NHT Blog

It’s a sobering thought.  This year has forced performers to put on live shows from home, streaming through Facebook or Instagram or YouTube or some other platform.  All with the hope of viewers tipping them electronically or streaming their music – or both.

The problem is that neither of those have a high percentage of likelihood.

You’ve been beaten up by the now nine-month long pandemic.  You feel ignored because everyone is focusing on the homestretch leading up to Christmas in approximately a week-and-a-half.  And you feel lost in a sea (or, more like, ocean) of others doing exactly what you do.

Welcome to the world of being a creator in 2020.

Last week I hit what I called in the weekly e-newsletter an accidental milestone.  Mind you, it’s quite, quite notable.  Yet because of its construct, it wasn’t waving its arms and flashing all kinds of lights at me.

Last night I was watching television.  I have a Google Home Mini sitting right next to the TV.  So, when a commercial came on in which someone said, “Hey Google,” and then gave it a command to start playing certain music, yup, you guessed it, my smart speaker started playing exactly what the person in the ad asked for.  As Homer Simpson would say, “D’oh!”

No matter what level of your artist career you’re at, undoubtedly you’ve had thoughts that companies should be giving you product and/or money to endorse them and what they sell.  You probably even have some ideas of which companies you’d like to rep. 

Usually when I’m asked to cite one of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten or lessons learned in business, I’ll point to someone I used to work for who lived out combating “out of sight, out of mind.”  He would travel halfway around the world, sit in a meeting for three hours, and then fly all the way back.  “If you’re not there, they forget about you,” he would tell us in staff meetings, reporting on his latest trip.

It’s Monday.  Strike one.  And it’s raining, because Hurricane Eta is starting to arrive for an uninvited visit here to the Sunshine State.  Strike two.  And my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a lopsided defeat last night on national television.  Strike three.

Let’s do something different and dive into the mailbag for this week’s blog.

Depending on whether you’re a glass half-full or glass half-empty person will determine whether you are drawn to the artist (or artists) in this post who blew it on potentially getting booked for an interview, or, the individual who seized the moment and was successful in consummating the appearance.

It may sound unusual, but there are plenty of advantages to turning your band into a limited liability company (LLC). Posting your tracks on Soundcloud, paying for Facebook business ads, and even using LinkedIn to have a more professional presence can only do so much for your band.