Tag Archive for: Tom Petty

Music Influence 2

In Nashville the tourist trap honkytonks are all located on Broadway between 1st and 5th streets. The North side of Broadway gets 40% more foot traffic than the south side.Music Nashville Lower Broadway 2

 

Location, Location, Location.

 

Here’s the deal, in this market example, the foot traffic is a reality regardless of what bars are there. Putting a business along that street will guarantee you a certain amount of customer traffic. Putting your business on the North side of Broadway will guarantee 40% more opportunities for commerce.

 

Online, when it comes to consumers and new music/artists, there is no “existing foot traffic”. At least none that will pay your bills in any real way.

 

Music Marketing Infographic

 

Platforms like iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, etc. promised exposure to new indie artists. They imply that you’re placing your music within a framework of “digital foot traffic” and through the popularity of said traffic, created by the already branded, famous artists, the indie artists will find an audience.

As if the traffic overflow would create some kind of magical cornucopia of consumers that are interested in spending their precious time exploring new artists.

 

POPPYCOCK! This is a lie. Don’t believe it.

 

They haven’t been able to make that happen as of today.

 

Consumers go to a digital distribution platform to find something they’re looking for, not to browse or “shop”. Consumers always went to record stores back in the day to find what they were looking for, not to shop; this behavior hasn’t changed.Music Online Shop icon

 

 

Here’s a factual observation to bring some persepectivve to this reality. When women go “shopping” it doesn’t always mean they’re going to purchase anything; they enjoy the thrill of the chase as much as the kill. When men “shop” we know exactly what we have to get, we find the store that has it, we do business with that store and then leave. IN AND OUT.

Music Shopping List MEME

Music consumers shop like men.

 

If I put a gun to your head could ANYONE tell me about 1 artist who “broke” on iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Deezer, Slacker, etc.? Is there even one story about an artist who was NOBODY until they put their music up on one of these sites and then found throngs of loyal fans and started a career?

 

 

 

 

 

Music Marketing iconYOU will have to create the traffic.

The traffic will come from marketing that YOU do.

YOU will have to create the buzz.

YOU will have to influence the minds of these consumers into responding to and purchasing your music.

 

The big question I’m always asking myself (you should be asking yourself) is this: If radio isn’t going to expose the new music to the masses (because consumers have choices and will predictably change the channel to find familiar music), what has to happen for an artist to break?

 

What do I have to do to get ME to break?

 

Music Marketing BEFORE Meme

 

Consider this, in the-old-school-radio-breaks-your-single-world, the music, i.e. the single, was the first interaction consumers had with an artist.

 

Because music was the first experience a consumer had with a new artist, creating buzz and building a brand was initially about the music.

 

You were essentially forced to sit through an unfamiliar song on terrestrial radio while you waited to hear the DJ play ‘your jam” and if the new song was a hit song, you’d probably like it. Then you heard it 6 more times (however long that took was directly related to how much time you spent listening to the radio) and your buying decision was greatly influenced as the killer new song became more and more “familiar” to you. At some point, you were swayed enough that you would go and spend your hard earned money on that new artist’s record or CD.

 

Since artists hate to talk about commerce, I’ll serve up another way, it takes 7 listens (and however many spins in a marketplace that is required for a consumer to hear it 7 times) for your hit song to become someone else’s “jam”.

Music Old School MEME

 

Think about this, it’s a psychological phenomenon that most consumers will always change the channel until they find what they are familiar with. If consumers now have the capability to constantly change the channel, to an infinite amount of stations, until they find “their jam”, how will they be exposed to the new music?

The music is no longer the first interaction a consumer will have with an artist.

 

Whoa!

 

Does that make sense?

 

Music New Music Handcuff Image

 

Before, consumers were forced to suffer through the exposure process, now we don’t have to. We get instant gratification in playing music that is already familiar to us.

 

Your music is important, don’t get me wrong.

 

 

But your music is not going to be the first thing that turns heads and creates a buzz with consumers anymore.

 

They won’t listen to your new song on the radio when they can so easily find their jam.

 

How is it going to work?

 

Wrong Marketing YOU finger 2It’s you, my artist friends, it’s you.

 

YOU are now the first contact, the first interaction, the first connection consumers will experience, if they LIKE you, THEN they will hear your music.

 

You’d better be marketing accordingly, or you’ll experience the crappy sales numbers that all the big dogs are dealing with.

 

Music Drake Album Cover

 

 

 

I think there is only one record that has gone platinum this year, y’all.

 

The old marketing method doesn’t work anymore and the sales numbers prove it.

 

 

 

Here is some data to support my statement.

 

Let’s first look at the history of pricing.Music TP Comparison Meme

 

In 1978 Tom Petty’s Damn the Torpedoes was released and the price was $8.00 which, when put into an inflationary calculator, is worth $28.80 in 2015 dollars. Tom Petty’s new CD Hypnotic Eye (released in 2015) like everyone else’s CD’s can be purchased for $10.99

 

The price-per-widget has declined by 62%.

 

Let’s look at unit sales.

 

Industry Shania Twain UP

 

The bestselling country music record 10 years ago was Shania Twain’s Up! which sold 11 million copies. The bestselling country music record last year was Jason Aldean’s Old Boots, New Dirt which barely sold 1 million.

 

Unit sales are down 90% from 10 years ago.

 

 

 

So, price per CD is down 62% and STILL consumers are only purchasing 10% of what they used to purchase just 10 years ago.

Worthless Empty Pockets Image License Barabara Nixon

Photo: Barbara Nixon

 

Think about this devastating market reality a different way to drive home the incredible impact. What if your current boss told you he was cutting your pay by 62% AND cutting your hours by 90%?

This is a marketing failure.

 

 

 

You may be thinking that the economy is to blame; people are holding on to their money these days.

 

Music Gas to Water MemeI would counter with the fact that every day, the poorest people in this country walk into a gas station and pay more than 3 times the price of a gallon of gasoline for something they can obtain FOR FREE; bottled “purified” water, A.K.A. tap water.

 

 

Think about that. For a 1 liter bottle of the cheapest water you’re going to pay between $1.50 and $1.99.

 

There are 3.78 liters in a US Gallon. With the cheapest bottle that would equate to $5.55/gallon for bottled tap water that you can get for free.

 

It’s not the money.

Music 1 Million Sold MEMEA

Why then, if it’s not the money, are sales down?

 

Jason Aldean had just as much money to promote as Shania Twain.

 

With every single going into heavy rotation, Aldean had just as much exposure on the radio as Twain.

 

Aldean was the bestselling country music artist last year, people are paying to see his sold out arena shows. Heavy rotation on terrestrial radio means consumers are definitely familiar with Aldean’s music and ticket sales mean they definitely like him, so why then aren’t they buying his record?

 

Whenever you pass on purchasing a product you are familiar with and you actually like, it’s for only one reason.

You don’t think it’s worth it.

 

Music 555 per Gallon MEME

 

These days, the consumer buying decisions are being influenced by the artists themselves, not the artist’s music; at least not at first.

 

Now, you may say “They won’t buy the record because they can hear the music for free on YouTube, or get it through their Spotify/Pandora subscriptions, etc.

 

 

You may be right, but again, I give you the bottled water example.

 

 

 

 

The sales numbers show that artists who focus on relationship with their fans sell more records than artists who are old school and let the “music do the talking”. Fans don’t trust a relationship with the music or song like they used to.Music 7 Million MEME

 

Thus, Taylor Swift sells 7 million units with no Country radio support and Jason Aldean, the darling of Country radio, barely sells 1 million.

 

Any indie artist that manages to send a project to duplication has no problem selling the first 50 units.

 

Both of these artist examples sold CD’s because the buyers felt they had a relationship with them.

 

That’s the key. The music can deepen the relationship, but initially the music is essentially useless. The artist’s interactions, talent, and relationship with the fan is going to initiate the connection. Something compelling, clever, honest, truthful, and spiritual will be the catalyst.

 

If this concept makes sense to you, why on earth would you wait until the music is finished being recorded to begin to market it?

 

Let that one marinate inside your head for a second.

 

Music Traffic Marketing YOU DO MEME

 

If making connections is now the way to get people interested in listening to your music you shouldn’t be waiting for anything. The old school methodology of “waiting till the record is done to promote it” is obsolete if consumers aren’t going to hear the music first.

The old school way requires the music to be the catalyst for the sales, for the artist/fan relationship, so it would make sense to wait because you needed the music to do the marketing.

 

 

But if you’re not initially marketing with your first single, you have nothing to wait for.

 

Get it?

 

Radio will continue to lessen in its importance with marketing. That is to say that, in the future, radio will help to “spread the word” but it will no longer be “creating the buzz” and introducing you to the world.Music_Earl_Dibbles_Jr

 

Your proof lies in the sales figures from Taylor Swift, Earl Dibbles Jr., and every indie artist who ever released a shrink-wrapped duplicated project.

 

 

The question is, what are you going to do about it?

 

Stay

In

Tune.

 

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Signature Strength Pickle Jar Feature Image

I don’t want you to be delusional about your talent.

Signature Strength Rock Climbing

 

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. Resignation is confirmed desperation.”

 

Wow.

 

I believe that everyone has a genius, and most people are busy working on something that has nothing to do with their genius simply to pay the bills and fall in line with societal norms.

 

There lies the quiet desperation.

 

I also know that many of you are suffering in your artist careers because you are too busy focusing on the wrong thing. You’re forcing something you think you’re good at while ignoring your real genius.

 

Signature_Strength_Holy_Grail

 

The lack of results from this approach creates an abyss of frustration and despair that eventually engulfs an artist like The Gorge of Eternal Peril from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

 

 

I want to touch on the idea that many of you are leading lives of quiet desperation simply because you are delusional about what Tai Lopez calls your “signature strength”.

Signature Strength Gymnastics

Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying that you’re delusional about your ability to make a living as an artist. I’m saying many of you have to identify, evaluate, and build a career on your signature strength so you CAN make a living as an artist.

 

You must build success on your strengths.

 

You do what you can to strengthen your weaknesses to be well rounded, but you don’t create the empire on something that is artistically dim.

 

Signature Strength American Idol Image

 

The artistic misunderstanding is prevalent in many of the American Idol contestants. They are delusional that their signature strength is vocal prowess, which is what American Idol is ALL ABOUT.

 

Why do they not see that most of the very judges they seek to impress could not win on this show?

 

How did some of these judges become hugely popular as artists if they couldn’t win Idol? I mean, if they weren’t AMAZING singers than how did they break through the public awareness?Signature Strength AI Collage

 

 

They played to their signature strengths, that’s how.

 

 

I’ll give you a couple examples of what I’m talking about.

 

As many of you already know, I was an artist in the late 80’s and through half of the 90’s. I was in a hair band called Kidd Gypsy. I toured for roughly 7 years of my life making a living recording and playing music.

Signature Strength Kidd Gypsy

 

Bliss.

 

Here’s the thing, Kidd Gypsy took TONS of vocal lessons so we could dominate on our harmonies.

 

We liked big harmonies and we DID dominate.

 

 

The vocal lessons were good for me as a front man so I could sing in tune enough to keep the crowd (I always joked that I “clawed my way to middle management in the vocal talent sector). My strength was not in my vocal chops (I really didn’t have any), rather my vocal tone and my ability to perform live and entertain people.Signature_Strength_Kidd_Gypsy

 

I could sell the lyrics on stage.

 

I could sell the sex appeal on stage.

 

Mick Jagger was never going to win any vocalist of the year awards either.

 

Signature Strength Mick Jagger

Get it?

 

Let’s go one step further, I also was aware that because of my weakness in the vocal department, the harmonies would bolster the strength and appeal of our band.

All the songs had big vocal harmonies in the choruses which diverted attention from the fact that while I was (usually) singing in tune, the melodies were much more powerful with harmonies arranged around them than they were if I sung them alone.

 

Harmonies WORKED for us.

 

Johnny singing alone, didn’t.

 

Here’s another real truth to drive this point home.Signature Strength Guitar God Collage

 

The hair band genre was built on guitar Gods; shredders is what they used to call them.

 

I absolutely LOVE the shredders like Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, Randy Rhoads, etc.

 

I always wanted to be a shredder.

 

I practiced incessantly when I was a kid.

 

I didn’t have the right hand, man.

Alas, I was never going to be a shredder.

 

There was a number of years where I lamented the fact that I couldn’t be a shredder.

 

I was depressed.

Angry.

Frustrated.

Signature Strength Desperatoin Head Between The KneesLiving a life of quiet desperation.

 

See my point?

 

I got good enough to where I added musical value to the band and my style of playing actually complimented Darrell’s (our lead guitar player) panache quite nicely.

 

Once I came to the realization that my signature strength was not going to be shredding on the guitar, the quiet desperation dissipated quickly and gently into the night.

I let it go.Signature Strength Genuine Authentic Self Oprah Quote

 

What are you lamenting?

Have you considered the possibility that you may be frustrated because you’re focusing on a weakness instead of a strength?

 

What have people (including strangers) always complimented you on your entire life?

 

Build on that.

 

I know for a fact many of you are focused on not focusing when it comes to your “sound” or your genre.

Signature Strength Unfocused

 

I hear it all the time, “Dear Johnny, I love Reggae, Rock, Pop, R&B, Rap, and Country. I want to do all these genres and don’t want to ignore any of them.” “Can I make a record where each song is a different genre?”

NO.

At least not if you want anyone to care about it.

 

Here’s why.

You really want to attend to your core competency, your signature strength, your real genius, etc.

This approach will ensure you are the most genuine artist you can be by accenting your strength instead of forcing a weakness that you happen to be delusional about.Signature Strength 5 Percent Rule

 

Abide by the 5% rule.

 

You want to concentrate on whatever talent you have that would put you in the 95th to 100th percentile in a global competition.

 

Maybe you are in the top 5% in a globally competitive market when it comes to singing rock but you are not in country, reggae, R&B, etc.

 

You can’t be THAT good at writing, singing, and performing everything.

 

Signature Strength Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, who is maybe the greatest basketball player of all time, thought his supreme athletic ability would translate well into baseball, because he actually loved baseball MORE than basketball (if you can believe that).

He sucked. Forget about the major leagues, he sucked in the minors.

 

In basketball he is considered a GOD among men.

 

In baseball, utterly forgettable.

 

Signature Strength David Lee Roth

 

 

David Lee Roth is one of my favorite rock star front men. He KNEW where his bread was buttered; a whiskey vocal tone, HUGE personality, and sex appeal. He’s never tried to pretend he could sing super rangy love ballads, so he was never artistically unfulfilled by pushing himself to do something he didn’t excel at.

 

Instead, he focused on this strengths. He dominated a live performance, and he kept his vocal licks to a limited blues range (on recordings) and did it with a stylistic flair that was different and cool, man. (The DLR vocal “Howls”, doubled on tape, were like a sex call to all women, SO FREAKIN’ COOL!!). He was, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest front men of all time, definitely in the top 5%.

 

 

 

Tom Petty isn’t going to blow you away with a 6 octave vocal range either. Listen to ANY Tom Petty song, he emphasizes simple, addictive melodies. Nothing too complicated or rhythmically busy (I won’t…baaack…down). He knows his strengths, and crafts his art to accentuate the positive.Signature Strength Tom Petty

 

What I’m saying is that you have to be honest with yourself and what your real talent is.

 

 

If you’re not getting the kind of traction you want, maybe you’re a little delusional.

 

Are you an artist that should be writing simple Petty-like melodies and you’re trying to be more complicated?

 

Signature Strength Be Honest MEME

 

Are you trying to over sing ever line when note choice and delivery are going to make you more important?

 

Sometimes a simple change is all it takes to generate serious momentum.

 

 

In my first pro band, Idols of American Youth, I was a decent guitar player pretending to be a shredder. We were motivated, we were good, and we toured for a year with a front-man that had amazing vocal talent and ZERO personality.

 

We did ok, but we were forgettable.Signature Strength Gun Show

 

Once I took over as the front man, catering to my strengths (I was a far better entertainer and songwriter), despite my lack of vocal ability, the world began to take notice.

We got a producer.

We were moved to Florida to be developed

We got management.

We got a booking agent.

We got radio spins.

We got press.

We got label attention.

Not for nothing, all this began happening really quickly once the lineup change was made and I began focusing on what I was REALLY good at.

Signature Strength IMPACT

 

Musicians could argue my band downgraded the vocal aptitude of the band when I began singing.

 

They would be right.

 

 

However, we upgraded our IMPACT and that changed our lives forever.

 

I want you to win.

Don’t live a life of quiet desperation.Signature Strength Desperation Cracked Image

 

Don’t resign yourself to being a second rate artist.

 

I want y’all to do some real deep thinking with this post.

 

The new music industry belongs to the genuinely talented.

 

This means you better know where you excel.

 

I want you to email me, Tweet me, Facebook me and let me know what is your signature strength?

 

 

StayMistake Twitter

In

Tune

 

PS: If you haven’t already downloaded my free Music Marketing On Twitter book, please enjoy it on me. Go to GiftFromJohnny.com put  in your name and tell us where to send it. It’ll teach you how to get 1,000 new targeted followers every month for just 15 minutes per day.

 

 

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Wrong Marketing Feature Image

Your marketing strategy, you’ve got it all wrong.

Wrong Marketing Unplug Rennett Stowe

Photo by Rennett Stowe http://bit.ly/1ryPA8o

 

Don’t worry it’s fixable, but you are going to have to unplug from what you think you know and consider some alternative, foreign ideas to win this one.

 

Let me explain.

 

 

 

 

Most artists don’t even think about marketing their music. Most artists think iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify is marketing and that’s where their future fans, who are currently unaware of said artist, are going to find this artist’s music.Wrong Marketing Why Meme

Yes, they can find the artist’s music at these digital distributors, but why would they do it?

Artist: “Because my music is epic!”

How do these consumers know that?

Artist: “Because I created it and I’m awesome!”

Yes, but how do they know?

 

Doing it Wrong Adam Swank image

Photo by Adam Swank http://bit.ly/1ryPA8o

 

Because most artists don’t think about marketing, their budgets always reflect this oversight. When you get the coveted major label deal, the MAJORITY of the budget will be allocated to the marketing of the artist, not the creation of the art.

 

Think about that.

 

 

 

How many projects have you recorded?

Each project had a budget.

How many of those budgets had any kind of money allocated to marketing?

Wrong Marketing Monopoly Money SEO credit

Photo by SEO http://bit.ly/1ryPA8o

 

Record labels are not developing artists anymore, rather they’re buying small businesses. This means you have to become a small profitable business to get any real attention.

To become a small profitable business it is mission critical to implement an effective marketing plan.

 

It’s that simple.

 

 

What about the artists who ARE thinking about marketing?

 

Wrong Marketing No Copy image

This subject is doubly heartbreaking for me.

 

If you have a brain in your head and your thinking about marketing, the LOGICAL idea would be to recreate some marketing strategies that were effective in making you aware of some of your favorite artists, right?

 

 

Strategies like touring with a killer headliner for exposure, radio promo, Letterman, The Tonight Show, SNL, press interviews, etc.Wrong Marketing Damn the Torpedoes MEME

Of course I’m generalizing but the major labels are essentially doing it wrong now too, so you if your plan is to copy (what you believe to be working) you are wasting your time with an outdated marketing plan that is probably cost prohibitive.

 

Think about these facts for hot second.

  • Tom Petty’s “Damn the Torpedoes” came out in 1978 and cost $8.00. 8 bucks in 1978 is worth $28.80 in 2015. That’s called an inflationary adjusted price
  • Tom Petty’s new record “Hypnotic Eye” is available on iTunes for $10.99 which is 38% of the $28.80 he used to get per record.
  • The bestselling country record of 2004 sold 11 million and the bestselling country record of 2014 barely sold 1 million that means record sales are down 90% from 10 years agoWrong Marketing Hypnotic Eye Tom Petty MEME
  • CONCLUSION: the price of a record has plummeted 62% and still overall sales are down roughly 90%

 

See how the game has changed?

 

 

The days of terrestrial radio as a super effective promo mechanism are over. 51% of GM automobiles in 2016 will be equipped with 4G LTE Wrong Marketing Apple Carplay imagecapability and some form of Apple Carplay or Android Auto streaming music service.

You don’t need (and may not even want) terrestrial radio in your car.

 

Game over.

What will the major labels do?

 

 

Their main mechanism for delivering the drug we call music is becoming exponentially less effective. The system is broken.Wrong Marketing Broken Needle

 

Proof is in the pudding, record sales are down.

 

 

 

When you heard your now favorite artist on the radio back on the day you were first exposed to them, there was a majesty to it.

Wrong Marketing Impressed theJbird credit

Photo: theJbird http://bit.ly/1ryPA8o

 

You were intoxicated with the music.

 

You were like, “Who is THAT?”

There was an implied power you gave that artist. They were already put on a pedestal of sorts by consumers because they were getting massive exposure on the radio.

 

 

This dynamic helped to create the long lost heyday of the coveted “rock star”.

 

But those days are gone.Wrong Marketing Rock Star

 

Now every artist is going to have to find their audience on their own.

 

Now every artist is going to have to connect with their audience on their own.

Wrong Marketing Connect

 

 

That means y’all are going to have to actually be social on social media.

Just sayin…Wrong Marketing Antisocial 2

 

 

Once you connect, you will need to market your music to consumers. That is to say that you need to begin to influence their buying decisions.

 

HINT: “Buy our single on iTunes” or “I’m freakin’ awesome check me out” is NOT marketing. That’s digital “door knocking” or straight up panhandling.

It doesn’t work.

It’s also a major turnoff to consumers.

Listen, consumers will buy ANYTHING if you serve it up right. Remember the Pet Rock?

Wrong Marketing Pet Rock

 

Are y’all aware that you spend twice the price of gasoline to purchase bottled tap water which you can obtain for free?

How about specialty vodkas for $50 per bottle?

Get it?

 

 

 

The trick to marketing your music online is that you need to understand it’s not about the music.

It’s about you.Wrong Marketing YOU finger 2

 

But you have to make consumers feel it’s about them.

 

Confusing?

Every “Swiftie” feels that Taylor Swift is their BFF in a certain special way. 7 million of them felt so strongly about that relationship they purchased her record.

 

Read Taylor’s Instagram posts and tweets.  Have you EVER seen her say “BUY MY RECORD ON iTunes”?

Wrong Marketing Taylor Swift

 

No, you see a lot of social proof with different milestones she’s reaching on Billboard, VEVO, etc.

 

You see a ton of fan pics.

Taylor Swift’s social media strategy is this: it’s about them.

 

 

If you’re not Taylor Swift you will need to set up an infrastructure for converting attention into contacts, and contacts into cash.

Wrong Marketing Contacts = Cash Meme

If you market correctly, the consumers will line up behind you.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a pic of Bailey James an artist that we have been working with since January.  She went from Zero to 19k followers. But look at the engagement. She has over 700 likes and 120 comments. The social proof was Bailey singing at a contest.

Wrong Marketing Bailey Instagram image

 

She’s amazing.

 

Now these consumers are AWARE of her.

 

They are lining up behind her and by the time we record and release her first EP, they will feel close enough to her to purchase either the $4.99 mp3 download, $7.47 HD download, or some bundle TBD that will cost $40 more.

 

Oh yeah, she just turned 12 years old in January.

 

 

I’m hoping this example of Bailey, who is an independent artist like you, is proof positive that you can change your strategy and get measurable results in just a few months.

So yes, whether you’re ignoring the idea of marketing all together or you are trying to fashion a strategy based off of your favorite major label artists, you’ve probably got it all wrong.Wrong Marketing Fix It

 

If you’re ignoring marketing that’s your fault.

 

You can fix that.

 

If you’re trying to market or thinking about marketing in the way you have been marketed to, that’s not your fault but the fact remains that it isn’t working. I’ll bet you feel like you don’t have enough money to make it happen this way as well.

It’s less expensive than you think.

 

Wrong Marketing Expensive

 

Marketing doesn’t have to require a $500,000 radio promo budget to connect you with fans who are willing to purchase your music.

 

You can fix this.

 

 

So what will you do to fix it?

 

Stay

In

Tune.

 

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Derivatives Mona Lisa Selfie

I get about 3-8 emails every week where people send me music and ask for advice.  These artists come from many different genres.  I’m generalizing to be sure when I say they mostly suffer from the same issue, they’re derivative.

They’re mostly derivative, right?

Don’t be derivative.

Look, don’t get me wrong, if a derivative artist has a budget we’ll record them, that’s just business.

I’m talking about real art here, though.

I’m talking about future icons.

I’m talking about a way to break through the noise on the market RADAR screen.

Strictly on a business level, if you don’t have a MAJOR financial backer who can capitalize on a market trend, what exactly are you exploiting?

What’s the point?

Sometimes I wonder if it’s laziness.  I wonder that because I certainly suffered through my share of lethargy in my artist years if I’m being honest. Initially my main goal was to be on MTV.  Once I got access to our producer’s “other band”, The Allman Brothers, I realized it didn’t have anything to do with MTV.  I was being lazy.  I needed to dig deeper.  We all have to go through that door at some point.

But I digress.

Derivative anti cliche imageI hear male country artists singing “Bro-Country” about tailgates, tan legs, barbed wire fences and beers in the console.

I hear female country artists singing hostile ex-girlfriend lyrics trying to outdo Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert.

I hear endless rap artists who cannot seem to avoid the most obvious lyrical clichés like “bitches”, “ho’s”, and “n****s”, etc.

In the 80’s we all had long hair, ear rings, and leather pants.  In 2014 every hipster has a close cropped haircut and beard the size of Texas with 60’s styled horn rimmed glasses.  (Will that hairdo be remembered as some sort of 2010 version of the 80’s/90’s mullet?)

Every genre has it, man.

Every generation has it.

Every Iconic Artist found themselves at some point

I’m simplifying once again by this statement, but every iconic artist found themselves at some point.  They found their own unique take on a derivative tangent.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWait, huh?

C’mon you mean you really can’t tell how badly Petty wants to be Dylan?

Dylan wants to be Woody Guthrie.

Clapton wants to be Muddy Waters, etc.

Realistically the only way to avoid being derivative is to be yourself.  The most interesting artists are telling their own story.

Being Derivative is a timeless artistic problem

Being derivative is a timeless artistic problem deeply rooted in every artist’s beginnings and nurtured by label suits afraid to take a chance in artist careers for fear of a poor quarterly report.  (Don’t hate them, that’s just business.  If you’re smart enough to play the game professionally, you get that.)

Think about it, we all begin as artists imitating our heroes; this is necessary.  It’s the first inspiration. We artists connect strongly with the superstars whose message and image speaks to us.  We relate to them and pay homage, right?

So where then does the imitation stop and the originality begin?

The “me-too” acts with talent, money, savvy, gumption, and connections will probably get their 15 minutes of fame but they will be forgotten.

It’s the originals that we rememberDerivative 100 percent ORIGINAL stamp

It’s the originals that we aspire to be

It’s the originals that become icons

So what is the road map to true artistic innovation?

Work.

Work is the one thing most people aren’t willing to do that much of in any industry, unfortunately.

Artists especially avoid this act because unlike a regular job where you are compensated regularly for your effort, the artist must continue to invest time, money, and their spirit into a massively delayed settlement arrangement.

justiceDelayed financial, spiritual, and social reimbursement means you pay it all up front for a chance at evening the scales later on…usually much later on.

So naturally, most artists seek the path of least resistance and fall into an uninspired creative rut; this is human nature.

If you don’t want to spend too much time writing (working), you copy what you hear.

Instant gratification.

We covet what we see every day.

The original artists are constantly creating, always working.  The work provides the necessary steps to uncover the real artist deep down inside.

Every song is a stepping stone towards something greater.

The roots come up to meet the inspirational artistic input and they weave a new, unique fabric.

The work IS the compensation.  It has to be. If an artists doesn’t feel like that then the business model is doomed to fail.

This is who will create real impact.

That’s terrifying to an artist.  It requires removing your mask and being truly exposed.  Most artists who claim to be vulnerable really aren’t; at least they choose not to be in their art.

When you’re not vulnerable in your art, you’re derivative.

 

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Artistic Journey Your Journey Begins Now

 

By Johnny Dwinell

I’m always thinking about artists.  An artist’s success is quite literally paramount to our success at Daredevil Production, LLC.

Last night I was watching Howard Stern’s movie, “Private Parts”, for the umpteenth time but with a whole new set of eyes; artistic eyes.

It turns out this movie is an awesome articulation of an artistic struggle to the top.Artist Journey Private Parts image

I wanted to break it down in that perspective because I feel it’s really enlightening.

If you have seen this movie and you are an artist, watch it again and apply this perspective to your artistic struggle.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, watch it and connect the dots.

****SPOILER ALERT****

Howard learns early on what exactly he wants to do in life

Howard is an unattractive, socially awkward geek with balls so big I swear they rode shotgun with him whenever he drove.

Still, he was unattractive, and socially awkward; sound familiar?

He dove into the local radio DJ scene at his college.

He sucked because we all suck at the beginning.

Artist Journey Suck MeterHoward’s on-air personality was this lame interpretation of who he thought he should be. He was emulating all the crap he was constantly exposed to.

He was fake in the beginning man. Essentially posing, but driven.

Don’t we all start this way? Emulating?

Howard graduates and goes to his first station gig where his boss tells him that he sucks at his art but he’s reliable so he promotes him to Program Director for 2.5x the money; a position which has nothing to do with his artistic dream.

Howard takes the money; he’s human after all.

Then he regrets the upward move and explains to his new wife that he needs to be a DJ again which means less money; his wife supports himArtist Journey Fred Norris and he quits the highest paying job he’s ever had.

They move to Hartford, CT. where he meets an early Stern team member, Fred Norris.  This is huge because Fred was the first person willing to “play in the sandbox” with Howard.

Then he had his first artistic breakthrough.

Howard had an embarrassing moment where he was caught lying on air.  He admits to it publically after the fact and realizes that when he was honest, forthright, and open about himself, he was better.

Artist Journey Time For Your Breakthrough imageHe didn’t quit after being embarrassed.

When he was himself he was compelling because he was unique.

When he was unique he scared people, namely his superiors in the beginning because there wasn’t really an audience yet; they didn’t trust it.  That’s because they didn’t get it.

There wasn’t an audience yet, because it was new, nobody was doing it.

Sound familiar?

Howard pissed off his superiors until his artistic vision began to get a little traction, their ratings constantly improved in Hartford.  This allowed Howard the wiggle room he needed to hone his craft.

Listen to this, man, the beginning of the upward climb to this undeniably iconic career was littered with tough decisions and failure.

The battles NEVER stopped, in fact they just got bigger with more to lose each step of the way.

Sound familiar?

He screws up with his wife in Hartford and hits a major speed bump in their relationship; epic fail.

On the evening Howard tells his wife about a new job opportunity he was offered in Detroit, a much bigger market than Hartford, she confronts him and dumps him.

Howard moves to Detroit without his wife or Fred. A definite step backward…or was it? I’ll bet it felt that way in the moment.Artist Journey Optimist is 1 step forward and 2 steps back is a cha cha

In Detroit, miserable and with nothing to lose, Howard starts to really hit his artistic stride.  He learns that being real while covering divisive subject matter is his lane.

He’s moving past emulation and coming into his own.  He did this through work.

He also learns that his new artistic lane comes with pushback from the powers that be; it’s foreign to them and unproven at this point. He had to believe in himself to endure the climb.

Then there was a monumental setback that was out of his control.

The Detroit station decides to change from a rock format to a country format. He makes a tough decision to leave Detroit to stay true to his lane.

Big BALLS!

His next gig in Washington D.C. is where Howard meets Robin Quivers who was destined to be his now famous sidekick.  He loves the way she riffs with him from the first day.

Artist Journey Robin QuiversNew band member.

His decision to leave Fred behind (temporarily) pays off with a new KEY member of the team.

Howard continues to hone his craft because it’s a craft. He uses his hardships to his advantage by sharing themArtist Journey Without Craftsmanship Inspiration is a Mere Reed Shaking in the Wind with his public following; something no other DJ’s were doing.

He also inherently understood what most artists don’t these days.  The radio station wasn’t going to make him an artist, rather, it was the other way around.  In fact, he looked at the Detroit station changing formats as a failure on his part; he took responsibility for it. His artistry was going to have to create the audience that would make the radio station successful.

He was going to have to create his own opportunities.Artist Journey Musicians Create Your Own Opportunities

Howard’s superiors continue to hate him because all the major sponsors are bailing out due to the “shock value” of his act. Howard continued on with his vision in the face of complete adversity and then the ratings come out; He’s #1 in D.C.

He uses the ratings momentum to pressure the upper brass into hiring Fred.

#1 in D.C. means that Howard obliterated all the local competition which happened to be NBC.  That leads to a job offer from the #1 market in the country which is New York City.  This move came with a HUGE paycheck piggybacked by HUGE pressure to conform to a new, larger market with bigger suits who had more to lose with Howard’s shtick.

Artist Journey Plot TwistPolitical plot twist; Howard WAS in fact hired because of his talent that took him to #1 in D.C.  However, he was hired by suits who were pissed about losing their ratings position in Washington to Howard’s act,  not because they liked it or even heard it.  He was hired on ratings alone.

He just proved himself in D.C. got the big promotion and HAD TO PROVE HIMSELF ALL OVER AGAIN!

All the same shit with monumentally more pressure, more at stake than he ever had before, including a pending family.

Get it?

New, crazy business scenarios form in the way of the highest NBC brass expressing hostility over Stern’s act, and thus firing the executives who made the hiring decision. They couldn’t fire Howard because contractually they would have to pay him a boatload of cash.  They had to get him to quit.

An NBC executive agreed to torture Howard to the point of leaving…which ultimately led to Robin Quivers, his highest ranked sidekick getting sacked in the crossfire. This lead to Robin hating Howard for the perceived betrayal because Howard made the executive decision not to quit with her; Howard stayed to keep fighting.

Ultimately Howard goes #1 in New York City as well and Robin is rehired.  The rest is history.

This is show business people.  If you think there’s a threshold where you reach a point where you “get paid” and you can kick up your heels and relax; you sorely mistaken.

I promise you haven’t begun to fight. With every rung you climb on the ladder of success there are bigger and more challenging battles. This is why you have to love what you do.

You’re going to have to get used to challenges

Artist Journey Success What people think it looks like what it really looks like

Let me save you the suspense, you’re going to have to get used to challenges; they aren’t going away if you want to succeed.

 

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Artist Ghandi Quote Feature Image

By Johnny Dwinell

Every day I think that if Daredevil Production, LLC is going to make a dent in the Universe with new music we need more true artists.  Thank God the new music industry is all about true artists!

 

A true artist cares about the work

A true artist is interested in and incessantly pursues the truth in their art; no head-tripping allowed.Artist Can you handle the truth2

A true artist is fascinated with the process and not the outcome.  For instance, Billy Joel was quoted as saying something like “I look at my songs like my children. Some of them grow up to be doctors and lawyers, some of them grow up to be delinquents, but I love them all equally and unconditionally.”

The outcome continually improves when a true artist is focused on and fascinated with the process.

 

Artist Billy JoelA true artist has no concern about failing because the work is an end by itself.  For instance, the first record is stepping stone to record two; a snapshot in time of exactly where the artist was on the journey and so on.

 

The task & labor of creation is the satisfaction; it’s even exhilarating to a true artist.

A true artist proves through work that they are worthy and gains confidence in their art.Artist Confidence Thermometer

A true artist gets lost in the cause & forgets all the distractions.

A true artist understands that art can be very objective to the world.

So quality counts.

A true artist doesn’t use the notion that “art is subjective” as an excuse to ignore constructive criticism. For instance, constructive criticism, despite the imminent sting that’s involved, can help define strengths and weaknesses.  Thus, providing a road map on how exactly to work smarter to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.  This is called development and refinement.

Artist art is subjective and objectivve

A true artist doesn’t use the notion that “art is subjective” as an excuse to get by with half-assed work.

A true artist doesn’t use the notion that “art is subjective” as an excuse to be lazy or cheap with their process.

A true artist is driven to continually improve their songwriting, their playing, recording skills, their understanding about the process of making records, their live show, their vocal skills, and their presentation to the world.  They’ll make a living by accident if the energy is right and they’re not self-sabotaging.

A true artist learns through the process of work to ignore the inner censor and entertain all ideas swimming around in their heads.  Write them all down now.  Refine later.

 

A true artist always honors the muse.  When she shows up, drop everything and write it down because you won’t remember.

 

A true artist understands perception is reality.

 

Therefore a true artist doesn’t share their art with the consumer world until its finished and done well; they know they will be judged.brokenCD2A true artists understands that any demos, work tapes, and rough tracks are only interesting and “colorful” to the consumer after they fall in love with the finished track.  Before that it’s just a crappy demo; so they don’t display anything on the world’s refrigerators like Soundcloud, Spotify, etc., until it’s finished.

A true artist knows the difference between a well written song and a song that isn’t ready yet.

A true artist knows the difference in the sonic quality of their music as compared to their idols.

 

A true artist knows it’s less expensive to hire a professional than to hire an amateur.Artist if you think it's expensive to hire a professional wait till you hire an amateur

 

A true artist knows that while well done art is subjective to taste, poorly executed art is objective and crappy.  There’s a difference between a good song and great song, right?  So then is there a difference between a good song and a crappy song.

 

A true artist knows that their mother, best friend, and significant other are the only people who care about their potential.  The rest of the world can only be interested in and react to what you have accomplished.  Getting heartbroken or spiritually injured over anything less is foolish and naïve.

 

A true artist knows that “magic” doesn’t happen out of the heavenly skies until they have their 10,000 hours.  For instance, we see magic happen every day in our studio because we work with professionals who have their 10,000 hours and then some.  There will be no magic with amateurs who can’t play well…that “magic” happens in post-production afterward.

Artist it's all about the magic

 

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Give Up Don't you dare FEATURE

Did you ever notice how we only see success as success?  When we are first exposed to someone successful we initially only think about their success, right?

We covet a little bit.Give Up The Struggle You Don't See

We become envious.

Unless we are exposed to all the details of a personal success story, we don’t see (and we’re usually not told) about the struggle that preceded the success. We weren’t told about how many times they didn’t give up.

Every success comes with mountains of struggle

 

mountain-landscape-640617_castle_peI have news for you, EVERY success comes with mountains of struggle, endless hurdles, obstacles overcome, bullets dodged, etc.  There is ALWAYS a back story rife with failure, heartbreak, doubt, fear, second thoughts, and the fact that they didn’t give up through any of it.

Bottom line, I can guarantee you’ll fail if you don’t try again.  Nobody can guarantee failure if you don’t give up.  So, it’s a scientific fact that you can win if you don’t give up and you will definitely lose if you quit.

The only thing that is impossible is what you don’t try to achieve.Give up Don't You Are So Close

What’s the worst that could happen?

You have to try again?

So what?  It’s worth it, right?

This dream of yours isn’t going to be easy. Simply put, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.

Here are 10 reasons not to give up

  1. It’s All About Talent Again Give Up You Bring The Talent 2

    As terrestrial radio continues to become less effective at breaking acts in the marketplace, the big hype machine disappears with it.  The ability to “hype” a non-talent into super-stardom is waning fast.  The future stars in the music business are going to have to be talented to get recognized.  Don’t give up. You have talent. Talent will win in the end.

  2. Pressure = Creation

    There’s a saying that goes “Necessity is the mother of invention”.  You thrive on pressure even if you think you don’t.  You are stronger than you think.  Rick Rubin on several occasions (most notably Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” and Tom Petty’s “It’s Good To Be King”) would wait until a week or so before the scheduled recording sessions to tell an artist he didn’t think they had a single just to see what the pressure would create.  Never give up. Pressure creates diamonds, I know it’s cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

  3. Failure

    Give Up Failure doesn't come from falling downYou need it believe it or not.  It’s what teaches you how to navigate your career better. Failure is what teaches you how to win. Remember every success is preceded by many failures. Just ask Michael Jordan who was cut from his high school basketball team; he didn’t give up. Sheryl Crow got a major label deal and recorded her first album only to scrap it completely before it was released. Of course she was then sued by her label; this was before Tuesday Night Music Club. She didn’t give up. Thomas Edison failed 2,000 times before he nailed the long lasting incandescent light bulb. He didn’t give up.  Henry Ford went bankrupt multiple times before he invented the assembly line. he didn’t give up either.

  4. The Pursuit

    Life happens as you make your way toward your goal; enjoy it.  This time in your struggle, these are the moments that you will remember forever.  Again, I know its cliché, but think about it, success is not a destination, it is the journey.  Especially in the music business, man, you are either on your way up or on your way down, there is no plateau where “things calm down” and you relax. Don’t give up. You want to make a living being a creative which means you’re always creating.

  5. You Are Strong Give Up Stay Strong

    You are stronger than you think.  You have the capability to understand the fact that your career is always full of challenges, so EXPECT them and eat them for breakfast.  Success will come when you resign yourself to dealing with these challenges as challenges, not excuses.  1, 10, or even 1,000 setbacks are not enough to stop you, so don’t give up.

  6. If You Give up on Yourself Everyone Else Will Too

    Listen, ALL successful people have overcome incredible odds and incredible struggles to get where they are; you just aren’t aware of the back story.  These prosperous people deeply understand that success is a mindset.  They surround themselves with positive, like-minded people.  They view quitters as a cancer, or a STD.  When you project negativity or a quitting vibe it pisses successful people off.  It pisses them off because it scares the shit out of them.  It scares them because they KNOW failure is just 1 negative thought away.  Don’t give up.

  7. There is no Overnight Success

    No great thing was created overnight.  Many years of work went into every success before it ever came to your attention. Don’t be naive. Don’t give up.

  8. You’re Just a Few Tweaks Away

    Sometimes a few tweaks and adjustments to a plan are all that it takes to make a giant leap forward.  Over the course of my band’s first tour, we lost $8,000 because I didn’t know what I was really doing.  A few tweaks coupled with a clearer understanding of the game and our second touring experience had us actually making a living on ½ the gross revenue! Don’t give up. I failed first, learned, then got better; you can too.

  9. You Can Change the Industry ForeverGive Up The Struggle Your in today

    Make your dent, man.  Florida Georgia Line had the BEST writers in town and a KILLER producer behind their project.  All the record labels still said “No” because FL/GA Line was too different.  They went to Satellite radio where “Cruise” became a smash hit and after a little tour they sold 100,000 downloads.  Then every label that said “no” was saying “yes”. The record, the production, the band, the sound, and the songs didn’t change.  The only thing that changed was the perception. They didn’t give up when everyone said no. Don’t give up.

  10. Let the Haters Hate

    The more you succeed the more haters you will have.  Think of them like little trophies, assuming you’re not a douchebag it means you’re doing something right.  Don’t give up.

Give Up Do It For The People Who Want To See You Fail

 

Give Up It's hard to wait for something that may never happen

 

Give Up You Can't Go A Day Without Thinking About

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give Up You Are the creator of your own destiny

 

PS: If you haven’t already downloaded my free Music Marketing On Twitter book, please enjoy it on me. Go to GiftFromJohnny.com put  in your Mistake Twittername and tell us where to send it. It’ll teach you how to get 1,000 new targeted followers every month for just 15 minutes per day.

 

 

 

 

 

By Johnny Dwinell

 

prag·ma·tism

[prag-muh-tiz-uhm]  Show IPA

noun

character or conduct that emphasizes practicality.

a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

 

Pragmatic Pragmatic MLK image

 

Utilitarian

 

Sober

 

Realistic

 

LogicalPragmatic Bono Quote image

 

Practical

 

Efficient

 

Down-to-Earth

 

Pragmatic To Do Image

Businesslike

 

I am wondering, how do you run your career?

 

I am wondering, how do you approach your art, your talent?

 

Many of you are suffering artistically and stagnate in your careers because you are trying to be something you’re not.  Some of you are pushing for things you think you need to do and ignoring the lanes that options that will bring actual momentum to your career.

In short, many of you are creating your own obstacles unnecessarily.

Yes, it is much easier and quicker to start a fire with a blow torch or flame thrower, but if _MG_2855you don’t have these things, then the more pragmatic approach is to set up smaller kindling wood stuffed with newspaper. The paper burns immediately catching fire to the kindling which catches fire to the big logs in your fireplace; then just keep stoking.

 

You can choose to lament the fact that you don’t have a flame thrower/blow torch which results in no fire, OR you can work with something more practical, something you do have, and the end result is a nice fire.

 

 

 

EVERY ARTIST has their strengths and weaknesses.

 

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.

An artist really is not going to gain serious momentum until they can objectively sit down and pragmatically determine where the strengths and weaknesses are in their live show, recordings, images, lyrics, melodies, market approach, business plan; their art essentially Pragmatic Madonna Album Cover image

Madonna is an Icon.  She isn’t a good singer.  She’s a good dancer, a great business person, and a great entertainer.  Her live shows do not focus on her singing do they?

She focuses on her strengths.

Ray LaMontagne has a voice that is like butter.  He is an AMAZING singer/songwriter.  Listen to his tracks.  They are decidedly arranged with space.  Space that allows that voice and those lyrics to easily shine through and change your life; that’s how he touches you.

 

He is accentuating the positives.

Pragmatic Ray LaMontagne Image 2

Ray is not trying to blow you away with vocal acrobatics.  That is not his lane and he knows it.  His lane is in the tone and the story, like Stevie Nicks or Rod Stewart.  These kinds of voices just need to sing good songs and the tone feathers out in your chest like a really good scotch.

 

If you listen to pop music with a pragmatic ear you will notice that many of the artists can’t sing.  Consequently the musical arrangements around their voices are akin to a sonic circus.  By design, they don’t really want you to focus on the voice all that much.  It’s more about the hooks and the feel.  Pop music has always been lyrically “light” so much that the words don’t even have to make sense, they just has to sing well; remember Phil Collin’s “Sussudio”?Pragmatic Phil Collins Sussudio image

Two different approaches.

Each approach is appropriate to the artist and genre, yes?

Are you pragmatic with your songwriting?  Do the songs you write fit your vocal range and style?

Are you pragmatic with your live show?  Does your show accentuate your positives and eliminate the negative?

Are you truly a captivating act?

Are you pragmatic with your sonic production and arrangements in the studio?

Pragmatic Tony Robbins Resourcefulness image

 

Are you overplaying?

Are you over-singing?

Are you over producing a great voice?

How about your marketing approach?

Pragmatic is about focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t.

Be pragmatic.  Get momentum.

 

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No Excuses Feature Redo

People hate it when I talk about this subject. Mostly because everyone has some festering sore spot in their life where they felt like they coulda, shoulda, woulda, but made an excuse and never did. So having a serious discussion about excuses causes people to relive their most catastrophic or most painful failures which in turn pisses them off.

I get it.

Do you know why it pisses them off?Excuses Are The Tools Of Incompetence

It’s because they knew better. It’s because, deep down, they knew that there was more they could have done, but they chose to make an excuse.

They chose to give up.

They succumbed to their moment of doubt.

They behaved weakly.

I have some to be sure. They don’t feel good when you live them and they certainly don’t feel good when you relive them. I submit to y’all that there is exactly ZERO people on this planet that do not have a sore spot left from an excuse.

Excuses Before After Weight loss imageHere’s the key part of this concept EVERYBODY has at least one moment where they wish they would have done something differently, ya know?

The difference between the successful people and the people who seem to get stuck living in the past or making the same mistakes/excuses is that the successful people learn from the error in judgment and move on.

Successful people grow.

They learn that the difference between an excuse and a challenge is simply perspective.

Now you’re thinking about your moment of doubt and you’re deciding whether to continue reading.

Again, I get it.

My dad always told me that excuses are like butts, everyone has one and they all stink. (He always used more colorful language)

Yes, I know, there are definitely valid excuses. Real good reasons that something didn’t get done.

There are also crappy, weak, excuses. Real lame reasons why something didn’t get done.Excuses Are For People Who Don't Want It Bad Enough

It is a FACT that all valid and all lame excuses have the same outcome; something didn’t get done that should have been done.

Another way to articulate this fact is to say that whether one has a valid excuse or a weak excuse the damage is exactly the same. Something doesn’t get done.

Another really HORRIBLE fact about excuses is that they always imply failure. They precede giving up. Excuses become the trumped up reason to quit.

Excuses make it ok to fail at your goals and dreams.

Excuses make it ok for life to happen to you instead of the other way around.

A challenge is processed COMPELTELY differently in the subconscious mind.

If one thinks of any roadblocks as a challenge they are framed as an obstacle that is delaying the execution of a certain goal or dream.

See the difference?

An excuse is subconsciously thought of as “Here’s the reason why we failed.”

A Challenge is subconsciously thought of as “Here’s the reason why our success is being postponed.”

With an excuse there is no need for further action; game over. (This is why people like them so much)Excuses Don't Limit Your Challenges Challenge Your Limits

A challenge REQUIRES additional effort.

(This is why people don’t like them)

Thomas Edison could have had 2,000 excuses why he couldn’t make the light bulb. Instead he viewed them as 2,000 challenges that got him closer to his goal.

Oh yeah, and then he made the first practical, long lasting, incandescent light bulb.

Excuses are toxic and nonproductive. View them as the most horribly addicting drug that will ABSOLUTELY, UNDENIABLY ruin your life.

You should seriously treat excuses as something life threatening like the Ebola Virus that should never to be put in or around you.

Challenges are a pain in the ass.

Challenges make us uncomfortable.

Challenges delay success.

But challenges alwaysprecede success.

One cannot have success without challenges.

One cannot succeed with excuses.

Are you busy making excuses or are you busy dealing with challenges?

Excuses Challenges Make Life Interesting

Excuses Mom with 3 ChildrenExcuses Handicapped Kid Image

Excuses Olympic Discus Thrower

Excuses Stop Making Excuses image

 

 

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Skeptic Feature image

 By Johnny Dwinell

Lately, I’m proud to say, many of my articles have been reposted by some resource sites that have far greater traffic than ours does. Every so often, I get a wild hair and a little extra time that directs me to read some of the comments people leave about my blog posts. This is a rare occurrence but interesting because, while I receive and reply to all comments on Daredevilproduction.com, I don’t get “pinged” when comments are posted anywhere else. Additionally, one cannot directly reply to any comments on these sites.

Reading the feedback on any given post is usually motivating because most people get the information or at least find something in there that inspires them, teaches them, makes them aware, etc., and they make a point to say so.

…and then there is always at least 1 skeptic.

At least one person who takes the time to spin or trump up some undesirable angle so he/she can poo-poo all the information and go on about their life and career as-is with no meddlesome disruptions that would threaten their current understanding of how the music business works.

I am still an artist and will always have an artist heart

I want to thank anyone who takes the time to remark on the positive and/or helpful info that they received from my articles. Even though I operate at high level on the business side IMG_8642of my brain, I am still an artist and will always have an artist heart. That means it’s wounded pretty easily from disapproval and nourished by positivity.

While I totally understand that being divisive on certain subjects is a good thing (negative comments means I’m touching a nerve somewhere right?), I must admit that the adverse interpretations get me thinking a lot; sometimes too much. I guess I just can’t help wanting to please everyone.

 

Yesterday, I was reading the comments on an article called 20 Biggest Marketing Mistakes. I experienced mostly great comments and, of course, 1 skeptic.

This skeptic trashed all the information because, in his head, we were selling something.

If you’ve already read it, #18 in the article stated “You won’t pay for coaching” as a mistake. The skeptic then summed up the whole article as a hustle to lead people into paying us for coaching.Skeptic LEARN image

Everybody needs to be educated. Especially in an environment where the targets you must hit to survive are constantly moving. If you can get free coaching a.k.a. on-the-job-training or an internship, God bless! The rest of us will have to learn somewhere else or suffer through doing the same ineffective routine that gets us the same, useless results. Btw, isn’t college paid education/coaching?

So THIS thought got me thinking about how and why the consummate skeptics self-sabotage. They don’t want to find the answers because that would mean they would have to stop complaining and actually show up for work.

Showing up for work means they would have to take responsibility for the results.

A level of skepticism is quite healthy. We definitely need a “devils-advocate”, if you will. We believe in this concept so much at Daredevil Production, LLC that Kelly and I regularly practice skepticism against any new ideas we bring up. We actually try to blow holes in the concept to test their strength and validity. The difference is that the skepticism is served up in a positive spirit of finding the truth rather than some hostile rant of pure negativity.

But like anything else in life, too much skepticism is the opposite of healthy.

It’s debilitating. Sometimes this is unconscious, and sometimes people are just downright angry, evil, and bitter so they do it intentionally.

Either way, the damage to the skeptic is the same.

skeptic don't be afraid move forwardThey don’t move forward.

Skeptics will typically label themselves as “unlucky”, that’s one big reason they are so damn skeptical.

The definition of luck is the intersection of opportunity and preparation. Now, as you read that your eyes are glazing over.

True as it may be, It’s a cliché isn’t it?

 

As artists we want to believe in skill and talent.

The truth is that skill and talent will always get you more “at bats” in life, but it certainly does NOT guarantee success.

The other truth is most artists require a little more validation (I use “a little more” in the same way a bar would use “free beer Skeptic Free Beer Tomorrow singtomorrow”…it never comes) before they really get to work on the preparation part of the equation.

Too many artists are waiting for the opportunities to present themselves before they invest in the work portion of the formula.

So the “Luck Equation” is changed. When it’s changed the opposite happens; you get unlucky. Then I guess you ultimately become a skeptic.

Let’s look at luck and skeptics who consistently feel unlucky from a different perspective. I was reading an incredible article about Survivorship Bias. This article was LONG but so worth the read. It focused on the human proclivity for noticing and therefore studying winners simply because winners are more visible than losers.

Skeptic You are not so smart imageFor instance you want to open a restaurant because you see so many successful restaurants in your neighborhood. What you don’t see is that 90% of restaurants fail.

You want a record deal because you see all the successful artists and they inspire you. What you don’t see is that 90% of signed artists fail. It’s always been that way.

Get it?

In this article there was a portion that basically attributed all successes to luck. Which is disturbing at first glance, until you consider the following facts:

  • Luck isn’t fairy dust
  • Luck isn’t a mythical force where the Gods determine the haves and have-nots.

There are many scientific studies that show luck (and Luck’s opposite which leads to skepticism) to be a measurable output of a group of predictable behaviors.

While randomness, chance, and the noisy chaos of reality may be impossible to predict or tame, luck and therefore skeptics are something else.Skeptic We only regret the chances we didn't take image

Huh?

Luck and skeptics are the results of a human being consciously interacting with chance.

The example given in this article was compelling. These scientists followed the lives of 400 people of all ages and professions over a 10 year period. The scientists found these people through newspaper articles that asked for subjects to apply if they thought of themselves as generally very lucky or generally very unlucky. The subjects were asked to keep diaries, participate in experiments, and be interviewed over the course of the decade.

In one such experiment, the subjects were given a newspaper and asked to count the number of photographs inside. The people who labeled themselves as generally unlucky took an average of 2 minutes to complete the task.

The people who considered themselves generally lucky took an average of a few seconds.

The scientist had placed an ad in GIANT BOLD LETTERS on the second page that said “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” Deeper inside the scientists placed another ad with the same sized text that read, “Stop Counting. Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250.”

The people who were unlucky (a.k.a. the skeptics) usually missed both. (I submit that if this experiment was performed during the internet age they would have “commented’ on how the test was unfair, fixed, a scam, and somehow partial to the lucky group)

The scientists observed that skeptics are narrowly focused

They crave security, tend to be more anxious, instead of wading into a sea of random chance open to what may come, they remain Skeptic Fearless Focus imagefixated on controlling the situation, on seeking a specific goal.

In the case of the skeptic who commented on my article, he did exactly ZERO research because he was narrowly focused on finding the angle, finding the moment where we ask for money; which in his interpretation devalued the information. This goal of his, distracted him from all the possibly educational content.

If our skeptic did any research he would know that Daredevil Production, LLC is in the artist development business. We don’t charge for and put on conferences of any kind; it’s not our business model. If he read that article again, he would also pick up that Kelly and I were panelists not the hosts at the mentioned conference. Furthermore, he would have read that we made many relationships with some amazing new writers we met at this conference. In fact, we have already placed one such writer with an artist we are developing (they’re getting along famously so far)

So I guess that writer who paid to attend the conference is just lucky, right?

And our skeptic remains unlucky due to an overwhelming need to find an “angle” with every opportunity or piece of information. If it requires money it must be bad, right?

To be clear Mr. Skeptic, what you “See” as a music fan is:

  • An interview or two from your favorite artist.
  • You hear probably 1 live radio interview on whatever local station you listen to.
  • You see your favorite artist in 1 appearance on your favorite late night TV show.
  • It seems really grandiose and adoring for the artist whom you aspire to be like.

Mr. Skeptic, what you don’t see is:

  • Your favorite artist doing weeks of 12 hour days that consist of nothing but interviews for every print magazine, newspaper, blog spot, radio station, and podcast on the planet.
  • Your favorite artist does weeks of radio tours hitting every station in everybody’s home town.
  • Your favorite artist appears on ALL the late night TV shows, ALL the morning talk shows, and ALL the mid afternoon talk shows.

Oh, and Mr. Skeptic, there’s the final nail in your “integrity coffin”. Your favorite artist deserted-town-old-west-casketsuffers through weeks of interviews answering the same, monotonous, lame questions, over and over. They endure tons of travel to get to a new city to answer more monotonous, lame questions on a radio tour which could ultimately be described as, GASP, sales calls!

Yes, Mr. Skeptic, your favorite artist has the very thing you so diligently seek to dismiss every experience and every educational opportunity, the one thing you despise most on this Earth; an angle.

Your favorite artist wants to sell records and concert tickets.

Sorry.

The moral of the story is be a little skeptical because it’s healthy, but don’t be a skeptic.

The bad news is if you are bitter, sour, and too skeptical it’s your own damn fault.

The good news is you can change it if you want.

 

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