Innovative Marketing

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What's most fascinating about the late night wars is how few people are actually watching. Once upon a time, there were three networks, an appearance on Johnny Carson could break your career wide open. Today, five percent of America watches NBC during prime time. Back in the '52-53 season, it was thirty percent. Something's changed. But the reporting hasn't.

Yes, I got these statistics from the "New York Times". But mostly the article on NBC/Conan/Leno was a rehash. It was as if you'd never paid attention to the story previously, as if you'd never read TMZ, had no Web connection. Trying to get the story right ended up making it so bland that only the most dedicated would ever read the article. But in the past, we read, because that's all we had. The Sunday "Times" plunked down on our doorstep, there was no Web.

But what made me fire up my computer was Stephen Elliott's essay "The D.I.Y. Book Tour" on the inside back page of the "Book Review".

Ever wander into a bookstore during a reading? The room can be packed with bodies, but oftentimes there's no one there but the author and the proprietor. But this is how you sell books. By going to where the people buy them.

"The Adderall Diaries" is Mr. Elliott's seventh book. It got good reviews. But the concept of going out on the usual suspect book tour depressed him, he "didn’t want to travel thousands of miles to read to 10 people, sell four books, then spend the night in a cheap hotel room before flying home. And my publisher didn’t have the money for that many hotel rooms anyway."

Sound like the music business? You can't even get a deal with a major label, and if you do, they take a plethora of rights and are reluctant to spend cash. And if they do open their wallet, it's to put you on TV, to meet radio programmers, who are inundated with talent and rarely care about you. They're worried about their own jobs, not yours. There's an unending supply of wannabe acts. If you don't make it, so be it.

Mr. Elliott decided to try something different:

"Before my book came out, I had set up a lending library allowing anyone to receive a free review copy on the condition they forward it within a week to the next reader, at their own expense. (Now that a majority of reviews are appearing on blogs and in Facebook notes, everyone is a reviewer.) I asked if people wanted to hold an event in their homes. They had to promise 20 attendees. I would sleep on their couch. My publisher would pay for some of the airfare, and I would fund the rest by selling the books myself."

Few people want a free book. What I'm saying is, only those people who truly wanted the free book would ask for it. Try this experiment... Stand on a street corner and try to give away your unknown CD. It's a difficult proposition, almost no one will take it. And those that do are probably afraid to deny you and will never listen to it anyway.

The readings that resulted were far different from in-store experiences. Some attendees were completely out of the loop when it came to famous authors. But the attendees couldn't get enough.

"The readings mostly went very long, over an hour with questions, and people didn’t leave. We were often up discussing until 1 in the morning."

The audience was rapt with attention, involved.

"All together, I sold about 1,100 books (not counting copies of my older books, which I was also selling) at 73 events. Seven hundred of those were books I purchased wholesale, a few hundred more were sold by local booksellers invited to the readings."

That's a lot of books. And you can bet those who read Mr. Elliott's book will continue to follow his career. After all, he came to their friend's house, they met him! It would be like seeing a new band in your buddy's living room.

But new bands would rather get radio airplay, or appear on TV. Both of which are difficult to achieve, are highly impersonal and rarely pay lasting dividends. But those are the established ways of breaking. But it's even worse, just like network TV, fewer people are paying attention.

You might feel good getting your album reviewed in the paper, even the "New York Times". But does your audience really learn about music from a traditional media outlet, where you can't even hear it?

Lost in the outcry about the death of traditional media is the fact that the audience has scattered, fewer people are paying attention, it's harder than ever to truly reach your potential audience, get them to check you out and close them. And it's actually converting people that counts. Radio statistics mean nothing in the abstract, nor do media clippings. It comes down to whether you have fans. But how do you get those fans to begin with?

Large music institutions are no different from NBC or the "New York Times". They keep tightening their belts and complaining that things are not the way they used to be. They're never going back to the way they used to be. We're never going to be limited to three networks again. If you want to succeed in the future you've got to throw the old rule book out, you've got to go directly to the people.

But this isn't sexy. You want to tell your mother your record was spun on KDRECK in Albuquerque, you don't want to tell her you played for thirty people in a living room. But the latter will probably pay more dividends.

But it's not as simple as finding a small place to play. You've got to tailor your act to your audience. Beat-driven extravaganzas don't work in living rooms. Nor does heavy metal cacophony. Acoustic music, with stories, featuring songs that work without production connect one on one.

Sure, people love to dance. They even love to head bang. But the audience for dance music loves the record more than the act, which sucks if you're the act. As for metal music... You just need a bigger place to play. Or one that befits your music. A large garage, with a keg of beer.

But whatever you do, your music must be inviting to the audience. Don't tell people that you've got it right, that they're wrong and they need to acknowledge your greatness. You've got to be so good, so in the pocket that people will call their friends to stop by, as opposed to making excuses and leaving themselves.

You've got to think for yourself. You've got to know most people over thirty five telling you how to make it have no idea what's really going on. You've got to know that you've got to start extremely small, and that growth to ubiquity might never occur. But if you're good, if people like you, your audience will expand, you'll make more money, you'll be satisfied, you will have built it yourself, reliant on no fat cat, fearful of no one pulling the plug.

"The D.I.Y. Book Tour": http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Elliott-t.html

"NBC's Slide to Troubled Nightly Punch Line": http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/business/media/17nbc.html

"More Than A Rough Patch": http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/01/17/business/17nbc_g.html

Using Twitter

1. FAME

That's what it's based on. Maybe only personal fame, your friends and family, but in a cacophonous world, we only want the tweets of those we know and care about.

Let me be clear here. I'm not speaking about Twitter power users. Power users use Twitter as an overall information platform, searching for breaking news utilizing hash signs and search functions. It is possible that the general public will embrace this way of acquiring up to date information, but your goal now is to further bond people to you, so start with the basics.


2. WHAT TO TWEET

Your personality. First and foremost. If your identity does not come through, you're not doing it right. Sure, stating an opinion might subject you to abuse, but welcome to the Web, where too many powerful people used to having their asses kissed are confronted with criticism for the first time and hate it.

And speaking of hate... There are pure haters out there. If you're getting no negative feedback, you're not doing it right. The key isn't to take the edges off your tweets, but to build up your armor to the point where the negativity doesn't penetrate.


2. a. THE TWEET MUST BE YOU

Maybe it references your location, your birth place, your career, but assume that people already know a lot about you. Hit the ground running. Twitter is for fans, not casual listeners. It's the opposite of terrestrial radio. If people don't feel like insiders reading your tweets, you're doing it wrong.


2. b. CONTENT

Both personal and informational. What you're doing is cool. But if you're tweeting the mundane, you'd better be truly famous, worthy of TMZ coverage. Otherwise, put a hook in it. You went to your fave diner and suddenly it sucks. You're at the beach and the visuals are mindblowing. You're eating Chunky Monkey at Ben & Jerry's (illustrating your favorite flavor.) It's the opposite of traditional corporate music marketing. Instead of "Hello Cleveland", it's the Motel 6 next to the venue SUCKS and where can I get a good western omelette!


2. c. QUESTIONS

If you really want to know something, nothing is better than Twitter. But don't ask if you don't want to know. Where can I get a great hamburger here, the lock switch on my iPod is stuck, how do I fix it, has anybody seen this movie and is it any good?

People want to be your friend. Treat them as friends. If you ask a friend a question and then ignore him, he's pissed.


2. d. INSIDE INFORMATION

If you're in the studio, tell a story about it. Or sent a twitpic. Especially if it concerns something funny or someone famous.


3. FREQUENCY

Every day is more important than ten tweets in a row and then none for a week. Don't see tweeting as an obligation, do it upon inspiration. Some people love to tweet, that's fine, tweet away. But don't feel guilty if you suddenly have nothing to say. But don't self-edit to the point where you say nothing.


4. ANSWER QUESTIONS

Who is this person in the credits? Let your followers know.


5. FIX PROBLEMS

This is the number one way to bond Twitter followers to you. Not only do you look good to other followers, the person whose problem you solved will tell anybody and everybody how great you are. If someone got screwed, say you'll get right on it. And then have your manager or another team member address it instantly. Yes, speed is of the essence. These are your fans, don't make them wait, the same way you'd never arrive late for a hot date.


6. SIGN UP

Stop hemming and hawing, stop debating the inevitable march of the future, stop lumping Twitter in with MySpace and Facebook, stop making excuses why you can't play.

You're afraid to play. Yup, that's the truth. You're afraid of looking like an idiot, like you're not hip, like you're boring. But if you start on Twitter, you'll get the hang of it very quickly. And you'll begin experimenting, finding what works for you.


7. ARC

At first you're thrilled, you live to tweet.

Then a lull occurs. Why am I doing this again? How come my follower number is not increasing exponentially?

Maybe you'll stop for a week.

But continue to play.

It's a new world. Don't see this as direct to dividend. See it as a living, breathing procedure. Kind of like making music. Twitter should not be calculated, but an adventure.

And it does pay dividends. Both career-wise and emotionally.


8. CONCLUSION

Not everybody wants to follow you, but your fans are dying to. Because fans want more. And the more you reveal, the more unique you are, the less corporate bland you are, the more people will follow you and feel good about you.

Start here: https://twitter.com/signup?follow=

Use your real name, or a reasonable facsimile there of. This is not AOL in 1995, where you adopt an obscure handle that only you know the derivation of, you want to be able to be found, and followed.

2010 Predictions

Image by dannysullivan via Flickr

1. Ticketmaster and Live Nation Will Merge

After public outcry lasting a week, people will move on to tracking the exploits of faux celebrities and the two companies will get down to trying to improve their bottom lines. Which will depend not so much on fees, but the artists in the Front Line stable.

Expect innovative merchandising and distribution deals. The ability to stream concerts at home. And a ton of data delivered to acts that will allow them to enhance their careers.

Will this be enough to improve Live Nation's anemic bottom line? Will Ticketmaster be able to demonstrate growth? Unclear at this time. In a business where the lion's share of the revenue goes to the acts, it's hard to grow. But this is their challenge.

And if you want to compete with the behemoth, you've got to deliver more. And better.

Independent concert promoters must do more than pay an advance and sell tickets. They too will be forced to go high tech. Government conditions will allow independent ticketing agencies to flourish, but will they? Or will we learn that Ticketmaster does a good job (which Live Nation's ticketing debacle proved). Or will it all come down to money. How much new agencies will kick back and how little they're willing to profit.


2. Major Labels

History!

Well, that's not exactly accurate.

The behemoth will be TM/LN. What does the act need the major label for when they get can almost all these services from TM/LN and retain the lion's share of revenue from selling the music they do?

Expect major label rosters to continue to shrink. The majors will focus on winners. Broad-based acts that garner radio and TV airplay. However, these acts tend not to be winners in the live arena, so those slices of live revenue and merchandising in the 360 deals are worth little. And, the more people you try to reach, the blander the product. And this business has always thrived on cutting edge product. Which the major label won't sign, because it doesn't know how to expose it and doesn't see instant revenue.

In sum, a bad recipe.

Best to spin off new artist development to a third party and turn the major into a licensing house. Thrive from the catalog.


3. Independent Labels

Don't have 360 deals and don't have cash. If someone is telling you they're staring an indie label, laugh. Unless that someone is a manager and already has an interest in 360 degrees of revenue.

Suddenly, you're your own label. You get all the money, but you're doing all the work. Which artists are historically poor at.

So expect a roll-up of new acts.

So far, TM/LN is not in this business. And Red Light has a lot of acts, but little traction.

Some smart cookie, much younger than the players of today, will build a hit act. The old-fashioned way, slowly, via a lot of touring, employing new technology to spread the word. The success of this act will draw other new acts to this person. And out of nowhere, suddenly, you're going to have a brand new powerhouse.

These will be acts the oldsters want no part of at first. Because they don't see enough revenue. That's how new players always get started. By finding that which few are interested in and becoming the new mainstream. These new acts will be music focused. They won't even think about Top Forty radio. They'll put the fans first. But, they might just end up writing a ubiquitous track. Which is built by the people, not the industry.


4. Acts

Will focus on their niche instead of world domination. It will be about making a living more than earning a private jet lifestyle. These new acts will not be bitching that music is free, they'll be giving away their material, just hoping that you pay attention.

But don't be surprised when one of these new acts suddenly becomes ubiquitous. Because despite the balkanization of the Web, it also allows a story to be universally known, overnight.


5. Terrestrial Radio

A dying medium for music.

The stations are overleveraged, or already in bankruptcy, and they're cutting back infrastructure and banking on twenty plus minutes of commercials per hour. You're supposed to double down, innovate in a crisis. But terrestrial radio has done just the opposite. It's dying, and it will never come back. In a world where no one experiences a commercial they don't want to, do you really expect people to listen to what you tell them and be sold to every third minute? You're dreaming.

Terrestrial radio will be about news and talk, those elements that are immediate. Music's been recorded previously, there's no urgency to sit through the b.s. to hear what you want to.


6. Satellite Radio

Has the benefit of being in automobiles, but a bad image. Will stay at the twenty million subscriber level unless the model is changed and the service becomes free. Don't expect that to happen.


7. Pandora

A winner. I find the service tedious, requiring way too much effort to hear what I want. Slacker is superior. But Pandora is winning.

All because of Tim Westergren. Who kept his company in the public eye. Who aligned himself and his company with the public, not the government or the powers-that-be. Yup, Tim kept rallying his troops, telling them to write to their representatives in Washington, to keep the service alive. To the point where Pandora got name recognition. To the point where it thrives not only on computers, but mobile phones. And is supposedly on the verge of profitability.

Learn Tim's lesson. Keep yourself in the public eye. Don't condemn your customers, rally them.

And know that the best service does not necessarily win.


8. Piracy

Will no longer be the focus of discussion. It will be about signing people up to subscription music services. How long will this take? The cards are held by the rights holders, until they play ball, innovation will be stifled.

Ever notice that Google search is free? That people clicking on ads support the service for everyone? This is the essence of a freemium model. Those paying for music subscriptions will subsidize those employing a free version, albeit with limits...i.e. advertising.

Until you've got the free version, you've got no incentive.

Once people have free streaming services on their desktops, they'll pay to have them on their mobile devices. Because first and foremost, all the data will synch, you'll have convenience and you'll save time. Furthermore, you'll get what you want, all your music on the go. And you'll pay for this.

Makes no sense to try to accumulate a library of tracks. Especially when the health of the business depends on experimentation, getting people to listen to new tracks. This process must be easy. Sure, hard drive space keeps getting cheaper. And broadband connections get faster. But it still takes time to steal and catalog all that music. So, if someone does it for you, will you pay a small price?

Of course.

Starting with small.

It's about regrowing the revenue stream. Not figuring out how we get back to the numbers of yore, but delivering a service people want for a price...and slowly raising that price, like every other service in America. Get 'em hooked first, then make your money.

Traditional labels may rail that music is being devalued. But savvy artists will realize it's about exposure. And that there's more ways to make money than recorded music. Which, of course, should be paid for, but should not be seen as the main way to earn your bread.


9. Music Video

Will be what it originally was. A way for fans and potential fans to experience the act, not a mini-movie. Veoh, if it ever works right, will not experience exponential growth because new acts will not make videos like those of the eighties and nineties, and will not be aligned with Veoh anyway.

Just like Veoh's videos are hosted by YouTube, so are the wannabes'. They can be embedded anywhere. Google/YouTube gives all artists this power. The majors/Veoh have no monopoly on distribution.


10. Retail

Already it's hard to find vast inventories of CDs. This will only get worse. Sure, diehard indie stores will survive, but Wal-Mart and Best Buy will continue to shrink floor space for music, down to essentially nothing.

But the big story will be the decline of the iTunes Store. Sale by track has always been death. You need to get more than a buck a track from a customer to survive. You need the higher price point of a subscription, that is still low, but so desirable that many people buy it.


11. Music

Will need to reclaim its rightful place as the most powerful art form. This will be done by innovative acts, not aligned with a major.

Today's audience sees music as background, not foreground. Aural grease in a club, not something you sit on your floor and listen to again and again as it fulfills your soul.

In order to turn the ship around, we'll need a plethora of artists who can sing, write and play. The new technological tools allow you to fake it in the studio, but it's much more difficult to fake it live. You may point to lip-synching divas as contradiction to this point, I'll say those are productions, whereas real musicians, playing live, sans effects, sans canned backup, touch the audience in a wholly different way, which bonds fans to them, which makes people want more.

Yes, we're going to experience a return to basics. Don't be distracted by the vast gobs of crap, whether it be the wannabes on MySpace or the no-talents on Top Forty radio. The growth will come from those who pay their dues, who rely on their talent.

None of the oldsters believe this. They point to grosses of jokes. They point to dollars as opposed to emotions. And that's how we've gotten to this godforsaken place. Until you focus on the essence, the music, motivating people to come to the show based on the sound alone, you're screwed. The shows will start smaller. They'll be cheaper. But the acts will be better. Because when there's less money involved, you don't do it for the fame, but the love.


12. Conclusion

The music business is going through a wrenching transition. Which will continue and may not solidify in its new form until the end of this new decade. But, when the new destination is reached, most of the old players will be extinct and music will thrive.

We need to separate the wheat from the chaff. This will be done online. Someone like Arianna Huffington will roll up tastemakers and distill information for those not willing to surf all day to find what they want. Wannabes will be seen as that. Esoteric blogs will complain that they host the real music, that they are the true keepers of the flame, but the more we let today's shoegazers' voices be heard, the further we are from the destination.

Sure, all genres can succeed. But let's not confuse the marginal with the mainstream. And there's nothing wrong with being mainstream, if that means more than your family, your friends and your college buddies like you. You can get plenty far without compromising. As long as you're good.

Sure, you can post your wannabe music on the aforementioned MySpace, but we're going to ignore it. The same way we ignore your second grade diorama, or your high school talent show.

Chaos will fade, solidification will emerge. A new breed of acts not beholden to the old business mind-set who can play, who have something to say, will dominate. It's coming. Not as soon as we want it to, but it's coming.

The Apple Paradigm

Image by armintalic via Flickr

Insanely great products a handful of times a year.

Imagine if Apple introduced a product no one wanted. Something lame. And held a press conference every other week to trumpet its features.

Then you'd have the music business.

What's the lifespan of excitement on a laptop?

Certainly not a year. Maybe nine months at most. Which is why Apple updates them before they get long in the tooth. To drive excitement. To drive desire.

Want a new iPod?

You know there's going to be a new lineup in September.

Just like you know there's going to be a new iPhone in June.

Just like you know once every twenty four months or so, Steve Jobs is going to blow our minds with a whole new category.

In between these announcements? A dearth of information.

Well, not exactly, the minions online are constantly debating what's in the future, the same way we used to get excited about the coming albums of our favorite artists.

Instead, we now see these releases trumpeted in advance in magazines and newspapers. Singles are leaked. And when they stiff, new tracks are proffered. Then, an album comes out, with more music than anybody wants to listen to. And we're supposed to play this same damn album for two or three years until there's a new one, while the act goes on the road and cleans up. Huh?

First thing Steve Jobs did when he returned to Apple a decade ago was trim the product line, to make it comprehensible.

Time for you to do the same thing. Only release great stuff. Until you're in such demand that people want the other stuff. And don't hype the other stuff the same way you do the great stuff. Maybe you sneak out the "album tracks" unannounced on your Website, for fans only. And, I hate to scare you, but album tracks are for fans only anymore anyway.

And either make yourself totally available or cloak yourself in secrecy. The latter works, especially if you're a happening/in demand act. No one foresaw the "In Rainbows" promotion. That was its genius, not the name your own price feature. How suddenly, there was a Website, and not that much more. The band didn't give interviews, the public went crazy and built the story.

Steve Jobs is bigger than any rock star. Not because he's better one on one, but because he seems to hover above us. Delivering what we don't even know we want, but makes us so happy. Like the Beatles with "Sgt. Pepper".

We laugh at Lady GaGa because she substitutes outfits for charisma. It's the gooey center we're interested in, not the wrapping. The twenty first century is not about flash, but substance. If you want to last.

Rock Stars

Did the Beatles plan on dominating the world?

No, they just wanted to escape a life of drudgery in Liverpool.

But their music became a mania. Suddenly, not only were they rich and famous, they had innumerable groupies beckoning.

Like Tiger Woods.

When the Beatles hit, even into the heyday of Led Zeppelin in the seventies, if you wanted to get rich, you were a rock star. Baseball's reserve clause had not yet been broken. The NBA did not yet have Magic and Bird, never mind Michael Jordan, it was almost a sideshow. As for golf... Arnie Palmer was a swinger, but he was more about endorsements than lifestyle, and at the time, nobody wanted to be icy, pudgy Jack Nicklaus.

No, you wanted to be like the English cats. Or the players from San Francisco. Who'd practiced for years so they could now get up at noon, do drugs and get laid seemingly whenever they wanted.

It all came down to the music. Jimmy Page didn't pick up the guitar with a desire to be famous. No, music was a calling. And after seeing the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan", boomers picked up instruments, took lessons. They did not get plastic surgery to appear beautiful, take media training so they could expose themselves well. It was all about the tunes.

It hasn't been about the tunes in eons.

Sure, there were starmakers all the way back to the days of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis. But what drew us to the stars of the classic rock era was the seeming lack of manipulation. Playing by no rules, creating opuses sometimes an album side long, these musicians put the music first. Unlike athletes shilling for Aqua Velva.

Things turned bad with corporate rock in the midseventies. Too calculated, it was supplanted by disco and then in late '79, the whole business imploded, only to be resurrected by MTV, which evidenced completely different values from the FM radio that preceded it. Suddenly it was all about image.

And now MTV might be dead, but conventional wisdom is image triumphs. That's what TV wants. That's what the magazines want. That's what TMZ and Perez want. Radio was something you listened to. All the foregoing media enter through your eyes.

So right now, Mariah Carey might be parading around Aspen, but she's not staying there based on her new album's sales, they stink, she's living off the past. Even Alicia Keys. All these heavily-hyped artists, the Cliveisms, they're built for stardom, but today stardom doesn't permeate every nook and cranny, and so many are turned off by the hype, and music sales suck. And seemingly the more popular you are on the hit parade, the fewer people want to see you live. Dave Matthews hasn't had a radio hit in eons, but he was the biggest tour grosser of the decade.

But, of course, Dave Matthews has been around for fifteen years, he was the beneficiary of the old game. What about new artists?

What about new artists?

If you want to be a "rock star", be an athlete. Or a tech entrepreneur. That's where the money is. And groupies like money.

If you want to be a musician, you must flush image down the toilet, be three-dimensional, write from the heart and make yourself accessible to fans.

Yes, today's musicians are the opposite of the titans of yore. As opposed to being crafted with no edges, sculpted to perfection like Janet Jackson, who also can't sell a record, they're lumpy, with warts, they're completely human. And they write about their humanity. And they make themselves available on Twitter and other social media.

I'm not talking marketing. This isn't so much about selling as a redefinition of what a musician is. Sure, first and foremost you play music. But how do you get an audience?

How do you get friends? Real friends?

It's very difficult staying alone in your room, not interacting online. If you want to be part of the community you must venture out, whether it be into the real world or cyberspace. You must make yourself available. You must be ingratiating. You must be open and willing to share.

Who does it right?

Taylor Swift. Her songs couldn't be more personal. They're not bland statements denuded to the point where they can be sung by and related to by everybody, rather they're distinctly her.

John Mayer tweets his personality. Go to http://twitter.com/jOhnCmAYer and read, you'll end up thinking you truly know him. Furthermore, on his blog he stood up for James Cameron, who called a fan an asshole (http://www.johnmayer.com/blog/permalink/5379). Mayer didn't believe it was a fan, but an e-Bay whore. But the point is, Mayer took a stand. That's how you grow your audience, by having a personality, just like them.

Will musicians ever become rock stars?

Not like the athletes. The athletes have got all the money and all the TV time. If you want to get rich and screw, start shooting hoops. And isn't that fascinating, no one thinks they can play in the NBA without a wealth of court time, but people think they can succeed in the music game without paying their dues whatsoever.

And athletes don't succeed by revealing their inner lives, they make it via their robotic skills. The opposite of musicians. And did you ever think that whoring yourself out to corporations works for athletes but not musicians for this very reason? Because it's not about who athletes are so much as how skilled they are at their sport?

In other words, if you're pursuing the rock stardom that's bandied about in public today, you're pursuing artistic and commercial death. A "rock star" today is someone who's winning in the commercial world, which is the opposite of art. A true rock star is beholden to nobody. Hell, these athletes play for a team, or their sponsors. Which is how the major labels killed music. Because you were playing for them instead of playing for yourself.

Sure, eventually new acts will grow and dominate. But the ascension will be very slow. The rocket to outer space paradigm of MTV is history. Shit, isn't that the point of reality TV? Anybody can be famous for fifteen minutes?

You want to be famous for much longer than that.

Old thinkers will use the old tools. Radio and TV.

You're not opposed to those, but you focus on a direct connection with your fan.

Do your friends abandon you willy-nilly?

Of course not.

Then again, you think twice before you screw a friend, before you cancel plans.

So put your fans first. Establish trust. And practice!

Because it begins and ends with the music.