Buying And Selling

What are you selling and what are they buying?

Or rather.

What do you think you’re selling and what are you actually selling?

This is at the heart of so many artists’ confusion as they seek to build, sustain and grow their audience.

The desire is for the answers to be deeply complex and nuanced, just like an artists heart. But instead they’re painfully simple and it’s difficult to accept the idea that a multi layered, creative, expressive, poetic artist could be “reduced” to simplicity.

It’s also scary to land on an accurate answer because then any rejection is real. You know exactly what you’re selling and some people (most people in the world) aren’t interested. Where if you remain oblivious to what you’re selling and what they’re buying, you can always just complain ‘why isn’t this working’.

When you know what they’re buying and what you’re selling you have the luxuries of…

Finding more people like those people

Being consistent in giving and showing up with something these people are hoping you’ll show up with.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Firestone Recommendations

When you take your car to Firestone for an oil change they give you a complimentary super long list of other things that need fixing.

They give you a long list so you’ll do a couple of the cheap ones. That way you can feel good about ‘at least I did something’.

In the same breath…

You should always have something at your merch table for five dollars. Make it easy for people to have a memento if they want one.

***In the next breath…you should always have something for sale for ten thousand dollars. If you say ‘yeah sure it would be great to make ten thousand dollars in a single transaction’, then sell something for that much.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

If Only I Would Have Known...

If only I would have known…

Yeah, there’s lots I would have done different.

But there’s no way to know.

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what to do, the problem is that we don’t know if what we’re going to do is going to work they way we hope it will.

We make best guesses, we research, we ask around, we do a test run, we compare and analyze. But ultimately we have to pull the trigger without a guarantee.

We keep going not because we know, but because it’s the not knowing that entices us forward.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Running Out Of Ideas

You’re going to run out of ideas.

But luckily, ideas are like appetites.

You may not have an appetite right now, your appetite may have run out at the moment…but sure enough in about three hours, here comes another appetite. If you ruin an appetite (or an idea), there’s always another one coming your way pretty soon.

When you ‘run out of ideas’ what that usually means is you’re tired, need a snack, need some fresh air, need to call a friend. So do that.

And then keep going.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Back On The Road?

You’ll know when to go back on the road.

The answer: When everyone else does.

It’s very unlikely you’re the one trying to be the first one back on the road…so there’s no need to worry about it and try to figure it out.

If you’re trying to be the first one back out there, by all means spend all day cracking the code, running the numbers, making charts and graphs, taking polls and having endless hypothetical conversations with your agent and management.

But if you’re ok not being first, you get an added benefit right now today of freeing up your time and energy for things that can make a difference in your career.

You’ll know when you need to know. In the meantime, keep doing other great things.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com