the studio. We would become partners, and because the projects were based in Woodstock, we decided to call our company Woodstock Ventures.
The contract was drawn up, and it began:
Whereas, Rosenman and Roberts are sole shareholders, officers, and directors of Challenge, which is in the business of investing funds in new business ventures.
Whereas Lang has presented to
Of course Joel’s experts didn’t know that a studio where successful albums are recorded will garner a steady flow of business among artists who hope to capture their own lightning in a bottle—as we later saw at the Bearsville Studio. In late 1970, Albert Grossman would open that facility less than a mile from the Tapooz property. One of thecountry’s most sought-out independent studios for thirty years, Bearsville Studio was the origin of albums by the Rolling Stones, Foreigner, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Patti Smith, Jeff Buckley, Van Morrison, the Band, Dave Matthews, Phish, and dozens of other major artists.
But on this day in February 1969, John and Joel primarily wanted to know more about the festival—though I thought that the studio idea had begun to grow on John. They asked about the festival’s size and location, ticket prices, and the overall budget. We said we were not prepared to discuss the festival. John and Joel seemed an unlikely pairing as festival partners, but more suited for the studio project. They were smart and had a great staff in place to design and set up a studio operation. Artie and I could provide the right aesthetic and ambience. Artie told them, “We’re already pretty far along with some other people on the festival, but okay, we’ll come back and bring the budget.”
Artie and I had been discussing a possible festival partnership with both Alan Livingston, who brought him to Capitol Records, and Larry Uttall, head of Bell Records. A couple of days after our meeting at Challenge, Larry called Artie to say he wanted to meet to discuss Bell’s involvement in the festival. We were thrilled by the news, and Artie contacted John and Joel to let them know what was up. “We’re already set with the festival,” he told them, “but we’d still like to follow up on the studio.”
John and Joel were bitterly disappointed—from our brief description, they’d been bitten by the whole idea. I believe they were viewing it as a somewhat unconventional but lucrative investment possibility—and one that might be fun. “Every time we find a project we like, some big corporation comes along and grabs it out from under us,” Joel told Artie. Artie and I talked it over and decided to go back and see them again before making a final decision. We both liked them, and the thought of working with a couple of guys our age appealed to us. If they would agree to both projects, we’d consider going with them.
As we were still in the early stages of planning, I had not put together final numbers for a festival. Extrapolating from the Miami budget, I had figured a total cost of about $500,000. I drew up a rough plan requiring a cash investment of $250,000. The balance would come from advance ticket sales. I figured $100,000 for talent deposits and $150,000 for pre-event staff, legal, office, site leasing, site prep, and production. I hoped to rent the Winston Farm for $5,000, but that was still up in the air. As a model, we figured 100,000 people attending a two-day festival at $5 or $6 a ticket per day. We could have our dream and make a profit. (Of course, this would all change as the concept evolved and the festival went to three days with an estimated audience of 200,000 per day.) After a few additional meetings, John agreed to finance the festival and the studio. We would become partners, and because the projects were based in Woodstock, we decided to call our company Woodstock Ventures.
The contract was drawn up, and it began:
Whereas, Rosenman and Roberts are sole shareholders, officers, and directors of Challenge, which is in the business of investing funds in new business ventures.
Whereas Lang has presented to
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