Hey Heroes!
Do you ever get the feeling that you're drowning in a sea of competition? I mean, there are millions of bands all over the US, all looking for recognition from the same finite grouping of reviewers, and magazines, and websites........right?
What do you do to make yourself stand out? In what way do you ensure that your band isn't just another white t-shirt an ocean of white t-shirts? How do you plan to avoid the feeding frenzy and make yourself stand alone?
I'm pretty sure just following the established way of doing things isn't going to do it. I talked with a guy the other day who told me the way an Indie tour should be set up and carried out. The unfortunate thing is that this same guy was also telling me how he just didn't want to do it anymore because it doesn't work. Hmmm......imagine that.
So, what are you willing to do to stamp your tag on the world? Are you just going to do the spray and pray tactic of finding fans, or are you going to really nail down who your ideal fan is and target market, directly to them? Do you even know who your ideal fan is?
Why should you care? In music, isn't the idea to sell your music to whoever likes it? Yep, but I bet if you took a long hard look, you'd find that the biggest portion of your followers fit into an age/gender demographic, at the very least. You could even go further and pick out lifestyle characteristics, favorite haunts, favorite foods, movies..........get the picture?
It's time to get smart about it. Think of it as a race. Think of it as a game. Think of it however you need to think about it to make sure that you stay motivated and THINKING when it's time to market your music. Oh, and don't think you're too good to market your music. That bullshit about "build it and they will come" is just that, bullshit. They won't come unless they know about it, and a little bulletin on your Myspace page isn't going to cut it. Hell, the old flier on the light pole trick does a better job.
Figure out who your ideal fan is, find out where they are, and make yourself interesting to them, but don't hound them! Converse with them, get to know them, make friends with them.
It doesn't have to take that much time either.....................................
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What IS Freedom anyway?
Hey Heroes,
There's been this thought running through my head over the last few days, and today I got another reminder of it and I thought I'd share.
The original quote that I'd heard is "Be free of the good opinion of others", and I heard it in a seminar given by Dr. Wayne Dyer. The meaning behind it is to not be concerned about what other people think. Live your life to your expectations and don't get caught up in the opinions of your critics. This is especially important for us sensitive, artistic types. : )
Today, I watched a great piece (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1314973523&ref=profile#/video/video.php?v=82764303769&ref=mf) by a fantastic artist named Kirk Nugent, and in it he has a line that goes something like "Someone else's opinion of you is none of your business". What a great thought!
Now tell me, is there really anything more freeing than that?
Someone else's opinion of you is none of your business.
Who cares if the critics, reviewers, the boss at the day job, or your Dad don't like what you do? As long as you love it with a passion, it will come across that way to the people who listen to it.
That is success right there, and that is Freedom. So find your Freedom, find your peace, and use your gifts to make the world a better place.
Later,
There's been this thought running through my head over the last few days, and today I got another reminder of it and I thought I'd share.
The original quote that I'd heard is "Be free of the good opinion of others", and I heard it in a seminar given by Dr. Wayne Dyer. The meaning behind it is to not be concerned about what other people think. Live your life to your expectations and don't get caught up in the opinions of your critics. This is especially important for us sensitive, artistic types. : )
Today, I watched a great piece (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1314973523&ref=profile#/video/video.php?v=82764303769&ref=mf) by a fantastic artist named Kirk Nugent, and in it he has a line that goes something like "Someone else's opinion of you is none of your business". What a great thought!
Now tell me, is there really anything more freeing than that?
Someone else's opinion of you is none of your business.
Who cares if the critics, reviewers, the boss at the day job, or your Dad don't like what you do? As long as you love it with a passion, it will come across that way to the people who listen to it.
That is success right there, and that is Freedom. So find your Freedom, find your peace, and use your gifts to make the world a better place.
Later,
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Cause ya gotta have Faith
Hey Heroes, sorry for the delay on getting this one out to you all.
This time around I promised to talk about finding our faith in who we are and what we do. This is the hardest part for me, and may have lead to dragging my feet about making this post, only slightly less important than having faith in oneself, is having personal responsibility, and I promised. : )
So, how do we find the faith within ourselves that may not have been instilled in us growing up?
How do we overcome the lack of faith that may have been instilled in us as we were growing up?
Well, the fact is that many people turn to religion, some feeling that that is the only way to find TRUE faith, and others just because it's easier for them to let go to a concept like God than to face their inner power. I would argue that the inner power that most of us have a hard time facing is, in fact, God. It's just easier to put it all on the Great Bearded One In The Sky, than it is to accept that we have all the power of God right inside of us. I'm not going to go any further on this course though, because we all have differing ideals about God and Religion and all that stuff, and to be honest, I think we all should find whatever path takes us to the place were we feel the utmost faith that we can do anything.
The fact is that Faith is nothing more than the knowledge that things will be just as we feel they will be. 100% Guaranteed. No doubts.
The processes I've talked about the last few posts can all help get you there. Visualize where you want to be. Attract into your life the things needed to accomplish it. Act on those things when they manifest themselves. Be grateful to God, The Universe, and Yourself for making it happen. Don't forget Yourself. Opportunity shows up every day, in every way, but if you don't make the conscious decision to look for it, it will go on to the next person who may well be looking for it. Think I'm wrong? OK, but how many of you have seen someone else capitalize on an idea that had crossed your mind last year and you just let it go because it would cost too much, or it would take too much time, or, or, or? Yeah, we've all had those moments. Those moments when we didn't have enough Faith in ourselves to be the success that we want to be.
By visualizing the things we want, and affirming to ourselves daily, that we can have them, we can make big things happen in our lives. I'm here to tell you though, it's a never ending process. You can't do it once and expect it to work. You can't get to the point of feeling "oh, I've got this", because the moment you let it go, it goes. It has to be a daily process. But, I'm also going to tell you that by keeping up these processes, you're building yourself, and your Faith in yourself, and a person who believes in themselves is unstoppable.
Do you want to be unstoppable? I know I do.
This time around I promised to talk about finding our faith in who we are and what we do. This is the hardest part for me, and may have lead to dragging my feet about making this post, only slightly less important than having faith in oneself, is having personal responsibility, and I promised. : )
So, how do we find the faith within ourselves that may not have been instilled in us growing up?
How do we overcome the lack of faith that may have been instilled in us as we were growing up?
Well, the fact is that many people turn to religion, some feeling that that is the only way to find TRUE faith, and others just because it's easier for them to let go to a concept like God than to face their inner power. I would argue that the inner power that most of us have a hard time facing is, in fact, God. It's just easier to put it all on the Great Bearded One In The Sky, than it is to accept that we have all the power of God right inside of us. I'm not going to go any further on this course though, because we all have differing ideals about God and Religion and all that stuff, and to be honest, I think we all should find whatever path takes us to the place were we feel the utmost faith that we can do anything.
The fact is that Faith is nothing more than the knowledge that things will be just as we feel they will be. 100% Guaranteed. No doubts.
The processes I've talked about the last few posts can all help get you there. Visualize where you want to be. Attract into your life the things needed to accomplish it. Act on those things when they manifest themselves. Be grateful to God, The Universe, and Yourself for making it happen. Don't forget Yourself. Opportunity shows up every day, in every way, but if you don't make the conscious decision to look for it, it will go on to the next person who may well be looking for it. Think I'm wrong? OK, but how many of you have seen someone else capitalize on an idea that had crossed your mind last year and you just let it go because it would cost too much, or it would take too much time, or, or, or? Yeah, we've all had those moments. Those moments when we didn't have enough Faith in ourselves to be the success that we want to be.
By visualizing the things we want, and affirming to ourselves daily, that we can have them, we can make big things happen in our lives. I'm here to tell you though, it's a never ending process. You can't do it once and expect it to work. You can't get to the point of feeling "oh, I've got this", because the moment you let it go, it goes. It has to be a daily process. But, I'm also going to tell you that by keeping up these processes, you're building yourself, and your Faith in yourself, and a person who believes in themselves is unstoppable.
Do you want to be unstoppable? I know I do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
