MADE

Like many people under 30 I believe music should be free. I’m a bit of a pirate in that regard, I guess. I refuse to buy CDs. I hate the notion of having to pay $15 for 12 songs I don’t like so I can get to the 2 that I do. I get most of my music on Pirate Bay. RIAA be damned.

I was having an interesting discussion recently with a friend of mine who also gets most of his music on Pirate Bay. By the way, in case you’re interested, the best way to use Pirate Bay is to go to piratebay.org and download their software. Then download an app called vuze at vuze.com. You can get every album imagineable for free. So, anyway, this friend of mine…he’s also a bit of a pirate.

I asked him if he would ever buy a CD again. He said only from a musican or band that he likes and respects. He mentioned the Eagles and George Michael. If they dropped new albums tomorrow he would buy their CDs. He also mentioned KRS One because, along with being an East Coast Hip Hop guy, he’s heard many of the guy’s interviews and totally respects his ideas on many things outside of music. To him, buying a $15 piece of plastic to get songs he could get online is just a show of support. In essence, he’s buying the musical personality, not the music.

But it’s a bit more complex than that. That feeling of support, he explained, is based on several things. The first is how good the band is. They don’t have to be great, but just good enough. This friend is an expert music producer, so he’s constantly analyzing the technical aspects of music too. He knows well-put together music when he hears it.

The second thing, which is closely related to the quality of the band’s sound is their level of dedication to music. He believes dedication to craft and producing quality stuff are inseperable. He loves to see bands and musicians who are totally consumed by their craftsmanship. He loves bands that eat, breathe and sleep music. It really matters to him. He feels that a man is defined not by his work, but by his pure dedication to something outside of himself. He thinks that too many bands and indie music artists are consumed with their own emotionality when it comes to making music. They care too much about how their own music makes them feel instead of how it makes their fans feel.

Real and effective marketing happens on its own. If you’re totally consumed by dedication to your music, absolute craftsmanship and a genuine love for the public, the masses will market for you.

In light of all this, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I in this primarily to make a profit or to make people happy?

Do I put craftsmanship above feeling good?

Do I make an effort to learn at least one new thing each day to develop my mind?

Am I constantly working on being someone that I’d want my 89 year old grandmother to meet?

By: Twitter Buttons