Music for Profit

Party A wants what Party B has. They agree to trade something they have for what the other wants.

In this earlier post, I retold the story of an exchange that took place in my childhood literature: exchanging smells for sounds. This is part of a series of posts that build up to some very common questions I continue to receive from people looking for success in the music industry.

Above you’ll see a very very simple illustration. There are two people. Let’s call Party A by the name “Andy” and Party B  by the name “Bill.” They just finished a transaction of commerce. Here’s the exciting details of how it went down:

• Andy has something that Bill perceived as valuable. Bill wants what Andy has.
• Inversely, Bill has something that Andy not only sees as valuable to him, but he wants it for himself.
• Andy and Bill agree to a trade. Andy will give his valuable item to Bill, and Bill will give his valuable item to Andy.

Somehow, Andy found out that Bill has some item. Furthermore, Andy wants it in his possession. Andy wants it bad enough that he will give up things so that he can be the owner of that same item that Bill wants:

• Andy will definitely give up time to think about how to get his hand’s on Bill’s toy.
• Andy will cancel his dinner date so he can focus on acquiring this item. (Remember Opportunity Cost?)
• Andy may trade something he owns to get one for himself.
• Andy might give up more to prevent Bill from having what Andy has not.
• Andy might even risk jail time for the thrill of stealing one of these valued items.

The list goes on, but you get the point, right? If Andy wants this magical item that Bill has, he should be prepared to give up multiple tangible and intangible assets in his quest to acquire it from Bill or from someone else.

The same goes for any business relationship, or deal, or even purchasing a piece of music. The same type of costs apply even when you’re trying to decide whether to drive to the store to buy a new CD, or download it from an online store, or acquire it in a legally-questionable manner like from a file sharing service.

Food for Thought:

What is an upcoming business transaction that will take place between you and another party (Even if it’s just ordering pizza)? How many tangible and intangible costs can you identify that you may need to cough up in order to close the deal?

Tags: Business, business models, costs, economics, expenses, finance, stick figures, time

The concept that makes this book a unique and valuable addition to a musician’s bookshelf can be summed up in a single word: “Service.” Unlike so many other business development books that teach marketing and sales, this one is geared specifically toward small businesses interested in providing service to customers. And service to your fans is one of the most important principles that MusicForProfit.com keeps trying to hammer home. (See community of raving fans, and  taking care of your customers, and Rule #3 of the 4 business principles to follow)

I have read through it once, and now I’m going to go back for a deeper read a second time. In the meantime I’ve been recommending this book to pretty much everyone who is currently focused on developing an in-person relationship with paying clients.

Two Action Items (one free, one almost free):

• Sign up at ThinkBigRevolution.com and notice how Port profits from this rabid community of fans without trying to sell them anything.
• Get the book at Amazon: Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing and Selling

Tags: booking, Business, service

From The One Minute Manager to Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, it is written that there is only one rule in business. This one:

Wherever you look, in any industry, you’ll find that the first rule of business is to earn more than you spend.

Tags: expenses, finance, Musicforprofit, principle, profits

Whatever you call them – employees, teammates, coworkers, grunts, bandmates, roadies – your people literally are the gears of your company. When you care for your team, they will be happy and motivated, and your company will run like a well-oiled machine. When you treat them poorly, then the effect will likely ripple down to your customers or fans and adversely affect your bank account.

Derek Sivers, who has done amazing things to help musicians thrive (CD Baby and Muckwork for example), has a great post on his blog about how you should keep in mind that you are communicating with real people. Just like you. Whether it’s a cubicle wall, telephone line, or the vast depths of the Internet that separates you, you must assume there is a living, breathing person on the other end and attacking them won’t help your cause.

Finding the right people to help you reach your goals is so incredibly important, because it’s simply not possible to succeed in life without working with someone else. Once you’ve found those invaluable employees, bandmates, or roadies, taking care of them is the first responsibility of your business. The support networks of other individuals you create in life with work as a multiplier for your success.

The Problem is…

…as musicians, former musicians, people working with current and former musicians, we tend to get wrapped up in the chaos that surrounds the creative process. That chaos can easily get in the way of our ability to operate our business. It also affects the people around us who are trying to help us succeed.

So how do you keep the business machine running smoothly, taking care of these four rules and more, without crippling our creativity?

(more…)

Tags: assistants, Business, employees, management, team

My most notorious moment during my stint with Poland’s Idol was getting tackled by a big-boned teenage girl who wanted a kiss, outside of a big record store.

I recall it now because I was trying to think of all the times I felt something other than devotion and gratitude toward fans of my art. I was trying to put myself into the mindset of a famous musician who will go nameless, who hid from the world in his dressing room to the detriment of his relationship with his fans.

It took place at a popular US music festival, and he was very late to the stage. He should have started performing an hour ago. Fortunately for the fans, someone from the venue went to see Mr. Late in his hotel room, very apologetic and looking to do whatever was necessary to make the artist happy.

Entertainers and companies both have love/hate relationships with those who sustain them – customers. I think that sometimes performing artists forget that while they may continue to create their art no matter what, the people that enable them to do it are the fans, the customers. The same goes for customers.

Companies are the same way – more than one CEO has confided in me a dislike for customers. Maybe not all, but most of them. Such resentment is a very dangerous way of doing business in any industry.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of really bad customer service?

I think we’ve all had that experience where the attention and care that a business has for you is just pathetic. It makes you want to tell all of your friends, and family, and Twitter followers never to consort with them again.

Now think about the opposite. Have you ever had the most amazing experience in the world from a business or service, and thought, wow they GET me? Again you tell all of your friends, family, and Twitter followers.

I have definitely experienced both scenarios more than once, and told everyone about it. The business that couldn’t care less about me as a customer got burned, and for the business that went above and beyond to take care of me, I was free advertising.

Unfortunately, I have worked for more than one business in my life that actively disregarded its customers, and I was amazed at the measures customers took to hurt the business. Despite having a truly unique and useful product, that business never achieved the success they felt their product had deserved because of this one failing. Fortunately, I’ve also been involved in a business or two that believed that NOTHING was more important than customer service. What resulted is a very loyal and committed following of customers. Those customers would go through great lengths to help us out, and help out our product.

Between the two businesses mentioned above, which would you rather associate yourself with?

Tags: customers, fans, Musicforprofit, principles, service