Team Colors

I live in Tennessee. It’s easy to spot University of Tennessee fans. That orange is so very bright.

There’s a good chance that you as an artist or a business don’t have team colors…but it’s worth asking how one fan might spot another.

The places they go. Shirts they wear. Things they say. Things they post. Haircuts they have. The size of their sunglasses. Direction of their hat. Color of their shoes.

You don’t need team colors but it often helps (and it’s fun) when we know how to spot the others.

»» For those curious…there’s none of that orange in my closet.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Office Room Rock

If you’re going to make it as an artist in the music business you’re going to have to play office room rock…aka bring your acoustics and play songs in a boardroom to five people in swivel chairs.

You gotta learn to sell it with fluorescent lights on. With a coffee carafe on the table. With blank stares. With no microphone with which to channel your insecurity. Only leaning on the strength of the song and your ability to sell it.

If you can do that, there’s a place for you.

»» If you can put on a great show in an office AND put on a great show during a daytime slot at a festival on the flat-bed-trailer stage…you really have something special.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Firm and Fluid Pricing

If your price is fluid you’ll spend a lot of time and energy determining what the price is going to be for this particular customer in this particular situation. Part of your job becomes negotiating your own price…and then you still have to do the actual work.

If your price is firm it takes the entire slog of negotiation off the table. Here is the price, let me know if that works for you.

Sure, if your price is firm you might miss out on some customers who had hoped you were a little bit cheaper…but in turn you’ll gain back all the time and headache you would have spent negotiating with each potential client along the way.

»» It’s worth mentioning that for whatever you charge you may miss out on some customers who had hoped you were a little more expensive too.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

After The Hit

What you do after the hit will be dictated by what how you believe the hit came to be a hit.

If you believe it was pure luck, you’ll probably be really worried that the best has now come and gone because luck rarely strikes twice. And then you’ll be paranoid about trying to recreate the exact circumstances that gave you the luck the first time around.

If you believe it was purely your hard work, you’ll probably work even harder, stay up later, more effort, more control, more efficiency.

If you believe that your contribution was vital along with the rest of your team making vital contributions along with some good luck and good timing sprinkled on top…that frees you up to keep making your contribution again next time while knowing that you’re contribution is simply one important piece. That if you want another hit, you didn’t do it alone the first time and you can’t do it alone this time either. The best you can do is bring your best work to the portion of the project you’re responsible for.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Talking and Singing Along

We don’t want people to talk along with the movie.

We don’t want people to talk along with the comedian.

But we want people to sing along with us at shows.

It’s a unique marker that you are connecting with the audience. It’s not the only marker but it’s a sure sign you’re on the right path.

 

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple