Thank you to Pollstar and the North American Concert Promoter’s Association for bringing Seth Godin (BTW, there is a great article on connecting with customers in the February issue of Entrepreneur Magazine) in to deliver the keynote for this year’s Pollstar Live Conference. Here are some of my takeaways.
- We are on a race to the bottom. Seth tells the story of meeting Bill Graham while he was promoting a Rolling Stones tour. At the time, tickets were $50 and Seth asked Bill why not charge $100 since he could get it. Bill agreed he would probably get it but thought it was important to leave money in the market since he would be promoting other shows during the year. In 2013, we are looking for the one event we can get music fans to attend rather than trying to get them to discover artists and buy tickets to more shows. A race to the bottom.
- Opportunity. We all need to be looking for it.
- Build Assets. Your assets don’t have to be real estate; they can be anything…especially a mailing list…where you received permission to speak with consumers.
- Look for the Ridiculous. You want to standout from the noise. The more ridiculous, the better. Give people something to talk about.
- Connecting. It seems today we are all looking for ways to measure our money and time investments in social media. Seth pointed out that social is just another weapon in a marketer’s arsenal. One the Grateful Dead employed for years to help foster community. You need to find the best place for your voice. For instance, Seth made a conscious decision to stay off Facebook and Twitter (his Twitter feeds you his blog) and use his blog as his voice to the world. Remember, connecting is ultimately about the exchange of ideas. If you are having a one-way conversation, that can’t happen.
- Believe in what you are making. So many times we find ourselves competing rather than truly believing in what we are doing.
- Build Slowly. Probably the hardest for us to do in this environment and yet we must. Things that start fast end just as quickly.
Certainly the panels I attended (including the one I moderated) could not hold a candle to Seth’s presentation. Perhaps something to work on for 2014…along with the Concert Industry Awards. Please make it a seated affair like the Golden Globes. Let guests eat and drink and start the awards as desert is served.
