THE BASIS POINT

What Banks Can Learn From AC/DC

 

While taking a break from the market chaos this weekend, we thoroughly enjoyed the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s tribute to AC/DC, where many authors wrote their takes on AC/DC to commemorate their 15th album Black Ice that was recently released.

The best article in the series was Change Rejection, and it discussed how AC/DC’s new album was more of the same, just as it has always been for the past 30 years. “Just the way we like it.” It describes how the band has stayed doggedly true to its original concept, with Black Ice’s 15-track line-up boasting 4 songs with “Rock” in the title, and only one style variation which underscores the point even more:

The big surprise this time around, if you can call it that, is the inclusion of slide guitar on the track “Stormy May Day.” The band’s been around for more than three decades, and a largely technical change in instrumentation on a single song qualifies as news. That’s sticking to your guns.

The result of this loyalty to their approach is more than 200 million in album sales, the second highest selling album of all time (Back in Black), and their new album went #1 in 17 countries. The story also points out that they refuse to sell downloads on iTunes because they want to retain their integrity as an “album band”:

The mind reels at the amount of money they could make off frat boys looking to round out the keg party playlist with a little “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Then again, when you’ve already sold 200 million-odd albums, what’s left to buy? A plane for your plane? Maybe AC/DC could bailout the Big Three.

Besides appreciating the brilliance of that last comment we couldn’t help but think: what if banks just stuck to their old reliable savings and loan model instead of chasing their “every creative whim” which led them down the path of no-doc loans and exotic derivatives? But they didn’t. And now, if they can ever find the bottom, It’s A Long Way To The Top…

 

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