So you're all here for the accounting lecture.
[LAUGHTER]
Has anybody looked out in the world and go, I can do that.
And that person is having all this success.
And I'm as good as that and I can sing better than that person,
I can play better, or like--
And it's not always necessarily--
there's a level of talent and skill, but that's not the determining factor.
There's these other things, and they're harder to work on
and they're super important and they really
have to be applied because they're the things I've seen that have really made
the differences in people's careers.
So my deal to you is I'll give you these five bonus things- which
I think are pretty amazing- and just ponder them
for the rest of the weekend.
Because these are actually things you can
go out of here, when you step out this door,
and apply when you run into people.
How many of you came here with at least part of your intention
was to do networking?
This is what I'm going to say,
[LAUGHTER]
F networking, and think about it as relationship building.
Because that's really what this entire industry is founded on,
it's about relationships.
You've got to have the talent, you've got to have this or that.
But you need to build relationships.
And think of them just as your personal relationships, because a lot of us
are running out, I've got to meet so-and-so.
I've got to meet so-and-so.
And you do have to meet some people, but you
have to think of it in a long term goal, that you're
going to build a relationship.
Not like I'm just going to meet you and then you're
my window of opportunity that's quickly closing, and here's my CD,
and there's this and that [INAUDIBLE] over.
Those moments happen.
We have people come to a conference, have this one moment
and give a CD out to somebody or play a song or perform and get discovered.
And people also win the lottery.
Anybody you meet, think of meeting them as a person.
And they're going to be somebody you work with, and so when you--
and I'm not saying don't go to all the "networking events,"
but just build relationships at them.
Meet people and find people you connect with, and really get to know them.
Because it's a long term process.
And just for an example, people go- in this industry-
they go to the people they know.
Here in Los Angeles- or when I lived in Nashville or on the East Coast-
say you need a great guitar player for a project-- or you name the instrument,
a vocalist, this or that--
there's a lot of people who can do great things.
And so who do I call?
The people I like working with.
It's just because-- do I need the ego, do I need the hassle?
It's just, oh I'll call Steve.
This will be a perfect project.
And you just call your friends, and those
are because you build up those relationships over time.
Think of it like you want to make that first meeting the segue
to a beautiful long lasting relationship together, so that they want you back
in their door.
So just keep that in mind.
Number two, stop talking about your music career
and start sharing about yourself.
Because one thing I hear--
a lot of times people would come into my office, or come to me, and say--
one of the first things they say, "music is my life.
Everything.
I live, eat, breathe, and sleep music."
And I think their intention was good, that they were wanting
to tell me how dedicated they were.
And I was like, yes.
You and the thousands upon thousands of other people.
You know, I played in the band and so I was kind of the unique one.
Then I went to Berklee and I realized, oh I'm with a lot of other unique ones.
And not so unique anymore.
You don't really remember-- to me now, when I hear somebody,
yeah I'm working on this project and I'm doing this--
it's what I call cocktail conversation because half of it
is not going to ever happen anyways.
It's just, I'm doing this, I'm recording a CD, and I'm working on these songs,
and I'm doing this.
It's just like blah blah blah.
It's like Charlie Brown to me.
It's like the wah wah wah.
I don't hear it anymore.
And the people you meet don't really care,
because they're all thinking about the only thing they're going to say to you,
and tell you all their boring information.
But it's just- it really is kind of boring.
But you'll make better connections with people
if you tell them something about yourself--
two people I was meeting for dinner--
or a bunch of people, but two of the people at the same table who had never
met each other and were from totally different worlds- one Northeastern
Yankee, the other a total southerner.
You know which- if you've lived in both of those places- which I have-
there's still some very interesting differences.
And these guys hit up the most amazing conversation
and now are working together.
But do you know why they hit up that conversation?
Because they didn't talk about music at all when they first met.
They both happened to raise chickens.
And if you saw these people, you'd never catch them in the same room.
But that's interesting to me.
If you're working on a CD, I'm like you and a million other people.
It's like, yeah, whatever.
But if you tell me you have a pet llama I'm like, well
that's kind of interesting.
I'll remember you.
I'll remember the guy with the llama, I'm
not going to remember the guy who's working on a CD.
So think about that.
Share something about you.
One of the best things I learned- how many people know T-bone Burnett?
He spoke at an event a little while ago, and his--
he said, "art is created in communities."
Because he was talking to the fact that as technology has evolved,
we've become a lot more isolated.
How many of us work in our studios a lot of times on our own.
The beauty is that we can do so much.
But his point was that we've kind of isolated ourselves,
and music is really created in communities.
And that also goes back to the idea of building relationships
that are so important.
So those are essential.
The fourth thing I want to say is do what you love, and do the work.
Because one of the biggest things I've seen
is that people have moved away from doing what they love
and doing what they think they should do.
You're going to be told a lot of things you
think you should do in the industry, but you have to have that passion.
Because this business takes a lot of effort.
It takes a lot of stick-to-it, as they say,
and going back and doing it day after day.
Somebody I worked with in Nashville had to go through seven years of rejection.
Seven years of rejection from every record
label, every company, until he finally had some level of success.
But he did what he loved and so that was able to pull him through.
If you're not doing what you really love,
it's not going to pull you through.
And then the last thing I would say is to help other people with their career.
If you become a contributor to somebody else's success,
you will be much more successful.
If you look at a lot of the song writers,
a lot of people who are artists and successes today,
they were helping other people.
And you all have skills you can contribute.
Somebody like a Bruno Mars who spent a lot of time
writing and producing with other people until his artist's career
came successful.
But just remember that, so don't keep yourself on the outside.
And if you do that, you'll be amazed that all of a sudden
those pieces will add together, and you'll
find yourself floating up with all the rest.
Because every time somebody you connect with has a success,
you in turn have a success.
A great producer I worked with in Nashville
taught me that really early on.
He said, "you know, we're all trying to go up a peg on the ladder."
And he said, "you know, when one of your friends
or one of your really true people you have a relationship has a success,
you go up a quarter rung."
So he says, "if you've got a lot of friends,
you can to rise pretty quickly."
F networking, create relationships, stop talking about your career and share
about yourself.
Music is created in communities, do what you love, do the work,
and then help others.
Put them into practice and you'll be amazed
that that will help you in your career more than any other technical thing.