Kind Of Like A Rubik's Cube

Somehow an interesting little toy made it into our house…It’s kind of like a Rubik’s cube except that it’s round and has more colors.

I would pick it up from time to time, mess with it for ten seconds, not be able to do it and put it back down again. Must be an impossible puzzle.

But finally I’d had enough of seeing all the colors not in alignment. Just staring at me. Taunting me. Marketed to children and sold in the kids section. It was time.

It turns out there was one important trick to learn and, presto, I was finished in twenty minutes, much to the delight of the rest of the family.

Going from impossible to victory within twenty focused minutes…just think of the possibilities.

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Metallica Country Music

If Metallica released a country album I (along with lots of others) would be curious enough to check it out.

Metallica fans would run the other way.

Do you want new fans? What do you want the new fans to be fans of?

What about the old (loyal) fans? Are they worth losing in order to gain new ones?

If you lose the old fan but don’t gain the new one, are you still glad you took the risk?

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The Next Creative Outlet

You’ve written and recorded the songs.

Now you’re practicing the songs for the show.

So when do you go from practicing the songs to working on the show?

One possible answer is…once you’ve practiced the songs until they’re ‘perfect’, have one more rehearsal.

Without any music to get better at, creative people need the next creative outlet which is to try something new. A different part, a dance move, a new section, a different delivery, a different groove.

And now you’re working on the show.

Important to note…Most artists and bands want to rehearse the song properly before getting creative with it for the show, which is when the preceding idea applies. But you don’t have to do it that way. You can take of the training wheels from the start. There’s no rule that says you have to know how to play the recorded version before you can come up with the live version. The live version is the only one you’re ever going to play. So it might be helpful to just start there.

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One Hundred Commonalities

Just because you make a plan to be wildly successful doesn’t mean you will be. But everyone who has become wildly successful has made a plan to do so…so if that’s what you want, you might as well.

Every successful artist has a manager. Doesn’t mean you’ll become successful by having a manager…but it’s an even longer shot if you don’t.

If an artist writes a song and it becomes a hit and then you ask them, ‘what other songs have you written’…it’s unlikely they will replay with, ‘none’. So it’s probably to good idea to follow suit and write lots of songs too, especially if you want a hit.

There’s no hundred step program to achieve what you want…but there’s probably a hundred commonalities of the people who have achieved what you want.

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Overrated Comfort

New artists are starving for attention.

‘If people would just pay attention we could get this thing off the ground.’

And often the proposed solutions revolve around making it more comfortable for people to walk in the door, click on the link, check out the video.

‘How can we make people comfortable?’

But what if you went the other way instead?

What if you created sharper edges, took a firmer stand and went to the extremes…creating discomfort for many, thereby making it the perfect a select group.

I listened to a podcast a while back with Shep Gordon who managed Alice Cooper. Their strategy was simple…They figured out all they had to focus on was getting parents to hate Alice Cooper and then the teenagers would come running.

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Professional Results

You want the results of a professional…but if you’re not willing to identity yourself as one and thereby aren’t willing to commit like a professional, you won’t get the results you say you want.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple