Getting On TV

It used to be hard to get on TV, now it’s easy. Just take a video with your phone, stream it to Apple TV and presto you’re on TV.

So that must not be what we’re talking about when we say ‘I want to get on TV’.

‘I want to get on TV’ means we want one of the TV spots that are difficult to get on. We want to feel the buzz of achieving something elusive and exclusive. We’ve seen the big artists we love on TV and now we’re on TV so now we’re the same as them. Maybe that’s what getting on TV is really for.

It’s not about getting on a TV screen, that’s the easy part. It’s all the other stuff that creates the desire.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

One Person Audience

Is it enough to tell the story well or does it need to be received (by someone or an audience) in order to be worth it?

The answer is akin to…sitting on the edge of your bed with a guitar vs. taking your guitar with you when you venture out into the world.

It’s a completely different game.

Is it enough to do a good job…or is the ‘good job’ predicated on others also thinking you did a good job? If so, what is the criteria?

(Here sits the frustration of so many artists. The criteria isn’t written down and it’s always inconsistent.)

Once you add one single person to the listening audience beyond yourself…it’s not just one more person, it suddenly becomes a whole new thing.

So if you’re going to play for an audience, don’t forget about the audience.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Show Equation

The show supports the moments.

The moments support the emotional feeling and connection.

The emotional connection creates the flavor of the memory.

The memory is the basis for how they’ll talk about the artist next time and how they’ll decide if they’re going to go again.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Setup. Punchline.

Having the punchline isn’t much good if you don’t have the setup.

And without the punchline you’ll never get the desired effect.

The context is everything. The climax is everything.

If your message isn’t working, these are two great places to look into.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

The Big Check

The moment the big check lands in your bank account, that’s a good feeling. Worth celebrating. Because maybe it’s been a while since you landed one like that. Maybe you’d been hearing for a while that it was coming but then got delayed again and again. Maybe you can breathe a little easier.

And then the good feeling goes away.

Because the check landing in your account isn’t the work. The work is the work. What you do every day is the work. The check is something completely different.

The check is great. I hope you get lots of big ones. But what about the contribution you make every day? Is it building a meaningful, helpful, maturing life?

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Cool Options

The modus operandi for so many artists hustling in Nashville is this…

Say yes and commit to the current cool thing on the table just enough to be associated with it if it goes well…but never get locked in enough to not be able to jump ship if a cooler option comes by.

I see everything from record deals to dinner plans get handled this way.

And living this way, over time, teaches you to diminish your value to the world around you. To put it simply ‘I don’t bring cool to the table so I must constantly find it elsewhere and associate with it’.

Sticking with it is a skill. Quitting and finding a better option is a skill. But regardless of which skill you’re building or flexing it’s important to begin to understand the value and version of cool you bring with you wherever you go.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple