Self-Destruct In 40 Characters Or Less

A wise man once said it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and it takes about two seconds to destroy it ... And that little saying ought to be printed out and put on everybody's computer in the entertainment business.

From Music Row to Wall Street to the Hollywood Hills, how many of you have dared to take a walk in the shoes of the artists who have been in the headlines in the last 12 months?

2018 has been the year of the career destruction. From Kevin Spacey to Roseanne Barr, Cosby and a whole lot in between ... From suicide by Twitter to #me too, the Internet spreads news like a gasoline fire ...

Music Row had one big dust-up that made the National trades. No one is immune ... How many artists out there under your command have control of their Twitter accounts ? It's probably a scary answer.

One of the early razor blade dancers was Blake Shelton. Blake was a big fan of social media and Twitter, and he often got in Twitter battles with people ... Hard to remember but it seems like he withdrew either on his own or at the urging of management.

For radio folks ... calling somebody up and cussing them out seems mighty tame in these social media waters ... How many young PDs lost their minds and called in screaming at a screw-up DJ?

At the comfort of your keyboard, it's so easy to write a nasty e-mail or something worse on Facebook or Twitter ... Not going to name names, but I've seen some of the hottest artists of today get in the little-bitty Twitter battles with fans. It's really easy but you can't do it.

From an artist management viewpoint, you can't let an act with a personality like a Roseanne so easily destroy $1 billion in future advertising and syndication fees. They contractually should not be able to do it. Corporations have vague social media policies.

Instagram seems to be in full use in the country, maybe the Internet communication of choice. Real easy to do the wrong thing. Real easy. As Brad Paisley sang on last album, the Internet lasts forever..

CMA Fan Week is here. The heat has arrived and what will we see the next seven days? One observation: The A-level acts will be around but no formal media gathering. The press conferences at the football stadium have been cancelled. The powers-that-be have their reasons.

Waiting for this year's breakout act ... there always is one!