It’s a lot more fun to be a touring artist if people like it when you’re on stage.
The thing that makes it tough is, if people don’t like it when you get on stage, they’ll probably still put up with you for the night.
The difference is: I tell people about artists that I like when they walk on stage…the other acts: I put up with them and tell no one.
If people experience an internal (or verbal) “ahhhhhhh, FINALLY”, word will spread. And by the word spreading you’ll know that people are going ahhhhhh.
p.s. I’m going to Bruno Mars in the fall, and I’m already saying ahhhhh. Even among his peers (during awards shows, etc), you can see and feel the room being glad he’s on stage. He’s not the best dancer (he’s really good), he’s not the best singer (he’s really good)…but people just love when he’s up there. The feel, the presence, confidence, power and leadership.
If you need this song to work, to be the one, to be the rocket ship…it probably won’t be.
There’s too much pressure. Because everyone on the team knows ‘this needs to be the one’ so all of a sudden everyone not only has an opinion, but a strong one.
Too many cooks in the kitchen and the soup sucks. Everyone is so worried, and someone is always pointing out why it won’t work and it needs to be a little less this and a little more that.
The truth is, if anyone is saying or adopting ‘this needs to be the one’…you need a new team and/or a new attitude…or you’re getting ready to hang it up all together.
The odds are already stacked against your next song being the one and the only thing that makes it worse is if it NEEDS to be the one.
Hopefully you and your team are aware and operating out of the good news: it doesn’t.
And when you have a hit people will forgive and forget your misses.
This is a bit of an annual repeat, but it’s a good reminder for those heading to SXSW in March.
If you really want to dig into some best practices for SXSW, you can read THIS free manifesto about how not to leave SXSW depressed and broke.
So…if you’ve gone before, you may already know but you may have forgotten. If you haven’t gone before, you probably don’t have any clue.
For a bunch of the good parties and shows that happen at SXSW, you need to rsvp in order to get in. You’ll either be put on the list at the door or they’ll send you a confirmation email and you’ll show that at the door. Then you’ll be in. Then you will have fun getting out of your comfort zone and meeting people.
The rsvp'ing starts now! If you wait until you get down there, it’s going to be too late and plus cell service is horrible so it’s tough to do any of this work on your phone while in Austin.
Doing this work now will make your time at SXSW much better and you won’t be left on the street, literally. You want to get in to some cool parties.
Here’s some resources to get you started, but don’t stop with just these.
Eventbrite- download this free app, search SXSW at start signing up for parties. You’ll get confirm emails, reminders and a schedule within the app. This is a no brainer.
RSVPster- costs $30 and is absolutely worth it. They have curated a ton of good events, parties and shows, you simply click the ones you want them to rsvp you for and thats it. Don’t let the $30 hold you back. Don’t buy coffee this week and sign up for this instead.
Do512.com- a free Austin resource/app that helps you rsvp to some parties and is pretty up to speed throughout the festival for the most recent updates
Twitter- here’s some good ones to start following now and during SXSW
There are enough organizations and information on the internet to where right now today, with whatever level of formal education you have, you could devote every waking minute to any of these noble causes…
curing cancer
fight against hunger
fight against extreme poverty
fight against sex trafficking
advocating for the oppressed
helping single moms
educating the homeless
getting everyone in the world clean drinking water
the list goes on…
BUT YOU’RE NOT (not every waking moment anyway).
So here is what’s important to realize: The above list are all really really good, helpful and noble things to do…that is the list you are GIVING UP to have a career in the music business.
Woah.
So you better believe you’re career is worthwhile and take action, because you could be helping cure cancer.
That’s the trade off.
This afternoon you could dive into the fight against hunger…but instead you’re going to do a writing session. And that’s great. You better make it a valuable worthwhile writing session, because the alternative (fighting hunger) is pretty important too.
This truth brings a tremendous amount of realized value to what you DO, as opposed to what you COULD DO.
You COULD go feed a homeless person. Instead you’ll do that radio interview…you better make it a good one. You better learn to care for the person you’re talking with, the receptionist, the assistants, the uber driver bringing you to the station.
Because if you’re not going to place the utmost value on what you are DOING, why even bother when the world could use your help in so many other ways.
What you’re DOING and what you’re GOING TO DO is infinitely more valuable than what you COULD DO. In fact, the list of COULD DO these days is so long its almost irrelevant. It’s too much. You could do anything, and everything needs help.
Instead you’ve chosen this.
So you better make this really great. Care for everyone people involved. Lift up the world around you however big or small that world is.
The things you do matter. They matter so much.
Because the things you’re doing aren’t hypothetical, they’re not possibilities…they’re actualities, they’re real life, and they’re the things that need your best right now.
