On the episode of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast that comes out the day after tomorrow (on September 4th), you’ll hear Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, guitar player Eric Hirshberg talking about wanting to get the best musicians and letting them do what they excel at. The person on drums should be the best drummer. Whoever plays keyboards should be the best keyboardist. And so on.
Don’t misunderstand that. The point here is to not let your ego get in the way. You might be a multi-instrumentalist but if it’s that you dabble in bass or piano, your project deserves someone who that’s all they do. You get yourself a bass player. You don’t just get by on piano. No, you get someone who is accomplished at playing piano.
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Granted, I realize that you might not have the budget to pay all these different musicians to come in and record. But then again, maybe you will and it’s just a timing issue.
There is also crowdfunding, which is so very common nowadays. And when people donate to such a campaign, they like knowing what the money is going towards. But instead of saying, “I have to get a drummer” or “I need to get a bass player,” write that you, “Want the best musicians to make this album sound as good as it can.” Remember – you get to play music for a living, not you have to go record.
And what happens when you get these players is where the magic really happens.
You bring in the song and show them the vision you had for what it might end up sounding like. But then you let them excel in their specialty area and see how the song can grow in a way that you hadn’t even imagined.
“We all have the sort of thing in our head. We all know how we think it should be,” you’ll hear Hirshberg tell me on NHTE 551. “But lots of times you have a core idea that's a spark. And when it meets someone else's flint, the flame travels in a surprising direction… You want to create an environment where people feel comfortable giving you their best work, giving you the thing that they think is going to make it magic.”
Are you getting the picture here of why it’s wise to not (have to) be the smartest person in the room?
I host the podcast, but I don’t pretend to be a know-it-all. In fact, I’ve had a front row seat to so (so) many lessons over the ten-and-a-half years hosting the show. In the case of this latest guest, he’s not only a recording artist, but shares wisdom from having been a former CEO of Activision and Deutsch LA, where he led record-breaking launches for major franchises like Call of Duty and was named one of the 50 Most Creative People in Business by AdAge.
Thus, him telling me, “I'm a big believer that the worst thing for creative ideas is a bunch of people who agree. Things really get electric when you find people who have a dissenting opinion, and when I can't find one I go looking for it.”
Some people will argue that you need to have a bit of an ego if you’re going to go all-in with a career in music. As someone who has now been in the industry for two decades, I’m here to caution you with that.
The old expression, “You learn something new every day” helps keep you in a posture of wanting to learn and, as a result, not trying to be the smartest person in the room.
Think of all of this from the other side. Let’s say that you are a tremendous singer. At some point someone is going to acknowledge and likely hire you for that skill that you excel at. It will be a case of them realizing that they can’t be the most talented person in the room since they clearly see that you are the far more talented singer. It comes down to common sense which is that it’s just logical to want and to, as a result, get the best person for the job.
Heed the advice of Eric Hirshberg and other podcast guests before him. Do what you do well but let others excel at their craft too. Your collaboration and your audience will be better for it.
For twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Let’s have a ten-minute call so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.