Derek Sivers podcast

Latest Episodes:

A curious answer to the most common question Jan 30, 2000

Show notes

People will always and forever ask you, “What kind of music do you do?”

You will always and forever have to answer that question. So have a good description prepared in advance.

Many musicians avoid answering by saying, “We play all styles.” No you don’t. That’s like saying, “I speak all languages.”

Many musicians avoid answering by saying, “We are totally unique.” No you’re not. If you use notes, instruments, beats, or words, you’re not totally unique.

If you give people a non-answer like this, you lose them. You had the chance to make a fan, and you blew it. They won’t remember you because you gave them nothing to remember. You didn’t make them curious.

Imagine if you had said, “We sound like the smell of fresh baked bread.”

Or “We’re the soundtrack to the final battle to save the Earth.”

Or “Bob Marley with a Turkish pipe smoking Japanese candy.”

Then you’ve got their interest! A creative description also suggests that your music will be creative, too.

So make up a curious answer to that common question. You don’t have to feel limited by it. Notice that those three examples I gave could sound like anything. And that’s the point.

With one interesting phrase to describe your music, you can make total strangers wonder about you.

But whatever you do, stay away from the words “everything”, “nothing”, “all styles”, “totally unique”, and the other non-answer: “a mix of rock, pop, jazz, hip-hop, folk, reggae, blues, techno, and metal.”

Use the tricks that worked on you Jan 25, 2000

Show notes

Find a media outlet that writes about new music.

You’ll read about so many artists that you’ve never heard of before, and see their photos too.

Out of all of them, only one or two will really catch your attention.

Why? I don’t have the answer. Only you do. Ask yourself why a certain headline or photo or article caught your attention.

Was it something about the opening sentence? Was it a curious tidbit about the singer’s background? What was it exactly that intrigued you?

Analyze that. Use that. Adapt those techniques to write a headline or article about your music.

This also helps you get into the mindset of seeing yourself from others’ point of view.

Constantly ask what they really want Jan 10, 2000

Show notes

This may sound obvious, but for me it made all the difference.

Before I interact with people, I ask myself this question: “What do they really want?”

Like if I’m writing someone an email, I ask, “Why are they really reading this email?”

If I’m contacting an agent, I ask, “Why are they really doing this job?”

If I’m about to perform a show, I ask, “What are they really hoping to get from a night out at a concert?”

Thinking of everything from the other person’s point of view is one of the best things you can do in life.

Be what they want. And maybe they’ll be what you want, too.

How to get through the gates? Jan 04, 2000

Show notes

As a young musician, I always heard that you had to get your music “solicited” to the major labels.

I never really understood what “solicited” meant, until I worked on the inside. Here’s how it actually looks:

Every day, tons of music is sent to the labels from total strangers. It’s just too much to deal with, so it’s all ignored. All of it.

These companies don’t exist to find new music. Their job is to profit from their existing artists. That’s a huge job, in itself.

When the manager or lawyer or producer of one of their artists comes in for a meeting, he’ll say, “I’m working with this new artist that you need to hear before we head out for lunch.” Then the executive will sit and give it a real listen.

And that’s how you get heard. That’s what “solicited” means.

When you send your music unsolicited to some company, you won’t get a real listen. Their lack of response says, “Sorry. You don’t get it. That’s not the way in.”

Do your research to find those managers, lawyers, agents, and producers that are already in.

Same thing goes for approaching any too-public target, whether it’s a celebrity, or major media outlet, or whatever. Getting “solicited” through an existing contact is the best way to get through the gates.

You have to see it from their point of view. Understand what it’s like to be overwhelmed with new music. All they can handle is the stuff that’s been pre-approved by their trusted contacts.

It’s just people inside the machine! Jan 02, 2000

Show notes

All those years I was trying to get famous, it felt like the music industry was this giant mysterious machine.

I’d submit my music to showcases, and the machine would choose everyone else.

I’d try to contact record labels, and the machine wouldn’t let me past the gate.

I’d send my music to media outlets, and the machine would make it disappear.

What a heartless machine! It felt like a complex puzzle that, if I was smart enough, I could figure out.

But then, at age 20, I got a job inside the machine.

Now I was given all-access. I was treated as an insider and invited to all events. I talked with rock stars and their managers. I watched how people got in and how deals get made.

The big epiphany came just a few weeks into the job.

I had to call a major record label to get a copy of a new album. They put me on the phone with Stacy, who ran promotions out of their New York office. She was super-friendly, joking around on the phone, so we decided to meet up for lunch. She was a bubbly 24-year-old that was a huge music fan, had a degree in media studies, got this job as an intern, climbed the ranks a bit, and was now in charge of promotion.

And that’s when it hit me:

This whole music industry — this giant mysterious machine — is not a machine! It’s just people!

More specifically, it’s mostly young people like Stacy, who have a lot in common with us musicians, and are totally cool and approachable.

So it’s not heartless. We just need to understand what it’s like to be them.

Once I connected with them as people — getting to know them and assuming they mean well — the machine started working for me.

What’s inside this book Jan 01, 2000

Show notes

Welcome to my book about getting your music to people, into people, and through people.

You deserve a little preview of what’s inside, so I’m going to introduce you to all of its main ideas, right now, all at once. It’ll be a bunch of declarations in a row, like reading a table of contents, but it’ll give you an idea of what’s to come. Ready?

Marketing is an extension of your art. Business is just as creative as music.
Marketing means being considerate. Focus on others. See yourself from their point of view. Being weird is considerate.
All opportunities come from people. Stay in touch with everyone. Use a database.
People skills are counterintuitive. To be helped, be helpful. Persistence is polite.
Be resourceful. Ask for help, but never wait for help. Call the destination and ask for directions. Get specific about what you want.
The music industry is run by cool people like you. Don’t put them on a pedestal.
Describe your music in a curious way, and it will travel faster and further.
Be extreme and sharply defined. Target a niche. Proudly exclude most people.
Money is just a neutral representation of value. Be valuable to others — not just yourself. People like to pay.
Decide if you’re at the starting line or finish line. Nobody knows the future, so focus on what doesn’t change.
Whatever scares you, go do it.

That’s it! That’s the whole book. These 88 tiny chapters will explain these points.

At the end of each one, I’ll give you the web address of that chapter, where you can read the interesting comments or questions people have about it.

When you’re done reading this book, please email me to let me know. Anyone who finishes this book is my kind of person, so please introduce yourself and feel free to email me any questions. All of my contact info is at sive.rs

Some quick context for these stories Jan 01, 2000

Show notes

This book is entirely about you and your music. But I use some of my stories as examples. So here’s my context, as short as can be, to set the stage for the book.

Since I was 14, all I wanted was to be a successful musician.

First I graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Then I got a job at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing in New York City. There I learned a ton about how the traditional music industry works. I’ll tell you about that soon.

Then I quit my job and became a full-time professional musician. I played over a thousand shows of all types. I was also a session guitarist and side-man, then I ran a recording studio, booking agency, record label, and more.

I made a website to sell my CD, then my musician friends asked if I could sell their CD too. So I called it CD Baby, and it soon became the largest seller of independent music online. Over 150,000 musicians sold their music directly through me. (I have a different book about that, called “Anything You Want”.)

I started to see the music business from the other side. I found out what it was like to be on the receiving end of musicians’ music. I became friends with successful people inside the music industry, and heard their perspective.

I saw thousands of musicians succeed. So I paid attention to how they did it.

That’s when I started writing my observations in this book. I felt like a spy, giving you the report from the inside, telling you how to get in.

Now listen up, and I’ll tell you everything I know.