MADE

I want to talk to you about a neat little idea that can help your indie music career. It’s called the dip. I just want you to know though that the idea isn’t mine. It was coined by media futurist Seth Godin. If you’ve been reading my posts, you’ve probably noticed that I’m a fan of the guy.

I want to talk about the dip vis a vis your music career by talking a bit about Obama and what’s been happening in Iran over the last few weeks. It’s died down a bit, but it’s still all riveting to me. Especially Obama’s masterful International statecraft last week. I think the guy’s got a political sixth sense that even Bill Clinton never had. He’s an ice cool chess master. He may be too smart to make a wrong move on Iran, but I could be wrong.

But that’s not the real story about Obama. The real story about Obama is that he’s mastered the dip. You know he’s mastered it because of how many times he was pronounced a political casualty only to wait and end up ambushing everyone from behind. It happened in Chicago politics, it happened with Hillary and it happened with McCain.

Obama’s mastered the dip. So what the hell is the dip, you ask? It’s basically that point in any highly difficult task or project or campaign or career where everyone else gives up and where the winner begins to take off. It’s the barrier of entry. It favors people who are patient, learn quickly and work hard as shit. There are so few truly successful people in the music business, for example, because of the dip.

In the music industry, it used to be that the dip was getting recognized by the A&R rep at the label. That was a sign that you had crossed a major barrier to getting your foot in the door. To getting that huge advance. It’s all disappearing now. In the indie music world, the dip is time and knowledge.

Getting past the dip is a crucial component to success. Relatively few people are able to do it. In music, or in anything else, you don’t get beyond the dip by being like everybody else.

Remember when MySpace was brand new? It was very useful. Now, everyone’s using it, including the spammers. It’s just too easy to get on MySpace.

Here’s 3 things you need to get past the dip:

Be Patient
Most people want it now. That’s why get rich quick schemes are rampant. That’s why A&R contact information is still a commodity. Some people still think that having A&R phone numbers is the key to the magic kingdom. These are usually people who wouldn’t last a year, let alone 5 years, doing shows and hustling. These are people who aren’t patient enough to learn how social media really works. Most people aren’t patient. If you are, you’re already one step ahead.

Don’t Be Needy
One of the cardinal rules of success in anything is the ability to make tough decisions on your own. It’s what made both Reagan and Obama such good politicians. Never be the type of person who needs the approval of others to feed your ego. That’s a destructive attitude to have because it makes it difficult to make objective decisions.

Be Curious
It’s impossible to learn new things if you’re not curious. And it’s impossible to stay current with the direction of the music industry if you’re not learning new things every single day. Set aside an hour or two each day to read the blogs and research the latest social media tools and tactics. If you’re not curious, you’re already behind the curve.

By: Twitter Buttons