I’ve been thinking on how people usually tend to lean to one side of their brain in term of how they think and function. I’m generalizing, but you’ll find very logical, rational people (left brainers) without much ambition for creativity and then you’ll find the polar opposite in other people (right brainers).
Artists, I would say, tend to be right brainers. You’re creators after all.
It’s great to dream and come up with grandiose artistic ambitions if you’re just in it for the sake of the art and creation. If you want to make a career out of it, there needs to be organization, planning, and practical thinking.
So the idea is to try and develop your left brain thinking even if it’s not your strong suit.
Let me give you an example:
Right Brain
- Ambitious concept double album on the evolution of time and love
- You’re set on Todd McFarlane to do the artwork
- You want Phil Spector to mix and produce (you’ll send him the tracks over email as he of course has his laptop pro-tools set-up in jail)
- You want to press CDs, even though you torrent most of your music
Left Brain
- The tracks on the album can be divided into 3 song acts which you release in 3p chunks over the course of a year. You’ll be able to grow the audience without investing too much into recording a full album at once.
- This is your first recording. You don’t have the money or the clout to get Todd McFarlane, You do know a guy from art school who’s pretty damn good and he’s building his portfolio. He’ll do some great work for next to nothing.
- Phil Spector has enough on his mind to worry about your unknown band. He does have a lot time in jail to listen to music though.
- Why throw cash at something most people don’t care that much about anymore? Why not focus on promoting the songs online to build fans and invest in making themed shirts around the storyline of the album. Each 3p could have a set of matching shirts.
- As a new band, your goal is to build fans, not throw a bunch of money into an album you’re not sure anyone will buy.
I know I’m exaggerating, but my point is to combine the creative with the logical and practical to build your career out.
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Loving the idea, has been thinking about such concepts myself for quite a while (a new reader of TNRP btw). A lot of musicians, including relatevely young ones, still try to follow the “classic” (or, should I say, outdated) marketing schemes and are rather naive about the music business. They have great plans and maybe a real talent, but fail because of not understanding how to push their stuff over there.
And building something more than just a collection of songs has a huge potential.
Thanks for your blog, will definitely check out the book.
Thanks, I remember a girl being completely bewildered by me and not being able to fit me in the right or left brain category (why try to fit ppl into categories anyway?)…so yeah I’ll point her here next time 🙂
Hoover,
Like the idea. I assume you have thought of alternatively releasing one song every month for a year, at which time you have a full album. Or maybe 6 song albums twice a year and so forth. I’m curious how you landed on the 3 songs every 3 months? Also is there any meaning behind the name 3P? I’ve been thinking about this general idea for months when I came upon your ideas as I’m just weeks away from finalizing some things. It’s interesting how information comes your way when you are into something. Would love to hear you elaborate on the wisdom of 3. Thanks
Jimmi
Hey Jimmi,
Yeah, 1 song a month for a year works too. The thing we like about the 3P is that it still has some meat to it. When you hear a single that you love, you usually want to hear more from the artist. The 3P allows you to get that fix. If those other 2 songs are solid, you’re going to be salivating for the next 3P release a couple months down the road.
Keep in touch
Hoover