You know what I just realized? Donald Trump reminds me of this massive country music star I once had the displeasure of working for... and I mean, this was a little one month thing. It was pure hell.

But, it was hilarious. And terrible.

After I left Sony Music, I had a six month non-compete contract, so basically... I waited six months, and then I had a development contract setup with a guy I'll call "James McGruff".

James was easily one of the biggest names in country music -- easily one of the "all timers".

Starting off, I had a great relationship with his manager. I met [him/her] when I was still with Sony, at this YouTube mixer where I basically got paid to get drunk and eat finger food.

James had a really normal manager. [He/she] was older, and "got it", if you know what I mean.

The very first meeting I step into, I'm supposed to be heading the digital team, which is going to be basically a 360 degree view of everything that touches the internet.

The meeting opens, and it's all people going over "the numbers" for the last release.

I said, "Hey, I didn't get the page with the Spotify or Apple Music data."

The room gets silent.

James addresses me: "We don't have Spotify or Apple Music."

I replied, "They won't give you the data?" (I'm confused.)

He says, "No, we use our own platform."

I replied to James, "You're not... streaming your catalog? On Spotify? Or Apple? What is it? Tidal?"

His manager interrupts me, "We have found that James has fans that don't want to stream. They would rather buy music."

Boy, lemme tell you. I'm rarely shocked. That got me.

They inform me that they have talked a few times about streaming exclusively with Amazon Music, but they weren't willing to negotiate in good faith.

So, this meeting ends, and I'm trying to get my bearings.

Like, James seriously thinks he's going to... beat Spotify and Apple?

You know how Trump likes to brag about his crowd sizes? James LOVES to brag about his crowd sizes. Most musicians simply post tour dates and ticket links on their website.

James? He lists his sold out concerts, past dates, and then makes sure it notes how big the crowd was.

Let's talk about advertising. It didn't happen. One of the biggest things I do is segmenting fans with ML.

Here's how a James McGruff tour works: He announces he's touring. Every STADIUM sells out within a day.

This is when things got weird...

One day, our team announces a new leg of a tour. The Ticketmaster site is basically freezing up. This is totally Ticketmaster's fault.

Because of errors, one show doesn't sell out in the first 24 hours. James is furious. His manager berates me, for reasons I can't understand.

Basically, I realize how the dynamic works, REALLY fast. James McGruff is always right. You always agree with James. If you're not willing to agree with James, you're fired.

Your opinion is wrong. James is always right. He just goes with his gut.

Once upon a time, in the late 90s, James McGruff decided he wanted to make a movie about some weirdo alternative musician, and to make it work, he created an entire alter-ego around... himself, being someone else. With a soul patch.

Why? Because no one ever tells him no.

There are some people who have so much money and power, they surround themselves with people who are afraid to tell them no. If you do anything to make these people upset, they'll burn your entire career to the ground, just out of pure ego.

So... I did the smart thing. I quit.

Actually, when I quit, I had to lie. At the time, we were going through a negotiation with Amazon Music, and I said, "Hey, I just realized, I have a conflict of interest, because... something something something, I have a contract with Amazon." (I didn't.)

So that got me out.