I was in the car racing to another appointment and started to do what we ALL do. Make that call. Get that NEXT appointment set up. Return that voicemail call. Try to open another door and make another connection.
Ahhh there is the magic word. Connection. We have to connect or we cannot get our dreams done right?
I mean if we don't connect with people we can't help them and they of course cannot help us. We simply have to reach out and connect. That's why mobile phones are the world changing phenomena they are. They give us 24/7 anytime ability to connect.
But the connection I needed most was in a place deep in my soul that only music could reach. I mean I am a guy who calls home so much when traveling even my wife says "talk to you TOMORROW right?". But I NEEDED to hear a song. A certain song and there the connection technology saved me again.
So instead of using the phone to place a call, I dialed up a track that my brain had been itching to hear and been echoing through my heart. I cannot tell you how much of a connection there was when the track flowed out of the speakers.
I turned it up. Louder and louder till the crack of the drums and the whispers of the vocals pushed me and pulled me along to a place I needed to go so badly. Its probably very weird to be so moved by a song in traffic that you begin to tear up. I'm not talking about a sad love song, I am talking about a bombastic rocker song that just hit me and moved me. Ok. Call me insane. I don't care. This is what I live for.
I need these musical connections. We all do. If you love music, make music, listen to music, promote or sell music. Put down the phone and turn up the tunes. You'll be better for it. Even if you missed the call of your life. They will call back. and you will be so much better to talk to .
11.24.2009
11.16.2009
Clearing the dead wood
I just had 2 formerly magnificent large oak trees removed from my front yard. It was very sad at first. I was pretty upset that these wonderful shade trees had to go. My house will not look right from the street for one thing. For another, why did they have to go?
Because apparently, they were completely dead. Ok. so no leaves in the spring, but can't we just leave the huge structure for posterity? Nope. You see, with a windstorm they could come right down on the house. Right down on the corner where my kids sleep. I couldn't take that chance.
But why did they die? Who knows. But they were very much not alive and very much not going to come back so they presented a danger. So for a couple of sad days we watched them be hacked up and taken apart and taken away. Perhaps something useful to come from the dead wood, but here in the landscape where they dominated, nothing but a memory of their glory days.
Once they were gone, I took a look around and realized how much yard was suddenly available for other things. How the seemingly endless stream of falling leaves might not be missed. Yes the yard was different, but it was more open and a new sort of beginning seemed possible out there. My sadness became introspection as to the possibilities. I had to see things differently but simply could not imagine the new until the old was out of the way.
This mirrors in many ways what has happened in the music business. The old strong oaks are dead or dying. Some of the old powers that were, cannot dream of life without them dominating the landscape as they have seemingly forever. but its too late. If we don't clear the dead wood we cannot build anything new. We are in danger of old structures falling and crushing precious new things before they can become vital. We have to accept that a new day has dawned.
Music goes on forever, as does plant life in my little yard. But the old ways must be cleared for new things and new life.
My hope is that, as an older guy who has made a very good living in the old music world, I never cling to dead trees. I want new life and new music and new fans. I hope that TourSavant can be a part of the new along with many other new plantings.
Because apparently, they were completely dead. Ok. so no leaves in the spring, but can't we just leave the huge structure for posterity? Nope. You see, with a windstorm they could come right down on the house. Right down on the corner where my kids sleep. I couldn't take that chance.
But why did they die? Who knows. But they were very much not alive and very much not going to come back so they presented a danger. So for a couple of sad days we watched them be hacked up and taken apart and taken away. Perhaps something useful to come from the dead wood, but here in the landscape where they dominated, nothing but a memory of their glory days.
Once they were gone, I took a look around and realized how much yard was suddenly available for other things. How the seemingly endless stream of falling leaves might not be missed. Yes the yard was different, but it was more open and a new sort of beginning seemed possible out there. My sadness became introspection as to the possibilities. I had to see things differently but simply could not imagine the new until the old was out of the way.
This mirrors in many ways what has happened in the music business. The old strong oaks are dead or dying. Some of the old powers that were, cannot dream of life without them dominating the landscape as they have seemingly forever. but its too late. If we don't clear the dead wood we cannot build anything new. We are in danger of old structures falling and crushing precious new things before they can become vital. We have to accept that a new day has dawned.
Music goes on forever, as does plant life in my little yard. But the old ways must be cleared for new things and new life.
My hope is that, as an older guy who has made a very good living in the old music world, I never cling to dead trees. I want new life and new music and new fans. I hope that TourSavant can be a part of the new along with many other new plantings.
11.06.2009
What are we doing here?
That is probably the question most of us have asked ourselves from time to time, whether you are contemplating life, your career or the cosmos. Its a really good question.
I got a glimpse of some music business folks answers in the Lefsetz letter today. Most of you reading this will be a Lefsetz subscriber anyway, but in case you didn't see it here is the post. http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
I love the quote in there where Bob says "People are always looking for the answer. Usually, the answer comes after the start. You've got to begin in order to find out where you're going. But if you never begin, you never get to the destination". His Eureka moment and one we all should pay attention to. If you never begin you never get to the destination!!!!!
There are 1000 reasons for us to hold off on things and sometimes you should make sure you have certain things ready, but honestly our website at http://toursavant.com is in beta. We could have, should have waited right? things don't all work perfectly! you know what? you gotta launch and correct course, surge forward and correct course. Based on the feedback you get, your own discoveries as you go. If you don't go you will never know.
As an artist this should be even more simple. Follow your heart PERIOD (note you are following - the heart wants out the door to show the world its goods all the time - we just repress it). Don't let too much info change your thinking. If your heart accepts some guidance and you feel it -do it! but don't you don't have to please everyone, just yourself to start with. and if you are sitting in your bedroom wishing people could hear your stuff, stop wishing and start moving. I hope we can be of some help.
Show people what you are doing here. as with all advice, this one should be tempered by the reality that you gotta put in the time to get good enough to deserve people paying attention to you, so use that time in the garage well. then get going.
I got a glimpse of some music business folks answers in the Lefsetz letter today. Most of you reading this will be a Lefsetz subscriber anyway, but in case you didn't see it here is the post. http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
I love the quote in there where Bob says "People are always looking for the answer. Usually, the answer comes after the start. You've got to begin in order to find out where you're going. But if you never begin, you never get to the destination". His Eureka moment and one we all should pay attention to. If you never begin you never get to the destination!!!!!
There are 1000 reasons for us to hold off on things and sometimes you should make sure you have certain things ready, but honestly our website at http://toursavant.com is in beta. We could have, should have waited right? things don't all work perfectly! you know what? you gotta launch and correct course, surge forward and correct course. Based on the feedback you get, your own discoveries as you go. If you don't go you will never know.
As an artist this should be even more simple. Follow your heart PERIOD (note you are following - the heart wants out the door to show the world its goods all the time - we just repress it). Don't let too much info change your thinking. If your heart accepts some guidance and you feel it -do it! but don't you don't have to please everyone, just yourself to start with. and if you are sitting in your bedroom wishing people could hear your stuff, stop wishing and start moving. I hope we can be of some help.
Show people what you are doing here. as with all advice, this one should be tempered by the reality that you gotta put in the time to get good enough to deserve people paying attention to you, so use that time in the garage well. then get going.
11.04.2009
The new time frame
Well its been a revelatory week for yours truly. I came from the music publishing world and more specifically international music publishing. The pace of that business is positively old school. You get paid 2 times per YEAR! It's pretty relaxed. Big checks show up every 6 months and you figure out who gets what. That's why music publishers are not nearly as uptight as their label brethren. This has been true forever and in every country of the world.
The new music business reality has made things a little more intense for music publishers. For one thing, there are so many fewer royalty opportunies for phyiscal product that EVERY publisher from the giants to the smallest are chasing the nickels and dimes for film and TV placements and performances. So its a little more intense in terms of business competition, but the pace is still pretty relaxed. Especially compared to the online world.
This week was a fantastic real life lesson for me about how different the old world is from the new.
We launched our beta site monday at http://toursavant.com . Our mission is to help bands get to fans.
Its the music industry. But its a whole new pace. Here is one example of how.
Our Toronto office sends out a twitter about the site and our auto tour router feature -
http://tinyurl.com/yzd2ten Within an hour he gets a DM back from a follower (http://twitter.com/geminijess) to look at http://shrednews.com since they think it might be a good fit for TourSavant. He looks, calls me. I look. I email the founder Eric Sullivan. Within 10 minutes I get an email back with a note saying "yes, looks cool lets talk" and btw links to our site are going up immediately on their 2 sites. huh? In the period of less than an hour we did a link exchange deal with a party I had only spare knowledge of this morning!
This is the new time frame kiddos. It is light speed compared to the old music business. better get used to it.
The new music business reality has made things a little more intense for music publishers. For one thing, there are so many fewer royalty opportunies for phyiscal product that EVERY publisher from the giants to the smallest are chasing the nickels and dimes for film and TV placements and performances. So its a little more intense in terms of business competition, but the pace is still pretty relaxed. Especially compared to the online world.
This week was a fantastic real life lesson for me about how different the old world is from the new.
We launched our beta site monday at http://toursavant.com . Our mission is to help bands get to fans.
Its the music industry. But its a whole new pace. Here is one example of how.
Our Toronto office sends out a twitter about the site and our auto tour router feature -
http://tinyurl.com/yzd2ten Within an hour he gets a DM back from a follower (http://twitter.com/geminijess) to look at http://shrednews.com since they think it might be a good fit for TourSavant. He looks, calls me. I look. I email the founder Eric Sullivan. Within 10 minutes I get an email back with a note saying "yes, looks cool lets talk" and btw links to our site are going up immediately on their 2 sites. huh? In the period of less than an hour we did a link exchange deal with a party I had only spare knowledge of this morning!
This is the new time frame kiddos. It is light speed compared to the old music business. better get used to it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)