The New York Times' Sunday Magazine has an article by Lynn Hirschberg about Rick Rubin, the new co-head of Columbia Records, and the forces and events that lead to his hiring. There's a lot of, "Can Rubin save the music industry?" stuff in the article, which overestimates the influence one person can have. His hiring is, however, symbolic of the recent open-mindedness of major labels. (OK, so they've been forced to become more open-minded out of sheer desperation, but there have been all sorts of leaps forward this year.) It's a long read but worth your time.

Among the interesting tidbits in the article: Rubin convinced Sony BMG to do away with plastic jewel cases for more eco-friendly packaging; Rubin thinks subscription models are the future of the music industry (Columbia co-head Steve Barnett is skeptical); Rubin won't say if he will push artists to sign 360-degree deals; he has never watched "American Idol;" and one of his first projects will be Paul Potts, an opera-singing participant on "Britain's Got Talent" (view a YouTube clip here).

A quote from David Geffen:

"The music business, as a whole, has lost its faith in content. Only 10 years ago, companies wanted to make records, presumably good records, and see if they sold. But panic has set in, and now it's no longer about making music, it's all about how to sell music. And there's no clear answer about how to fix that problem. But I still believe that the top priority at any record company has to be coming up with great music. And for that reason, Sony was very smart to hire Rick."

A football metaphor from Barnett:

"My sons would go to training camp, and when Marshall Faulk started playing for the team, they called me and said, 'Not only is this guy a great player, he makes everyone around him better.' Of course, the Rams went on to win the Super Bowl. I think Rick Rubin is our Marshall Faulk. I knew he would change the culture here.'