Connection Sells Tickets

It doesn’t matter how good you are at the notes. The bubble gum pop act of the moment sells way more tickets than the symphony orchestra.

It’s about connection. Connection sells tickets.

That’s why a hit can be so important. A hit connects. It binds a moment in time and culture with a significant number of people (usually within a certain age range). And people carry that with them forever. Yes they carry the song itself…but it’s the connection that’s powerful.

This is not an excuse to release junk and just rely on your charming smile.

It’s an invitation to see what the music is for.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Reading. Listening. Talking.

Reading the sheet music is not the same as listening to the album.

Listening to the book is not the same as reading it.

And of course an email exchange is not the same as a conversation.

Once again, the medium is the message. Different risks, different benefits, different level of commitment.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

That's A Lot Of Chicken

When you order the salad with chicken you’re hoping for a lot of chicken. The lettuce and tomatoes are necessary for making it a salad, and the dressing and cheese certainly add to the flavor.

So when you open the to-go box and there’s a lot of chicken you’re happy and it’s worth remembering for next time.

But what about the restaurant selling the salad?

The chicken is by far the most expensive thing on the salad. So if they put on a little less chicken, but charge the same price, they make a lot more money.

You see the tension. More chicken is more happy customers. Less chicken is more money (at least in the short term)…But at what point will it go from a great salad to a mediocre salad in the minds of your customers? And when it does will it be too late?

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Turn Up The Heart

I went to Bruno Mars last night. His show is top of the top. The elite tier.

The stadium might not be available to you. The fire and giant screens might not be possible in the venues you play. And you might not yet have the budget for confetti cannons.

But his level of intentionality is available to you. You can decide to build a show with purpose. To have an arc and a narrative. To make catchy transitions. To change the chords in the second verse. To add a smile at just the right moment. Extend a musical section. Turn up the drama. Turn up the heart.

If you want to be a stadium act some day it helps to start preparing like one.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Motion Detectors

When they sense motion, the light comes on. You could be walking or waving or jumping. It treats all motion equally and gives the same result across the board.

But in real life…

We can recall stories where increased motion gave us minimal results or didn’t matter at all, and times where more motion equalled greater gains.

In real life all motion is not equal.

Any motion can trip the detector but not all motion makes a difference.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Suno Tension

In all the controversy about making, writing, producing songs with Suno, there’s an interesting type of tension that makes it worth experimenting with.

When you upload your acoustic/vocal demo, it’s just that, a demo.

Suno can turn it into any style or genre you want.

80’s new wave…that sounds pretty awesome.

Acoustic campfire vibes...there we go, that feels pretty good

Make more of a dance hit…boom, dance hit

But with more guitars...woah that sounds cool too

With a prompt you can make your song sound pretty decent in any genre. And it’s really fun to play around with it.

But then comes the tension…what do you want? You can have any style so what style are you going to roll with and put your name on?

That’s the hard part. With unlimited options it’s still scary to choose.

Suno will either scatter your vision or demand that you find it. You choose.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple