Band Emailing

Your email list is an extremely valuable asset.  It’s people who have granted you permission and invited you to speak to them about what’s going on with you and your music.

Make your emails a pleasant experience for your readers.  For goodness sake.

Make it easy.

So many bands do a horrible job at the actual email.  Maybe it’s great content, but they fail to write it and structure it in an easily digestible way.

We should be able to scroll the email and get the gist.  If we love the gist we’ll read the details.

Don’t write long paragraphs.  Don’t put a million links in those paragraphs.  Don’t try and make a hundred main points.  Focus on one or maybe two.  Make it personal, not mechanical.  Email often enough so we don’t forget you and then be consistent with it, so your fans get used to the flow.

Go and sign up for a handful of your favorite bands email lists.  You’ll see some who do a good job and some that are dreadful. Spoiler: Grace Potter has awesome music but her emails make me nauseous.

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

Rubik’s Cube

If you walk into someone’s office and they have a Rubik’s’ cube sitting on their desk…you clearly understand something about what that person values.

If you walk into someones office and they have a completed Rubik’s cube sitting on their desk…you have an even deeper insight into their value system and how they view the world.

Your goal is to create something like a Rubik’s cube…only it’s a song, an album, an image, a sound that has a distinct value system interwoven in it.

If you walk into someone’s office and they have your record sitting on their desk…what does that say about them?

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

Clapping And Tapping

In a crowd of a thousand, you clap because the person next to you is clapping and cheering.  They started clapping because the person in front of them decided to clap.

Follow this through the progression and you’ll get to the first person who started clapping.  The person who, at least for a second, was the only one clapping.  The person who needed no one’s affirmation in order to show that they believe.

In the music business we have a bunch of people looking to their right and left before they start clapping and cheering and championing an artist.

The visionaries are the ones who clap first.  The ones who are willing to tap their toes without first seeing who else is tapping their toes.

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

Sample. Travel. Normal. Family.

Shampoo companies get it.

They make something for every level of loyalty.

The sample size that basically comes in a ketchup packet, or in a teeny tiny bottle.  It is conveniently (or inconveniently) good for about one and a half washes.  Get’s the job done in a pinch.

The travel size is next.  There’s some commitment on your part at this point.  It says you’re going to use this shampoo probably a ten times when you’re on the road.  It’s an easy to pack size, fits nicely in your toiletry bag (or I guess some people call them dob kits?).

Normal size means you’re into the shampoo.  You like the way it smells.  The logo/bottling makes you believe your hair is gonna get REALLY clean.  This bottle sits in your shower, it’s used often, and when you run out you probably buy another, because why would you want to switch when this shampoo does such a good job?

Family size means you never want to be without this shampoo (and probably also means you like saving a couple bucks when you buy five gallons at a time).  Not only do you use this shampoo, but your entire household is committed to this product for cleaning hair.  A family size bottle usually comes with some type of buy one get one free situation, so this stuff is going to be a staple in your bathroom for many months to come.

What’s your sample size?

What’s your travel size?

What’s your normal size?

What’s your family size?

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

Make Up Your Mind...Tomorrow

Indecisiveness and procrastination are joined at the hip. They’re twins.  Where one is, the other is.

And delayed decision is different than indecisiveness

Delaying decision means you’re going to get new information in the next hour, day, week that will help you make a better decision.

Indecisiveness means you’re have all the information you’re going to have, but won’t decide.

Which leads to procrastination.

Which leads to indecisiveness.

This happens all the time with artists.  Do you want this show? Are you going to sign that contract? Do you want to work with this agent?  Are you going to write a song today?

The delay (hours, days weeks, years) that usually precedes these questions getting answered isn’t because you’re furiously gathering information to help you make a better decision.

It’s because you’re buddies with indecisiveness and procrastination.

Time to make up your mind and trade up for the next round of decision making.

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

Humans Going and Doing

Humans love going to watch other humans do things.

Sometimes you are the one going and sometimes you are the one doing.

But this relationship is the essence of our everyday.

If no one is doing, no one is going.

If no one is going…people will still be doing, but just not as much, because no one is going.

People are going because of what other people are doing.

What are you doing?

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