Tag Archive for: Foreigner

Proximity Feature

If you want to play the game you need to be in the game. To get in the game requires proximity.

Proximity Game MEME

 

But proximity to what, exactly?

 

Proximity to the knowledge, outlook, perspective, talent, and energy you need to achieve your definition of success.

 

Proximity is absolutely everything, and those that truly want in, will find and/or create the doors that connect them with the other side.

 

The dream.

 

Success making their art.

 

Sounds absolutely blissful doesn’t it?

 

Proximity ABB

 

Proximity will force you to raise your game.

 

I thought I knew exactly what I was doing as an artist and a guitar player until I got proximity to The Allman Brothers. Once I repeatedly saw them, I knew I had a LOT to learn.

 

 

Sometimes proximity can be lucky, but often it is manifested by the seekers out of sheer will.

 

Let’s look at some examples of each.

 

Proximity Bill GatesBill Gates being the richest man in the world is largely due to luck as Malcolm Gladwell sees it. He was quite literally the right person, in the right, place at the right time. Bill’s mother worked for the University of Washington, which in the 1960’s, was one of only 2 institutions in the United States that housed a supercomputer. Bill being a person fascinated with computing and code writing had access to this amazing machine as early as the 8th grade.

 

This was a story of someone who wanted to and needed to do the work and couldn’t do it without proximity.

 

SIDENOTE: Not surprisingly, the other supercomputer was located at the University of Michigan where Bill Joy went to school and invented the internet.

 

Proximity Bill Joy

 

 

 

 

These two extremely iconic individuals could have had vastly different lives without the luck of proximity to what was then extremely elusive and rare cutting edge technology.

 

 

 

 

Let’s look at some examples of created proximity.

Proximity Matt Warren

 

A good friend of mine and hit songwriter, Matt Warren (he co-wrote the #1 “Every Storm Runs Out of Rain” for Gary Allan) got proximity by selling T-shirts on tour for a merch company called Richards & Southern. He wanted in to the music business and didn’t really care how it happened or what it looked like.

He got the opportunity to tour as a merch person with Gary Allan where he created a relationship with the artist. The story goes that he totally sucked at selling shirts but he could write, the rest is history.

 

 

I have another good friend named Brian Foraker. Google him.

Proximity Whitesnake

 

Brian mixed the hugely famous Whitesnake album (the big one with “Here I Go Again”) which will make him cool in my book forever. Brian ended up being the main engineer for mega producer Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Foreigner, Heart, Rick Springfield, Top Gun Soundtrack, Footloose Soundtrack). Brian will tell you he got his start by becoming a roadie for Heart.

 

 

He wanted in.

 

He got in.

 

He worked his way up to where he was allowed to hang in the studio when they were recording.

 

He’ll tell you he shut up and paid serious attention because the studio fascinated him and he wanted in.

 

“Hey Brian, move that mic on the snare drum for me, please”, turned into him engineering which landed him the gig with Keith.

 

Mega record mogul, David Geffen started out very poor working in the mail room at William Morris Agency. Geffen sold his label to MCA in 1990 for $550 Million making him one of the richest people in the country at the time.Proximity Geffen Records Logo

 

I know it’s not about the money, man.

 

But you have to start somewhere.

 

How can you get the proximity you need?

 

Well the internet certainly makes that a lot easier than any of the previously mentioned individuals. Hat tip to Bill Joy.

 

Proximity Book collage

 

Books are another way to see behind the scenes of greatness. They’re a great deal too. Autobiographies, how to books, marketing books, etc., all provide knowledge that you can apply to your own situation.

 

Marketing is connecting with people by applying knowledge of human psychology and using it to your advantage.

 

Yes, some use this knowledge for evil. Like politicians, ALL news outlets, governments, etc.

 

 

Some use it for good.

 

Like you.

Proximity Daniel Stone MEME

Image Credit: Daniel Stone

 

Connecting with people via marketing prowess can feel strangely similar to connecting with people via songwriting.

 

A transcendence of sorts.

 

You struggle with the mysteries of marketing. All the answers are out there dressed up in easily available knowledge and its consequent application.

 

This application of marketing knowledge requires the same effort and tenacity as your art.

 

Proximity can be more easily achieved with social media and the internet than it used to be. Bottom line, if you want in the game you will find a way to get in. Those that offer up excuses as to why they can’t get proximity simply don’t really want it that bad.

 

Proximity Connecting

Artwork by Daniel Stone

Mentors can be found.

 

Mentors won’t find you.

 

 

 

Everybody needs mentorship. Most incredibly high paid corporate CEO’s have mentors to guide their ascension in the ranks and manage a proper perspective once they get there. It’s lonely at the top, and these CEO’s want to excel at managing a great company environment.

 

Too many of you either feel you don’t need mentors or don’t have them because they aren’t coming to you. Many of you feel it’s hard to find an appropriate mentor mostly because they aren’t knocking on your door looking to mentor you.

 

In either one of these scenarios, the damage to you is the same. You have no mentor.

Proximity Success Go Get It MEME

So you have no new perspectives.

 

You have no insight.

 

You have no guidance for new situations, just your old behavior which seems to result in the same outcomes.

 

New outcomes require new behaviors. New behaviors comes from learning, education, advice, someone else’s 20/20 hindsight (which is referred experience isn’t it?), etc. All these things can be found in mentors.

 

Here’s the thing, you need proximity to mentors.

 

Confucius say, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

 

Proximity Confucius MEME

 

You have to go to them. Tai Lopez sought out many mentors and worked for them; often for free, if not for free, for peanuts. He wasn’t interested in an immediate payoff for his time, rather he was interested in LEARNING how to be better. The big payoff comes with the knowledge as it WILL monetize later down the road.

 

Many of you eagerly seek out mentors for vocal lessons, instrumental lessons, music classes, mental and relationship advancements via therapy, etc.

 

You go to these people or pay them to come to you. That’s creating proximity.

 

Why not get proximity to the people can help you do what you want to do in the music industry?

Proximity Marketing Lessons Learned

Believe me it takes image, art, talent, strategy, paperwork, good business, and logistics to rise above the fray and be heard.

 

Nobody is born a master of all these talents.

 

They have to be learned by the seekers who won’t take “NO” for an answer.

 

In my case, I have had mentorships come into my life by working with or for other companies, I have sought out and paid for new knowledge as often as I can.

 

 

What’s more valuable than furthering your education?

 

Tai Lopez calls this “doubling down” on yourself.

 

Proximity Equation

 

People love to share their knowledge with people they care about. Just like you they think people they don’t know who are asking tons of deep questions (so therefore don’t care about) are creepy.

 

Proximity solves all this.

 

Now you just have to solve for proximity.

 

 

 

Stay

In

Tune.

 

Treasure Maps feature image 6

The mythical treasure maps you see in the movies are like unicorns, they don’t exist. You have to make your OWN treasure map if you want to be successful.CSC_0010

 

This was the first thought that entered my head when I read some of the comments that were posted an old article I wrote entitled “How To Avoid Artistically Starving To Death” that was circulated by Music Clout again last week.

Artistically Starving To Death

 

As per the usual, I get plenty of anonymous positive and negative comments.  I was thinking about some of these negative comments not because they hurt my feelings, (let’s be real, I’m thrilled they’re even taking the time to respond), it was because people are still totally missing the boat.

 

FYI, in this article I explained the difference between marketing and digital distribution which seems to be commonly confused amongst artists.

If you don’t truly understand the difference it would make your sales and marketing efforts as productive as screen doors on a submarine.

 

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Most of the negative comments hovered around the fact that I didn’t explain HOW to market in 1,200 or so words.  Ugh, impossible.

So I AM going to try and share some of the marketing initiatives we have executed and will execute in future posts to give y’all some “HOW” with details.

But for now, let’s really explore the notion of marketing first.

The beginning of “how to market” lies in the concept. Isn’t it better to know what we’re looking for before we can effectively search for any answers?

Marketing is WHY consumers buy and distribution is WHERE they buy.

Don’t get them confused.

Why do you go to any retail store? Is it because you’re dying to spend money on the first thing you see that inspires you or is it because you already knew what you wanted and went there to get it?

Get it?

First you need to focus on a specific artistic lane. Whether you like it or not, whether you want to believe it or not, nobody buys records that contain multiple genre tracks; it’s confusing to the marketplace.

Consumers actually get hostile.Treasure Maps Foreigner

FACT: When the amazing rock band Foreigner released “I Want to Know What Love Is” it was a HUGE Pop hit.  It was their biggest hit.  It also marked the END of the band because consumers showed up to concerts expecting to see a sappy pop act and got gritty rock & roll instead.  They were pissed off because they felt misled.

There are always exceptions to the rule but your favorite artists have always put out records that contain tracks that are genre specific FOR A REASON.

Why question it?

 

The second step requires exposure of the music.

Targeted exposure is absolutely paramount.  Think about this way, if you made the world’s BEST hamburgers would you sell any in a vegan community?

 

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While the misstep may be naïve it’s also borderline self-sabotage.  Even if sabotage is unintended, the damage is the same. Remember that.

A good exercise on market targeting is to ask yourself, “What famous artist’s fan base would probably love your music too?”

In other words, ask yourself (from a business perspective not an artistic perspective) what artist would my business benefit from the most if I opened up for them on tour?

 

As many of you know, I was the front man for a hair band back in the day.  I LOVED Metallica and Megadeth but opening for either one of those acts wasn’t going to help me build my fan base at all. This thought process, is show business, not show heart, friends, or idols.

Make sense?

 

Next, the exposure has to be “framed” or “served up” correctly to this targeted audience.

There is a difference between marketing and pandering. I constantly see tweets that say “TY 4 following, check out my music” or “REAL TALK MAN, dis artist is da BOMB”, with a link; this is pandering and hype.  These two strategies actually turn people off on social media and email marketing. The worst is “Discover this artist on iTunes” where it has to be purchased.  Why would anyone “check out” your music or purchase your music if they don’t know who you are?  Especially in today’s market where EVERYONE is on iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, etc.

Do you respond to these kinds of pitches?Treasure Maps Turn Ons and Turn Offs

What turns YOU off on social media?

 

Consider what emails, tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, and Instagram posts turn you on and peak your curiosity?

Which ones turn you OFF?

Make a list.

 

Why would you ask someone to “discover” your music and make them pay for it?

Do consumers pay for radio?

Do consumers pay to see new artists on TV?

Have YOU ever purchased music BEFORE you heard it?

 

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Tons of artists are discouraged by the fact that everyone can and DOES put their “art” up on the world’s refrigerator.  Listen, this is not an ideal situation but it is winnable if you think about marketing from a business perspective and leave your sensitive woundable artist heart out of the equation.

The good news is that anyone can expose their music to everyone online. So with regards to the market, the proverbial “sky is the limit”

The bad news is that anyone can expose their music to everyone online; which results in a ton of noise on the RADAR screen. Focused attention needs to be paid to how you disseminate your information to excel at this game.

 

If a man named Bob, whom you do not know, randomly introduces himself to you the street, you might be polite but your guard is definitely up no matter how nice Bob may be.  It’s a cold call essentially.  This strategy for meeting people can work but is statistically a loser with regards to creating relationships.

How would that random encounter make you feel?Treasure Maps Referral Magnifying glass

Isn’t that why many of us feel a little weird about introducing ourselves to people?  Don’t you think it’s because we feel more comfortable being introduced by someone else?

Why should you introduce your music to someone any differently?

 

If Bob was introduced to you for the first time by a trusted friend at a party, you are definitely more open to the thought of Bob, aren’t you?

Treasure Maps CREEPYIt’s almost like with the cold introduction you half expect Bob to misbehave and you would be surprised if Bob turned out to be cool.  When the same person is referred by someone you know in a comfortable environment, the opposite is usually true; you expect Bob to be cool and would be surprised if Bob turned out to be offensive.

 

 

Here’s where you have to get creative in the market.

 

What clever methods would allow you to present your music to a consumer online in a referral fashion?

 

How can you create a comfortable environment for consumers to really give your music a chance instead of being on edge?

If this article still pisses you off you simply aren’t ready.

Treasure Maps Teacher

 

For those that are inspired by this I give you this Buddhist Proverb:

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

 

 

 

Lastly, I wanted to mention that all these new music marketing concepts are inexpensive if they aren’t free.  The thought that you have to spend millions of dollars to market yourself is asinine and archaic.

This is the first time in the history of marketing where artists have so much access to targeted markets for little or no money.Treasure Maps Earl Dibbles Jr

 

Study Earl Dibbles Jr who is a completely independent artist making 7 figures every year via social media (the CBS gig came AFTER the social media explosion).

 

It can be done people.

 

It is being done people.

You can do it too.

 

Once you get the concept of what you need to be doing I have one word for you.

Treasure Maps GoogleGOOGLE.

 

Find your teachers

 

These are a few of the marketing teachers I follow.  This is how you create your own treasure map.  All treasure maps are different for each artist so the only way up is THROUGH.

 

You have to discover what works for YOU.

 

I recommend following/subscribing to all these people, most are free, some are not.

Let me save you the suspense, ALL of them have products to sell and so do you, so get over it.

Start a new folder in your email for each and just save them as they come in to keep from getting overwhelmed.  It’s a TON of free information with the ANSWERS you’re looking for.  Read them when you have insomnia, or when you’re motivated, or when you’re bored, etc. but READ THEM…or you can continue to complain.

Jeff Bullas – http://www.jeffbullas.com/Treasure Maps Jeff Bullas

Sales Lion – http://www.thesaleslion.com/

Lewis Howes – http://lewishowes.com/

Jon Loomer – http://www.jonloomer.com/

Jon Oszajca – http://www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com/manifesto-novid.html?hop=jj1981

 

 

Stay in Tune

 

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