NHT Blog

I’m emptying out my notebook today with a lot that I’ve been accumulating.

In no particular order:

Please be enthusiastic when you speak.  Whether you’re being interviewed or if it’s a situation where you’re actually doing a speaking gig or even a performer who is on stage and talking in between songs, have some good, positive emotion.  I saw a speaker get asked a question recently and their answer started off with, “Ummm, eh.  I don’t know.”  Coupled with the disinterested monotone that this person had, I immediately discredited them.

Last week I was in San Diego attending Social Media Marketing World.  The week before I had been in Las Vegas for Podcast Movement Evolutions.  The two events came just over a month after I was in Orlando for Podfest Multimedia Expo.

It should come as no surprise that at all three of those events the topic of YouTube came up over and over (and over) again.

While in Las Vegas on Friday I met with someone who was filled with positivity and happiness.  One element of discussion was the topic of expectations, which, when managed, can help avoid disappointment.  You can see, then, that it keeps you on the path to a healthy mindset.

It’s ironic that this song was released on Valentine’s Day since it deals with sensing that something is wrong in a relationship.

But, wow! It's a hit! I was still in the first verse of “So Sweetly” by Jesse Felder and was already thinking, "I want to add this to my OWN personal Spotify playlist." While it's not something I went through, the message is still so powerful that it touched me anyway.  In other words, it did what a song should do (made me feel something). Bravo!

This is three weeks in a row now that – coupled with others I’ve done in the last, what, I don’t know, six months maybe – an argument could be made, “Is this turning into a music review blog” instead of what we’ve become accustomed to all these years?

The answer is, when you get a track like “Problems” by CeCe submitted to you, there has to be a post about it regardless of whether it makes three consecutive ‘good song’ review-type posts or not.

Say what you will about all the streaming platforms and what it means for artist earnings, but, you have to admit that today’s technology has made music discovery so, so (SO) much easier.  In fact, note to self – that’s a blog for another time, although I’m sure that I’ve likely talked about it with a few guests on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.

In sales, one of the things you want to accomplish is to get your potential customer to say, "Tell me more." In the case of the song, “Teeth,” by Ergo, Bria, as I listened, I kept wondering, "What's next?" That's a "sale." It's successful in making me stick around for the whole track.

Old habits die hard.  I know.  But even if the new year angle is slipping away from you, try new month instead or just flat out hit the reset button regardless of the calendar and make a commitment.

I once heard it said that it takes two weeks for something to become a habit.  If you’re struggling with the same challenges from January and from 2022, make this be the day you decide that you’re just not going to tolerate the same results (or the lack thereof) anymore.

Easier said than done?  Not really.

I know that I make pretty regular references to my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast in this blog.  After all, there’s a lot of synergy between that show and what you read here each week, so those links that I provide are because they’re relevant.  It also behooves me to add that both listening to that and reading here can provide valuable teaching moments for you, so each is a good resource for your career as a music maker, podcaster, filmmaker, author, or whatever facet of the arts and entertainment world you’re in.

We’ve all heard the stories.  Someone we know gets a phone call or an email or some other contact, offering them a simply fantastic opportunity.  It’s totally on the up and up.  We’re happy for them.  And then we wonder why it doesn’t happen to us.  Ever.