It’s the holiday season and there’s a lot of stuff going on. Are you and your music a part of it? Because your fans want you to be a part of their holiday season. There is no time of year that people’s hearts and wallets are more open. So give ‘em a discount in your store. Create a special holiday bundle. Or record an acoustic Christmas carol and give it away. Make a funny video. Just do something. Trust me, if you have fun, you won’t come across like a self-promoting asshole. Have a good time and share it with the people who like you and your music. After all, pretty soon it’ll just be winter again. But right now, tis the season.
Blog
A Big Dose Of Reality (gulp)
With musicians, photographers and artists as clients, I’m constantly faced with the reality that those industries have changed. The old model is gone and it has yet to be replaced by a new one. Maybe there will be a new model. But maybe there won’t be. Music hasn’t changed, but the business around it has. Technology is slowly rolling through industries and turning them on their heads. Photoshop killed commercial illustration in the 1990s. Napster and iTunes killed the music business in the 2000s. And now variants of the same process are happening in photography, design, advertising, publishing, television and movies. And it seems like this round of change is coming even faster. It’s accelerating.
It’s a different world out there. It doesn’t matter what it should be or if it’s better or worse. It just is. What worked ten years ago doesn’t necessarily work now. And what works today may not work tomorrow. The world is changing. If you don’t change with it, you starve. It really isn’t much more complicated than that.
Tagged business, Media, Music Business, publishing, technology
You Are A Bad Standard
Let’s cut the to chase. Nobody is going to care as much as you do about your career. They won’t work as hard. They won’t do it the way you would. Why? Because they can’t. They aren’t you. And you shouldn’t expect them to be. Good people will be there. And they’ll care. They’ll work hard and get emotional and lose sleep and go out on limbs for you. But when it’s all said and done, their life doesn’t depend on it the way yours does.
So if your biggest complaint about your publicist or manager or agent is that they don’t care as much as you or work as hard as you or do it the way you would do it, get over it. It’s a bad standard to hold people to. It means that you are either A) chronically dissatisfied with the people around you or B) trying to do it all yourself and, eventually, failing. Either way, you’re unhappy and your career can’t grow. And that isn’t just bad for your career, it’s a crappy way to live your life.
Tagged happiness, Music Business, satisfaction, standards, team
Ira Glass On Creative Taste Versus Skill
My friend Wayne Leeloy from Topspin posted something on Facebook today that caught my attention because it rang true with something that’s been on my mind a lot lately: The difference between having talent and having skill. Ira Glass, of NPR‘s This American Life, makes some great points. Talent (or specifically taste, as Glass puts it), to a point, can replace skill. But initially, the lack of skill can be limiting. And in the long run, to be great at something requires both talent and skill. And that means doing it. Over and over again. And being bad at it for a while. Here’s the quote from Ira Glass:
“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Click through to see the extended video from Glass that the quote was taken from. Read more »
Shut Up And Do It
If you check the date on my last post before this one, you’ll see it’s been a while. A loooooong while. Why? Because, like everyone else, the longer I wait to do a new post, the bigger deal it seems like it’s going to be to get started again. But it isn’t. In fact, I’m determined that this post you’re reading now will be written, posted, added to Facebook and Twitter in less than five minutes.
Content—whether it is writing, video, photos or anything else—is the conversation that keeps your relationship alive with your audience. Stop posting and they will eventually stop waiting. And stop caring.
So, take a photo, shoot a video on your webcam, do something today. Something quick and simple. It doesn’t have to change the world, it just has to break the momentum (or lack thereof). Go. Now. And thanks for still checking out the blog. I’ll try to do better.
Tagged business, content, David Dewese, Music, procrastination, Social media, strategy
There’s Making Music & There’s Making YOUR Music. Which Is More Important To You?
Not many people get to make a living making music. And almost no one gets to do it making THEIR music. Meaning this: Are you Tom Petty or are you Tom Petty’s keyboard player? Or the keyboard player in a wedding band? Or a hotel lounge? Obviously, those are various degrees of professional success and prestige, but in all cases, unless you’re Tom Petty, you are getting paid for your performance, not for your artistic expression. Some people can do those jobs and be happy playing their own stuff in their garage or corner pub. For others, self-expression is the point and everything else just sucks the life and the joy out of their art. So the real question is, which one are you? Both are valid. Both are creative. If you can blend the two, then go get a great gig and you can still make your own music on the side. But if you fall into the latter category, you’re waaaay better off getting a desk job or bartending to pay your bills and keep your art pure. If you want to be happy, you need to figure out which category you fall into and make your choices accordingly. Because if by earning a living in music you lose the joy and fulfillment from making your art, it just isn’t worth it. Not even close.
Tagged Benmont Tench, life, Music, Tom Petty
This Is Hard. Sorry, It Just Is.
Everyone is looking for the magic formula–3 Easy Steps To Build A Career In Music. But it just doesn’t exist. It’s not a popular answer, but it’s the truth. It’s incredibly tough to win over fans and make a real connection with them. Plus you’re dealing with limited time and resources and a crowded field of talented people. You have to focus, bare down and win folks over one at a time. Five at a time. Whatever it is, make the most of it. Talk to them. Listen to them. Drink a beer with them. Because the one fan can lead to three more. And the five turns to twenty-five.
There are times when it’s exhausting and you feel like you’re making no progress at all. But if you’re putting in the time and you’re focused and dedicated, it’ll happen. Just not as quickly or easily as you’d like. If that’s a problem, then you’re probably in the wrong business.
Tagged hard, Music Business, work
The Question Is Not “Do You Want It?” It’s “Do You Want It ENOUGH?”
We’ve all done it. We say we want something but then we don’t do the things we need to do to make it happen. We get busy. And distracted. And stressed. Quite often, the stuff that we’re doing instead is totally legit. We’re paying the bills and cleaning the house and helping our mom. But the fact is, “why” just doesn’t matter. What we truly care about isn’t measured by our intentions or regrets or how much we worry. It’s measured by what we do. That’s the simple truth, whether you’re talking about being a musician, being a photographer, building a business or anything else in this life. When you boil it all down, it’s not a question of whether you want it. It’s a question of whether you want it enough. Read more »
Tagged enough, Music Business, musicians, priorities, productivity, what you want
Working with Creatives: The Danger of Expectations & Preconceived Ideas
“Not what I had in mind” is bad feedback when you’re working with a creative professional (designer, writer, photographer, etc.). In fact, getting something that is “not what you had in mind” is the point. What they bring back to you shouldn’t be your idea on paper. It should be something better than anything you could’ve come up with on your own. If it doesn’t surprise you and make you a little nervous, THAT is a good reason to ask for another try. They are the expert. They have knowledge, talent and experience that makes them better at this than you are. If they don’t, either find someone who does or do it yourself (not a good idea, BTW). Read more »
3 Reasons Musicians Should Invest In Great Merch
A lot of artists see merch as just another way to try to make money on a tour. But merch isn’t just a revenue stream, it’s marketing. Hey, I know merch is tough – it’s a lot of money. And, short-term, it’s a bit of a gamble, especially for a new artist. But that is exactly why you shouldn’t focus on getting the cheapest deals and selling for as much as possible. Invest in great design and well-made products. Take lower margins so you can sell more of stuff. Like everything else, there is no easy formula or magic answer that works for everyone. But take the time and figure out what appeals to people who come to your shows. Find a designer and manufacturer to help you do it the right way.
With that, here are three reasons why you should invest in offering great merch to your fans: Read more »
