Today's Paradigm and the Working Musician - Part IV

Question: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: Only one, but the light bulb must really want to change.

There are three essential elements for change. First you must have a burning desire to change. Second you must be willing to change. And third you must be willing to make the effort to change.

Change what? You can change anything about yourself or your situation. The whole deal is the paradigm. You are a musician caught up in the paradigm of starvation. I know. It is extremely hard for a musician to make a good, solid, dependable living. To do this, make a living, you must change the paradigm. Everything so far we have talked about is just that. But the real key here is this. As long as you stay the way you are, the paradigm has more power than you and you will get what the paradigm dictates.

This change requires focus. I am not talking about changing your music. Although, while we are here, you should be thinking of a niche. In today’s world niche marketing is the thing. With so many people on the internet all selling something, those that are successful have developed a niche that is convenient and useful for the people who shop and buy. In the music world a niche is a must. You are going to have to set yourself apart and sell that difference. Most of the time that difference is original music. However as in the case of Beau Dean and the Rock-a-Billy Kings I was trying to show how a niche can be a kind of music that has potential for fan growth. But back to the change we were talking about. The days of just playing in the clubs and hoping to get discovered are past. Oh sure it does happen. And you should be aware of the potential of this event. However with everything that is available today it is important that the modern musician change the way he thinks about his business and utilizes everything at his disposal for the benefit of his career.

We all know thee way the music business was in the past. Big, big companies controlled what was released on the airways and that dictated the sell of records. There was not a venue large enough for you to use to circumvent this power. You could be a great band but your career was 100% at the control and whim and control of big business. There have always been outlaws who did not play by the record companies rules. Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty to name a few. But still the release and distribution of their music was still controlled somewhat by some record executive. There simply was not available the avenues of today.

Today the paradigm has shifted and this course is getting you ready to take full advantage of that shift. This shift is painful to big business. They are just now beginning to throw their weight around and trying still to make life impossible for the independent artist. But try as they may, Pandora’s Box has been opened. You have the internet and you can sell your tunes one at a time to anyone, anywhere, at anytime of the day or night. They could be in Japan or Australia. And all of this is at your control. However you have to have the fan base and capital to pull it off. That is what we are trying to accomplish.

And I know you know about youtube for example but you must have the mindset, the change of mind, to know how to take advantage of youtube. This mind change is probably the easiest to accomplish once you learn the value of the media.

By far the hardest change within your thinking is the real crux of the matter. And it involves you deleting everything that stands in the way of you accomplishing the goal of being a professional musician. If it is some influence from the outside of you it must be eliminated. This can be drugs or even friends. Whatever it takes. Any thing that is not furthering your career is detrimental to your goal.

Now with that said, I am not saying go out and get rid of all of your friends. Just do not put any stock into the ones who are not one hundred per cent behind you. Here is our attitude: I am going to the top of the mountain. Top of the mountain or dead on the side but I ain’t coming back down. And I am not letting the world or friends or family or anyone or anything bring me back down. Period.

This is the change that has to take place. As easy as it is to say, doing it is quite another thing. It is a daily battle. Focus is the main thing. Focus and intensity. By bringing my focus and burning desire into play, I will notice how much of my time that could be productive to my cause is being wasted on habits that are leading nowhere. We all have bad habits. I am now talking about habits that will keep me from reaching my goal. To notice this day by day is a great accomplishment. Our everyday living has put us to sleep. And it is with great effort that I awake from my slumber. It is not comfortable. Change is not comfortable at all. But if it takes some kind of change on my part, if my day to day living habits are keeping me from reaching my goal, then I must make a decision. I must decide to keep on doing what I am doing. Or I have to decide how bad I want to play music for a real living.

All of this is to get you to think for the next week. It is a way of setting up the next and very important lesson. Thanks and I congratulate you for hanging in there.

Be Cool

Roy Boy