Getting Turned Down

You play the showcase and get the meeting with the company you want to work with. But after that it fizzles out.

It’s one of three main reasons…

-You’re not as good as you think you are, and not as good as they’d hoped…yet.

-You’re great but they’re not looking to work with an act like you.

-You’re great, they want to work with you but don’t think they will be able to sell you up the chain of command. Too risky to sell you to their boss.

If it’s the first one, get back to work.

If it’s the second two, it’s a good thing they didn’t sign you just to be nice. Find a different meeting.

»» The inverse of this applies once you learn your worth and have some leverage and can be patient and let them sell to you. They might not be good enough for you. You might not be looking for a company like them. It might be too tough to sell them to the rest of your team.

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Who Are You Selling To?

If you’re a wedding band don’t waste time selling to brides-to-be. Sell to wedding planners. Planners have a lot more weddings.

If you’re a valet parking company don’t waste time selling to people who need their car parked. Sell to someone who owns fifty hotels.

If you’re a lumber company don’t waste time selling to families that want to build a deck. Sell to general contractors.

It’s easy to get caught in the first part of the examples because it feels productive. And worse, you might get good at the first part and never move on to the next.

Are you selling to the right people or simply making the easiest sale?

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As Long As It Sounds Good Out There

I can deal with a subpar in-ear mix as long as I know it sounds good in the audience.

But if I don’t trust the front of house engineer I’m uneasy no matter how good my mix is.

It has to sound good out there. Everyone on stage has to know that regardless of weird ear mixes and all the little catastrophes that happen on stage, the audience is taken care of. If the audience is taken care of, the performers on stage can act like everything is ok and they don’t look foolish for doing so.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Middle Aged Stars

In the heyday of major record labels, the labels were selling to young demographics because teenagers had money and needed something cool and exciting to spend it on.

And so…labels signed young artists to market to the young demo. This system launched a lot of artists we know and love.

So on the other hand…if you weren’t young you weren’t going to get signed and therefore no marketing and radio and it was going to be impossible to become a superstar.

But now…major labels have less power than ever. Promotion and marketing and streaming and large segments of markets don’t care how old someone is. The playing field isn’t level but it’s more level than it’s ever been.

We don’t have to wait for a radio interview or RollingStone article to keep up with an artist or hear about a new one. Everyday we’re following along with all kinds of creative people. Middle aged stars, and stars of all sorts, can happen now. And are happening.

»» Of course ‘star’ doesn’t mean what it used to. But I think you get it.

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If You Want New Music

You’re much more likely to listen to new music.

New Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple

The reason why we listen to so much new music while we’re growing up is because we don’t have any music yet. We can’t fall back on the stuff we used to listen to…because there’s nothing there.

So as life goes on, the reasons to listen to new music evolve too. We’re no longer looking for a foundation. We’re no longer looking for a lifestyle or how to dress or how to do our hair.

We listen to new music for inspiration, cool sounds, a fresh take on an old sound, excitement…and ultimately, connection. To the music, artist, and the world around us.

If you’re over the age of twenty five you have enough bands and artists that you love to never listen to new music again.

But it’s still pretty fun.

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Demo And Album Versions

Recently I had the joy of listening to some demos of songs from an album that a friends’ band put out.

There were a few songs where the album versions were waaaay different than the demos.

And I love that because to get from that demo to that album version requires a creative a leap that can be so hard to make.

Because even though it’s called a demo, the demo is already ‘how the song goes’. It feels etched in stone.

So to move the bridge to the intro, keep the chorus lyrics but completely change the melody, and only drums in the verses…it’s amazing the emotional and creative flexibility it shows. It’s evidence of working together, digging in, and a scary level of intentionality.

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