Transcriber: Monika Ciurlionyte Reviewer: Denise RQ
I am actually here because I have the urgency.
I want to tell you something very important,
and I don't want to sound like some kind of Christian
who is going to preach anything,
but I think if you're going to engage anyone,
if you are going to get anyone's attention
borrow it from them for a little bit -
it should be worthwhile, right?
Right?
OK, very well.
Can we make this place sound a little bit more like the British Parliament?
Right?
Very well, very well.
When I was younger, I encountered a very interesting definition of life.
And the definition, or at least a part of the definition was
that life is the ability to react to stimuli.
Therefore, me being a manically depressed teenager,
I came to the conclusion that:
"Well, you know, then maybe,
if that's the definition of life,
then life itself or its quality or the purpose of it
must be somehow related to the quality and the quantity of stimuli
I not only receive, but also give to other people."
And that has stuck with me for quite a while now
since I was manic depressed at 15.
And I think that is one of the reasons why I am in the music business
because I actually believe that, for me personally, it's hard currency.
You make a person smile, you make a person laugh,
a person comes up to you and says: "I really like that song."
For me, it's really worth something.
And to be honest, I was going to say that afterwards,
but because I am more used to playing music than to talking
I am going to say it right now:
I actually think that that kind of currency
is what will get you into heaven, if there is such a heaven.
I don't think that St. Peter will look at your bank account
and say: "Hey, listen, oy, you've done really well."
(Laughter)
But I think, in my case, and hopefully I think
that's what probably someone up there would have wanted me to do
is to pass around some positive energy.
Now, to make this a bit easier for myself, and it would be really nice --
I only have 10 minutes left? Are you serious?
OK, I will be quick, I brought some Cumbia music around.
(Music)
I love Cumbia.
You don't have to dim the lights, it's alright.
I am not going to do a sexy dance.
The sexy dance is for later.
I love Cumbia.
Cumbia is what we call a melting pot genre of music.
You have African rhythms, you have European structures,
and you have pre-Colombian indigenous elements as well.
Now, if you listen to that long enough, it will make you move.
If you listen to that long enough, it will make you feel.
I can even turn it off, and you will hear it somewhere in your subconscious.
That is because music has metaphysical powers.
It does.
Now, continuing what I wanted to say,
I got into music because I love it.
And I think it is much more than something to just be sold in boxes.
Did you hear what I said?
That is much more than something to simply be sold in boxes.
(Music)
Now, what does that mean, to sell your music in a box?
I'd like you to think about it for a little bit
because if you think about the music you love,
you probably have it in a box.
Raise your hand if you don't have it on a CD, in your iPod or a piece of vinyl?
Where do you have it then?
Where do you have that music if it is not on your iPod or your CDs?
It's in your heart. (Music)
And music can do that to you, it can heal.
Music is much more than something to simply be sold in boxes.
It has metaphysical powers.
Let me continue.
(Guitar music)
I'm sorry that's all wrong...
Like this!
(Music)
Now, the reason music has found its way into boxes is quite simple.
It's there not for your listening, enjoyment - or maybe it is -
but mostly it's because us, musicians, we need to live.
It's true; we need to make a living.
If I was going to go up to you and say:
"Listen, I am going to give you some metaphysical positiveness,"
are you going to wire that money back to my account somehow?
I've sung happy birthday songs to people and they said:
"You know what? It was worth a million dollars."
And I said, "Really?" (Laughter)
But we need to sell this music.
But the problem is that music is something
that transcends these boxes that we are selling them in.
I will give you a very good example:
I am very lucky to have married an Irish woman.
This Irish woman belongs to an Irish family,
and every Christmas, they sing.
And it sounds like "Singing in the rain"
or the Trapp family lodge from " The sound of music."
Everybody is singing.
If you go to a bar in Ireland, and someone starts singing a song,
everyone will sing along.
And you try putting a price on that, you try saying that's not worth that much.
If you buy that music in a box, it will be worth garbage.
And that's the problem I see. We are more inclined to purchase music.
To purchase it, indeed. To buy it.
Rather than encourage a kid: "Hey, listen, let's make some music together."
But it's your right and your responsibility to make music.
Continuing that line of thought
- although let me make this a little bit more entertaining.
(DJ music)
That's pretty cool, you know.
Continuing that line of thought,
I don't want you to think
that you should buy something which is for free.
Because you shouldn't.
I am running out of time actually,
and there are two conclusions that I want to draw.
The first is you shouldn't be consuming what belongs to you.
Music is a vessel.
It's a way of transporting
cultural patrimony, human heritage through the centuries.
And just because someone says: "Listen, it's worth €15, buy it in a box,"
it doesn't mean that's a lot more.
It doesn't mean that's worth a lot more than you're willing to pay.
If you are willing to just become a consumer, that's OK,
but you shouldn't do that to your kids
because your kids should make that music.
It'd be just like the natural resources we have squandered already,
where no one really asked the question: "Oh, what's the worth of the rainforest?"
- some people would say -
but no one will really know what it's worth, until it's gone.
Until it's gone far away.
So first thing first: I want you to think
that you are human beings, and you are not consumers.
And you have the right to be human,
and to enjoy things like music rather than consume.
And the second point I want to make
is because I started studying business not long ago.
I did, because I am not going to make a lot of money off of music,
and I have pressures; financial and otherwise.
I studied politology as well, but it didn't seem to help out either.
(Laughter)
So my family said: "Hey, you should do something useful with your time."
And I really love business. I think it's really interesting.
I think if anyone will save the world, it's the entrepreneurs.
(Music)
No, I do, I do. (Applause)
I do believe it, honestly, with all my heart.
But there is one thing I hate about business.
It's this phrase, when they say: "Think outside the box."
Have you heard this nonsense?
(Music)
"Oh, yeah, you should just go and think outside the box."
Hold on, I don't have much time so I really need to finish this off,
if this clock is right, they are going to throw me off in a second.
The thing about thinking outside the box
it means that you have a very serious creative handicap.
And you need to think outside the box.
And because I don't think that money is a good way of establishing value,
when it comes to music for example,
and you should not limit yourself to just be a consumer,
I would like to encourage you, for the sake of your own freedom,
to not only think outside it, but to be outside the box.
And I think it's terribly hypocritical when a company tells its employees:
"Hey, think outside the box,"
when their marketing department is putting people into little niches,
segmenting them into little groups,
influencing the way they think and purchase.
I mean, not bull-- (Music)
The serious kind, like we say in Colombia:
it's not the horse, it's not the dog, it's the...
It's the serious stuff.
And it's very good because I actually have a bit more time.
I think business management studies will help me with this:
time management,
because as a musician, I see the beauty in making music and all these things,
but my actual purpose was to show you
that I can take music out of its environment, I can bring it to you.
I can take music out of the things you expect,
and I can do something different with it, see?
I can use it to make a point,
it has helped me get laid many times, and it has helped many of you as well.
I've had people come up to me who said:
"You know, I had to cycle 15 km today in the rain,
and if it weren't for your song, I would not have made it."
(Music)
That makes it worthwhile for me.
And that's it, next time someone asks you:
"Please, can you support music, we have a very nice social initiative,"
don't just think where you can put your logo on.
Think that you are actually creating something important for human beings
because you can't measure spiritual capital.
It's very difficult to measure social capital.
And me, personally, personally, personally, I don't believe in money.
I think it has gone a very long way from being related to precious metals,
to just being zeros and ones in some account, in some computer
which can be very easily manipulated.
As you may have noticed.
But the smiles I get, they are real.
And if you live your lives
only thinking about those zeros and ones in those accounts,
you are missing out on a lot.
You are missing out on a lot.
(Music)
And that's practically all I wanted to say today.
I wanted to thank TED. I wanted to thank you all.
I wanted to thank the organizers.
And just one question: "Are you consumers?"
No! Thank you very much.
(Applause)