Exit Interview: Bruce Brodeen
Pop Geek Heaven's Closure Marks the End of a Power Pop Era
If you’re a fan of modern power pop, then you’re probably familiar with Bruce Brodeen.
But if for some reason that name doesn’t ring any bells, I bet you know about the beloved late ‘90s/early ‘00s record label/mail order catalog and follow-up power pop newsletter/blog that he founded and ran over the last three decades.
Not Lame Recordings said goodbye in 2011 after a 16 year run, but was followed by the equally-impressive Pop Geek Heaven that built up a rabid fanbase from 2011 until Brodeen announced that he was shutting it down this month.
To say this is the end of a power pop era would be an understatement.
I interviewed Brodeen to ask why now was the right time to turn the page on Pop Geek Heaven, get his thoughts on the current international power pop scene, and find out what’s next for him. Those who know Bruce won’t be surprised to hear that he’s already got some exciting new music-related plans in the works.
And we’re happy to announce that Pop Geek Heaven’s resident reviewer, Mike Baron (aka “Bloody Red Baron”), will occasionally be posting some of his write-ups at Remember The Lightning starting next week. Stay tuned…
Exit Interview: Bruce Brodeen
Can you tell us the history of Pop Geek Heaven?
Pop Geek Heaven launched in the Summer of 2011, in the ashes of ceasing the operations/mission/work of Not Lame Recordings and another online community I launched with a good friend, Rock and Roll Tribe. Not Lame was a very busy record label and online distribution company for thousands of indie releases, artists and small labels. The company boomed in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but all things change and the trends in the music business with physical CDs went into deep decline. So, after 16 years, NLR ended in early 2011.
I had a blog for Not Lame in the naughties, but I wanted to start something that was an 'ultimate resource and online community' for power pop fans—to be an ultimate resource and destination for music and power pop geeks. The vision was to be able to, eventually, be an interactive place where music fans could connect, virtually meet, exchange displays of their music knowledge, and find new ways to lean into and enjoy their 'love of music' passions.
How did PGH change over time?
So, yeah, the answer to the previous question sounded kinda 'big,’ right?
Well, given the nature of my life-long entrepreneurial orientation, my vision for Pop Geek Heaven was larger than my abilities, financial resources and the tech resources available. That meant that, over time, the site had to dial back on my hopes for it to become more of a blog and email newsletter. Besides the content on the blog, PGH released many CD compilations, digital collections, as well as the publication of over 10 printed books between 2011-2023.
The challenges were always many, which is the case for many music-related businesses. Most of them, boringly and predictably, land in the 'lack of financial resources' camp, which meant making the best with what I had. I had gone through that with Not Lame Recordings and another million dollar business I ran in the early ‘90s (which was not mine), so it was familiar territory for me to navigate when it comes to figuring things out.
“The worldwide power pop community feels smaller to me than it was 20 years ago. I can't prove it, it's just a sense. Yet that means that all things come around again, at some point, right?!“
What were some of your favorite PGH moments over the last 13 years?
It's a story most in the Pop Geek Heaven are not even aware of. It was a favorite, but it was also a...failure.
It was a 'minimal viable product' launch of a big idea with where I wanted PGH to evolve to in 2015. I attempted to create a 'real online community' that took the available tech of the time and tried to be more like Facebook with the ability to nurture more genuine online connections, relationships and friendships based around the passion of loving many different music genres—not just power pop.
I launched the idea, which was a paid one, to 110 people. It was called Tune Digs. It came up short (again) because of (get ready for the recurring theme to present itself again…) lack of money, time and my own personal demons with being overwhelmed and burnt out. After working full-time in the music business for over 20 years at that point, I just personally crashed. Hard. I got a 'normal' job selling software to small businesses. I lasted a little over a year, learned crap-ton, and went back to running my own thing again.
I launched a consulting company focusing on thought leadership and authority branding—and continued with Pop Geek Heaven as a hobby/side hustle.
How has the pop scene changed since your first launched PGH?
All things change. All things never change.
Power pop fans have gotten older, continue to be (wonderfully) spoiled with too much music and few good ways to curate it around all the music they love, not just power pop. CDs have faded for most, streaming rules (which I love, for the record), tastes evolve and change. Many of those hardcore power pop fans from the ‘90s and ‘00s moved on and leaned into other music genres.
Which I totally 'get' because I've always been a pantheist when it comes to music—a worshiper, a lover and deep appreciator of most music genres, large, small and ridiculously obscure. I think that is a (very) good and natural thing for an open-minded music fan to experience.
The worldwide power pop community feels smaller to me than it was 20 years ago. I can't prove it, it's just a sense. Yet that means that all things come around again, at some point, right?! So, at some point, there will be a rebirth and re-sparked interest around power pop again. I'm deeply philosophical and agnostic about this kind of change because...all things change. All things never change.
“Not Lame Recordings was around for 16 years, Pop Geek Heaven for 12 years, so it's been a good run—but it's run its course.”
Why is now the right time to shut PGH down?
After 32 years of living in Colorado and the last 25 in Ft. Collins, my wife and I are moving to South Carolina. She's been worn down by the cold over time and I'm ready for a big change, to shake up the predictable snow globe of my life with a different geographical backdrop to live inside of.
I'm 60 years old and I'm determined to make the next decade the most interesting, successful and dynamic one of my life (I'm not winding down!)—and unplugging from what's been part of my life for many decades. It just feels like the best way to stretch and lean into the next challenges ahead of me is to find new connections and relationships to live life with. We'll miss the amazing friendships that are filled with love here, but we'll visit often and appreciate them more with being away from them.
Not Lame Recordings was around for 16 years, Pop Geek Heaven for 12 years, so it's been a good run—but it's run its course. There are over 5,000 music fans who received the newsletter and its open rates always hovered at and around 50%, which is extraordinary, so it's not like the interest is lacking, but it's just time for something new.
What's next for you?
Settle into life by the beach, serve my coaching clients at the highest level on the consulting side of things. As it relates to music and your readers here, I naturally have future plans! Like, 'duh', right?! That never wanes fully with me.
I've developed, self-financed and launched three online music communities over the past 15 years—with modest and not-so-modest success. I've learned a lot in that time and I'm gonna use and apply it to my next music venture, including all the Not Lame Recordings and blogging experiences as well. That means I'm going for a fourth attempt at a kick-ass online community in 2024 because the technology capabilities are now fully realized (stunningly so), dynamic and exciting to take some of my long gestating ideas and passions and make the best go of it with the next launch.
Crazy? Sure—maybe, likely—but I've been developing the vision of it for some time because the available technology excites me to no end and I will NOT do this on Facebook because a long list of reasons but one of the big ones is that there are hundreds of thousands of music fans who have never been on Facebook, left it or feel abused and manipulated by it. Music fans over 50, 60, 70, 80 years old, have a lifetime of knowledge and what happens to that once they leave this mortal coil, as we all do?How can and must it be archived and shared with younger music fans? A legacy to leave to keep the music and passion of the artists and music fans 'alive.'
So yeah, I have to give birth to it, for better or worse, at some point.
What will be different this time?
Well, I am going to seek input and talents of other people this time around, not create inside the bubble of my own dream. That means leveraging others' abilities, experience, passion and creative spark to give the ability to serve (and scale) music fans of all music genres around the world at a higher and more fulfilling level. I don't want it to be just 'my dream' this time, but a coterie of other cool, passionate music fans, as well. So stay tuned…
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it´s The Bruce not only the pope. That´s extraordinary: a person who lives 3 to 4 musical lives in one life.
And all as a service for seeking people, for people that are not content with the small extent of the music business range as it is repeated and repeated on thousands of equal sounding and boring format radio programms all over the world. yes there is a musical heaven. Thanks Bruce. Ralf from the German outpost
Bruce Brodeen: Extremely highly recommended