It’s easy to think that if someone likes your music they’ll continue to come back to you because finding likable music can be pretty tough.
But getting someone to like your music isn’t the end goal if you’re wanting to make a career.
How to get someone to like your music? Make music someone like them likes.
More importantly…
Why would they keep coming back?
AND
Why would they show your music to their friends?
The answer to neither of these questions is, ‘because they like the music’.
I was stuck in an airport for an extended layover and the nine dollar slice of pizza was the lesser of all airport food evils.
I wait in line for a while…which was ok because I still have hours to burn at this point…and finally make it to the counter and choose my flavor from the pizzas sitting under the glass before me. I order.
On the pepperoni pizza tray there are three very big pieces and one that is MUCH smaller. Probably half the size. The bored, uninspired worker on the other side of the counter grabs the single serving pizza box, grabs the pizza server tool thing and heads straight for the significantly smaller piece of pepperoni pizza.
I notice this. I see what’s about to happen. I’m about to get half a piece of pizza for nine bucks. I don’t like this at all. Am I going to say something? Of course I’m going to say something! I’ve got the time! I still have hours before my plane boards and this is likely the most interesting situation I’m going to stumble upon.
“Hey could I have one of the big pieces?”
(Yes, I’m reliving the pettiness of my request as I’m typing this.)
My dude’s reply…
“All the pieces are the same size.”
I look at him. He looks at me. I look at the pizza. He looks at the pizza. Then our eyes meet again. I raise a brow and turn my head slightly toward the now indefensible discrepancy.
He puts the half slice down and boxes up one of the big pieces.
We never speak again.
(The pizza is cold and terrible but I find that to be more my fault…a natural consequence for getting in the airport pizza line to begin with.)
Here’s the thing…
If pizza server guy always serves up the biggest piece available then nobody can ever complain about getting a small one…more importantly, everyone will be happy and thrilled that he served the biggest one currently on the tray. The best thing about the best available is that it’s available. So serve it up.
Your best might not always be the exact same in every situation but it’s better to aim to serve the best of what you have rather than the half slice.
There’s the obvious bad habits like drugs or yelling at people…but then there are other bad habits that hold you back in significant, but quieter, ways…
-Blaming the mix engineer for your songs not being amazing…It’s not surprising how much more you’ll love your mix engineer if you are confident in your songs.
-Waiting to put a set list together until just before the show...You travelled all that way and really want the show to be good and there’s a ton of expenses and there’s a live stream happening…this is a bad time to wing it.
-Talking about fixing problems…Don’t confuse talking with fixing. Sometimes they overlap but a lot of the time the talking simply feels good and therefore feels significant and that feels like a huge achievement in and of itself. So we relax and never actually change anything.
The obvious bad habits are incredibly burdensome but at least they’re not hidden.
The subtle bad habits can live on for decades without anyone recognizing them as bad habits…while the constraint is ever present.
This whole thing is probably not.
Your big idea. My big idea. Yours might be better than mine but they both probably won’t work.
So ‘probably not’ isn’t a good enough reason not to go for a big idea…because they all fall into the category.
The biggest differentiator from one big idea to another is the willingness of the parties involved to put everything they have into the next actionable step.
First Monday of the month, new Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple.
When you’re doing creative work, both your conscious and subconscious mind are spinning.
This is why slight distraction while being creative can be such a great thing…when you conscious mind takes a break, you’re subconscious is often still hard at work…except now it’s free to be creative and percolate without the conscious mind (or the other people in the room) getting in the way.
The phrase ‘it just came to me’ is often a result of this idea. After distracting the conscious mind for a bit, the subconscious serves up some of the best stuff.