Rush/ATI lawsuit in the '70's

[ytserush]

Rush historical accounts always gloss over the legal issue usually indicated that the band/Ray Daniels had to pay out a settlement in a dispute with their management company but until know I never knew the other side of the story. The other party, Ira Blacker,  decided to write about it recently:

 

 

https://onceakingnowaprince.com/life-in-the-music-business/

 

Very interesting read and maybe not all that surprising.

[Brava Doh!]

Good read. 

[grep]

Very good read. 

I am not surprised at all. 

Edited June 27 by grep

[78jazz]

I know this may be wild; does anyone have a cliff notes version of what happened with Vic Wilson?

[50poundnote]

He repeats "life in the music business" 17 times in that story. Unnecessary. And it reeks of trying to control the narrative. A Google search turns up very little, mostly links back to trying to sell his book. He also misspells Ray's name - Danniels has two "n"s in it.

[Blue J]

It is an interesting read- and maybe I just possess a requisite degree of cynicism already, but the fact that the guy is explaining how the 'music business' is not just about the music seems extremely remedial. 

 

'Music business'- business is the thing, music is the modifying word there. It means that even creative output, even the most genius creative output, can be (and is) reduced to nothing more than a product that's used to lure people into spending money. And money is money, of course it's important that the artists get paid for what they create. But for the guys who work this end of the spectrum- the Ray Danniels and Ira Blackers of the world- it's not about art, it's about ownership and marketing. 

[grep]

29 minutes ago, Blue J said:

It is an interesting read- and maybe I just possess a requisite degree of cynicism already, but the fact that the guy is explaining how the 'music business' is not just about the music seems extremely remedial. 

 

'Music business'- business is the thing, music is the modifying word there. It means that even creative output, even the most genius creative output, can be (and is) reduced to nothing more than a product that's used to lure people into spending money. And money is money, of course it's important that the artists get paid for what they create. But for the guys who work this end of the spectrum- the Ray Danniels and Ira Blackers of the world- it's not about art, it's about ownership and marketing. 

Echo with the sounds of salesmen..... 

[Ron2112]

On 6/28/2026 at 9:15 PM, 50poundnote said:

He repeats "life in the music business" 17 times in that story. Unnecessary. And it reeks of trying to control the narrative. A Google search turns up very little, mostly links back to trying to sell his book. He also misspells Ray's name - Danniels has two "n"s in it.

And Neil Peart's -- which really tells you all you need to know. Reading between the lines, this guy was managing from long-distance, which I can't imagine working now, let alone in the mid-70's. Rush has always had a small, tight-knot front office, even once they got huge. 

 

The simple version of the story is that this guy was dead wood and removed accordingly.

[ytserush]

On 6/28/2026 at 9:15 PM, 50poundnote said:

He repeats "life in the music business" 17 times in that story. Unnecessary. And it reeks of trying to control the narrative. A Google search turns up very little, mostly links back to trying to sell his book. He also misspells Ray's name - Danniels has two "n"s in it.

Does seem like overkill. Until  now, I never heard his side before. His marketing is very repetitive. May have reached the point where he wants to tell his story. To him Rush was just another band, which I guess is why it seems a little more believable to me.

 

 

[ytserush]

On 7/2/2026 at 8:25 AM, Ron2112 said:

And Neil Peart's -- which really tells you all you need to know. Reading between the lines, this guy was managing from long-distance, which I can't imagine working now, let alone in the mid-70's. Rush has always had a small, tight-knot front office, even once they got huge. 

 

The simple version of the story is that this guy was dead wood and removed accordingly.

 

Not defending the guy, but it seems like he never gave the band a thought after the split and maybe he was not as thorough as Geddy as putting the work in on getting the small details right and went for a quick recollections.. Obviously, the legal judgement was in Blacker's favor and that's how he was "removed."