Tag Archive for: Songwriting

Relationships Feature MEME

 

Imagine that you’re going out on a first date. This person is someone that you’re excited to get to know better but for some reason, you’re feeling excruciatingly nervous. You meet up with the date Relationships Nervousand the night is a disaster.

 

Maybe you were the date and the other person was nervous, which made you nervous.

 

 

Have you been there?

 

Why does that happen?

 

Answer: Nonverbal communication.

 

Relationships Cave Man

 

As a species, we have been communicating nonverbally for thousands of years before we developed language.

 

 

 

 

Therefore, we are far better at receiving and understanding nonverbal communication than verbal communication.

 

Arguably, the percentages are different depending on what you read, but the consensus points to the fact that when any message is received, the majority of the information transmitted was nonverbal.

 

Relationships Cat MEME

 How you say it and what your body does while you say it is far more important than what you say.

 

There is an art to the nonverbal performance aspects of an artist. What are you doing when you’re singing? How does your body language communicate to the audience when it’s time to clap or if they should wait out a pregnant pause?

 

See how important it is?

 

It’s the difference between a green artist and a pro in every situation imaginable.

 

Relationships Upset Man MEME

 

 

As humans, we pre-frame people prior to meeting them all the time. Our brains are designed to conserve energy thus; we won’t spend too much time studying before we naturally fill in the blanks on someone filtering the data through our own emotional experiences.

 

 

 

 

We all have vastly different emotional experiences.

 

Plain English: You’re always being judged.

 

Here’s another good point to remember, I’m generalizing but our first impressions typically don’t happen when we decide to make them.

 

Relationships Introduction MEMEAnother way to think about it is that a first impression is DIFFERENT than an introduction. Rarely do these two separate events happen simultaneously.

 

Why should you care?

 

Answer:  Because your job as an artist is to communicate. Your job as a marketer of your art is also to communicate.

 

Understanding exactly how messages are received is an invaluable exercise for your artistic creativity, live performances, marketability, team building skills, networking, etc.

 

Relationships Introvert MEME

 

Right now, some of you are cringing because you’re thinking, “But, I’m an introvert and I suck at relationships.”

 

I’ve got news for you. You don’t suck at relationships.

 

By the way, an introvert’s reaction to this idea is completely understandable, isn’t it? They don’t view themselves as the gregarious, huge-personality-type sales person who is a killer networker.

 

In fact, many introverts may be a bit envious of the extroverts who seem to effortlessly create relationships.

 

Relationships Big Personality

 

 

Some introverts may even view this lack of outward personality as a detriment to their artist career.

 

 

 

The fact is that introverts and extroverts all have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to creating and maintaining relationships. One is not necessarily better than the other.

 

What makes one PERSON better at creating relationships than another person is self-awareness.

 

Identifying your strengths and weaknesses is quite empowering.

 

Relationships Schmoozing

 

 

 

While extroverts are good at creating many relationships, they’re often not necessarily good relationships or deep relationships.

 

 

 

 

Statistically, introverts are better at creating more meaningful relationships.

 

Maybe you feel shy and weird about schmoozing or “working the room” after a show, but when introverts are ready to create and maintain relationships they think deeply, they observe people well.

 

When faced with the thought of hustling or schmoozing, many introverts think, “I’m too shy, I could never do this.”

 

False! You CAN do this; you just haven’t learned how.

 

Relationships Social Media

This information is HUGE for industry events, after show hustling, AND SOCIAL MEDIA!

 

 

Often, before you “meet” someone on social media they’ve already scoured your Instagram account. They’ve already created an opinion on you as an artist.

 

If you’re aware of this dynamic, you can attempt to control the outcome as much as possible.

 

Themed accounts are pleasurable to viewers. Many of my client’s accounts are themed, albeit some more than others.

 

Relationships John Kern

 

 

@JohnKernMusic is themed black & white. He looks so cool in black and white (he’s extremely marketable in color but there’s a retro vibe that transmits via b&w with John).

 

 

 

@patience.reich has an account that is themed with the many amazing facets of her personality and work efforts. Patience is a black, female jazz singer (working on a pop record), MD (physician of Internal Medicine), true humanitarian (closing her practice every year for weeks or months at a time to travel and give medical care to children in impoverished countries), a marathon runner, a devout Christian, oh, and she loves cats.

 

Relationships Patience Reich

Do you see how a visual or contextual “thread” of sorts is extremely helpful to creating fans on your social media accounts?

 

 

Images are extremely important here, especially on Instagram. All serious artists need professional pictures taken.

 

Relationships Orleans Album Cover

These photos need to be shot by a professional ARTIST PHOTOGRAPHER as opposed to your girlfriend’s, dogwalker’s, first cousin’s boyfriend who has a cool camera and knows how to focus the lens.

 

 

 

 

 

Get it?

 

Relationships Bad Band Photo

It’s all about the photographer’s eye, not the camera.

 

 

 

 

You must also heavily weigh the common creative tasks this photographer’s eye must complete on a day to day basis.

 

All too often I see artists whose images were shot by amazing wedding photographers and they look like that: wedding photos. Just because they’re a wedding photographer doesn’t mean they can’t shoot artists well (Alysse Gafkjen in Nashville is an incredibly talented exception to this rule) but usually, they’re thinking wedding and not selling the artist.

 

Relationships Band Band Photo 2

Spend the money. It’s going to be your first impression.

 

 

Guess what else the masses are going to formulate their first impression with an artist on.

 

Answer:  Engagement.

 

You’d be AMAZED at how many people will line up behind you as an artist simply because you took a little time to respond them and were smart enough to ask a question about THEM.

 

Hardly any artists do it.

 

I’m constantly pushing my artists to engage more with the people who take the time to say something about a killer post we put up.

 

Relationships Value ArtistAs an artist, if you want to build a real, solid, loyal following, you’re going to have to love them first.

 

 

 

You must be vulnerable first.

 

Artists who have multitudes of real online relationships are far more valuable than artists who don’t.

 

More valuable to the record labels, managers, booking agents, lawyers, PR companies, brand partners, etc.

 

Relationships Leverage MEMERelationships are how an artist creates LEVERAGE in the music business.

 

 

Y’all tell me you want managers, better bookings, a record deal, better players in your band, and more opportunities but you don’t work at the task that will deliver all these gifts.

 

It’s not going to be about your music at first, it’s going to be about you.

 

Once you forge a remarkable first impression and engage deepening the relationships, you’ll begin to grow a following.

 

Relationships ScaleThey’ll love you and begin to identify with your music.

 

A moderately talented artist with a loyal following is far more valuable and therefore will be far more successful than a hugely talented artist with no audience to perform to.

 

When was the last time you heard a song on the radio and thought, “My music is way better than that piece of crap”?

 

That artist on the radio knows something you don’t.

 

Or didn’t up until now.

 

Relationships I Want You To Win

 

 

I want you to win.

 

 

 

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune

 

 

 

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happiness-feature-meme

“I’m not some great philosopher. This is simple shit. ONE AT BAT. THIS IS IT. YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. Like, I don’t understand…here’s what I don’t understand. I want to talk about complaining. I want to talk about complaining. If you are making your own bed you have to sleep in it and you need to shut your fucking mouth. You’re more than welcome…I’ve met hundreds of people who left their jobs, making good money when they had college debt 18% compounded interest because they need their mental health to be happy. They were willing to take a step back, and in a 7-year period, THEY WON! Because happiness drives everything. You collectively aren’t patient enough. Your lack of patience is killing you. Your need of things is killing you. I don’t need a fucking watch. I don’t need a fucking whip. I need to be happy. One fucking at bat.” – Gary  Vaynerchuk

happiness-gary-vee

 

You’re not taking enough responsibility for your happiness.

 

 

Which means you’re not taking enough responsibility for your artistry.

 

 

There’s nothing wrong with that unless you’re frustrated with your life.

 

If you’re reading this, you are blessed to be in a country where you are allowed to read this and fortunate to own a computer or a smartphone to read it with.

 

happiness-99

All you complaining 99 percenters, 50% of this planet, over 3.5 billion people live on less than $2 per day. If you’re at the bottom of the 99%, meaning you’re earning the least amount of all the 99%, you’re actually in the 1% (probably the people you love to hate) when compared to the rest of the world.

 

I say this because I want you to stop complaining right now and be grateful.

 

 

 

 

If your parents had sex 3 minutes later or 3 minutes prior, you wouldn’t be here.

happiness-sperm

 

So be grateful out of millions of sperm, YOU won the lottery and became a human.

 

That fact alone is simply ASTONISHING.

 

Be grateful that God gave you an artistic gift to share with the world.

 

happiness-responsibility-meme

 

Be grateful that your frustrated because you’re struggling to get paid for that gift rather than struggling to find food, or struggling to turn a pair of 2-liter soda bottles into a pair of shoes.

 

Wow, that’s a LOT of gratitude.

 

 

Now, you have all this time, what are you doing with it?

 

What exactly are you doing to take the next best step towards pursuing your happiness?

happiness-stop-complaining

 

What Gary Vee was saying about your own bed is absolutely true.

 

Stop complaining because I promise you that your status amongst the professional artist community and the consumer’s awareness or lack of awareness of your art is a direct result of the time and attention you’ve put towards it.

 

 

 

I promise if you put the time in, I mean REALLY put the time in, you’ll win.

 

happiness-time-meme

 

I promise that if you commit to being a student of the game, meaning that you stop complaining, passing blame, creating excuses, and start honestly asking questions and looking at ways to improve your situation, you’ll win.

 

 

 

Are you willing to take a step back? Really?

 

You’re afraid of losing your stuff, your lifestyle. I’m here to tell you everyone is and it isn’t so bad, in fact, it’s rather liberating.

happiness-liberating

 

If you aren’t willing, THAT’S OK because you’re a hobby artist or a hobby band, and there NOTHING wrong with that.

 

What IS WRONG is if you complain that you can’t “Get your deal”, or you can’t “get professional recordings”, or you can’t “find your audience”.  These are tasks that are tackled by professional artists, not hobby artists.

 

Many bands have done it.

 

We do it for artists every day here at Daredevil Production.

 

So when I hear complaints about how it’s because of this reason, or that reason an artist can’t find an audience, get paid, or make great recordings, it makes my hair stand up.

happiness-hair-stand-up

 

Excuses

 

I’ll ask them, what EXACTLY do you think are the issues that are preventing you from tackling these challenges?

 

 

You see, to me, this is akin to complaining that you can’t breathe. Yet, there are 7 billion + people on this planet that are breathing.

 

Why can’t you?

 

Because you’re complaining and looking for excuses rather than taking any action whatsoever to solve the problem.

happiness-one-at-bat-meme

 

ONE AT BAT.

 

YOU’RE GOING TO DIE.

 

 

If you don’t seriously step up, which may mean stepping back momentarily, to follow your dreams, I promise THAT is the regret you’ll have on your death bed.

 

It won’t be a regret over something you did.

happiness-regrest-booze-bottle

 

It’ll ALWAYS be a regret over something you DIDN’T do for whatever reason.

 

 

 

I can testify that money, your house, watches, cars, trips, restaurants, extra musical instruments, the latest recording gear, softball league, basketball league, racquetball league, Golf, your credit score, etc., are completely worthless.

 

They mean nothing.

 

You find that out after you lose them.

happiness-definition-2-career

They don’t define you.

 

I’ll say that again so READ IT.

 

These are things that don’t define you.

 

Your happiness defines you.

 

 

That’s what other souls really see. They may be misguided enough at this point on their journey to respond to your money or what they feel security “looks” like, but your true happiness is really what they see.

happiness-is-what-the-soul-sees

 

 

Or don’t see.

 

 

 

 

People are going to remember you for the way you made them feel, not because you have a Rolex, a Ferrari, or a vintage ’59 Les Paul.

 

When you’re really happy because you’re doing what you were born to do, you can’t help but make other people happy.

 

You become the inspiration all artists aspire to be.

 

I made decent money in business. I have a talent for that.

 

I made a LOT of money in the financial industry.  Straight up, my monthly ad budget at one time (with my radio show on in 5 stations in 3 markets) was more than a lot of you, maybe most you, make in a year. 3 month’s ad budget would safely probably cover the lot of you.

 

Just the ad budget.

happiness-poof-it-was-gone-plane-fire

 

Poof, it all went away in 2008 and IT WAS A BLESSING.

 

A gift from God.

 

I lost my house, my wife, my savings, my business, my dignity (briefly), and for about a year, my direction.

 

The loss of direction was the scariest part. Never had that happen. Faith is all you have at that point, that’s what gets you through.

happiness-regrets-pray-cross

 

When I moved back to Nashville from Los Angeles, I had nothing. I literally went from requiring 2 trips in a 24-foot U-Haul truck to move into my new house in 2004 to 1 10-foot box truck to move out to Nashville.

 

 

 

I’m STILL getting rid of crap.

 

 

Lots of old energy.

 

I hocked all my prized guitars and amplifiers including a ’68 Gibson Country & Western acoustic guitar, and a 1st year Peavy EVH 5150 guitar head (ugh), a ’68 Marshall 4×12 cabinet with vintage 25 watt greenbacks, a killer 60’s re-issue Vox AC-30, and rare mid ‘80’s Sunburst Gibson ES-335 (these are just the sexiest items) to keep this company going in the beginning.

 

This is called taking a step back.

happiness-step-back

 

I believed in what I was doing.

 

 

 

 

 

I had months where I didn’t know how I was going to come up with the $80 I needed to renew my tag on my auto license.

 

 

I was thinking, “I’m too old for this shit.”

happiness-too-old

 

 

I worked Uber after hours for 18 months to pay the bills while the company grew. That would be Friday night from 6pm-3am. Saturday night from 6pm-3am. Then I’d crash for 2 hours and work the Sunday morning airport runs from 6am-12pm.

 

 

 

 

 

I was definitely growing Daredevil Production at a pretty nice trajectory percentage-wise but when you start at $0.00 it takes a while for those percentages to turn into an amount of money that can pay your bills.

happiness-sales-trajectory-meme

 

I took the step back.

 

 

 

 

 

I promised myself that I would go HARD TO THE PAINT for 5 years and after 5 years if I looked back and felt it was a waste of time or I misjudged the target somehow (which was my mistake in the financial business) then I’d go sell insurance and make a million dollars.

happiness-hard-to-the-paint

 

I could pretty easily do that. I have that skill set.

 

Music was my passion, though.

 

 

Cracking the code to connecting artists and fans and then MONETIZING those fans without using radio, was and still is the sexiest challenge in the world to me.

happiness-cracking-the-code

 

We’ve done it. We’re ramping up the traffic volumes now.

 

 

 

 

 

Gary Vee was right in that opening quote when he mentioned the 7-year time frame.

 

This November 5th will mark my 5-year anniversary of being back in Nashville. To be fair it’s probably been a solid 3 years since I really started focusing on the marketing side of Daredevil Production.

happiness-7-year-meme

 

The trajectory continues and if next year grows like this year, BOOM!

 

That 7-year mark no matter where you want to start the timeline will be a biggie.

 

I’m telling you this because there is no greater feeling than winning at what you LOVE to do and what you were BORN to do.

 

I want you to win.

 

I don’t want you to live the dichotomy.

 

Stop complaining, start working, and taking responsibility for your own happiness.

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune

 

 

 

 

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Artist Success Approach Feature MEME

There is an over-promise of artist success amongst allArtist Success Hand MEME artists in all genres like country, rap, rock, pop, etc. This over-promise has become the key ingredient to your failure.

 

It’s causing you to lose.

 

I give credit where credit is due and this article was inspired by this 3 minute video from Gary Vaynerchuk called, “Reframing Entrepreneurial Success”.

Gary Vee Reframe RESIZED

 

The over-promise is so prevalent that when I write articles geared around “artist success” I’ll inevitably get a few emails chastising me for selling some idea of success and attaching it to millions-of-dollars kind of success; which I never do, by the way.

 

It’s the over-promise that has been drilled in their head so much they just assume that when I mention success it must mean selling out, fame and fortune, and of course that’s bad for the art.

 

Artist Success Ball Rolling STRUGGLE

To be clear, those of you that actually read my articles (and don’t comment solely based on your reaction to my title which is idiotic, but I digress) know that I define artist success as being able to make a living doing what you were born to do; the opposite of living the dichotomy.

 

What do I mean by that exactly?

 

Well, I remember moving a 17-year-old, phenomenal guitar player down from Detroit Michigan back in 2010 (ish?). His grandfather is my father’s best friend and someone I grew up with and respect immensely. I remember having a conversation with this man, someone I referred to throughout my life as an “uncle”, and someone who is extremely intelligent (a dentist), about whether his grandson had what it took to “make it”.

 

I asked him what his definition of “making it” was.

 

Naturally, it was attached to fame.

 

You have to remember he’s a dentist and completely unfamiliar with the entertainment industry and how it works.

Artist Success MTV

His only experience with the entertainment industry is with the entertainment. The entertainment is served up to his awareness by the famous entertainers. This is MOST people’s grasp of the industry who operate outside of it.

 

His response was something along the lines of “will he be a star” or “will he be on MTV” aka will he be famous like all the entertainers that have come into his awareness.

 

Now you may laugh at this, but some of you who BELIEVE YOU’RE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY are just as naïve.

 

To be clear, my uncle is an extremely intelligent man who built and sold an amazing dental practice, he knows nothing about the inner workings of show business.

 

YOU, on the other hand, have zero excuse for being naïve in this regard because this is the business which you choose to want to dominate. You’d better know how the hell it works, but again, I digress.

 

Anyway, I asked my “uncle” if he’d heard of Danny Elfman. Of course, he said, “No.”Artist Success Danny Elfman

 

I said, “Well, you’ve definitely heard his music and he could buy and sell you and your impressive success 1,000 times over. Danny writes music for feature films. He makes about 4 million dollars per movie.

 

He does a LOT of movies.

 

My uncle’s jaw dropped.

 

That was the opener to my point.

 

The next point was that there were tons of really talented people here in Nashville for Artist Success Homeinstance who make a good living doing what they were born to do; making and playing music.

 

I described “A good living” as a job that allowed them to own a house, have a family, put their kids through college, and take a vacation once a year. These are people that he would only know if he was deep in the industry.

 

My uncle immediately understood my point.

 

I then told him that, yes, his grandson had all the talent he needed to “succeed” by our newly refined definition and it would be up to his work ethic and his brain to actually provide the execution necessary to turn an idea like that into a reality.Artist Success Labor Day

 

By the way, he did just that landing a gig with an indie artist tour that paid about $45k-60k per year…he was 19 at that time, I believe. Not too bad for a guitar player with no college education if you ask me.

 

Y’all are too worried about being famous and you’re making bad decisions because of it.

 

You need to reframe your idea of success.

 

This will change your approach.

 

Which will change everything.

 

Some of y’all are impeding your potential and you’re currently at a very coveted level, playing with the big boys, talking record contracts, and dealing with real industry professionals.

Artist Success YES MEME

What I mean by impeding your success is that without sales, without any resemblance of a profitable small business, God help you if you if they say “YES” and you get your deal.

 

Sounds crazy but money talks and bullshit walks (h/t to Bobbi Fleckman). A less talented artist with more hustle and business experience is going to get the entire label team more excited and command more label resources than someone with astounding talent and no cash flow.

 

 

Artist Success Money Talks MEME

 

 

 

This model means you’d have to be developed and the labels just really don’t do that anymore.

 

 

 

 

Artist Success Lotto

Oh, and they’re people so they’re naturally lazy like you. Getting behind the other guy is going to make them look better quicker.

 

 

I’m generalizing to be sure. However, basing your future on a plan requiring the label to do all the work is like basing your next rent check or mortgage payment on whether or not you win the lottery.

 

 

It could happen.

 

But it’s lazy and unrealistic.

 

Artist Success Stack The Deck

If making a living and getting a record deal is THIS important to you, why the hell wouldn’t you want to go in stacking the deck with every advantage you have to ensure your artist success?

 

 

Granger Smith did exactly this. He created an online 1.8-million-dollar-empire, completely independently. The labels wanted to sign him a couple years ago but they kept saying no until it was time to get the #1.

 

 

He was so undeniable as a business force that when he finally did sign he had the hearts and minds of everyone at the label. The entire team was committed to making him successful or die trying. That’s a buy in.

Artist Success Granger Smith

Consequently, his first single went to #1.

 

I doubt that would’ve happened if he was signed by the label and required them to develop him.

 

 

 

Most of you are not at this level yet. You’re just trying to get the ball rolling somehow.

 

Here’s the take away.

 

Focus on getting one new person to like you every day.

 

Artist Success Money 100k

 

Focus on creating a business built around your music and creative efforts that generates $100,000 per year.

 

 

 

That’s impressive to me.

 

One step at a time.

 

3D Twitter Book Cover image

VALUE BOMB:  Try the same approach with your social media. Master ONE PLATFORM first. Master Twitter because you have my free book (GiftFromJohnny.com) and then build from there.

 

Once you master creating $100,000 of revenue per year, which equates to 1000 fans that are willing to pay $100/year to an artist, the next $100,000 is a lot easier, I promise.

 

Why the hell is this article important to you?

 

Because when you framing your “success” as multi-platinum record sales, custom tour busses, and millionaire rock star friends, you’re not thinking about the little steps required to create a career like that.

 

Artist Success Tour Bus

You begin to get in your own way and allocate precious resources like money and your limited time to the wrong things. I actually know an artist who blew a privately funded $750,000 record promo budget on a freaking tour bus! A 1.5 million-dollar depreciating asset with a $6,000/month overhead burden for a business that has zero dollars in monthly cash flow.

 

 

 

I guess he wanted to feel famous or something.

 

Now he’s still not famous, has a record deal, and a bus, which he parks in his driveway and plays video games in.

 

Artist Success Compromise Dogs

To be multi-platinum, yes you’re probably going to need radio at some point. But if multi-platinum is your only definition of success it’s super easy to quit because you don’t have $500k to invest in a radio tour that will promise NOTHING but give you the opportunity to make a play.

 

If you reframe your idea of success, which for a lot of you should be as simple as replacing your crappy day job that makes you $20,000 – $60,000 per year with money from sales from your artist career, it becomes doable.

 

Try that first.

 

 

How much money do you need to make to afford to be a full time musician?

 

Some of you write me and tell me you’re currently making $80,000 – over $100,000 per year and would have to at least start there.

 

To me that means the money is more important than the music.

 

 

This is ok, man. I get it, believe me.

 

Just be real with yourself. With THAT kind of discretionary income, you could orchestrate a pretty sick little business but it would require you to be willing to step back on your revenue for a while to get the ball rolling.

 

Start with making your first $1,000.

Artist Success First 1,000

 

Then move on to replacing that money your making at your current job.

 

Then move on to the $100k mark.

 

 

Then move on to bigger things.

 

Don’t let hype shut you down or make you feel like It’s impossible to achieve the dream unless you’re famous.

 

Artists are creating small functioning businesses every day and you certainly don’t want to give up only to find out that everybody is doing it 10 years later and you hate your current job.

 

No matter how much money that current job is making you, that would be the opposite of success.

 

At least for me.

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune.

 

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Failures and Mistakes Feature MEME

There are no failures and mistakes.

Failures and Mistakes

 

You’ve heard that before, rah, rah, rah.  It’s designed to make you feel better, right? It’s so prominent on social media with every other vapid affirmation that we hardly even read it, we almost never stop and soak that in.

 

I get it, believe me!

 

What if there was a REAL GOOD explanation or connection that could be made to spiritually break down exactly what “no mistakes” and “no failure” means?

 

Failures and Mistakes North Star

What if this enlightenment clarified that mistakes and failures were by design; a working part of a grand plan?

 

What if failures and mistakes were necessary?

 

What if this rationalization cleverly explained to your soul’s satisfaction that every failure and mistake was your spiritual “North Star” pulling you back onto your path by causing the failure to happen?

 

As if your supreme destiny said, “Nope, you’re close but no cigar my friend; TRY AGAIN because you’re supposed to be over here.”

 

Maybe that was with a relationship.

 

Maybe a business decision.Failures and Mistakes Connection

 

Maybe a job that you’re not supposed to be at.

 

Maybe a supposed “lost” opportunity that shook your emotional foundation to the point of complete collapse HAPPENED FOR A REASON.

 

Watch this 3-minute video by Oprah. h/t to the 2 Steel Girls (@2SteelGirls) for turning me on to this

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS 3 MINUTE VIDEO

Your “little mind” is where you are not centered, where you don’t know who you really are.

 

Failures and Mistakes Little Mind MEMEWhen you’re in your “little mind” speed bumps, pot holes, challenges, setbacks, failures and mistakes seem catastrophic.

 

Your “big mind” is where you are centered. You have clarity that you are part of something greater than yourself. I’ve spoken about this before in prior articles but I just love the language Oprah uses here.

 

Your big mind is where you relax and listen.

 

When you have the epiphany that the Universe is always as it should be, you don’t freak out about failures and mistakes.

 

Instead you listen.

 

You become STILL.

 

Failures and Mistakes Listen MEME

You breathe and try to receive the message that your supreme destiny is trying to communicate.

 

Failures and mistakes are quite necessary and happen quite often because they are there to WAKE YOU UP.

 

 

You’re in the wrong job.

 

You’re in the wrong relationship whether it be romantic or artistic.

 

Failures and Mistakes Wake Up Alarm Clock MEMEYou’re wasting time doing this because you’re supposed to be doing that.

 

 

For many of you, the terrifying reality is that your supreme calling is not the way you’ve conceived it exactly, at least not as you see it in your head, in your dreams. That’s scary.

 

 

 

I remember when I came to that crossroads.

 

Failures and Mistakes Crossroads MEME

 

 

The reality for me was that I actually was an artist, but not a musical artist as I had been trying to do.  At least not in the way that I pictured it for so many years.

 

I was there for a reason and as such, there was a tremendous amount of serendipity in my life. That is to say things fell into place often.

 

 

 

That’s the sign of a correct path; serendipity.

 

We had some fateful coincidences in my first band Idols of American Youth, but it was filled with tons of failures and mistakes as well.

 

We had far more seemingly accidental fortune in Kidd Gypsy because that was also supposed to happen.

 

Which is funny if you seriously consider the fact that the singer in Idols was AMAZING and I was the singer/front-man in Kidd Gypsy and, as I like to say, “I had to claw my way to middle management” in the vocal department.

 

 

Failures and Mistakes Claw My WayI was supposed to front the band all along. Talent was there but it just didn’t manifest itself in the same way for me as it did for the Idol’s singer.

 

Then another life changing moment when it was time for me to move on to greater things.

 

I sincerely remember thinking as I packed my bags to take advantage of a non-music business opportunity in Los Angeles that this was a step towards something great, the next right thing to do, and that it was all a part of me getting back to the music business somehow.

 

I knew I was supposed to return.

 

Failures and Mistakes Packed My Bags

I didn’t know how.

 

I didn’t know when.

 

I didn’t know why.

 

I did have faith.

 

I WAS listening to my spirit guide, my North Star, the voice of my supreme destiny.

 

While I was in the electronics business working with a company that had a zero damage prototyping soldering solution (which is God-like when you consider how much the first 5 prototype boards cost for whatever widget your reading this on) the music business was changing.

 

Failures and Mistakes iPhoneOnce the smartphone was invented and became super popular, consumers suddenly had choices in their cars with regards to music selection. The radio no longer dictated what we would listen to; instead we became our own DJ’s.

 

Then I moved on to the financial world and learned to build a team, learned to think bigger from friends like Eric Mitchell, and executed these kinds of plays in real life.

 

Then I lost everything.

 

My business because Wall St. closed its doors.

 

My savings because I had $15k per month of advertising expenses alone and ZERO dollars of income for well over a year.

Failures and Mistakes Cash Flow

 

My house because the market crashed and I was suddenly $250k upside down on an intelligent loan that had me with 40% equity when I signed it.

 

All these failures were my North Star, my supreme destiny pointing me back to the music business.

 

Yes, I was an artist.

 

A vastly different kind of artist that what I had originally imagined.

 

Now the serendipity is happening again BIG TIME.

 

My company doubled the first quarter of this year.

 

In the last month I have had more serious conversations with serious artists about marketing (aka opportunities) than I have had the whole previous year combined.

 

Failures and Mistakes Devastation MEMEI’m supposed to be here.

 

The failures were horrible, devastating, and soul sucking to be sure but THEY WERE NECESSARY.

 

When your big mind understands how necessary failures and mistakes are to your journey, you don’t allow yourself to be thrown by a grade or by a circumstance because your life Is greater than any one experience.

 

Your journey is so much bigger than you.

Failures and Mistakes Bigger Than You

 

The end of this Oprah video is the best.

 

It’s where she always asks people what they would say to their younger self and the answer is almost always, in one form or another, “RELAX”.

 

Everything is going to be ok. It’s really going to be ok.

 

 

Let the failures wake you up.

 

Failures and Mistakes Relax Frog MEME

 

 

Let the mistakes give you pause to be still and LISTEN, and LEARN, and IMPROVE.

 

 

 

 

To be a student of the game requires guts, courage, work ethic, and fortitude.

Failures and Mistakes Wall MEME

 

Guts to risk failures and mistakes in the first place. Yes, you actually have to be willing to fail.

 

Oh, by the way, most people think failing on the dream or mission when they read the statement “You have to be willing to fail”. The Daredevils understand it’s not overall failure that this statement is pertaining to, rather, it’s all the little and big failures that will have to be endured to make the dream happen.

 

Courage to rise up from the ashes of one seemingly cataclysmic failure and move forward in the face of fear to your next mistake.

 

Failures and Mistakes PhoenixWork ethic to provide momentum which gives the brain reassurance that the last failure was but a small speed bump because hard work will easily roll over it.

 

Fortitude to internalize the realization that all the small dents and massive calamities are required to win.

 

I want you to win.

 

Eat these petty setbacks for breakfast, down your coffee, get up off your ass and work harder than you’ve ever worked before.

 

Failures and Mistakes Setbacks Breakfast MEME

This is your dream.

 

Don’t blow it by willfully living in your little mind.

 

Be self-aware of your little mind and your big mind.

 

Don’t be overwhelmed by the difficulty because your life and your career is bigger than any one moment or experience.

 

 

 

Failures and Mistakes Definition of Failure meme

 

Your life is not defined by any one person’s definition of failure for you.

 

 

 

If you’re not at ease with yourself right now, THAT’S THE CUE that you’re on a detour and it’s time to think about a change and LOOK for the next opportunity which is probably staring you right in the face as we speak.

 

Failures and Mistakes I Believe in Me Silhouette

 

Failure is just there to point you in a different direction.

 

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune

 

If you found value in this article, please SHARE it and COMMENT below.

 

 

 

 

 

How do you find your sound?

Find Your Sound Feature 1

It’s different for every artist, at least it should be. There has to be attention paid to what the artist is doing creatively so that the sound is what the artist is really, genuinely trying to do or you end up with a dancing chicken. That’s no fun.

 

There also has to be some thought put into the marketplace. This may sound non artistic but I beg to disagree. With some projects, subtle, intelligent changes can be made to cut through the clutter or expand the audience without stifling the art.

 

A bunch of you reading this article believe that to find your sound is whatever you happen to write about which makes it “organic”, more natural, etc.

 

That is true to a degree, however there has to be intentional curation, there has to be serious thought put into what this project is going to sound like, representation, the message, the image, the artistic “lane’. If there isn’t it comes out sounding haphazard and somewhat schizophrenic.

 

Find Your Sound Adele 21

 

 

Thematically, Adele’s 21 was all about her breakup. If she threw in a killer hit song about anything else, it wouldn’t have fit. That’s what I mean by schizophrenic.

 

 

 

 

Just because it’s a hit song doesn’t mean it’s a hit song for you. Here’s a great example.

 

One of my favorite songs last year was Kenny Chesney’s “American Kids”. GREAT song! (OK it really speaks to me and my upbringing in a faded little map dot called Delavan, Wisconsin. Love that map dot)Find Your Sound Kenny Chesney American Kids

 

This was a HUGE hit for Kenny. What you may not know is that “American Kids” was pitched to Lady Antebellum first and they passed on it; appropriately so.

 

What?

 

Find Your Sound Lady A

 

 

Yes, that song is killer, but it wasn’t for them. It didn’t fit their brand so it wouldn’t work right.

 

 

Here’s my point.

 

Finding your sound starts at “30,000 feet” where you begin to craft your artistic lane with the broad strokes first. You have to put some DEEP thought into this because it will become the blueprint that will give guidance to whichFind Your Sound BluePrint songs to pick if they’re outside cuts, which of your songs you should, record and which of your songs you should either let someone else record OR save for a future project.

 

How much thought?

 

 

Marrying a project that is genuinely consonant with the artist from the inside out with an artistic lane that is ideally empty or hopefully not very crowded is an art form.

 

Case Study #1: Bailey James

Find Your Sound Bailey James

 

When I first heard Bailey I was blown away by her voice. She was simply an astonishing little 11-year old girl with an incredibly mature voice. Her instrument is somewhat reminiscent of the great Patsy Cline in tone and her melodic sensibilities.

 

Right away, that’s exciting because I don’t really hear anyone in the country music marketplace that sounds like her; this makes her voice more “identifiable”.

 

What wouldn’t be distinguishable is if she sounded like or was trying to sound exactly like Carrie Underwood, or Miranda Lambert which is usually the case here with most wannabes in Nashville.

Find Your Sound Carrie and Miranda

 

So that’s a step in the right direction.

 

 

Next what is really unusual, is that (now) 13-year old Bailey James genuinely likes old school country like Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, etc.

 

 

 

I think that when your Bailey’s age you HAVE to love 5 Seconds of Summer and Taylor Swift (check!) but other than these two artists she drives her parents crazy listening to, well, “Crazy”.

Find Your Sound Patsy Cline

 

 

Here is unique value proposition #2. If we made a record that was reminiscent of old school country Patsy Cline the project would be in harmony with Bailey’s artistic soul.

 

I would be real. Which is to say it wouldn’t be contrived.

 

Get it?

 

This information began to get my creative juices flowing.

 

What if we made a record that was retro (ish) sounding? At the time there was nothing like this on the radio, (although very recently Maren Morris seems to be doing REALLY well with her very retro sound, salute! This helps my cause).

Find Your Sound What if

 

What if we made the melodies evocative of Patsy Cline which you don’t hear on country radio right now?

 

What if we supported these melodies with old school country chords and chord progressions which you don’t hear on the radio right now?

 

Find Your Sound Country Guitar Chords

 

What if we added a neat artistically harmonious twist? Let’s make the lyrics more like Taylor Swift’s early records.

 

 

There were many reasons for Taylor Swift’s success and one of the big ones is that she and Scott Borchetta created Find Your Sound Taylor Swift Fearlessan artistic lane that was previously non-existent.

 

There were exactly ZERO artists lyrically catering to 9-14 year olds.

 

All country music artists were adult themed lyrically.

 

Here’s the twist. Taylor grew up.

 

Taylor went from:

“She wears short skirts

 I wear T-shirts

She’s cheer captain

       And I’m in the bleachers”

To writing

“I’ve got a long list of ex-lovers,

        They’ll tell you I’m insane

        But I’ve got a blank space baby,

        And I’ll write your name.”

 

Find Your Sound Authenti City

 

 

So who’s speaking for the 9-14 year olds in country music now?

 

 

Keep in mind we haven’t written any songs yet for Bailey’s project.

 

This very thought process led to some serious conversations that I had with Bailey and her parents.

 

Find Your Sound Couple Music CollageIf we make a record like this, we’re going to have to commit to using the internet and touring to build a following as we probably wouldn’t be getting a lot of love from country radio, at least at first. If we wanted love from country radio we’d have to make a record like Kelsea Ballerini, which is fine, but why be derivative just to chase radio?

 

Country radio wouldn’t probably help us because she doesn’t sound like what they’re spinning right now and they don’t want to take chances. They’re losing listeners by the droves every single day.

 

Besides, radio is becoming increasingly less effective in breaking new artists so the money spent on radio promo wouldn’t really be well spent at this particular stage of the game.

Find Your Sound Guitar Music Collage

 

We all agreed that this was the kind of record we wanted to make and we began to get Bailey with the songwriters that were willing to do business our way.

 

I say “our way” because it takes guts and commitment to purposefully write something you know probably isn’t going straight to radio. Writers get paid on the back end, with performance royalties, so why would they want to mess with this?

 

I gathered some writer friends and we went to work. I told the writers that the imagery had to be specific, keep it in the schoolyard. If the lyrics were universal enough that Carrie or Miranda could sell it, they had to go back to the drawing board. I wanted the kids to look at Bailey and say, “She speaks for us. She is our voice.”

 

Melodically we wanted bigger melodies like Patsy Cline. Chord wise we wanted 1960’s country.

 

See what I’m doing here?

Find Your Sound 30,000 feet

 

I have an artist that lives and breathes old school country who is STOKED to make a record in that vein. I also have a vacuum in the market place.

 

Perfect.

 

Moreover, I told Bailey’s parents if we made a record like this Bailey would stick out like a sore thumb from all the Disney bubblegum pop music.

 

We all agreed this was a good thing to “stick out”.

 

Find Your Sound Blueprint Fingerprint

 

This initial understanding of a defined artistic lane was mission critical to picking the songs that made the EP. Bailey and the writers wrote a bunch, we picked 5 Bailey co-writes, 1 outside cut, and they were all melodically and lyrically dialed into the vision.

 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

 

 

 

I have some questions for you.

 

Have you defined your artistic lane?Find Your Sound Define

How much competition is there in your artistic lane?

What kind of thought have you given towards your sound?

 

To find your sound you have to build around your strengths as an artist.

 

Bailey’s strengths, artistically lay in her voice, her love for old school country, and her age which gives us an advantage in the marketplace. This all has to do with the making of her sound, at least a sound that has a chance of standing out in the current marketplace and being heard by someone.

 

So Bailey is a great example of a solo artist whose sound was put together a certain way from the very beginning.

 

But what if you’re a band and you’re songs are already written? Let’s take a look at Van Halen and see exactly what producer Ted Templeman did to create their sound.

Find Your Find Your Sound DLR

 

David Lee Roth is arguably one the very best front men ever to walk on stage (and in the interest of complete transparency I’ll tell you that he’s my favorite. AMAZING LIVE SHOW.)

 

However DLR would never win American Idol.

 

 

 

Ted was smart enough to know that the “live show” attraction of DLR wasn’t going to translate well onto tape. That’s a live thing. Eddie would though.

 

FREE VALUE BOMB: Btw, Templeman who was also a Sr. VP of Warner Brothers Records along with Mo Ostin Find Your Sound Free Value Bombwho was the Chairman, passed twice on Van Halen demos, it didn’t come across on their recordings. They LOVED Eddie and wanted to sign him alone, but didn’t like DLR (Templeman originally wanted to put Sammy Hagar with Eddie!) It wasn’t until they both saw Van Halen live opening for Dokken (whom they were there to see) that they got it and agreed to sign Van Halen.

 

 

Templeman wanted the record to be about the guitar. That’s what was so special. Think about it.

 

COMPARE: Here is a link to one of the earlier Van Halen demos. Let’s just dissect the first song “On Fire”. It’s all there but it’s scattered and a bit out of focus isn’t it? Structurally as well as moment-wise.

  • The harmonic guitar lickFind Your Sound Van_Halen_Demo
  • Occasional badass DLR vocal scream (notice the first high note DLR hits is a real weak sounding falsetto without the signature multi overtone growl that he easily performs later on in the chorus “I’m on FIYAAAAA!”
  • The chorus hook, the vocal arrangement on the pre chorus “I’m hangin’ ten now baby, as I ride your sonic waaaaave” (ascending scream behind wave).
  • The guitar lead

 

Now, listen to VH I album cut of “On Fire” very carefully. The differences can mostly be attributed to Templeman’s input crafting their sound. Finding moments and featuring them.

  • First of all a bunch of fat was cut from the track.
  • The guitar was panned all the way to the left with only the reverb return coming out of the right. (Definitely a Find Your Sound Van Halen Irevved up guitar sound that Templeman credits completely to Eddie)
  • Drums and bass were all the way to the right with DLR straight up the middle. (This abnormal mix strategy FEATURED the guitar.)
  • Bombastic beginning chord progression before the signature riff starts.
  • Notice, from the get go, the recording is loaded with all kinds of guitar licks filling up the vocal holes, featuring Eddie’s guitar prowess.
  • Notice Templeman LOVED the harmonic guitar lick and featured it making it a recurring guitar hook. VH did it on the demo, Templeman did it more.
  • The vocal melody was re-crafted subtly but it’s genius because it’s more powerful and memorable (more question/answer on the melody…do you hear it?)
  • The end of the guitar solo was changed a bit to give Eddie a “lily pad” to land on giving the lead, which was ascending and creating tension, resolution at the end.
  • All the falsetto voices from DLR are badass strong tone with signature growl that was intermittent on the demo. Many are doubled.

 

So to find YOUR sound you need to think like a record executive and create a lane with little or no competition. You also need to think like a producer and bring out the strengths of the act on the recording.

 

Sometimes you just need to write a BUNCH to hone in on your sound. The Beatles wrote at least 50-150 songs before they began to get it.

 

Find Your Sound Microphone

 

Last thing. Both the artists in these case studies are extremely talented. Both of them needed outside help to focus the talent and make it really shine for an audience.

 

 

Who’s helping you?

Stay

In

Tune.

 

If you found this article valuable, please SHARE and COMMENT on it. Thank you!

The Climb 600x315

I want you to climb.

I want you to succeed.

As per your many requests, I am happy to FINALLY announce that I have another way for artists and songwriters to consume the information I share in the form of a new podcast called “The C.L.I.M.B.”.

 

This new podcast is LIVE and available for download now. (of course, it’s no charge so ENJOY!)

 

Leverage The Climb FeatureIf you read my blog, you already know I’m a bit of a podcast geek. You’ve heard me quote many of my favorite podcasts including Tim Ferris and Tai Lopez in my weekly articles. I really believe in keeping my finger on the pulse of inspirational, motivational, and educational content for my own soul. Of course, I LOVE sharing this energy with you.

 

Why “The C.L.I.M.B.”? Well, it’s an acronym which stands for “Creating Leverage In the Music Business.” And that’s our goal – to help indie artists and songwriters like YOU create leverage, which is is defined as “strategic advantage; power to act effectively.”

 

Yes, you read that right, I said “our”. huh?

The Climb Man vs Row

 

To help me spread the gospel, so-to-speak, I am thrilled to announce my co-host and  hit songwriter Brent Baxter. Brent has written hits for multi-platinum artists like Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Lady Antebellum, Joe Nichols, and more. Brent is the founder of Man vs. Row (I often share his awesome “Wordplay Thursday” interactive blog for my songwriters and you devout readers will recognize a few guest posts on my site) which helps songwriters turn pro by teaching the art, the craft, and the business of songwriting. You can find Brent at ManvsRow.com so reach out and say HELLO!

Brent Chair Thumbnail

 

Brent and I will take turns guiding each episode. Brent’s episodes will focus on songwriting and music publishing business – areas he knows  all too well from his years in the music business as a songwriter.

 

My episodes will be aimed at helping indie artists with marketing, understanding the music business, production, creative development, etc. Naturally, I’ll focus more on the artist side of things.

 

Brent and I aim to bring you a ton of value with each episode, and I hope you’ll check it out. The first 5 episodes are LIVE NOW on iTunes and Stitcher. Please subscribe and download ALL the available episodes today. We want to hit iTunes “New and Noteworthy” so more people will see the podcast and we can help the most people possible so please SHARE it if the content resonates with you.

 

PLEASE take a second and leave a rating and review if you like what you hear.

 

Here are the links:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE C.L.I.M.B. ON iTUNES

 

If you don’t have iTunes, you can listen to the podcast on our website TheClimbShow.com

 

Thanks for taking the time, it really means a lot to me.

 

I LOVE the way we sign off on each episode, “We’ll see you at the top!”

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

Johnny D.

 

20 Biggest Marketing Mistakes

20-Marketing-Mistakes-Songwriting-logo

20-Marketing-Mistakes-songwriting-and-music-business

 

This past week Kelly and I were honored to be panelists on Grammy nominee Amanda Williams’SongwritingandMusicBusiness.com songwriting conference. Whoa, let me tell you Amanda and Todd put together an informative, well organized, event that had attendees rubbing elbows and getting their music heard in front of many music industry professionals including, managers, publishing company executives, record executives, live performance coaches, and social media experts. There were many panels, events, networking, and performance opportunities during the day at the lovely Preston Hotel in Nashville.

One of the highlights was definitely Amanda Williams performing “Asstastic”…just sayin’.

20 Marketing Mistakes Amanda WIlliams Big Stage image

I am quite sure there were more than a few new songs written as artists and songwriters took their long day and extended it to jump on impromptu collaborations at the pool every day after midnight.

What a sweet vibe, man.

Kelly and I had a blast! We also became aware of several amazing artists we invited to submit to the TV show that we are casting. One writer we saw happened to look like a perfect fit for an artist we are currently developing.

 

 

The introductions have already been made.

Additionally we began a relationship with the management from a Barbados duo that we may just do some business with. Both Kelly and I were blown away by the talent and relished the environment provided to meet these people and interact.

I’ve been telling y’all about this event for well over a month now. Many of you continually email me with stories of your networking challenges, frustrations with your progress, and questions on how to “get in the business” deeper so you can make a living at it. Well, here was the PERFECT opportunity.

Why weren’t you there?

One of the breakout sessions I was asked to head up was a social media/marketing session. During this tutorial I got to thinking about the most common mistakes EVERYONE from indie artists to major labels are making with marketing in the new music business.

 

So here’s a list of my top biggest marketing mistakes

  1. Social media is about THEM not you – There are many clever ways to get what you want by thinking about them first. Start 20 Marketing Mistakes NOT YOUproviding something for them, cool quotes, inspiration, humor, knowledge, etc. Start talking about them, asking about them etc. I told a story of the Twitter campaign we did a year ago for an artist. This fan tweets that he’s CRANKING the song in his garage, drinking beer, and LOVING IT! Instead of basking in the glory (I was tweeting as the artist at the time) I asked a question. Which lead to an answer. Which lead to another question. This happened just 4 times and that guy invited the whole band to STAY AT HIS HOUSE in Texas when they came through on tour. 4 questions = Superfan
  2. Hype doesn’t work – Have you ever heard the phrase “A person is smart, people are stupid”? Have you ever heard PT Barnum’s famous quote “Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd”? There is an energy in a crowd that speaks to our core need to be a part of something; we are wired up to want to belong. When we see someone on file0002005996090a stump with 30 people around him there is an implied power given to the speaker. How else did he get all these people to stop and listen? Mass media like TV and radio put the speaker in a similar but largely amplified position of power. A Donald Trump-esque hype speech actually works in mass media scenario or on a stump in front of a crowd, however, social media and email interaction is always consumed 1 on 1; privately. Now, imagine someone totally hyping a product during private conversation with you. Total turnoff right? If you must hype yourself the time to do it is at a live show where you pack a crowd in; they’ll believe whatever you tell them. If you propagandize through social media and email they will think you’re an idiot. Stop it.
  3. No list building and lead capture strategy– OMG I talk to artists every day who play for huge audiences during the summer. When it’s over they have nothing. This is a perfect time to capture phone numbers or email addresses…nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd,20 Marketing Mistakes List Building right? There are many companies like CallLoop.com who provide text capture technology that connects with your CRM (aWeber, Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, etc.). Give away a song in exchange for their phone number. Text messages have a 99% open rate. Squeeze pages are a super effective way to capture email addresses in exchange for a free track(s) which will expose the consumer to your music; win, win, win. Work out a deal with the bar owner to pony up a $25 bar tab (costs him about $4) that you would award at the end of the night to a lucky person you choose from the list they just opted into (works like a champ)
  4. Y’all record before you have an audience – To quote my friend Rick Barker, “would you open a hamburger stand in a vegan community?” Social media, YouTube, Blogging, and LIVE SHOWs are killer ways to build up a following before you release a product. Otherwise it’s a vanity project, which is cool, but you can’t really be pissed it isn’t selling, ya know?
  5. You’re trying to get “laid” on the 1st or 2nd date – Social media initiates the relationship and allows you to deepen it. Clever email campaigns can further deepen a relationship. There HAS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP before you ask for the sale. Period. You can’t just 20 Marketing Mistakes Getting Laidput a compelling PPC ad or tweet up that instantly drives people to iTunes to “get to know you”. Consumers will say “screw you”. However, we all know someone who purchased a CD to support an artist they “know”. See the difference?
  6. Crappy unproduced product – Remember how you felt when you bought the last product that totally disappointed you? Odds are you need help SOMEWHERE. Maybe you’re a great writer but not a producer. Maybe you’re a great singer but not a great writer. Maybe your lyrics aren’t as strong as your melodies. Identify the weak suit(s) and find help to make your music better. Just because you, your mate, and your mom like it doesn’t mean anybody else will; they are always going to encourage you. Find out what people think about the track on social media and get your answer. We had an artist that we did one single on and promoted it on Twitter. We got 2,000 downloads (giving it away free) in a couple months. This was a great litmus test because people responded and LOVED the track. Yes, art is subjective. But successful artists reach beyond their friends and family so if everyone else doesn’t get it you’ve got a hobby not a career.
  7. You don’t have a website and therefore no web store – Since you’re an indie artist and you will doing all the work to drive traffic, why not drive fans to your OWN STORE where you get 100% of the money? Yes, you will need a presence on sites like iTunes, Spotify, and CD baby because healthy percentages of fans prefer to buy there, but many will buy directly from you if you tell them to; especially after you have created a relationship. This is just common sense, isn’t it?
  8. You’re not bundling – Have you ever gone to a bar to order a cocktail and the server gives you 2 choices of top-shelf liquor to choose from? You either choose one of them or have the balls to say, “Give me the cheap stuff”; this is called “upselling”. 30% of your buyers will be willing to be upsold if you have something for them to spend more money on. Old CD’s, demo tapes, posters, set lists, autographed 8×10’s, t-shirts, hats, and key chains, make for great bundles. Check out this company for amazing bundling products that are simply unbelievable
  9. You’re only on 1 social media platform – While it is definitely counterproductive to try and be on all of them, at least 2, preferably 3 are a solid choice. Remember MySpace?
  10. You’re overexposing your act – get outta town, man. If you play every week or twice a month or even once a month (depending on how big your town is) in the same market, it’s too much. If any iconic superstar played every week down the street people would get sick of seeing them, I mean there’s always next week, right?
  11. You aren’t making your shows an event – When we got our start we opened for a band in Minneapolis called Hericane Alice. They were the biggest band in the Twin Cities at the time. They played about once a quarter and brought in FULL national act production and lights. They always sold out. When I lived in L.A. I would book a show and buy a keg. I’d tell people to pay the $10 at the show then beers were on me at my house afterward till the keg crapped out. It was an EVENT, an anticipated social gathering. What can you do to step up your game here?
  12. You haven’t studied content marketing – Social media is about content marketing so you better learn this fast. Gary Vaynerchuk is a pioneer in content marketing, learn from him. He says content marketing is like boxing, jab, jab, jab, RIGHT HOOK (which is your 20 Marketing Mistakes Gary V“call to action”) So content, content, content, then a call to action to a squeeze page of some sort or text based opt-in technology. Get it?
  13. Your live show sucks! – C’mon man! This is totally a pet peeve of mine. When we toured we worked our ASSES off on creating a compelling live show. 99.9% of the time I see a band they are totally boring even if they can play well. Have you ever seen Bruno Mars live? His show is one of the best. WORK. PERFORM. GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE. That’s is what people want to see.
  14. You’re panhandling or worse, begging – Wade Sutton shared a great quote with me last weekend. He said “Take the napkin off your chest and put it on your IMG_2815arm”. In other words, stop asking “What can you do for me” and start asking “what can I do for you” to the people that can help advance your career. “Making millions off you in the future is a weak and markedly naïve pitch. Intern, clean, run, do whatever it takes to create a relationship. Jon Bon Jovi used to clean the Power Plant in NYC to gain access to studio time where he recorded over 50 versions of “Runaway”. One of them was picked for a WAPP compilation record, which in turn made the song a hit single, which ended in a record deal for Jon. Trent Reznor did the same to gain the access he needed to record “Pretty Little Hate Machine” from Nine Inch Nails. Both of these men accomplished this in an environment where records cost the 2014 equivalent of $550,000 to make. Now you can do it with a killer producer for less than 10% of that…what’s your excuse?
  15. You’re not adding images to every Tweet – images significantly improve open rates. Add images. Learn to Meme because it’s a great way to add your unique perspective to any image. Addtext.com is a killer resource for memes and not-for-nothing it’s a fun creative release. You might surprise yourself.
  16. You don’t fully understand the Sales Funnel – You need a sales funnel. A relationship building process that uses effective language to convert email addresses into cash. Once you have figured out the sales funnel portion you only need to focus on 2 marketing areas; traffic and average revenue per email address; the rest is mathematically predictable.
  17. You don’t understand the definition of marketing – Remember marketing is defined as influencing buying decisions. Distribution is where they go to purchase your music once the buying decision has been made.
  18. You won’t pay for coaching – This past weekend was an amazing chance for songwriters and artists to meet and create relationships, learn, evaluate, regroup, plan, and strategize using accurate information from many industry pros. With all the Woe-is-me emails I get about how hard it is to get ahead and meet the right people here was a great opportunity. No money is not an excuse; sorry. Jon Bon Jovi20 Marketing Mistakes Earl Dibbles Jr. found a way around a $550,000 hurdle. So did Trent Reznor, so did many artists. FIND A WAY TO WIN and stop getting in your own way. Sell a guitar, get an extra job, do whatever it takes to learn what you need to learn to succeed at what you love to do. IT’s worth it, right? Some great resources to consider are Rick Barker for virtual management, Wade Sutton for live show coaching and PR development, Amanda Williams for publishing, placement and copyright knowledge, James R. Meny for vocal instruction (we spent TONS of money on vocal lessons when we toured, everyone needs vocal lessons).
  19. You won’t focus on one genre – I get it, you love many genres and you’re talented enough to do more than one genre justice. If you can’t figure out a way to combine them into a stylistic thing, then choose the one you really excel at and go there. Consumers can’t digest a record with many different genres on it. It doesn’t mean you are abandoning the other genres you love so much. It means you are focusing on one first because it’s smarter for your career.
  20. You don’t believe it can really happen by marketing online – Want proof? Earl Dibbles Jr.is the alter ego of indie country artist Granger Smith. Check out both sites. Earl has over 1 million FB likes and Granger is over 276,000. I know for a fact there are 4 people working this marketing juggernaut. They are geniuses, they cracked the code because they wanted to figure it out. They move 7 figures worth of product every year and, of course, all the major labels want him…well both of them I suppose. LOL. They aren’t biting. Why would they? This could be you if you developed a passion for cracking the code.

 

 

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Are You Smart Enough

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

how to make records?
Just because you own a Pro-Tools rig and can record music to present to the world doesn’t mean you should; it doesn’t mean it’s good for your brand. OMG, these are GREAT tools for endless exploration. I was, and continue to be fascinated with my rig. I used to fly Kelly out to L.A. and pay him an hourly (bro rate) to help me mix my projects so I could LEARN how to make records! But there is a difference between doodling in your home studio and making records. The sooner you realize that the sooner you will gain some real momentum.

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

how to orchestrate proper arrangements?

I hear the home projects that you put out there for the world. Most of you create arrangements (like we all do when we are beginning) that are WAY too busy with God knows what recorded right over the vocal. They typically don’t work which makes you sound amateur.

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

that while art is subjective but it can be objective too?

Some songs just suck.file4671348049272

Some bands just suck.

Some singers just suck.

Some songs say absolutely nothing.

Most songs are overloaded with cliches.

Some recordings are sonically shitateous

Some recordings have terrible performances

Can you really hear the difference?

Do you have the communication skill set to get the most out of your band in a recording situation?

Most of you can hear some of the difference but not all of the difference so stop being so sensitive.

Smart Educatin vs Experience imageIt takes EXPERIENCE to hear if the bass player is locking up with the drummer.

It takes EXPERIENCE to hear when it doesn’t happen and make a performance call on the record.

It takes EXPERIENCE to get to a frame of mind as a songwriter that allows you to judge your own “A” songs from the “B” and “C” songs objectively.

After all, if you put the finger-painting up on the world’s refrigerator, the world is going to judge. The world is not your mother so the world doesn’t care about your feelings, and they will vote by not voting; by not buying. They WILL make a decision about your art based on what they hear.

How are your sales going btw?

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

how to manage your brand?

Putting your home recorded demos, live band rehearsals, partial recordings, home studio recordings, work tapes, song ideas, etc up on Soundcloud and Reverbnation is a HORRIBLE move for your brand and reputation. Imagine if your art were an unfinished prototype car you were presenting to consumers for the purposes of commerce. Now imagine it only had a chasse, 4 tires, 1 seat, a dashboard, a steering wheel, and all the necessary pedals.

Don’t be pissed that consumers will make a judgment because they can’t see your body design.kf174

They can’t see the color it will come in.

They can’t see the rest of the seats to comprehend the functionality of your interior design to their lives.

They are scared because it doesn’t look SAFE without the body around it.

They can’t FEEL, COMPREHEND, UNDERSTAND, and therefore CONSUME your works in progress because it’s still in progress, so WTF are you putting it out there? People will JUDGE based on what they see and hear, not what is in your head!

You can only create a reputation for what you have done, not what you are going to do. Save the works in progress for your band mates and other artist friends who understand the process, they’ll get it; consumers won’t. Hell, I hate bringing A&R reps in until the mix is finished and they’re in the damn business!

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

how to mix properly?

Smart Mix imageA killer mix is an art form and incredibly important to your dream. A killer mix requires thousands of hours of practice and an expensive rig.

Did you know that mix specialists like Tom Lord-Algeand Chris Lord-Alge sometimes get $5,000 per song and crank out 3 mixes per day? Why could they possibly command this kind of money if what they were offering wasn’t so important?

Did you know that Guns & Roses went through several different mix engineers before settling on Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero? Yes, all of the mix engineers had a pedigree but Thompson and Barbiero got it right. So why are you mixing your project?

MIX for the love of God!! Explore!! Learn!! But learn from people with experience and certainly don’t release your own mixes just yet! Most of you have 1,000 to do before you are going to get any good at it.

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

How badly you need a producer?

Just because you or your friend went to recording school doesn’t mean you know how to make records! Producing is its own art form as well! Kelly got a degree sound engineering too, but the only reason he got his first internship was because he outworked all the other interns and had a better attitude. His degree had little to do with it and he didn’t know how to make records right out of school. Besides, why is it that most of the iconic bands you love STILL use producers?

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

What producing is exactly?

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

the difference between a great live player and a great studio musician?

You may be a killer live band, but some of your members aren’t good enough to be on the record. Live is here and (SNAP) gone, but the record is forever. Stop fighting for the whack_the_bagbrotherhood/sisterhood to stand tall in the face of the ugly music business and start fighting for making the best record possible; it’ll sell better. Don’t worry, if the weak links are dedicated, they will grow into the role over time. Don’t hold your potential momentum hostage over someone’s feelings. You would be astounded at how many of your favorite band’s records didn’t include all the members of your favorite bands.

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

how much work will be required to make ANY dream like this a reality? (Better stop judging)

Think of YOUR story,

YOUR past,

YOUR history,

Now think of how you would feel about anyone judging your struggle, making statements about what you feel, how easy it was for you, etc. Pissed off yet? How could they possibly know? They weren’t there every day. Guess what, you weren’t in anybody else’s struggle but your own, man, so don’t make the mistake of assuming how “easy” it was for some artists who appeared on your RADAR overnight. It took them forever to get there, and whether you like them or not, they worked harder at it than you are right now, so shut up and get to work!

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

success requires a team?Smart Team A-Team

Nobody can do it alone.

Who is your current team?

Who is your dream team?

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

about the value of a mentor? Everybody needs mentorship in everything.

You have to learn to tie your shoes.

You have to learn to count to 10.

Hardcore drug addicts have to learn to do drugs the proper way to avoid infection or death.

You have to learn how to be a master carpenter.

You have to learn how to be a master plumber.

You have to learn how to do your job on the first day, first week, the first month, etc.

Why would you kid yourself that you know enough to put out acompetitive record that you, engineered, produced, wrote, sang, and played all by yourself?

Are you planning to market it yourself? Do you really know what you’re doing?

Don’t you want to learn?

 

Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

relationships are mission critical to success?

There are a million singer songwriters far better than the ones that are currently making a great living right now that will, unfortunately, never be heard because they either suck at creating relationships or they truly believe the opportunity they need is going to come knocking at their apartment door one day while they are high on the couch watching TV.

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Are You Smart Enough To Know That You Don’t Know

consistency is the key to success in the music business?

Success in your music career, any career, your life, your relationships, etc is all based on what you do consistently every day. Your relationship with your significant other is not based on one event, one amazing evening, one sentence, one moment, one “big break”, etc. it’s based on all the “little things” you do every day to show your commitment.

Why would you feel that your music career would be any different?

 

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