Point Of View

As I enjoy growth in my career, it often challenges my thought process. As a creative person I am always seeing things through a kind of idealistic prism. Business and creativity can really make strange bed fellows. It is all about adjusting your point of view. How you proceed in a particular situation is all based on how you perceive it. In order for us as musicians/artists to truly achieve our goals, we have to be able to honestly look at where the industry is and how we fit into it or better yet how we will make it fit us. The term music business is truly an oxymoron but we have to be able to look at ourselves as two separate entities at all times. There has to be the creative side which is the driving force. This is the side of us that remains pure and unconcerned about anything other than getting our art expressed. There also has to be the business side which can take what we create and understand how to market it and make money from it. Even though you don't want the pursuit of money to corrupt your creative being, you still have to understand that in order to get to a certain level you have to make a business plan based on YOUR profit. You simply have to decide in what and where to invest your time. Let's face it, we can not become wealthy or even live comfortably by just playing club gigs. We have to find a way to take those great shows and great music, that we sometimes give away for free or at least at a cut rate, and figure out how to package them and market them to the masses in a way that will allow us to make money even while we sleep. This can be done via Internet marketing but it has to be consistent Internet marketing. You have to build a fan base and create a profitable brand not just a brand. You can create a brand that is recognizable based on exposure but is it making you money?For example: you can be branding yourself by playing clubs and gigs but if you are not developing a fan base that is willing to spend money on what you have to sell then you are wasting your time. It's simply about looking at what we do differently. We are in control! We have to see ourselves in this light not as followers or beggars waiting on managers, attorneys and labels to give us something. We have to change our point of view and see ourselves as deserving. Most of us don't believe that we deserve to be wealthy and that is evident in our daily actions. If you want more out of your life and career, you simply have to change how you look at things. There is beauty to behold and success to be had if you can only SEE IT! Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Mind Your Associations

One of the biggest mistakes we make in pursuing success in the music industry or any industry is that we don't connect ALL of the dots. Achieving something is all about your mind set, environment, influences and associations. The latter is where we often times miss the mark. It is vitally important that we mind our associations. We have to choose who we associate with based on where we want to be, not where we are and definitely not where we've been. I mean when you where twenty years old, hanging out at the club every night or weekend might have been cool for twenty, but at thirty or forty your level of socializing should change. When we were younger it seemed that we chose friends just based on emotion, even if you knew someone had different goals, beliefs, morals or energy. To truly become successful in any field, every thing you do must contribute to that end. Even how you spend your down time. If your goal is to be a wealthy label owner or entertainment attorney, I seriously doubt if spending your free time at the dance club is really going to improve your stock. It's all about networking and you have to consistently put yourself in places that will grow your network and career. Successful people don't usually hang out in place that don't contribute to their growth. It's all about consistently raising your own exposure by going to more industry events such as those sponsored by The Recording Academy, ASCAP, BMI, . . .etc. It also seems that being able to play some golf is a must. Lots of big deals are made on the links. You can have just as much fun but in this case you can truly party with a purpose and trust me you end having a much better time knowing that you are networking, having fun and learning all at the same time. Another thing to remember is that we are always being watched and people judge you by the company you keep. You can't hang out with a certain type of person and say well what they do is on them, no it's on YOU too because birds of a feather really do flock together. This association thing is so deep that it even transfers to your personal life. People also take notice of the type of person you choose as a significant other and how that person carries themselves. Choosing the wrong personal relationship can ruin your career because that person represents you ALL of the time and if they are loud, rude, profane or unruly, this can be a strike against you because it says a lot about your ability or inability to judge character. Understand that there are NO days off from building your career, brand and network. This is your passion so you have to treat it as such. It's time to grow up and raise your levels of association. Watch how it changes your life. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Just Start!

When pursuing your goals, dreams or passions it always seems easier to do when you are younger. Youth seems to bring a certain bravery and tenacity that sometimes evaporates with age. It's like that commercial slogan, "Life comes at you fast." This is so true. The biggest issue we seem to have has nothing to do with knowing what our goals are. We know what we want, we just seem to have a problem taking that first step. Pursuing a goal is like running a race and if you are going to complete the race the first thing you have to do is to start running. I know this seems like common sense but you would be surprised at how many people are deathly afraid of taking that first step. This is mostly because it requires you to step into the unknown and to most people this can be too much. We all want certain guarantees when embarking on new ventures, especially as we get older because we don't feel like we have as much time to take risks anymore. The truth is that we take simple risks everyday. Security is perception, better yet it is an illusion. Most people are simply held prisoner by their pursuit of security instead of just living their lives full out in pursuit of their goals or personal legend. No matter what age you are, you are never too old too start something new. Once the thought or idea is given to you, just start, don't talk yourself out of it with a bunch of excuses. What usually happens is that you will have an idea and not move on it but once your idea has been birthed it must and will be fulfilled whether you do it or not. Have you ever seen something and said hey I had that idea but someone else beat you to it? The fact is that they didn't beat you too it they just acted on the idea while you were still making excuses. Remember, thoughts are things and once they are in the air they belong to the universe and must be fulfilled so don't just sit on anything. In order to be successful you have to DO something other than talk about it, in fact let your ACTIONS do the talking for you. You only fail when you don't start or try to move on your ideas or inspiration. Now waste no more time! Go right now and START you process. Success is simply waiting on you to start.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011