Here’s some excellent advice from Donald Trump within the post, “Blueprint for Success”:
“It’s not just business acumen, but integrity, that carries you forward in the business world.”
and
“Our actions and words will eventually point us towards having a reputation for having integrity or not having integrity.”
That’s not just true in business, it’s true in the arts. If you’re working with someone, always remember that they are depending on you for their living. People will only put up with inconsistencies so long until they move on.
And they will move on.
Gretchen Rubin, of The Happiness Project, has a sister who is enjoying success in Hollywood – major success. As a part of her Wednesday’s Tips column, Gretchen has assembled a collection of 6 truisms about succeeding in L.A. From personal experience, I can say they all hold true for any corner of the entertainment industry and any community of entertainment folks – big or small.
2. “People succeed in groups.”
We all know the uncomfortable, competitive feelings that you can get
when friends score a success—it can even feel like that their success
makes your own success less likely. My sister’s motto is “People
succeed in groups,” so good career news for a friend is good for her,
too. Not only is this line true, it makes you a much nicer person.
Personal story 1 – the band leader, guitarist, co-writer and best friend of Russ Taff is a guy named James Hollihan. While on the road, James was often asked the secret of his success. He dryly replied “grow up across the street from Russ Taff.”
Personal story 2 – I once gave a demo tape to, and frequently kept in touch with, THE producer in Nashville. When we were finally able to talk at length he said “look, you’re great, probably even better than Mark _____, but he was the best man in my wedding. We’ve known each other for ever. If he can’t make a session for my records, I change the date of the recording.”
People succeed in groups.
3. “Good news comes right away; bad news never comes.”
This rule applies when you’re waiting to hear whether people liked an
idea, a proposal, a draft, etc. If you don’t hear back pretty quick,
they didn’t like it.
Personal story – I see this in business all the time, and it’s just people being people. No one likes to disappoint someone else, so people avoid it like the plague.
Go read the whole post, print it out and hang it on your mirror. Yes, it’s that good.
May 24th, 2007
4:36 pm
Money
In order to succeed, you must keep proper track of your money. And although Quicken and Microsoft Money are great tools, they aren’t necessarily cheap either.
So, click on over to zenhabits for the post on 6 free alternatives you can check out.
Go forth and prosper.
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
- Henry Ford
One of the best ways to connect with fans, and make a lot of money, is to sell your wares at your shows. Even if the venue takes a percentage – and they will – it is still lucrative. In fact, most major shows and tours fail to break even through ticket sales, but the difference is MORE than made up for through sales of souvenirs.
And I highly recommend you get involved in this process. The articles that I wrote about yesterday mentioned in passing that one artist sells 4 times as much stuff when they visit with their fans after the show. My experience with the Gibson/Miller Band supports that fact. We always spent time with folks after the show and it built a passionate following and a good bit of cash in the bank. This means that music has ALWAYS been about conversations and interactions, their just moving online and getting a tad bit more personal.
But, there’s a problem and Discrevolt is the solution.
Though it’s true that people will be T-shirts, hats and keychains, the main thing they want is your music! And it’s likely that more and more of your fans are buying less and less CD’s. But up until now, selling them a CD at your show was the only option.
Discrevolt solves this problem through plastic download cards. Designed by you, these cards can be redeemed for downloads of your music off the the Discrevolt site.
As this article from Springwise says, “The start-up describes its download cards as a cross between a gift
card, a backstage pass and a baseball trading card. They’re designed to
be collectible items, attachable to lanyards or backpacks or rear-view
mirrors. The fact that artists design their own artwork, and often make
cards in limited runs, adds to the appeal.”
What could be better?
Here’s the link to Discrevolt.
My last post discussed being likable as a key to success along with a few other topics. Just in case you thought I was lying, go read Scouting for the Best Athletes.
“The chemistry dynamic is very important,” agreed Gary Lieberman,
president of West Side Advisors and part-owner of the New Jersey Nets
basketball franchise. “We try to think that if someone is a good guy in
the locker room, so to speak, then he will do what’s right for the
team.”
Why would a career in music be any different?
Penelope Trunk (Brazen Careerist link off my page) has spot on advice with this Guy Kawasaki Q & A.
I’ll get to her answer to the question “How much money does it take to be happy?” in a moment, but here’s question two:
Question: Is it more important to be competent or likable?
Answer:
People would actually rather work with someone who is incompetent and
likeable than competent and unlikable. Most people nod in agreement
when they read this. It’s the unlikable people who form arguments in
their head.
But there’s more. At work, if you are unlikable,
people start thinking you are less competent. So stop thinking you can
skate by on your genius IQ because you can’t. You need emotional
intelligence as well. This situation is so pronounced that there are
special-education classrooms rife with kids who could read when they
were three. Social skills matter as much as intelligence when it comes
to long-term success, even for the geniuses.
I couldn’t agree more. Complete jerk musicians rarely succeed despite the rumors, TV shows, Late Night talk show hosts or movies. The exceptions are unbelievably talented artists that got lucky despite their attitudes and personalities. That will NOT be the case for you.
Be sure to read the answer to 10, 11 and 12 too (especially #12 – there’s no reason for you to WORK with a jerk either).
And question #1? The answer is $40,000.
Struggling to make sense of my last two posts and what they might mean for you? Go read The Future of Music: Cell Phone As iPod, Virtual Concerts and a Great Jukebox in the Sky from MTV news.
Great stuff.
What do you make of the Amazon’s plans to sell DRM free music in partnership with EMI? CNET has a great article that gives insight into what your customers think, and isn’t that what really matters?
“DRM is kind of a moot conversation,” said Malmberg, who bought her
last CD from Amazon in December. “The record labels are trying to
control something that’s totally out of their control. People can
access songs now regardless of DRM. It doesn’t help.”
Elise Malmberg is a 44 year old woman who shares over 500GB of music with husband Joe Gore. Here’s her final comment:
“Ultimately I don’t think digital music will be a primary product …I think it will be a value-added thing that’s used to
sell other products.”
I think she’s 100% right. Music used to be the product, now it’s the beginning of an interaction. What that interaction is is up to you. What do you want it to be? What do your fans/customers want it to be? What’s sustainable and realistic?
These are difficult questions that only you can answer. But realize the tremendous opportunity you have. You can form the answer any way you want. In fact, the more the answer is unique to you, the more success you’ll find.
Like I always say: be you.
“Jonathan Coulton sat in Gorilla Coffee in Brooklyn,
his Apple
PowerBook open before him, and began slogging through the day’s e-mail.”
So begins an important article from the New York Times about a new paradigm in the music business: fans want to be – maybe even NEED to be – friends.
This is a reality you have to face and one that I’ve seen first hand through my dear friend, Liz Kilgo.
Like a lot of folks, she’s working hard on a music career as a singer/songwriter. Between appearances in the Virginia area and Nashville, and because of earlier success in the biz and the fact that she’s an amazing young lady, she’s created a very loyal fan base. A fan base that is constantly in touch with her in one form or another. And just like Jonathan Coultan, she spends hours per day keeping up with it all.
So what about you? If you’re pursuing the “artist thing”, are you prepared to dialogue with your fans? Be sure to consider this as you make and execute your plans. How you interact is up to you, but make sure you DO interact.
