Every artist is standing on the edge of the stage saying the same thing “am I enough”.
The irony is that you are but the audience telling you that never will be.
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Released music just sounds different.
New music gets released on Fridays. It used to be Tuesdays, but that’s a different story.
Being a part of the music biz for a while I get to hear a lot of artists music as it’s being written, then demo’d, then early production, full production, mixing, mix tweaks…and then finally they have the master recording.
There’s excitement and reaction in listening at each stage along the way. And it’s really exciting to listen to the master when it hasn’t been released yet. It’s like having a juicy secret.
But after all the work and the project finally gets released on streaming…listening on Spotify or Apple, it just sounds different.
It retains excitement but with a different twist. It’s out in the world now and must withstand the reaction of every passerby. The song can’t change anymore and it’s no longer a secret. It’s vulnerable and exposed now. It’s willing to be judged.
So the sound of released music has an aura of naive desperation, in a good way. Or maybe naive hope. Every song that gets released is making its case for connection. The song is giving all that it has to offer in and of itself. A released song is saying ‘here, this is what I am’.
A released song has the innocence of a baby but directs traffic (an artists career) like a full grown adult.
A released song is a bold statement of hard work, identity and letting go.
Keep writing. Keep creating. And keep releasing.
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When you don’t know what to do…If you really don’t know what to do next: connect.
With others
To others
On behalf of others
So others will benefit
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There’s not a whole lot of innovation in the milk business these days. Milk isn’t getting better. Milk is milk. So if you were to start a new milk company how would you stand out from the crowd?
That was the question posed to all of us sitting in college marketing 101.
The assignment was to come up with a slogan or a tag line for our new milk that would help sell the product.
Now I don’t remember what grade I got in the class but I do remember that when we went around the room and read aloud what we came up with, I aced the assignment.
“This Ain’t Your Momma’s Milk”
If you’re getting into the milk business you use everything but the actual product in order to sell the product.
Luckily for most of us we get to make our actual products better, innovate, tweak the formula, find a new twist on an old theme, be the one and only, be similar but different.
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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com
When You Don’t Need New Fans
When live music and touring start buzzing again (and fear not, it will) there’s going to be a new amphitheater in Nashville called Graystone. It’ll be kinda like Red Rocks. Cut out of a quarry, really beautiful.
In order to sell out that venue you’ll need five thousand people.
Not five thousand and one. Not ten thousand. Five thousand of the kind of people who will buy a ticket to see you play.
—
One of the oldest, iconic venues in Nashville is called Exit/In. It’s a mid size club and just about every touring artist has rolled through there.
In order to sell out that venue you’ll need five hundred people willing to buy a ticket.
So why does this matter?
Whether the goal is five hundred ticket buying fans or five thousand, it’s helpful to decide when you’re going to stop putting your time and energy into trying to convert new fans.
If need to sell out Graystone and you accomplish that, the prize is that you no longer need to sell to any new customers. You did it. You get to put all your focus on thrilling the fans you have.
And the same thing applies with Exit/In. If you have five hundred eager ticket buyers, that can be enough to wash your hands of ever having to advertise to strangers.
This is not to say that the number of people who come to see you can’t or won’t grow or that you should never consider growth. It’s about where you’re putting time, energy and recourses and the reasons why.
When are you going to stop focusing on new people and simply focus on the ones you have?
You get to pick that point, whatever the number you want, but you have to pick.
***Seth Godin has been talking about this idea, the smallest viable audience, for a long time. Start here and here.
***And the best way to sell five hundred tickets at Exit/In is to have two hundred and fifty excited fans and then incentivize each of them to bring a friend.
***Two ways to get new people. You promoting to new people. You giving your fans a reason to tell others.
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First Monday of the month, new Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple.
If you’re in the music business and you’re not making a playlist on a regular basis, it’s worth your time to start.
It’s free. It’s fun. You’ll listen to more and different music in order to make it each time. You’ll find out what kind of songs you think go well together. It allows people to hear your taste in music.
And you don’t have to do it just right. You’ll always have another chance to do it again.
(Archived playlists are here on Spotify and Apple)
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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com