I have kind of a strange New Year’s Eve tradition: I make a list of everything I’d like to be free of. Then, I burn it. And then I flush it. Double catharsis.
On that note, I thought it might be handy to have a list of the Top 10 CUT THROUGH THE NOISE posts of 2009 to not burn/flush and to hopefully (!) reread/re-forward.:
1. Content Is Not King
It’s YOUR job to identify and celebrate your fans, to turn them into super-fans; your brand runs on super-fans.
2. The New Free
Free is dead. Over. Overdone. We killed it.
3. Size Matters
It’s not the length that matters… it’s how you use it.
4. I’m Broke But Here’s $100 Anyway
Sell me a shared experience. Not only will you get my money (even when I don’t have it to give) but also free publicity (as I brag to all my friends).
5. Everyone’s a Lazy Idiot (Including Me)
Newsletters, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc… if you’re still pooh-poohing any of these, wake the fuck up.
6. My Mom Wants Your Fans
If you don’t have me at RT, somebody else will. And that somebody could very well be my mom. Or your mom. Or Joe the Plumber.
7. When You Don’t Ask, the Answer Is Always No
Not asking is like leaving money lying on the table.
8. Lefsetz Is Wrong
The way you make me feel about your product handily trumps the actual product. In a heartbeat.
9. Think Outside the Tribe
Other than your music, what else do your fans have in common?
10. My English Major Beat the Crap Out Of Your Rockstar
Not only do you have to make great music, you have to learn how to write about it.
Happy New Year!
xo
12/28/09 | Comments (0)Tags: Bob Lefsetz, CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Fans, KATE BRADLEY, MASOKO SOCIAL, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Seth Godin, shared experience, The New Free, The Value of Emotional Value, Tribes, Twitter —
Even Donald Passman agrees, “the common denominator to all successful people is a blend of talent and drive, with (frankly) drive having the edge.” Translation: just like any entrepreneur, you’ve got to drive the ship. You’ve got to lead the way.
The question then is… how? That’s what everyone wants to know. For sure, owning a compelling product is only the beginning. What you do with it is then the challenge, creating a sense of more-than-music for your fans, leading them to/through it.
So, how do you attach meaning to your music? How do you assign value to it, above and beyond the music itself?
The easiest answer: exploit like-tribes. Your first instinct here might be other artists (co-bill, both sets of fans get introduced to your respective bands, etc.). Fine. That works. No harm. But everybody’s doing it. Burnout factor: high. And still, you’re limiting yourself to “just” music. You’ve got to be more inventive. You’ve got to lead. You’ve got to think outside the tribe.
Start by looking at what already exists: other than your music, what else do your fans have in common? Anything from microbrews to hybrid vehicles to Guitar Hero to pizza. It doesn’t matter. Identify peripheral tribes. Leverage the common threads. By recognizing that your fans have other interests and associating those interests with your music, you reinforce your role as leader. And by attaching music (sadly, now so free it’s virtually worthless) to stuff with a higher value, you create instant more-than-music. Example A.
You can do it.
11/9/09 | Comments (0)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Donald Passman, KATE BRADLEY, MASOKO SOCIAL, Michael Miller, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Seth Godin, The Value of Emotional Value, Tribes —
First things first, exclusive Donald Passman interview posted here next week! Sweet.
Meanwhile… you know the drill but as a reminder, In Short is our “tribal” feature here at Outlandos HQ. Meaning that, chances are if we share the same taste in music, we share the same taste in other random stuff — lifestyle stuff. And by lifestyle, we mean drinking, bouncing or jumping up and down on the stairs for the fun of it. All in a day’s work, so to speak.
1. Boxed Wine
Recently dabbling in it. After all, 4 to 6 bottles of wine for the price of one. Wine not? Apparently, boxed wine sales across the board increase 30% this year thanks to ye old recession. Our new fave is Black Box. Our least:
2. It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Dude on a Rubber Ball.
Whoa. You might miss it the first time, keep your eyes near the upper right. Kind of makes you want to go out and try it. Or pull a Halpert:
3. Volkswagen Clues into Tribes
Sort of. Sneaky of them to sponsor something where it’s cool by association. Certainly smart. If only lawnmowers had music boxes:
xo
10/26/09 | Comments (1)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, IN SHORT, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Seth Godin, Tribes —
You know the drill but indulge me for a little reminder here….
We know, for example, that fans prize souvenirs — a tactile take-away that reminds you of the feeling you have when listening to music. It’s kind of like what we’re doing with The Daily Dose — further enhancing the “sensory experience” with rock ‘n roll wine and cheese picks so as to emphasize “more than music.” Certainly, a recommendation isn’t exactly “tactile,” but it does bring us closer, drawing upon multiple aesthetic experiences and uniting them in one place. So, perhaps upon purchasing the wine or cheese of the day, upon tasting them, you’ll conjure up the associated songs, thereby giving the taste an added, well, taste.
All of that, the long way of saying: multiple aesthetic experiences rule the day. And things that you associate with music are likely the same things other people (who like the same music as you) might be curious about. It’s a Tribes-thing.
Hence, this month’s semi-random compendium:
Perhaps one for everyone you know this Christmas? Plus they have action figures, star mugs (sans Jim and Dwight), Office Clue… it was really hard for me to not buy one of everything. And it’s totally overpriced. I don’t care.
Ladies, it’s kind of irresistible. The furry casing complete with cat tail. I love love love it.
3. Empire, My New Favorite
No news here of course but all summer, we’ve been on a retro-blockbuster binge here at Outlandos HQ, to maintain sanity during all that insistent soggy weather. Highly recommend it.
Empire appeared late on the list and it had been ages since I’d seen it. So for the millionth time, we watched.
Of the three (let’s face it, Episodes I – III might as well not exist) this one always bummed me out. As it was supposed to. But as a little girl, it was the scary one and the sad one and the gory one (at the time, Luke losing a hand was gory to me). Now, it’s the one I love the most. Imperial Walkers, Laugh it up, fuzzball, that hot, hot, Han Solo kiss. If only they could get rid of that dreadful added footage.
xo
9/28/09 | Comments (0)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, IN SHORT, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Seth Godin, shared experience, THE DAILY DOSE, Tribes —
Half the battle of achieving anything is knowing when you need help (and let me save you a couple of hundred bucks in therapy here, you ALWAYS need help… think public radio model: “we’re all in this together/I can’t do it without you”). The hard part for some, then, is asking for it.
Obviously, shamelessness = a plus, i.e., just the simple act of asking is not for the tame-at-heart. SOL if that isn’t your bag; you’re going to need to acquire some assertive chops pronto. Because (say it together with me people) when you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
But asking isn’t even the hard part. First, you have to have people to ask. You have to have fans.
Whether it’s your mom (or mine), your friends, your coworkers — I don’t care — everyone has fans. What’s more is, everyone has fans just WAITING to help. They’re WAITING for you to ask, WAITING for you to lead them (don’t believe me? See: Tribes).
In short: you’d be surprised by the people who are willing to go to all kinds of lengths for you (for free!), people who genuinely want you to succeed… and, as Afterschool Special as this may sound, all you have to do is ask.
How you ask is a whole other ball of wax. But suffice it to say, not asking is like leaving money lying on the table. And that would be highly un-entrepreneurial of you now, wouldn’t it? Tsk, tsk!
9/7/09 | Comments (5)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Fans, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Tribes —
