Recording Artist Advocate: What do they say about you - when you are not in the room?

I’m hearing that attributed to several different business leaders; “What people say about you is your brand.”

It’s one of the most important questions you need to know the answer to. And it is something you have a great deal of control over.

Do people say you put on a great show, or do they tell their friends about the time you got drunk and started calling out people from the stage?

Do they say you show up on time or how they never know when, or if you’ll show up?

Do you take care of your equipment or always have breakdowns or missing cables?

These are all things you have almost absolute control over. You know your limits and how to stay sober – You have a clock and alarm. – You can go through your gear and plan ahead.  

And if something does go wrong, you deice how to react. How you react will be remembered more than anything else. Get upset and start blaming, or have a sense of humor and resolve to do better.

As for me, I can truly say that whenever something failed royally, I had the opportunity to fix it – often several times, but put it off. I had to realize it came down to me.

So, young grasshopper, learn from the mistakes of others and take charge of how people remember you. It is a reflection of who you actually are. Be better and people will say good things – even recommend you to others.

That’s how you become successful or fail. It's up to you. 

Recording Artist Advocate: The power of being nice...

Google Andrew Scheps. Look for videos where he is just talking to someone.

You will get the impression he is a really nice guy. Genuine and articulate, but more than anything he is very competent and able to connect with people.

I don't know if he works at that or if it comes naturally. But I want to be like that.

As successfull as he is, I'll bet there are people who want to work with him just because he's so easy to be around. I know there are people I don't want to work with just because they arent. 

So, assess yourself. Are you easy to work with. You may need to ask someone else this.

If you are, that's good. It's basic to your success. If you arent; what can you do to get there? 

A small change in your attitude can come back to you in more ways than you expect. I'm not saying to be a pushover, but do what you can to be nice. Leave a good impression. Be active about it.

Think of the word : attractive.  We think it means "good looking"...  but a magnet is attractive.

When you are nice - easy to work with - you are like a magnet to other people. 

Recording Artist Advocate: The mental game of expectations

Somewhere in the past I have a really good post about spiraling up... as opposed to spiraling down. It comes from a commedian - slash - motivational speaker who realized he could go in front of an audience expecting a great show or a bad show... and he would usually get exactly what he expected. So he started going in expecting a great show. 

As I recall, he started even thinking about how he would be at ease and the audience would start to feed off him. No detail was too small or specific. He said it became like remembering backwards. He would look at a future event as if he was remembering the details. 

The take-away is that the better he expected the show to go, the better it went.

Now he also has to write good material and do his homework, and you do too. You can't neglect practice or writing and expect to just wing it with a good attitude... but some successfull people do that.

Set yourself apart by working harder than the rest AND expect the best.

You will find what you look for... what you expect.

Recording Artist Advocate: Relationships are the most important thing...

I would say that no-one has you on speed dial, but I mean that just because your out there doing shows... don't expect your phone to ring. 

When we had the radio stations we would tell clients that every time you make an impression on a potential client it builds on the previous one. You have to be constantly telling your story to break through the noise. It's the same with music. People have so much music coming at them they can't listen to it all. They have to feel a connection.  

That usually doesn't happen on it's own. You will have to make it happen. 

That may be someone they respect saying you are the real deal. It may be the way you come across in an interview. It may be seeing you again live and getting the same great show.

It's going to mean stepping up and hitting all the marks... performance, recording, interviews, and working the march table. Hey, if it was easy everyone would do it.

What you will see is that while you keep doing things right, other artists will make mistakes or just quit trying altogether. I've seen it so many times; they just can't get out of their own way. A little success goes to their head and they won't do the work to go higher. In the meantime, you just need to keep stacking good on top of good. Eventually it pays off with more bookings, merch sales, and media coverage.  

Sometimes it just comes down to the last man standing. Keep making those connections, building those relationships, and building your career.

Recording Artist Advocate: I'll say it; Secret Societies got some things right.

We all read the stories and watch the YouTube videos; Secret societies control the world - you have to be a member to be a success.

Don't believe it. But I'll admit there is some truth in there.

Imagine you want to get in good with a venue owner or booker or media person. You have to realize a lot of them know each other. They are part of an interdependent group. It's not a secret society... there are no secret handshakes that I know of, but they will be more comfortable with you when you are a member of their club - so to speak.  

Before you get upset think about this; you don't consider someone a fellow musician just because they bought a nice guitar. You evaluate them usually based on what someone else says, and you can be pretty hard on newbies. 

The people you want help from do the same thing. 

For every good show you may get a point. Do a lot of great shows and there are more people who can vouch for you. But if you have a bad night or do something stupid like show up late or get drunk, take away several points. Remember, you are trying to have enough people say good things about you to be in their "club". It's a vetting process. Everyone has to go through it.

The only shortcuts are getting to the people who have the most influence. But even then you have to be careful. Never make anyone feel like you are elbowing past them. You want as many people as possible to feel they played a part in your success. 

When someone asks about you, what are they going to hear? What kind of impression did you make on the people you worked with already?

Will they want you in their club?