Derek Sivers podcast

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The higher the price, the more they value it Feb 16, 2018

Show notes

Psychology experiments have shown that the more people pay for something, the more they value it.

People given a placebo pill were twice as likely to have their pain disappear when they were told that the pill was expensive.

People who paid more for tickets were more likely to attend the performance.

When people want the best, they look to the price to tell them what’s great. They think the expensive wine tastes better. They think the expensive headphones sound better. Even when secretly, those things are no different than the cheap ones.

If you sign a deal with a company, negotiate the biggest up-front advance possible. Even if you don’t need the money, it’s the best strategy, because the higher your advance, the harder the company will work to earn it back. It ends up being better for everyone.

Tony Robbins, back when he was first getting successful, started charging one million dollars for personal consultations. His reason was surprising. It wasn’t for the money. It was because his goal was to help people improve their life, and his biggest problem was people not doing the necessary work after coming to see him. So if someone spends a million dollars, they’re sure as hell going to do the work. He says it kept his success rate at 100%.

So it’s considerate to charge more for your work. People will appreciate it more, and get better results.

Considerate communication Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

You get a big long email from someone and think, “Ooof. I’ll come back to that later.” (Then you never do.)

Someone tries to contact you using a technology you hate, like a surprising incoming video call.

You have a dilemma and need a good conversation, so you reach out to someone who replies, “Can you make it quick?”

You’re overwhelmed with work on a tight deadline, and a friend calls trying to have a long conversation.

It’s hard to match your communication with someone else’s preference and situation.

There’s a huge benefit to having a great conversation, but sometimes you need to be extremely succinct. So how do you reconcile this? Here’s my advice:

First, prepare the most succinct version of your reason for contacting someone. Make it so short that if the person only has 30 seconds to talk, you could communicate your point, ask your question, and get the answer.

With real-time communication, like text or phone, just start by asking if they have time. If they do, then take the time to get personal, be a friend, and have a good conversation. But if they don’t, then just use the short version.

With non-real-time communication, like email, assume you’ve only got ten seconds. Edit your emails down to a few sentences. But always give a link to more information, so they can check it out if they have time. And include your other contact information, in case they prefer a longer conversation about it. (This is what email signatures are for.) Then, if they reply and ask, you can give the extra information you left out before.

Some hate texting. Some hate calls. Some hate video. Some hate it all. Just keep track of their preference for future use.

This may sound obvious, but it’s a bigger problem than people realize. Considerate communication is surprisingly rare.

Creative communication Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

The way you communicate with people is part of your art.

For people who have never heard your music, it’s the start of your art!

If you make depressing music, send your fans a dark black announcement that’s depressing just to look at.

If you are an “in-your-face country-metal-speedpunk” artist, have the guts to call a potential booking agent and scream, “Listen you crazy dirtbag! Book me or I explode! Waaaaaah!!” If they like that introduction, you’ve found a good match.

Set the tone. Pull in those people who love that kind of thing. Proudly alienate those that don’t.

There’s a minimalist classical music composer whose emails to me are always just one provocative thought. Like when I posted something online about being an introvert, he emailed me just one sentence: “Are we not ever-changing, both gradually and per situation?” That’s it. No greeting or closing or manners in-between. His communication style always makes me smile, and reminds me of his music.

The gentle new-age artist always calls me “sweetie” and reminds me to nourish my soul.

The surf-music artist always uses the Hawaiian greetings “aloha” and “mahalo” when he emails, along with other surfer slang.

The rebellious punk never calls me by my name, but instead just says, “Hey sellout.”

Be different. Show who you are.

It gives people’s lives more variety, too.

Get personal Feb 14, 2018

Show notes

Before I got into the music industry, I had an idea of what it would look like: Some powerful manager or agent calling me into his office to discuss the business of my music.

Then I moved to New York City and became friends with cool people who also did things in music. Sometimes these people were agents or managers, but that was secondary. Mostly we were just friends.

Sometimes I’d send them clients. Sometimes they’d hook me up with opportunities. But really we were just friends, talking about our love lives or ideas, hanging out and having fun.

It was a long time before I realized that I was already in the industry — that this is how things are done. People send business to people they like. It’s all more personal than I had expected.

One of my best friends in the world is also my lawyer. He’s one of the top music lawyers in the world, but mostly he’s my friend. We talk about cycling, his kids, and music. And sometimes we stop to discuss a recent contract.

The initial contact usually happens for professional reasons. Like when I was looking for a lawyer, and someone introduced me to this guy.

When I hear music I love, I contact the musician, and say let’s meet. Within minutes we’re talking about her dogs, microphones, Japan, and whatever. Then, when someone asks me to recommend some music, guess who comes to mind first?

Point is: As you’re out there in the music business, get personal.

Don’t always be selling yourself. That keeps people at a distance from you, because it shows you’re not friends.

Even if it starts professional, get personal as soon as possible. Be a friend. That’s how things are done.

Pedestals prevent friendships Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

I was a struggling musician, with big ambitions but not much success, when I went to a music industry conference in Las Vegas to promote my music.

I was nervous, but doing everything I could to make connections with the managers at all the big music companies. I attended every panel of experts, noting everyone’s name, and approaching the stage afterwards to introduce myself. I had these people up on a pedestal. I was terrified of them. The stakes were high. These were the people who could make my career. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting.

So during lunch I went out to the pool and stuck my feet in the water, just to silently retreat. Some dude sat next to me and did the same. He said, “I see you’ve noticed the bikini girls, too.” I had. So we sat there, feet in the pool, talking about those girls over there, how weird Las Vegas is, how his friend was up all night gambling, and other random chit-chat. He was a really cool dude — the rare kind I just click with right away. I assumed he must be a fellow musician.

But when he got up to leave, he said, “Really great talking with you. Let’s keep in touch,” and handed me his business card. Holy shit! He was the vice president of one of the biggest record labels!

I learned a huge lesson that day.

If I would have known who he was in advance, I never would have had a real conversation with him. I would have been awkward and self-conscious, trying to promote myself. But because I didn’t know, I could connect on a personal level, and be a real friend.

I used to think that having connections in the music industry meant that you’d have business meetings, and only talk about your mutual business interests. But again and again I’ve realized that we make real connections by talking about anything else, and just clicking as friends. People send business to people they like.

So beware of putting people on a pedestal. It can prevent a real friendship.

Postscript to this story: We kept in touch, and he ended up sending me some of my most successful CD Baby clients. Now, twenty years later, I just emailed him to tell him I’m writing this story.

Move to the big city Feb 11, 2018

Show notes

I hate to admit this, but it’s true.

One of the best things you can do for your career is to move to a big city — one of the major media centers — the places that broadcast to the entire world. Nothing less than New York, Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, or maybe San Francisco. (Nashville, Paris, Seoul, or Tokyo only count if you’re limiting yourself to those markets.)

It’s the place where everything happens. Where the biggest media companies in the world are based. Where the money is flowing. Where the most successful agents, producers, and executives live and work. Where the most ambitious people go.

It has a serious energy, because the stakes are high. It’s not casual. It’s not a place for a comfortable work/life balance. It’s fueled by ambition. People go go go.

I’ve lived in a bunch of places now, but when I look back at my career, it’s obvious that the biggest breakthroughs happened because I was living in the heart of the music industry in New York and Los Angeles.

It shows that you’re in the game. It shows you’re serious. It gives you healthy competition, knowing that today’s biggest stars and legends are there with you, too. It challenges you to push your skills to the best of the best, instead of just the best in your home town.

Once you’re famous, and the media is carrying your reputation, you can move away if you want. But even then you’ll be a little out of the game. You can decide if that’s OK with you.

I lived in New York City for nine years, and Los Angeles for seven years. I met so many wonderful kindreds — other ambitious people like me that had moved there from around the world to get successful.

So why do I hate to admit this?

Because I love how the internet has made it possible for anyone to get successful, anywhere. I love the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, yet being connected to the world.

But still, when I look at the facts, it’s impossible to deny. Living in the big city, and being where everything is happening, will help your career the most. Being anywhere else won’t hurt you, but it won’t help.

Why you need a database Feb 09, 2018

Show notes

A database is just an organized collection of information. You could have a database of your music or your books. But I’m going to talk about a database of all the people you know.

Your email app is a kind of database. It has an address book of everyone you’ve emailed, and a history of your emails with each person. So you’ve already done half of what I’m going to describe here.

But I’m going to recommend you go further than that, and also keep track of:

your private notes about people (“served in the army, loves talking politics”)
tags to help you find people (“drummer, programmer, agent”)
physical location (“London, England”)
when you should contact this person next (“3 weeks from today”)

Once you have this information, you can easily find every agent you know in London, and email them about a gig.

Because the other best feature of a database is that it can personalize your communication. Instead of blasting out a message like “Hey everyone. How are you?”, your database will send out personalized emails like, “Hey James. How are you?” — “Hey Sarah. How are you?”. Not only does it get their attention better, but it’s just more polite.

It will keep a history of your communication with everyone. This helps when you hear from someone for the first time in years. It can remind you who they are, and show you the last time you spoke. It also helps you do things like find just the people you haven’t heard from in over a year. You can set calendar reminders, so it can remind you to follow-up with someone later.

As for which database to use, I have three recommendations:

Cloze. Go to Cloze.com. Link it with your existing inboxes and social media accounts, and it will pull in the information of everyone you’ve got in there already. It’s brilliant and full of features.
Monica. Go to MonicaHQ.com. It’s the most personal and people-focused, encouraging you to keep track of everything you know about everyone. It’s also open source and free to install on your own server.
I ended up programming my own database software, which I plan to share for free some day. Maybe by the time you read this, it will be ready. Just email me to ask.

Using a database is one of the most powerful things you can do for your career. Please don’t put it off. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. The sooner you begin, the better.

Shed your money taboos Feb 05, 2018

Show notes

Everyone has weird mental associations with money.

They think the only way to make money is to take it away from others. They think that charging for your art means it was insincere, and only for profit.

But after knowing thousands of musicians for over twenty years, I’ve learned this:

The unhappiest musicians are the ones who avoided the subject of money, and are now broke or need a draining day job. It may sound cool to say money doesn’t matter — to say “don’t worry about it!” — but it leads to a really hard life. Then ultimately your music suffers, because you can’t give it the time it needs, and you haven’t found an audience that values it.

The happiest musicians are the ones who develop their value, and confidently charge a high price. There’s a deep satisfaction when you know how valuable you are, and the world agrees. Then it reinforces itself, because you can focus on being the best artist you can be, since you’ve found an audience that rewards you for it.

So never underestimate the importance of making money. Let go of any taboos you have about it.

Money is nothing more than a neutral exchange of value. If people give you money, it’s proof that you’re giving them something valuable in return.

By focusing on making money with your music, you’re making sure it’s valuable to others, not only to you.

Pricing philosophy Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

For years I made a living playing at universities.

One time a college far away in Ohio — about a 12-hour drive — asked what I would charge to do a two-hour show.

I said, “$1500”.

She said, “Oh, that’s a bit too much. What would you charge to do just a one-hour show?”

I said, “$2000”.

She said, “No, wait, you’ll be performing less, not more!”

I said, “Yeah! Exactly! What you’re paying me for is to get there! Once I’m there, playing music is the fun part! If you tell me I have to get back in the van and drive home after only an hour, then I’m going to charge you more than if you let me play for a couple hours first.”

She liked that so much that she came up with the $1500.

Point is: Business is creative. You can do things any way you want. There’s no need to adhere to norms. Norms are for businesses without personality.

Pour your personality and philosophy into the way you do business. People actually appreciate it when you do things in a surprising way. It shows you care more than most — that you’re putting your self into this — that you’re not just in it for the money.

Art doesn’t end at the edge of the canvas Jan 22, 2018

Show notes

Imagine you see a caged feather on a museum wall. The sign underneath says the artist is a political activist in jail.

Imagine that same caged feather again. But instead the sign says the artist is a high school kid in Florida.

Or imagine that the only way to see it is to crawl deep into a shrinking tunnel that opens into a room of mirrors, where the caged feather is suspended by a thread.

Same feather. Very different perceptions.

The way you present your art, and what people know about it, completely changes how they perceive it.

Therefore, your art doesn’t end at the edge of the canvas. Your creative decisions continue all the way to the end.

Now think of the way you create and release music:

You have a tiny idea for a song.
You flesh it out into a full song.
You give it layers of instruments.
You choose its texture when recording.
You come up with an album title, and the visual look of your photos and videos.

Every step so far has been a creative expansion of your original idea.

So now it’s time to put it out into the world. Do you turn off all that creativity? Just upload the song to the usual places, and announce it like everyone else?

No! Your creative process hasn’t stopped! Flaunt your artistic freedoms, and have some fun with it!

the way you communicate with the world
how you make your music available
the stories you tell about your music and yourself

These are all the continuation of your creation.

Marketing is the final extension of your art.

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