Archive for January, 2014

There is one question that you can answer, that will boost your productivity level through the roof. It will open up loads of opportunity for you. It will get you the response that you want out of business and out of life in general. To be honest, this didn’t stand out to me until a good friend (and mentor) of mine, brought this to light and made it clear to me.

So, what is this most important question ever?

ANSWER: ——————————–> WHY???

You might be thinking ‘that’s it?!’ Yes, it’s that simple.

So, now let me explain WHY answering the question WHY is an extremely important aspect and should be the basis of everything you do.

Think about it. When you were little, and your mom told you not to do something, what did you ask? WHY? You asked that because you wanted a valid reason not to continue doing what you were doing.

When you go for a job interview, the purpose of that is what?… So the employer can find out the reasons WHY they should hire you.

When you do something wrong, your boyfriend/girlfriend always asks you WHY you did it. (And, your answer better be valid! LOL)

When you are looking for a sponsorship, in order to get it, you need to be able to fully explain (or prove) WHY you deserve the sponsorship.

When aiming to get a record deal, you must show the label WHY they should sign you.

Should I keep going, or do you get my point?

This concept is called ‘Catering to the WHY’ and it is extremely important for you to get the hang of this. This concept especially helps in business. It will change the way you do, and think, about things. It will make you be more efficient in everything you do, because before you make a decision, you are always asking yourself …WHY? WHY should someone listen to my music? WHY am I going to contact this person? WHY should they respond to me? WHY should a record label sign me? Your words and your actions should prove it.

When writing these articles I really try to make everyone see the bigger picture. There are a few basic concepts that you can master as an individual in order to be able to move forward at the momentum that you want. This concept helped put things into perspective for me, and I hope it does the same for you.

“It all starts with the way you THINK”

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There are thousands of people out there creating music. There are only a handful of those people that really understand what it takes to succeed, and they are the ones that are truly shining. Unfortunately, since there is such an overflow of clueless “artists” out there, there are also a bunch of clueless “companies” that make their money feeding off of these poor “artists” and making them think that their services are in fact useful to their careers. But this isn’t just the companies’ fault, it’s the actual mindset of these artists that allows these scams to go on.

We like to call these artists… “treadmill” artists, because, you guessed it, all they do is run in place.

Mindset of a “Treadmill” Artist:

• They think that all they need to succeed is to record a mixtape over industry beats.
• They hope to one day be “discovered” by a famous rapper and get signed off of said ‘mixtape.’
• They don’t feel the need to put money into getting the best quality recordings and they especially don’t think they should put any money into promoting their music, because ‘that’s what the record deal is for.‘
• They don’t feel the need to utilize social media because they are ‘hot in the streets.‘ OR, they only utilize social media as their main source of ‘promotion;’ they don’t see the need in getting out there and dealing directly with the people.
• They are constantly in search of a manager and/or have hired their best friend/cousin/uncle, etc. to be their manager, because they think that having a manager makes you look like you’re really making moves.

Because of this mindset, these artists get scammed and stuck at the bottom of the totem pole, doing things that only keep them running in place.

For example:

Characteristics of a ‘Treadmill’ Artist:

• Records a mixtape and tweets it to everyone on Twitter and tags a bunch of people on Facebook begging to be heard.
• Pays to perform at local showcases because ‘(insert big named rapper/producer/A&R)’ will be there.
• Pays a company $50-$100 to tweet their record.
• Pays an unknown DJ for a spot on their mixtape.
• Pays for a $50 email blast.

And the list goes on…

The thing is, you might FEEL productive, but are the actions that you’re taking actually bringing you closer to your goals? Or, let’s take a step back, do you even have any goals or are you just winging it?

Also, are you going around constantly talking about yourself or are your actions speaking for you?

Are you going around saying how hot you are or are others spreading your name in the streets?

The point is, if you plan on succeeding and really making a career out of music,  you really have to set goals and do things that are really going to put you in the position to reach those goals.

Just because you might FEEL productive, doesn’t mean that you’re actually accomplishing anything. You could just be spending a ton of time doing the wrong thing, which will lead to you wondering why your career isn’t ‘popping off’ the way it should.

Keep it real with yourself!

Do you have hot, undeniable, original material? Or do you have this ‘mixtape’ that you really only have a few hundred to a few thousand downloads on?

Can you pack a venue? Or even bring out 50 people to a show?

Are DJs checking for your record, or are you spamming them with tweets and emails asking them to play your latest ‘pound cake’ freestyle?

Are you selling any music or merchandise?

If you’re not doing any of those things, you really need to re-evaluate your plan and make sure that you don’t fall into the ‘treadmill artist’ category.

Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged, but let this be a wake-up call.

Remember, “Whatever you lack, someone else has mastered.”

Peace.

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