But the catch is: they only work if you do them in front of people.
And that’s what makes them scary. You can’t edit or redo it or start over. You have to do them in front of people in real time for them to work…but doing them in front of people also means they could not work, they could fail.
The ideas listed above will work. But envisioning yourself doing them in front of actual people probably injects fear, which causes you to think I’m wrong.
(I’m not saying the above ideas are necessarily the ones you should use…the list could be three pages or thirty pages long, but it wouldn’t change the point of this email)
Every artists dream. All the tickets to all the shows already sold out even before tour rehearsals start.
Awesome.
But…
It’s hard to be a better performing artist when the tour is already sold out.
In the short term it’s not worth the time and effort. The tour is sold out. So what’s the point? Artists want to get better so that more seats are sold. But now all the seats are sold.
An already sold out tour means the money is in your hand so…
…now becoming a better performer doesn’t make you anymore money than if you just coast for the next six or twelve months.
An already sold out tour means the money is in your hand so…
…you can buy more fireworks and dancers and laser lights…the easier and more sexy additions to the show that have the power to enhance…and yet distract…Distract the crowd from how mediocre the performer might actually be.
But here’s the thing to remember. If the tour is sold out and you decide to coast all tour long…you won’t be aware of the consequences until the NEXT tour.
A great indication of how effective your show was in a city is what happens when you come back.
And if you coast because the tour is already sold out…the numbers will decrease next time and you will have to go through the even harder work of CHANGING your reputation instead of BUILDING it (which is to keep becoming a better performer all the time, never coasting even when the tour is pre-sold-out).
So when the tour is sold out and you have a pile of money…go buy all the video screens, backup dancers and hire three drummers, that would be awesome.
But most of all YOU need to be great. Never forget that.
Laughing in church as a kid is even more funny because the back drop of the laughter is church. Church is quiet and prim and proper. So laughing is pretty much the most exhilarating think a kid can do during church.
Church enhances the humor in whatever funny thing the kid next to you just did.
It’s the same thing at your show…
They’re not just standing around…they’re standing around at a show. That enhances the standing.
They’re not just checking their phone…they’re checking their phone while you’re on stage. That enhances (to them) the stakes of being on their phone.
They’re not just talking to their pal next to them…they’re talking to their pal while music is being played. That enhances the context of the conversation.
They’re not just sipping a drink…they’re sipping a drink at your show.
You’re show is happening and they want to be there. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be.
So even when you look out and see people who aren’t pumping their fists to the beat…everyone in the room feels cooler doing the thing they’re doing because they are doing it while in the presence of your show.
Your show is a gift to the audience. Everything they do is enhanced and better because you are there playing to them.
A tire company should sponsor a bunch pothole filling crews…Even though the pothole problem helps the tire company. Everyone would love that tire company. The tire company would have no way of making sure anyone bought their tires from them next time around as a result of this…but they would be a trusted source.
The tire company is saying, “We’re going to go first and be extra generous. You don’t have to buy your next tires from us, but we’re the kind of company who looks out for your tires either way”.
In a similar way artists should be funding 6 month free promo offers for Spotify. Everyone would love that artist. The artist could have no way of making sure anyone listened to their music as a result of this…but they would be a trusted source.
The artist is saying, “We’re going to go first and be extra generous. You don’t have to listen to our music once you log on, but we’re the kind of artist who looks out for you and is all about you listening to music either way.”
