14 Vital Factors for Indie Music Success
February 22, 2007 by Jo Minor
Found a great post on Bob Baker’s blog:
- Turn your mistakes into a reference library, not a room to live in.
- Do not take advice from people who are broke and struggling —
unless you want to end up like themyou can admire them and appreciate their talent, just don’t take career advice (especially financial) from them. - Great marketing is falling in love with something, then selling your love for it — not the product itself.
- Realize the lifetime value of a fan: It’s far more than a $15 CD sale.
- Pick one aspect of your music or personality and make that the cornerstone of your public identity.
- Conduct yourself as if you deliver great value to everyone you encounter — even if you don’t believe you actually do at the moment.
- Be willing to take smart risks and overcome the fear of failure. Ask: “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Usually, not much.
- Beware of the quick fix. The sure and steady marathon beats the sprint every time.
- Ask: “How did you hear about us/me/the event?” It’s one of the best, low-cost research tools you can use.
- Ask: “What will it take to get from ‘Here’s what I dream about’ to ‘Here’s what I did’?”
- No one will manage you until you can manage yourself.
- Be proactive instead of reactive. In other words, create the circumstances you want, don’t merely respond to what’s handed to you.
- Stagnation occurs when your fear of the unknown is greater than your desire for a better life.
- What you do today sets the stage for the success you will enjoy tomorrow. Don’t squander today.
There’s a full heated discussions going on in the original post about item number 2. You know, the age-old argument of Talent vs “Selling Out”
For me, it was point number 1 that hit me hard. Indeed, I’ve been turning my past failure into a living room, and not leaving that room.
As Borat would say, “Great success..”.
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