You Must Think of Yourself as a Musician

I was inspired tonight, and when I am inspired I tend to write blog posts. So here's the deal. I'm a Dave Matthews Band (DMB) fan. I've been to 9 live shows and appreciate what he (the band) does to entertain. Below I've embedded a teaser video he's posted to YouTube with a snippet off his upcoming new album. Whether you are a DMB fan or not, watch the video and then I'll expand on how he's inspired me in marketing/business.



After watching that bit I'm excited as a fan to hear the new album, but that's not what inspired me to write this post. Before I'm a DMB fan, I'm a marketer/business man. In watching this and thinking about how many songs and how much success DMB has had, I feel we all need to look at our businesses like GREAT musicians do their business.

Here's a band that has been making new music and remained popular for nearly 20 years. I'm sure many of you can think of plenty of other examples of bands that have been doing the same for even longer, but let's use Dave Matthews as an example. So what's the secret for these GREAT bands? It's really no different than a GREAT business. Outstanding passion, integrity, teamwork, innovation, and development (learning).

They obviously still have the passion for what they do, the fans continue to trust the message they are sending, they've been working together creating music for nearly 20 years, and I think it's the last 2 values that really make the difference. You must have the first 3 just to be in business, but you grow your business by innovating and learning.

With each album DMB innovates, but does not steer too far away from the core that made them successful. The fans love it, and they continue to gain new fans with the evolution of the music. When innovating your business, marketing, etc. remember your core. Most definitely strive to innovate, but remember what got you there.

With each year that goes by DMB pushes their music skill level and they also learn more and more about who their fans are. This video is an example of DMB wanting to learn from their fans. It's the interaction, it's the conversation, it's listening, it's learning. Get to know your fans/customers, intimately.

So the questions I pose to today are what are you doing today to innovate, and what are you learning from your fans (customers)? DMB has proven continuous improvement and innovation to their product/services (their music) has been a great success. They also have learned in order to improve they must challenge themselves to learn more about their craft, and more importantly, more about their listeners/fans.

How can you think of yourself/business as a musician? Do you think this way? Why not?

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day.

Mark

Social Media & Music Story of the Year

Within the last year I stumbled upon a friend I knew back during my days at Indiana University. Randy Stine had lived just a few doors down from me in the dorms our freshman year and we'd chat every now and then about Dave Matthews, music, etc. Randy was quite the musician and during his freshman year at IU he joined a group of guys that formed an a cappella group naming themselves Straight No Chaser.

Straight No Chaser was a hit on campus with all the sororities, many other lovely ladies, and the student body in general. These guys had a great four year run at IU signing at many University sponsored events, parties, and their own concerts. Then in 1999 the original members passed the SNC torch to a new group of gents to carry during their years as Hoosiers.

Fast forward to 2008. I get a friend request from Randy on Facebook. I had bumped into him over five years ago when living in Chicago, but it sure had been awhile. The next message I get from Randy blew me away. He sent me the link to this:



I couldn't believe it. What an amazing YouTube story. I remembered my Mom sending me the "12 Days of Christmas" video just last year asking me if I knew any of the guys. So funny that I do, and that I am so excited to share this story.

SNC just released their first record with Atlantic titled "Holiday Spirits." Buy it HERE or on iTunes. Also, click HERE for free give-aways and tickets to upcoming shows.

I will close by saying that I share this story as I think it is one about the power of social media. While I know Randy, in no way has he influenced me to write this. I'm just really excited to see how a viral video, a passion for music, and 10 guys that just enjoy what they do can come together for an online success story. I wish the best of luck to the guys of Straight No Chaser. Great job!

Now, a question for the marketing gurus. What are you doing to be the social media story of the year in 2009?