missy shows us the way
i’ve tinkered with the high end of the music business here, but it’s really not my thing. that said, it’s foolish to ignore the rareified air and amazing dollars floating around up there, and one thing tim oren and i agree on is the cultural significance of these pop stars.
but today (well, yesterday), the new york times shares the missy [elliott] methodology. today we have a third-party comment on a second-party analysis of a pop phenomenon’s formula for success, so the margins of error are, well… grand.
that said, since there is no perfect model, this model has demonstrated success for at least one performer, so it’s worth taking a peek.
lay on the plan
we introduce the plan, in five simple life-changing steps. you can do this easily in just 1440 minutes per day!
step 1: get help
step 2: get into the grooves
step 3: get nasty
step 4: get ripped off
step 5: get over yourself
(you can count out this plan on just one hand. and it works!)
get help
the times article talks about musical collaboration, but i want to take this a couple steps further. nobody can do it all. most bands wouldn’t switch-up their instruments on every gig – sure, your guitarist might be functional on drums, but you got a drummer for a reason. specialization is valuable. consider the variety of skills and talents it takes to make a living in this business of music. embrace the philosophy and realize that you may be a great singer, but if you’ve never managed to balance a checkbook, it’s time to ask for help.
musical collaboration is a great thing (and something i definitely encourage), but that’s just not taking this point far enough. get help. lots of help.
get into the grooves
singles. singles. singles. i talked about it in here, and it’s come up before, but it’s about infecting brains with a single track. for some performers (and this model isn’t for them), a concept album is important – for some it’s critical.
what counts is breaking the ice on that relationship with your audience, and the tool you have to do that is your song. so make it count. make it good. polish it up and practice it and take it to the next level, and then find a way to get it into the ears of your potential fans.
get nasty
controvery helps. at the very least, it gives your audience something to talk about. prince knows it. missy knows it. push boundaries and challenge people. innovate. you may chase off the casual fans – and that’s ok. what will keep you eating better than ramen is the fans that connect with you on a deeper level – the ones that stay with you for years.
get ripped off and
get over yourself
these really overlap a lot for me. embrace your fans even if they are other musicians. take this all the way back to “step 1” and turn it into an opportunity to collaborate.
stay true to yourself and your art, and don’t lose your head (you aren’t all that)
that wasn’t so hard… now get out there and work it!