Accepting the Facts: We only make time for great
Last night, I asked my friends on Facebook:
It only took about two hours for 15% of my Facebook circle to chime in and deliver, offering 200+ recommendations ranging from Jeff Buckley’s Grace to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors.
Sure, tastes vary, but even metal heads offered records that made me pause and say, “Yep. I get it. That’s a 10 for that genre.”
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What does this mean for songwriters?
Nate Dorough from Fusion Show‘s has emphasized this to me, and Lefsetz has stated this many times in his newsletter and keynotes:
“Because of the Internet and streaming services, we don’t have time for good. We only have time for great.”
Artists are caught up discussing payouts from streaming services; maybe it’s more important to recognize the overwhelming reality that good isn’t good enough, now.
Seriously, are you going to listen to an OK record when you have all the great ones at your fingertips?
Since scarcity has disappeared, the consumer’s expectations have changed.
One thing hasn’t changed: New songwriters need to allow themselves time to work towards great, which takes a lot of practice and hard work to get there. Yet here’s some irony: the Internet has made it so easy to publish. Finished that demo of a song? You can share it with a few keystrokes!
But then crickets.
A great guitar teacher said her students ask her, “How long will it take me to learn this song?” She always says, “Longer than you expect.”
As a songwriter, I’m trying not to feel too overwhelmed by the challenge at hand: aim for, and only release great. It takes a lot of writing of OK and good songs before a great one is found.
Before we climb a mountain, we must see it; approach it; and accept the challenge.
Music Biz is like the A/C Biz (Don’t complain; decline)
Booking gigs can be a frustrating experience.
One post has been circling the musical corners of the Internet for a few years: “Why Music Venues Are Totally Lost: An Open Letter from a Professional Musician” – read here
Today, a post from Grassyroots about the same theme caught my attention: “Dear Person Asking Me to Play Your Gig” – read here
These posts make a lot of sense. Musicians have understandable pet-peeves.
However, here’s something these posts aren’t saying: look for red flags, stick to your standards, and decline the gig.
* * * Music Business; the A/C Business * * *
When approached by a potential client, you need to ask direct questions and look for red flags, and you should decline the gig when seeing warning signs, hints of unprofessionalism, or things that aren’t a good fit for where you are in your career.
My brother-in-law Corey helps manage a successful A/C business. We were sharing stories about the challenges of running one’s own business, and discovered how the music business is very similar when it comes to talking to clients.
A/C work can be stressful. Someone’s air-conditioner is broken. It’s a 100 degree day in Texas. That person wants their cooler fixed, now!
But there is a waiting list. There are challenges to diagnosing problems. There are folks who don’t want to pay for quality repairs. And some are looking for the lowest price point, yet expect the highest results.
Corey told me, “I listen for red flags when I’m talking to potential clients on the phone, and I might say something that will dissuade them from hiring us, before I even have to decline the work.
I have to protect my repair workers’ time, and a demanding client who wants to pay less to nothing is going to hurt the business.”
* * * Questions to Ask * * *
As a musician, we need to do the same thing. Ask questions:
- How much does the gig pay?
- What does the venue expect?
- What do you expect from the venue?
- What promotion will the venue offer?
- How much times goes into this gig?
- How will this gig affect other gigs in the calendar?
If you are a professional, you don’t need to spend your time complaining about unprofessional businesses; you decline the work. You move on. You save your time and best work for your respectful clients.
PS: If you aren’t getting enough work, and feel the urge to take on unprofessional clients to get by, you need to brainstorm changes, ASAP. It happens for all of us, but as Seth Godin says, “don’t race to the bottom.”
I sound my barbaric yawn over the roofs of the world!
Ginny is four months old, and every cliche about parenting has come true, especially, “The minutes go by slowly and the days go by quickly.”
This week, I’ve accepted two challenges: Get Ginny on a nap schedule, and get myself on a practice/writing schedule that fits parenthood.
These two things may go hand-in-hand. As a new dad, I’ve been handling the gigging part of full-time music fine so far, but I’m struggling to find time for the rehearsing and writing aspects.
The day is filled with feedings, changing diapers, cleaning bottles, coxing Ginny to take a nap, cleaning diapers*, feeding again, cleaning bottles again, hopefully walking the dog, then off to play a gig or teach a guitar lesson!
Natalie mentioned to me, “Remember when we had so much time? What did we do with all that time?”
Before Ginny was here I would have said, “I’ve been handling the gigging part of full-time music fine so far, but I’m struggling to find time for rehearsing and writing.”
Time: So it comes, and so it goes!
Footnote:
*Yep, we are using Flip insert cloth diapers; they are great!
The Formula is Simple, Execution is Difficult
What’s the key to success?
Jack Conte says it best: “Make great stuff, find people who like that stuff, and hang out with them.” (Listen to interview on Music Business Podcast here.)
The formula is simple; the difficulty is executing it.
First, the 10,000 hours idea is a reality. It takes a long time to get talented enough at the craft. But talent doesn’t guarantee success, and no one can guess how many hours it takes to gain momentum and a fan base. Right?
Also, this isn’t simply a numbers game of trying to accumulate tons of subscribers, likes, views…Conte points out how some Youtube Creators with one million subscribers might make $2000 per video on Patreon, but then another creator with 5000 subscribers makes four times as much. What’s the secret?
It’s the strength of the artist’s community, the uniqueness of the art, the person behind the art, etc. Things difficult measuring.
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I also appreciate how direct Conte is with addressing the negative press over his Medium article addressing the touring loss last year. He wasn’t even asked about it, but mentioned it at the end of the interview.
There were are so many devils in the details about the way the music communities reacted to that blog last year, especially the DIY or punk scenes.
Punk bands couldn’t recognize how their experiences and criticism weren’t really comparable, how solo artists or duos must pay quality session players, especially on tour of this magnitude. So many DIY musicians using couch surfing couldn’t recognize this either.
Yet the road-warriors musicians weren’t surprised how that tour was a loss, and many might not have been criticizing but just acknowledging reality: the music business is a constant dance with numbers.
If your expenses are high, if pay for your owing lighting rig but only doing some club gigs, if you aren’t moving merch numbers as expected, if some club gigs might be 300-400 capacity but the drive is hours between locations, this type of tour won’t profit.
That’s not a criticism, it’s just a dance with the numbers we all must do. It’s why having income diversification is important for musicians.
Plus, it’s the same dance I do at a smaller level.
Last week, my Ford Escape with 250,000 miles broke down on my way to a gig. It was bound to happen. (Gig Life Haiku: Instagram)
This week, I had to made a big choice: Do I chance a $500+ repair (that might not fix the car) or replace the car?
But before that choice, I had other choices: The choice to accept gigs must be worth the miles to get to them, and I know that my first tour put on some miles that weren’t worth it!
The tour dances we do are difficult.
I really hope Jack and Nataly tour again soon.
Jason Segel’s interview on On Point, reflecting on his performance in the David Foster Wallace biopic, had a great quote: “You spend 15 years trying to get there and then realize there is no there.”
My parents said it more simply: “The grass is always green on the other side.”
Isn’t that the truth for artists and musicians?
You might dream about playing a certain venue, recording in a particular studio, hiring a notable producer, opening for a certain band, going on a tour, etc…and the adrenaline rush is great, but never lasts.
It’s so easy to forget how the creative process is what got us “here “in the first place, sitting at the kitchen table and writing or learning a song.
It’s about creating, not chasing.
