You don’t have to play or sing almost perfectly—telling a great story can be far more effective for your profitable and independent music career.
I had a call this week with a friend. He told me about a musician we both know.
Last weekend, this musician took part in a competition. He began playing guitar in childhood, and he plays it really well today.
This guy did an outstanding guitar performance. At least that’s what I was told. He was on stage sitting on a stool and furiously pestering the guitar neck. After his performance, people came to him backstage, patting him on his shoulder, and telling him that his guitar play was remarkable. They also told him that there wasn’t anybody else who was gonna win the competition but him.
Great story, huh?
Nah, I’m not finished yet 🙂
The next act was a couple. Apparently, they’re working as wedding singers. Having such a profession would assume that they can sing in tune… they didn’t.
What they did though, was being dressed as bride and groom. Their song choice was a love song. During the performance, they told the story of the song by walking around, looking at each other, interacting with each other, engaging with the crowd, and finishing strong with an intense look into each other’s eyes during the last lines.
They made the show their wedding. And all the hundreds of people in the audience were their friends and family attending this magnificent event.
Guess what… The crowd went crazy.
Even though the guitar player did an outstanding guitar performance, these two people—despite their lack of singing skills—managed to perform an outstanding emotional show.
Why am I telling you this?
Just reminding you that you don’t have to be perfect. Perfect doesn’t even exist in my opinion. Please, for the sake of your music, don’t procrastinate. Give it everything. Release it to your fans. And wrap a story around it. Especially, if you want to grow your fanbase.
So think about your latest release or your upcoming release. How can you tell an authentic story with it? If you have lyrics, you can build the story about that. If your production is without vocals, try to capture the energy in some way, shape or form and turn it into an amazing story. It doesn’t have to be fictive. You can tell stories from your life or other sources of inspiration.
And just for some inspiration, I’ll list some things you could do:
- Create a series for Instagram where your fans can vote or suggest what will happen in the next episode.
- Design an outstanding cover for your vinyl, maybe develop an interactive story game.
- Write daily journal notes on Facebook or a blog, telling a story of the main protagonist of your brand.
- And the list goes on… just be innovative!
That’s all from me for you this week. I hope that you could learn something 🙂