"it always works that way…

word of friend is worth more than anything in the world of ideas."

Seth Godin

I told Seth he should put the We Are All Weird video on his blog.

He told me did. Last week.

This stunned me, I read Seth’s blog religiously. And scanning back in research I found Seth was right, on February 10th, he’d posted a link.

But I never clicked through!

Seth’s a guru. A friend. But that STILL wasn’t enough to get me to click through to his video.

I’d say it’s one too many steps. Which is why Amazon patented 1-Click.

But it’s more than that. I probably wouldn’t have watched it anyway, because I’m immune to self-promotion, even by those I love.

But if someone else tells me about it…

That’s what got me to watch Seth’s video. An e-mail from someone I don’t even know. It was the way it was written, it made me click through.

And I’m the better for it.

You will be too, if you haven’t watched Seth’s "We Are Weird" video, go here:

We Are Weird

You can trust me. I’ve got no upside!

Yes, we’re suspicious of people’s motives. We only want to pay if it’s pure. And we are paying, with our time, which is more valuable than money.

You can’t spam us into submission. Your only hope is to create work so great we’ll hear about it from someone else.

From: Seth Godin
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: We Are All Weird

thanks Bob!

From: Bob Lefsetz
To: Seth Godin
Subject: Re: We Are All Weird

Ah, an incredible video!  Put it on your blog, someone e-mailed it to me, otherwise I would have missed it!

From: Seth Godin
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: We Are All Weird

last week!  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/02/the-weird-interview.html

From: Bob Lefsetz
To: Seth Godin
Subject: Re: We Are All Weird

Whoa, feel like I’m hallucinating.
Just checked, you’re right.
Guess it was too much for me to click through to, maybe if it had been right there on your page.

Then again, maybe I needed to hear it from someone else!

From: Seth Godin
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: We Are All Weird

it always works that way…

word of friend is worth more than anything in the world of ideas.

From: Andy McKee
Subject: Re: E-Mail Of The Day

Bob,

Thanks for printing the email about my friend Jon Gomm. I’ve known him for about ten years and it is great to see him finally getting some recognition. We will be touring together in the UK later this year along with one of our great inspirations, Preston Reed.

Anyway, I thought I would relay that I had a similar experience with America’s Got Talent several years ago. Shortly after my videos went viral on YouTube, I was contacted by someone representing that program. America’s Got Talent was really interested in having me come in to try out for the show.

The exposure would have been pretty massive and I thought it could really help to get my name out to people that might not hear me otherwise.

But the more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that I would be throwing away the one thing my career was built upon: integrity. One guy with one guitar and a mic. Doesn’t get much more honest than that. Why throw it all away by being on a show with a guy who can burp the National Anthem or whatever the hell it is they do on that show?

I’m still out gigging 150-200 shows a year all over the planet. I don’t have thousands of people coming to see me every night but I get to do what I love and meet fans from all cultures. It looks like I’ll even have a gig in Zimbabwe later this year for crying out loud!

All the best,

Andy

Sent from my iPhone

TEN YEARS! And I just heard about him TODAY!

If you’re in it for the short haul, if you believe instant fame is your destiny, now is not your time. Jet yourself back to the nineties, before the Internet took hold.

The funny thing is now it takes even longer to make it. Because there’s so much stuff out there. And if we’re bombarded by incoming e-mail/tweets/Facebook messages about something new, we’re suspicious, we believe the hand of the man is behind it.

Everything you know is wrong. Assuming you subscribe to the old model.

Your music is your marketing. Start there. Be great.

Also, while I’ve got your attention, read/listen to this essay by Frank Deford, this is the way it used to be in the music business, when gatekeepers kept out talent that didn’t fit the mold.

Looking For Lin In All The Wrong Places

But those days are now through. There are a limited number of basketball teams, but we can always use a new musical artist.

Assuming you’re good.

No, make that great.

And Andy McKee is great. He broke via YouTube. Check him out here:

Andy McKee – Guitar – Drifting

Notice the 42 million plus play count! And, everything sits on YouTube waiting to be discovered, the clip may have been posted in 2006, but it’s new to people all the time.

If you don’t think Andy McKee is a rock star, you don’t know what a rock star is.

A rock star is first and foremost a musician. Who does it his way.

Those dieted-down phonies rapping over beats provided by the man in between nights at the club?

Ignore them.

From Dave Cool:
Subject: Guitarist Jon Gomm turns down Britain’s Got Talent: "Simon Cowell can kiss my ass"

Hi Bob,

A video by UK guitarist Jon Gomm recently went viral thanks to a tweet from British comedic legend Stephen Fry. Here’s the story, the video that went viral, and the tweet:

"’Wow!’ Stephen Fry’s one-word tweet catapults guitarist from obscurity to an audience of 2 MILLION listeners":

http://bit.ly/yAUVjY

Jon is now getting a lot of attention in British media, and even got a phone call from Britain’s Got Talent. Here’s what Jon’s manager told them:

"To all those dreamers and wannabes who may somewhat foolishly believe in the integrity of shows like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent: A producer from BGT just called me to ask if Jon Gomm would like to take part in the show. I happen to know for a fact that the open auditions took place months ago and there are anxious hopefuls all over the country waiting for their phones to ring to see if they’ve made it to the TV stage of the audition process. In the meantime, producers are calling musicians who have shown zero interest in appearing on the show to invite them to take part and groom them for victory. As a long time loather of all reality/talent shows I told them where to shove it in no uncertain terms. These programmes are exploitative bollocks. Don’t believe the bullshit people. Simon Cowell can kiss my ass."

https://www.facebook.com/jongommofficial?sk=wall&filter=2

Thought you might enjoy that, you don’t see independent artists saying no to the establishment like that (and turning down "instant fame") very often…

Cheers,

DC

1. For years we’ve heard no act has ever broken on the Internet. That’s now patently untrue.

2. P2P file sharing was supposed to kill music, so why didn’t this guy give up and get a service job?

3. The train is leaving the station on Twitter, get on it now, Twitter is where news is both made and spread.

4. The nineties were the era of YES, today is the era of NOW! Don’t be afraid to say no, especially if you’re in it for the long haul.

5. In the old days managers would be afraid to speak the truth, fearful they’d be blackballed by the system. We now live in an era of honesty, and if you speak the truth people resonate, just like me, that’s why I’m printing this e-mail!

From: Ken Ehrlich
Subject: Grammys
Date: February 14, 2012 4:20:59 PM PST
To: Bob Lefsetz

i don’t know who you are, or what you have against me, but if you think i’m out of touch, putting on a show that features dance music with david guetta and deadmau5, performances by every major contemporary act, and trying together the generations, then what the fuck do you call yourself?

it’s because of people like you that the music business is in the trouble it is now, you dinosaur.

stop trying to appear to be relevant. it’s not working