While we ride out this Labor Day long weekend, why not spend a few minutes tearing through the New York Times Magazine's in-depth cover story on producer and record mogul Rick Rubin. The piece positions Rubin, who recently appointed as co-chairman of Columbia Records, as a potential savior for the beleaguered industry. A choice quote in the article 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.

Rubin has produced records from a huge list of artists including the Beastie Boys, Slayer, Danzig, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, the Mars Volta, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Weezer and of course his groundbreaking American Series with Johnny Cash.