{"id":1799,"date":"2009-03-20T11:45:06","date_gmt":"2009-03-20T19:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=1799"},"modified":"2009-03-20T11:45:06","modified_gmt":"2009-03-20T19:45:06","slug":"tribes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2009\/03\/20\/tribes\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From: Ritch Esra
Subject: Seth Godin Interview
Date: March 18, 2009 1:33:45 PM PDT
To: bob@lefsetz.com<\/p>\n

Bob, \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thought you’d enjoy this very recent interview with Seth Godin<\/p>\n

Seth Godin on the Music Business<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I don’t remember how I first met Ritch Esra.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure it was in e-mail, but I don’t remember the content of his missive.\u00c2\u00a0 But I’m sure it was nice.\u00c2\u00a0 Ritch is always nice, and enthusiastic and insightful.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ve developed a friendship.\u00c2\u00a0 We go out to dinner at least once a year with Michael Laskow of TAXI and Ritch forwards me exclusive information on a regular basis. Which is probably why I agreed…<\/p>\n

Suddenly, I remember how I met Ritch, he invited me to be on his radio show, broadcast to students.\u00c2\u00a0 You might not be able to get me to do this today, especially the part about driving to Burbank, but we develop special relationships with people who are there for us in the beginning.\u00c2\u00a0 My list had a fraction of the number of subscribers it does today.\u00c2\u00a0 If someone was tracking me down to give me an opportunity to spread my message, I was accepting the offer.<\/p>\n

Last year I spoke at Ritch’s class at the Musicians Institute.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of our history, because of the relationship.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why I listened to this Seth Godin interview.\u00c2\u00a0 I might have skipped it if someone else had posted the link, I certainly wouldn’t have listened to the whole thing.\u00c2\u00a0 If Seth Godin HIMSELF had told me to listen to the interview, I wouldn’t have.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t like promotion from the act itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though I know Seth a bit.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d say to him "Why are you working me?"\u00c2\u00a0 Is that our relationship, where you use me to get ahead?\u00c2\u00a0 My friends don’t market me, don’t hype me, don’t work me.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe if Seth had sent a friendly note, explaining why he thought I’d be interested in the interview, I’d check it out.\u00c2\u00a0 But this is sensitive ground.\u00c2\u00a0 Especially when someone already has traction.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll help the up and coming, if we know them personally.\u00c2\u00a0 Bottom line, if you’re up and coming and I don’t know you, I owe you nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 And if you’re working me, you’re violating our friendship, I won’t view you in the same way ever again. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, I listened to entire clip because I figured I might run into Ritch and he’d ask me about it, or e-mail me and want to discuss it further.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s be clear here, Ritch was not asking me a favor, he made an assessment of who I was, what I was interested in, and sent me a targeted link.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t do this every day, rarely, in fact.\u00c2\u00a0 So, based on our friendship, I listened.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the first half of this lengthy interview with Seth was ground I was quite familiar with.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, when speaking about Tribes in the latter half of the conversation, Seth spoke about permission marketing, the relationship with the fan.<\/p>\n

How do you build that relationship?\u00c2\u00a0 How do you get people interested?<\/p>\n

By doing something great.\u00c2\u00a0 Seth unleashed his book, "Unleashing the Ideavirus", online, for free, a decade ago, and gained fans that way.\u00c2\u00a0 He didn’t compile an e-mail list and spam people, he focused on the work.\u00c2\u00a0 And then using the distribution platform of the Web, he allowed people to pull it, for free!\u00c2\u00a0 To the point where people implored him to print a hard copy, that they could buy, they wanted to own it.\u00c2\u00a0 Is your music so great that it will draw its own followers?\u00c2\u00a0 If not, you’re going to have a hard time in the new universe.\u00c2\u00a0 Listeners have unlimited choice, they don’t care that you’re broke, went to Berklee and have invested a ton in equipment.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got no preexisting relationship.\u00c2\u00a0 Your calling card must be your music.\u00c2\u00a0 The number of friends you’ve got on MySpace, your stunting, they might garner passing interest, but a listener might wonder if you’re better at marketing than music.\u00c2\u00a0 And so many of today’s wannabes are.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re computer-savvy, they’ve grown up online.\u00c2\u00a0 But they haven’t practiced their chops in their bedrooms alone, they haven’t spent endless hours in the garage.\u00c2\u00a0 So, there’s nothing at the core.<\/p>\n

And once you’ve got a fan, once they’ve found you, you’ve then got permission to contact them.\u00c2\u00a0 But here’s why I’m writing this, Seth said your tribe is people who would be DISAPPOINTED if they didn’t hear from you!<\/p>\n

Think about that.\u00c2\u00a0 Kind of like a girl you met at a bar, at a friend’s house.\u00c2\u00a0 You exchanged phone numbers, e-mail addresses.\u00c2\u00a0 You sent her a note, a text and…SHE DIDN’T RESPOND?<\/p>\n

You wouldn’t shrug your shoulders and not give it another thought.\u00c2\u00a0 You’d wonder, WHAT HAPPENED?\u00c2\u00a0 Did she lose her phone?\u00c2\u00a0 Does she not have computer access?\u00c2\u00a0 Did she get in a car accident?\u00c2\u00a0 When you spam me, telling me about your project I’m not interested in, I don’t wonder if your mom has grounded you, if you’ve been in a car accident, I DON’T KNOW YOU AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU!\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas if a week went by and I didn’t get an e-mail from Ritch Esra, I’d wonder…\u00c2\u00a0 Did he go out of town?\u00c2\u00a0 If two weeks went by and there was no e-mail from Ritch, I’d e-mail Laskow, I’d do a little research, DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?<\/p>\n

Today’s acts dun you for notice, and then when they’ve made it, they remove themselves.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas a relationship must be nurtured, and CONTINUED!\u00c2\u00a0 Once you’ve got the relationship, you must KEEP IT UP!\u00c2\u00a0 To make an album every three years is ridiculous.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to release a track, a demo, a video, SOMETHING for your regular fans.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re starving, you’ve got to feed them, to keep up the relationship.\u00c2\u00a0 Believe me, the guy who doesn’t hear from that girl doesn’t think about her every minute of the day THREE YEARS LATER!\u00c2\u00a0 He’s on to something else.<\/p>\n

The old model was limited product pushed down people’s throats.<\/p>\n

Today’s model is endless product available to those who want it.<\/p>\n

That’s another thing Seth said.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t try to reach everybody, only your tribe, only those who are interested.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got enough money to support you.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what the overpriced vinyl and books and CD packages are about.\u00c2\u00a0 Feeding the fan frenzy, not the casual buyer.\u00c2\u00a0 The true fan will pay ten bucks for the album at iTunes, he doesn’t need to buy "No Line On The Horizon" for $3.99 at Amazon.\u00c2\u00a0 Those sales are almost meaningless.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only do they cannibalize those of the fans willing to pay more, the casual buyer enticed at this price is not going to buy an exorbitantly-priced concert ticket. (The casual fan would be better off getting free access…)<\/p>\n

Point being, are you growing fans or just another SoundScan statistic?\u00c2\u00a0 There are not enough album sales for the SoundScan statistic to be truly meaningful.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to branch out, sell more to the tribe, your fans, who truly care.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve got a fan club it shouldn’t be primarily about getting good seats to the show, but providing more of what fans truly want, communication, product and access.<\/p>\n

Your tribe is enough to support you.\u00c2\u00a0 As long as you have reasonable expectations.\u00c2\u00a0 A klezmer musician may never reach 100 million people, but can sustain a career and a life, because of the passion of klezmer fans.\u00c2\u00a0 He can’t complain that he doesn’t fly in a private jet, he must change his direction if he desires to do that.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, he might just have a fan who’s that rich and is willing to put his Cessna at the musician’s disposal.<\/p>\n

It’s amazing what friends\/fans will do.\u00c2\u00a0 But they won’t do it for everybody.<\/p>\n

Don’t collect e-mail addresses, collect FANS!\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t spam people, don’t give people what they don’t want, it’s hard enough navigating this world of endless media.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, hope your music is good enough to infect fans who will spread the word for you.\u00c2\u00a0 Not because they’re getting a reward, street teams are passe, but because they love your music and they want their friends’ lives enriched.<\/p>\n

I know, I know, this is not how the major labels do it, this is not what they taught you in business school, you’re impatient. Well, welcome to the real world.\u00c2\u00a0 People only need great.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be great.\u00c2\u00a0 And even if you are, you won’t be an overnight success.\u00c2\u00a0 But people are looking for great, and when they find it, they tell everybody they know.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From: Ritch EsraSubject: Seth Godin InterviewDate: March 18, 2009 1:33:45 PM PDTTo: bob@lefsetz.com Bob, \u00c2\u00a0 Thought you’d enjoy this very recent interview with Seth Godin Seth Godin on the Music Business I don’t remember how I first met Ritch Esra.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure it was in e-mail, but I don’t remember the content of his missive.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s96vPs-tribes","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1800,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799\/revisions\/1800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}