Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Zombies?
Since getting involved in media production, movies and TV, I have always sensed that a lot of the people in the biz were way too fascinated with Zombies. It seems like every other idea includes Zombies. What is it with you people? There are no Zombies.
I thought... stop writing stories with Zombies in them. Geez.
Then I watched The Walking Dead. Love it. Forget that the Zombies are in it. They're part of the circumstances. The filmmaker's tongues are in their cheeks. I'm only up to Season Two and the stuff may find a shark to jump but so far... Nice! Terrific use of music. This highlight reel includes a song used in the show. It's a Wang Chung tune (Space Junk). Good stuff.
Zombies... yup, Zombies.
I thought... stop writing stories with Zombies in them. Geez.
Then I watched The Walking Dead. Love it. Forget that the Zombies are in it. They're part of the circumstances. The filmmaker's tongues are in their cheeks. I'm only up to Season Two and the stuff may find a shark to jump but so far... Nice! Terrific use of music. This highlight reel includes a song used in the show. It's a Wang Chung tune (Space Junk). Good stuff.
Zombies... yup, Zombies.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Four reasons your version of better might not be enough
- I might not know about your better, because the world is so noisy I can't hear you.
- I might not believe it's better, because, hey, people spin and exaggerate and lie. Proof is only useful if it leads to belief.
- The perceived cost of switching (fear, hassle, internal selling and coordination, money) is far higher than your better appears to be worth.
- Your better might not be my better. In fact, it's almost certainly not.
Seth Godin
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Bob Lefsetz on Making it in Music
Bob Lefsetz on Making it in Music.
1. THE INFECTION
It's either a song or a video, you hear it or see it and say to yourself I WANNA DO THAT! That's what created classic rock in the U.S., everybody seeing the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan" and picking up instruments and playing in bands.
The trappings always count. But they can never be the essence. When you're young you want to be famous, everybody wants to be rich. But if these are more important than the music itself, you'll probably have a very short career.
2. PLAYING
You ask your parents to buy you a Strat.
In the old days, you could learn how to play in school. Before people believed taxes were bad and not only were school music programs excised, teachers had to bring in their own paper, kids had to bring in all their supplies.
So the pool of musicians is smaller than ever before. I'm talking about people who have experience playing an instrument. Yes, you can create music using a computer program, but it's not the same thing. One can argue strongly that those who use the computer tools best are those with the greatest underpinning in music education.
3. LESSONS
There are a few self-starters who can do without, but they're the very small minority. Furthermore, you build upon fundamentals, get them wrong and you're just reinforcing bad habits.
You can take classes in person, you can take them online, but it's best to learn from a teacher.
4. PRACTICE
May not make perfect, but it makes you a whole hell of a lot better than everybody else. You should be able to switch keys on the fly. You should feel as comfortable playing as talking.
5. PLAYING 2
At first you play in your bedroom, then you play with others. You learn from others. Sure, there are the exceptions who create great tracks in their bedrooms, alone, but they are rare. Playing with others you learn so much.
Like how good or bad you are.
Good players want to play with better players. If you're bad, you're gonna be with the other losers.
6. THE TROUGH
You've put in all this time.
First, you have to evaluate if you've got it. If your friends have so much more skill than you, if you'd rather watch ESPN than practice, you're a hobbyist. That's fine, the sooner you own it the better.
7. PLAYING LIVE
Gigs are hard to get and you're gonna suck.
Friends give you gigs. If the venue owner is not your friend, if you have no relationship, unless you can show a track record, and as a beginner, you've got none, your efforts will be fruitless. Who does your father know? Does someone in the band know... Play school events for free. You know you're worth getting paid when if you say you'll pass, you won't do it for free, suddenly an offer of cash comes through. It's raw capitalism, supply and demand.
8. THE ARC
If it's getting harder to get gigs, get better or give up.
9. RECORDINGS
No one wants to hear your recordings except your fans. You've got none. Your mother and friends might be interested, but they're not honest reflectors. Until someone not related demands tracks, you're not good enough yet.
Your first recordings will suck. Just like playing your instrument, recording is a skill, that you learn.
10. DEMAND
There will be next to none even if your recordings are good. If you haven't done the work, there will be no demand at all. If you're depressed and want to give up, do so.
11. VIDEO
If you're getting positive response, if you're getting better, post your music online, in both MP3 format and YouTube videos. These are land mines waiting to be discovered. You hope you become so successful everybody wants to check out everything you've already done. Promotion is worthless. Everybody's overloaded with too much information. Presence online gives you the possibility of traction.
12. AFTER TRACTION
Then you play bigger and better venues, mobilize your fanbase by giving them perks, which will motivate them to spread the word, and continue to make live performances and recordings available online.
But still most people won't care. You're an amateur.
13. GETTING LUCKY
If you're working the connections to break through, you probably won't. You'll get the opportunity, but you'll fail. Today there's a plethora of people looking for talent. If you're good, they'll find you. First it might only be venue owners, gigs will become less rare and better. Then it will be agents and recording companies. Development will be slow, but you can feel it. If years go by without this development, get better, give up, or change musical direction.
14. GIVING UP YOUR DAY JOB
This is more important than getting a deal. Record companies don't support bands anymore, only Top Forty phenoms. If you can't make it alone, you're never gonna survive. Don't complain, keep working, or give up.
15. BUZZ
You will continue to grow if you've got it.
16. SUCCESS
Will come much later than you think, long after you've become comfortable being a journeyman. It takes just that long to reach everybody and convince them today.
SHORTCUTS
1. TV TALENT SHOWS
It's about television, not music.
Odds of success are low even if you win.
As for the exposure, you just become a trivia question.
Furthermore, they're looking for pretty people with good voices. You need neither to make it in music, only on TV.
2. GARAGEBAND
Just because you can make it, that does not mean anybody wants to hear it.
3. POSTING & iTUNES
Just because it's available to view and buy, that doesn't mean anybody wants to see it or purchase it.
4. CDs
A souvenir to be sold at gigs, nothing more. Anybody who will get you ahead does not want a CD.
5. YOUTH
You've got nothing to say. And like a date with a beautiful person with no personality, it doesn't last.
6. TV SHOWS & ENDORSEMENTS
Tying in with a corporation or getting your music in the background of a TV show may yield some cash, but it will never yield a career, not unless you've got one to begin with.
THE HIDDEN SECRET
WRITE
Because that's where all the money is, in publishing.
It takes years to be able to write good material. Start now. Right after you learn how to play your instrument.
IF YOU'VE GIVEN UP AND STILL WANT TO BE IN MUSIC
Go into the business.
You do this by working for free. Not even as an intern at an established entity. But by being on the college concert committee, helping manage a friend's band... None of this is for money, it's all for experience.
The easiest way to make it in the business is by attaching yourself to a great act. But great acts tend to want experienced people. They leave you for those with more seasoning, with connections. Furthermore, there are few great acts out there.
Many are clamoring to work in the business. Even if you get a gig, it's gonna be hard to keep it. Enjoy the ride, don't be in it for the money. Those in it for the money, who make it, could have made it doing anything, it's their personality.
Furthermore, there just ain't that much money in music anymore.
FINALLY
Nobody needs your music. They need air, food and water. And personal, physical comfort. If you want a career in music you must do your best to be necessary. And that's got nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with the music itself, which is all based on the bedrock outlined above.
1. THE INFECTION
It's either a song or a video, you hear it or see it and say to yourself I WANNA DO THAT! That's what created classic rock in the U.S., everybody seeing the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan" and picking up instruments and playing in bands.
The trappings always count. But they can never be the essence. When you're young you want to be famous, everybody wants to be rich. But if these are more important than the music itself, you'll probably have a very short career.
2. PLAYING
You ask your parents to buy you a Strat.
In the old days, you could learn how to play in school. Before people believed taxes were bad and not only were school music programs excised, teachers had to bring in their own paper, kids had to bring in all their supplies.
So the pool of musicians is smaller than ever before. I'm talking about people who have experience playing an instrument. Yes, you can create music using a computer program, but it's not the same thing. One can argue strongly that those who use the computer tools best are those with the greatest underpinning in music education.
3. LESSONS
There are a few self-starters who can do without, but they're the very small minority. Furthermore, you build upon fundamentals, get them wrong and you're just reinforcing bad habits.
You can take classes in person, you can take them online, but it's best to learn from a teacher.
4. PRACTICE
May not make perfect, but it makes you a whole hell of a lot better than everybody else. You should be able to switch keys on the fly. You should feel as comfortable playing as talking.
5. PLAYING 2
At first you play in your bedroom, then you play with others. You learn from others. Sure, there are the exceptions who create great tracks in their bedrooms, alone, but they are rare. Playing with others you learn so much.
Like how good or bad you are.
Good players want to play with better players. If you're bad, you're gonna be with the other losers.
6. THE TROUGH
You've put in all this time.
First, you have to evaluate if you've got it. If your friends have so much more skill than you, if you'd rather watch ESPN than practice, you're a hobbyist. That's fine, the sooner you own it the better.
7. PLAYING LIVE
Gigs are hard to get and you're gonna suck.
Friends give you gigs. If the venue owner is not your friend, if you have no relationship, unless you can show a track record, and as a beginner, you've got none, your efforts will be fruitless. Who does your father know? Does someone in the band know... Play school events for free. You know you're worth getting paid when if you say you'll pass, you won't do it for free, suddenly an offer of cash comes through. It's raw capitalism, supply and demand.
8. THE ARC
If it's getting harder to get gigs, get better or give up.
9. RECORDINGS
No one wants to hear your recordings except your fans. You've got none. Your mother and friends might be interested, but they're not honest reflectors. Until someone not related demands tracks, you're not good enough yet.
Your first recordings will suck. Just like playing your instrument, recording is a skill, that you learn.
10. DEMAND
There will be next to none even if your recordings are good. If you haven't done the work, there will be no demand at all. If you're depressed and want to give up, do so.
11. VIDEO
If you're getting positive response, if you're getting better, post your music online, in both MP3 format and YouTube videos. These are land mines waiting to be discovered. You hope you become so successful everybody wants to check out everything you've already done. Promotion is worthless. Everybody's overloaded with too much information. Presence online gives you the possibility of traction.
12. AFTER TRACTION
Then you play bigger and better venues, mobilize your fanbase by giving them perks, which will motivate them to spread the word, and continue to make live performances and recordings available online.
But still most people won't care. You're an amateur.
13. GETTING LUCKY
If you're working the connections to break through, you probably won't. You'll get the opportunity, but you'll fail. Today there's a plethora of people looking for talent. If you're good, they'll find you. First it might only be venue owners, gigs will become less rare and better. Then it will be agents and recording companies. Development will be slow, but you can feel it. If years go by without this development, get better, give up, or change musical direction.
14. GIVING UP YOUR DAY JOB
This is more important than getting a deal. Record companies don't support bands anymore, only Top Forty phenoms. If you can't make it alone, you're never gonna survive. Don't complain, keep working, or give up.
15. BUZZ
You will continue to grow if you've got it.
16. SUCCESS
Will come much later than you think, long after you've become comfortable being a journeyman. It takes just that long to reach everybody and convince them today.
SHORTCUTS
1. TV TALENT SHOWS
It's about television, not music.
Odds of success are low even if you win.
As for the exposure, you just become a trivia question.
Furthermore, they're looking for pretty people with good voices. You need neither to make it in music, only on TV.
2. GARAGEBAND
Just because you can make it, that does not mean anybody wants to hear it.
3. POSTING & iTUNES
Just because it's available to view and buy, that doesn't mean anybody wants to see it or purchase it.
4. CDs
A souvenir to be sold at gigs, nothing more. Anybody who will get you ahead does not want a CD.
5. YOUTH
You've got nothing to say. And like a date with a beautiful person with no personality, it doesn't last.
6. TV SHOWS & ENDORSEMENTS
Tying in with a corporation or getting your music in the background of a TV show may yield some cash, but it will never yield a career, not unless you've got one to begin with.
THE HIDDEN SECRET
WRITE
Because that's where all the money is, in publishing.
It takes years to be able to write good material. Start now. Right after you learn how to play your instrument.
IF YOU'VE GIVEN UP AND STILL WANT TO BE IN MUSIC
Go into the business.
You do this by working for free. Not even as an intern at an established entity. But by being on the college concert committee, helping manage a friend's band... None of this is for money, it's all for experience.
The easiest way to make it in the business is by attaching yourself to a great act. But great acts tend to want experienced people. They leave you for those with more seasoning, with connections. Furthermore, there are few great acts out there.
Many are clamoring to work in the business. Even if you get a gig, it's gonna be hard to keep it. Enjoy the ride, don't be in it for the money. Those in it for the money, who make it, could have made it doing anything, it's their personality.
Furthermore, there just ain't that much money in music anymore.
FINALLY
Nobody needs your music. They need air, food and water. And personal, physical comfort. If you want a career in music you must do your best to be necessary. And that's got nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with the music itself, which is all based on the bedrock outlined above.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Top Brands - The list is in!
Forbes has a ranking of the world's top brands. Apple is #1. Oddly enough, there are four auto makers with more revenue than Apple; Toyota, VW, Ford and Nissan. The BMW brand at #9 is the highest ranking automaker. That surprised me a little. I would have guessed Toyota which showed up in spot #14. I would have also guessed that BMW would have come after Honda (19) and Mercedes (16) as well. Remember - this is the world, not just the USA. Ikea (43), Nintendo (40) and L'Oreal (25) come in well ahead of 59th ranked Ford. Fox was 99th and Kleenex nosed in there at 100. Hermes International (well, laadeedaa) made the top 100 (#85) beating out Lexus (87) and even John Deere (89). Hermes slipped past me. I gotta get out more. So it's official, both Indiefair and Priceway Systems didn't make the make the top 100.
Click here for the full article in Forbes.
Click here for the full article in Forbes.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Corrections
ISSUE 48•30 |
07.28.12 | Corrections
Last week, The Onion reported that all our troubles are over, when in fact all is lost. We regret the error.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Krumpty
KRUMPTY
We might look away slightly, not giving away our intent (distract). Then without warning, we deliver a crushing blow (attack). It is a most satisfying activity.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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