Under Pressure vs. Eye Of The Tiger

I know I’m going to have to exercise, and yet I’m subconsciously obsessed with seeing how long I can delay it.  And I’m not talking hours or days…the lazy part of my brain wants to delay weeks, months, seasons, and years.

How long can I go without doing the thing I know I’m going to have to do?

You have a list in your mind of things that you’re going to have to do in order to get to where you want to go, be who you want to be, live how you want to live.  

On that list, there is a top.  And the top consists of one thing.  The thing at the top.

Stop gambling with how long you can delay doing it.  Why try to get so close to the edge?

Yeah yeah, I know, you’ll get it done when the pressure is on and the stakes get super high.  

But waiting till you’re under the gun to come through is robbing you of more opportunities to do the thing(s) you going to have to do.

Because the “under the gun” only comes once a week, month, or lifetime.

The opportunity to do the thing you have to do comes everyday.

Don’t ask how long can I delay (and wait for the pressure), ask how soon can I start……..today.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

My New Free eBook: Likers & Lovers

Last month I hosted an artist leadership meeting and had a fantastic conversation about fans.

There seem to be two main types.  People who like your band and people who love your band.

From that meeting, along with conversations with others and my own experiences…I’ve turned it all into a short eBook exploring the topic of fans.

You can download the eBook (PDF) from my website for free by clicking: Likers & Lovers

If you find this information helpful, please pass it along to others.  They need it.

It’s vital that bands, artists and their teams take some time to understand their fans, where they’re coming from and how they need to be communicated with.

You’re on the right track.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Taylor Swift pt. 2

Well, something worked.  If Taylor Swift caused the change, I’m all for it.  I would have voted for Apple to pay during the 3 month trial period too.

But if her album 1989 is front and center when Apple Music launches on the 30th, we don’t even need to see behind that curtain to know that there’s been a plan and a lot of chit-chat all along.

We’ll have to wait and see.

What’s interesting now, is that Apple has satisfied Taylor’s reason for not putting her music on the streaming service.

But she pulled her new album off Spotify because she said they didn’t pay a big enough royalty rate.

Apple Music pays less than Spotify!!

Now chances are she’s negotiated a higher rate for her own music, because of course she’s going to wield her power for her own benefit and profit.  But the indie acts that she claims to have a heart for are getting paid out nearly 10% less on Apple Music than Spotify.

So the saga continues.  Politics, positioning, PR.  And money.

Taylor has a plan, and all this Apple stuff is just a part of it.

What’s your plan?

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Taylor Swift’s Letter

If letting people listen to your music for three months for free is killing you career, you problem is most definitely not Apple Music.

“Three months is a long time to go unpaid”…I beg to differ on the sentiment expressed.

The problem will not be that you won’t get paid for streams during the 3 month trial periods…the problem is that NO ONE WILL BE LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC DURING THEIR 3 MONTH TRIAL PERIOD.  OR AFTER IT.

You’d be fine if lots of people were listening to your music for the rest of their lives while paying $10 per month for a streaming service.  If three months for free is all you had to do in exchange for a life time of monthly royalties…

Taylor Swift is doing this because she can and it doesn’t effect her visibility/discovery/marketing that much…for now.  And more power to her.  She’s probably one of the few artists who actually know what the breakdown looks like for every half-penny stream that takes place.  And she’s willing to roll the dice.

Do you know your breakdown?

No.  You don’t.  You just complain that you deserve to be paid more money.  And maybe you feel empowered by Taylor’s letter to Apple…but do you feel inspired and courageous enough to comb back through your contracts and stare at the hard facts of what you’ve already signed?  Do you have the guts and charisma to DO something about it within your own team?

Do you have what it takes to teach and groom your fans for how you want them to consume your music?  

Taylor, it’s easy to with hold back from change, to rant and disguise it as a revolution.  But the actual revolution comes with offering up a different solution. That’s hard.

For everyone who rails against Spotify or Apple Music, I have never heard an alternative plan offered up that doesn’t involve a time machine taking us back to the 90’s.

Maybe Apple Music will be awesome, maybe Spotify will win out, maybe Google or YouTube or Sony will come up with something better.

But as for you, you just worry about making people like your music.  If a lot of people like your music, you’ll be just fine.

p.s. I personally lean pretty heavy on the side that streaming via Spotify, Apple Music, etc, is the solution.  It’ll take tweaking, it’ll take time, it’ll take training fans.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

How Do You Get The Call?

How do you get the call?

You have a particular reputation.

How do you get a particular reputation?

Experience over time.

How do you get experience?

By filling a need.

How do you fill a need?

By being fearless and willing.  And by smiling.

How do you become a fearless and willing person?

This is the question to think about, not the first one.  The first one will take care of itself.

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

The Main Reason I Like Home Depot

There are lots of main reasons I like Home Depot.  Like just walking the aisles, imagining things.  The hot dog truck outside that I’m either eating at or judging others for eating at.  There’s a worker who looks like Santa, only he pony-tail’s his beard in the summer.

But the main main reason is that literally everyone you see walking into Home Depot is there for one reason…making something better.  That’s it.

They’re fixing something, building something new, re-doing something, installing something.  Making something better.

We used to have this in music.  A main, central purpose that a group of artists or a genre of artists was defined by.

Now we don’t really have it.  

We barely ever have a common purpose within all three bands on the bill.  Much less unity within each single band.

What happened?

If you go into Home Depot (with work clothes on) you’re in the club. The Make It Better club.

What’s your club called and how can we join?

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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com