Carla vs Goliath: More Motivation

At the recent Indie Music Boot Camp in NYC, my buddy Bob Baker  turned me on to a maverick music business blog called The Lefsetz Letter. This guy, Bob Lefsetz is a music industry veteran who has his finger on the pulse of reality, and is not afraid to tell it like it it. I respect people like that a lot.

Yesterday’s Lefsetz Letter explains why having community on the web is the way to self-sustaining career success in the Music Industry 2.0. As far as I’m  concerned, he’s preachin’ to the choir, and I’m happy to share some of his wisdom:

“And Clive Davis eviscerates the honesty of the acts. He calls in professional songwriters, he crafts an image and an identity. All that is left is the song, you’re just a cog in the wheel, you can be quickly forgotten. You don’t want to be forgotten, but remembered. It’s less about crafting a catchy hit than capturing the ears and minds of your fans. Look at Dispatch. They might not make music memorable to Clive, but most of Clive’s charges can’t sell out arenas years after they’ve broken up.

Kelly Clarkson can’t sell out arenas seeming moments since her last big hit, still in the public eye all the while. You’re in control. It’s not about getting the attention of some mover and shaker. Your team is you, all the time. You’re convincing the end buyer, middlemen are no longer relevant. Forget radio, forget retail. It’s about having a presence on the Web and allowing people to find you. And playing live. But that’s actually less efficient than your Web campaign, you reach fewer people playing gigs. The tour is the victory lap. If you can go on the road and charge, if you can put together a whole tour, you’re on your way to success, you know you’ve got something going. Sure, some people can make it based on the live vibe first and foremost. Then the Web is about the community first, not the music.”

Run, don’t walk to read the rest of this blog now!