Derek Sivers

When I do my 1-2 hour talk to a crowd, I leave this point until the end, because I consider this the most important lesson I ever learned.

For YEARS I let smart people talk me into things that just weren’t right for me. I’ll bet you have, too. I went down wrong paths, doing things I wasn’t excited about, because someone or something convinced me it was what I “should” be doing.

Then I finally figured out something that’s made all the difference, and I’ve been happier and more successful since:

There’s a compass in your gut that points two directions : EXCITING and DRAINING.

No matter what advice anyone gives you - no matter how smart the person telling you what to do - you need to let this compass override your other decisions.

Whatever excites you, go do it.

Whatever drains you, stop doing it.

I’ve seen too many musicians get into music because they LOVE playing drums, for example. They love it so much they want to do it for a living. But then the world says, “If you’re going to be in the music business, you have to understand cross-collaterization! You have to read this book on music business law. And you need a great website. So you have to learn HTML. And Flash. And how to stream audio files on the web. And you need to understand marketing, and accounting, and blah blah blah….”

Soon this drummer is spending all his time doing everything BUT play the drums, and decides it’s not worth it! He gets a job at a bank and loses interest in his drums, because a career in music now seems like the most awful thing ever.

Yes, the people who said he should know all that stuff meant well, but nothing is worth losing your enthusiasm. NOTHING!

You have to pay close attention to that compass, even in little day-to-day decisions. You get offered a gig - they’re on the phone waiting for an answer - is it exciting you or draining you? To make a new website is going to take about 10 hours of work. Does that excite you or drain you?

If it doesn’t excite you, don’t do it.

There’s almost nothing that you MUST do. Someone somewhere is excited to do the things that drain you. Find them and let them do it.

Work towards this ideal, and soon you’ll be doing only what excites you the most, all day. Then you’ll find that doors open for you, opportunities come your way, life seems to go easier, because you’re doing what you’re meant to do.

Want to know the basic rule or marketing and promoting your music?

Constantly ask, “What do they really want?” (with “they” being anyone you are trying to reach)

Think hard, and don’t take this one lightly.

Thinking of everything from the other person’s point of view is one of the best things you can do in life. If done right, it will elevate you into the clouds along with a few select immortal beings.

Every time you lift up the phone. Every time you write an email. Every time you send out a presskit.

Think why people in the music industry are REALLY working this job. Try to imagine them as just a well-meaning human being who is probably overworked, looking for a little happiness in the world, and likes music (or the music world itself) enough to do what they do, even though they could be doing something else.

Think what their email “IN” box must look like, and how it would be unwise for you to send them an email with the subject of “hey” followed by a 7-page email detailing your wishes for success.

Think what people are REALLY looking for when they go out to a club to hear music. For some people, it’s just a way to be seem to increase their popularity. For some, they’re searching for some music that does something completely original and mind-blowing. Some are looking for total visual entertainment.

Nobody owes you their attention. Not your audience. Not a person you happened to call or email. Not even the music industry.

Let go of your ego entirely. Think of everything from their point of view. Be their dream come true. Do what they really want.

(This even goes down to the smallest levels: what kind of phone message you leave, what kind of cover letter you write in a package, what kind of subject header you put in your email.)

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll be or do exactly what you want.

Reach people like you would want to be reached.

Would you rather have someone call you up in a dry business monotone, and start speaking a script like a telemarketer?

Or would you rather have someone be a cool person, a real person?

When you contact people, no matter how it’s done (phone, email, mail, face-to-face) - show a little spunk. Stand apart from the crowd.

If it sounds like they have a moment and aren’t in a major rush, entertain them a bit. Ask about their day and expect a real answer. Talk about something non-business for a minute or two.

Or - if they sound hectic, skip the “how are you”, skip the long introduction, ask your damn question and move out of the way.

This means you must know your exact question before you contact them, just in case that ultra-quick situation is needed.

Reach them like you would want to be reached. Imagine what kind of phone call or email YOU would like to get.

If you’re contacting fans, imagine what kind of flyer they would like to get in their mailbox. Something dull and “just the facts” - or something a little twisted, creative, funny, entertaining and unique? Something corporate, or something artistic?

This is a creative decision on your part. Every contact with the people around your music (fans and industry) is an extension of your art. If you make depressing, morose, acoustic music, maybe you should send your fans a dark brown-and-black little understated flyer that’s depressing just to look at. Set the tone. Pull in those people who love that kind of thing. Proudly alienate those that don’t.

If you’re an in-your-face, tattooed, country-metal-speedpunk band, have the guts to call a potential booking agent and scream, “Listen you crazy dirtbag! I’m going to explode! Ah! Aaaaaaah!!!” If they like that introduction, you’ve found a good match.

Be different. (Even if it’s just in your remarkable efficiency.)

Everyone wants a little change in their day.

People will always and forever ask you, “What kind of music do you do?”

Musicians often say, “All styles, really.”

If the stranger you said that to happens to be a fan of African music, watch out! You better combine the polyrhythmic drumming of West Africa with the rich vocal harmonies of South Africa, with the microtonal reeds of Northeast Africa. And if they have any awareness of the rest of the world, then your CD better combine rage-rap, country linedancing, Chinese opera, ambient techno trance, Hungarian folk songs, and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman. (Hey - you said “all styles” didn’t you?)

This example is extreme, but constantly remember: people know nothing about you, or your background, or where you’re coming from. If you say you sound “totally unique” - then you better not have any chords, drums, guitars, words, or any sounds that have ever been made in the history of music.

When you speak to the world, you are speaking to strangers from all kinds of backgrounds and tastes.

Open your mind. Realize you don’t sound like all styles, and you’re not totally 100% unique.

Do them a favor. Don’t assume anything. Say what it is you sound like. Narrow it down a bit.

If you do this in a creative way, (“We sound like the Incredible Hulk having sex.”) - you can intrigue people and make them want your CD, or want to come to your next show. Whereas if you had said, “Everything” - then you didn’t make a fan.

Go get a music magazine that writes about new music.

You’ll read about (and see pictures of) dozens of artists who you’ve never heard of before.

Out of that whole magazine, only one or two will really catch your attention.

WHY?

I don’t have the answer. Only you do. Ask yourself why a certain headline or photo or article caught your attention.

(Was it something about the opening sentence? Was it a curious tidbit about the background of the singer? What was it exactly that intrigued you?)

Analyze that. Use that. Adapt those techniques to try writing a headline or article about your music.

A person asks you, “What kind of music do you do?”
Musicians say, “All styles. Everything.”

That person then asks, “So who do you sound like?”
Musicians say, “Nobody. We’re totally unique. Like nothing you’ve ever heard before.”

What does that person do?
Nothing.
They might make a vague promise to check you out sometime.
Then they walk on, and forget about you!
Why???
You didn’t arouse their curiosity! You violated a HUGE rule of self-promotion! Bad bad bad!

What if you had said, “It’s 70’s porno-funk music being played by men from Mars.”
Or… “This CD is a delicate little kiss on your earlobe from a pink-winged pixie.”
Or… “It’s deep-dancing reggae that magically places palm trees and sand wherever it is played, and grooves so deep it makes all non-dancers get drunk on imaginary island air, and dance in the sand.”

Any one of these, and you’ve got their interest.

Get yourself a magic key phrase that describes what you sound like. Try out a few different ones, until you see which one always gets the best reaction from strangers. Use it. Have it ready at a moment’s notice.

It doesn’t have to narrow what you do at all. Any of those three examples I use above could sound like anything.

And that’s just the point - if you have a magic phrase that describes your music in curious but vague terms, you can make total strangers start wondering about you.

But whatever you do, stay away from the words “everything”, “nothing”, “all styles”, and “totally unique”.

Say something!

Proudly say what you’re NOT: “If you like Celine Dion, you’ll hate us.” …and people who hate Celine Dion will love you, or at least give you a chance.

You can’t please everyone in this world. Recklessly exclude people.

Almost like you’re the doorman at an exclusive club that plays only your music. Maybe you wouldn’t let in anyone wearing a suit. Maybe you wouldn’t let in anyone without a suit!

But know who you are, and have the confidence that somewhere out there, there’s a little niche of people that would like your kind of music. They may only be 1% of the population. But 1% of the world is 65 million people!

Loudly leave out 99% of the world. When someone in your target 1% hears you excluding the part of the population they already feel alienated from, they’ll be drawn to you.

Write down a list of artists who you don’t like, and whose fans probably wouldn’t like you. Use that.

There is a vodka company that advertises itself as The Most Expensive Vodka You Can Buy.

I’ll bet they’re very successful with it. It’s almost a dare. (And it proudly excludes people!)

Other companies are all trying to find ways to be the cheapest, and someone had the guts to decide that they were going to do exactly the opposite of everyone else.

There are some people who read the Billboard charts, and try to imitate the current trends and styles.

I suggest, even as an experiment, strongly declaring that you are something totally UN-trendy - the opposite from what everyone else wants or is trying to be.

Perhaps you could advertise your live show as, “The most boring concert you’ll ever see.”

Perhaps you want to call your music, “The most un-catchy, difficult to remember, un-danceable music you’ve ever heard.”

Or tell the music industry, “This music has no hit potential whatsoever.”

I’ll bet you get their attention.

It’s almost a dare.

Let’s say you’ve decided that your style of music should be proudly called “powerpop”.

If you say, “We’re powerpop!” in the very first sentence or paragraph all of your marketing.
If your email address is “powerpop@yahoo.com”
If your album title is “Powerpop Drip and Drop”
If the license plate on your band van is “POWRPOP”

Well then… when someone comes into my record store and says they like powerpop, guess who I’m going to tell them to buy?

Have the confidence to find your niche, define who you are, then declare it again and again and again and again.

If you do it persistently enough, you will OWN that niche. People will not be able to imagine that niche without you.

(You can try to make your own, if you’re brave. You might be “the best techno-opera artist in the world”.)

On CD Baby, there is a great musician who made an amazing heavy-progressive-metal record.

When we had a “search keywords” section, asking for three artists he sounds like, he wrote, “britney spears, ricky martin, jennifer lopez, backstreet boys, mp3, sex, free”

What the hell was he thinking? He just wanted to turn up in people’s search engines, at any cost.

But for what? And who?

Did he really want a Britney Spears fan to get “tricked” into finding his dark-progressive-metal record? Would that 13-year-old girl actually spend the 25 minutes to download his 10 minute epic, “Confusing Mysteries of Hell”? If she did, would she buy his CD?

I suggested he instead have the confidence to target the REAL fans of his music.

He put three semi-obscure progressive artists into his search engine description instead, and guess what?

He’s selling more CDs than ever! He found his true fans.