Is going to a live music event worth it? The attendee books a night off, drives to the venue, parks their car, buys a ticket, and gives up 2-3 hours of their life. What should they expect in return?

Here’s what I think.

Fans should expect an experience.

The 2-3 hours that the audience gives should be unlike anything else that they could have done with that time. They should be thinking about the space, the visuals, the sound, the atmosphere, and anything else that allows them to release their connection to the rest of their world.

The time needs to be unique to the audience. Do the best with what’s available. Help them to engage in something new with their time.

Fans should receive direct communication.

Connected to the experience, an audience needs something to be said directly to them. If there’s nothing directed at them during the performance, they may as well have sat at home and watched a video. The communication could be as simple as the strong expression of a great song lyric, a joke, a story, or even a sincere gesture. Speak to them.

Moments are the highlight reel.

When leaving a performance, audiences rarely talk about the full performance. They discuss small sections that stood out in the show, like a sports highlight reel. They usually last mere seconds. If an audience takes in 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds of a show, they may discuss 5-10 seconds of the whole thing. This doesn’t mean it was a bad show. What this does mean is that what they needed was a great highlight reel to play back in their minds. Give them those moments.

These are just some of the practical ideas I use and value during my shows. I’d like to write a bit more about some of my philosophy’s about what audiences need from music, but that’s another blog post.

Hope to see you at a live concert.

Henry

Music is entrepreneurship. It’s simply that. Anyone who’s ever chased the elusive dream of “making it”, and been heart broken when they didn’t, may not have a business plan. Artists have a really hard time with those types of guidelines.

These business plans are needed. Please do not neglect where music fits in industry. Think about where music is played live, where recorded music is played, how much it costs to buy, how much it costs to record, how much it costs to buy live tickets, how much instruments cost, how much training you need, how much it costs to take music to a potential market.

Put these costs and more together, and it’s a business. It’s entrepreneurship, and the artist is the product.

Now, let’s say you love it when musicians go full time, because they are following their passion. How much does that cost? How long will it take to be making a salary? It is well documented that it takes start up business (and musicians are businesses) 3-5 years to earn salaries. 3-5 YEARS! And this is AFTER you’ve got the other business processes in place (which may take a while if you’re young).

Good business counsel would recommend that an entrepreneur would currently have 3-5 years salary saved just in case they can’t take a salary for that long. That’s on top of the other start-up costs (gear, training, products, marketing, etc.)

The music industry is not as destitute as people complain it is. We just need more people to make real strategic decisions when entering the industry. Music is a revered art and a huge cultural phenomenon, and there is a place in our society for it, and it’s worth something. It is.

Next time a friend, child, loved one, or random stranger tells you they’re going to follow their musical dreams, don’t just pat them on the back and tell them they’re great for doing what they’re passionate about. Ask them for their business plan and buy them a book on entrepreneurship.

We live for the live moments…musically.

I don’t know what it is sometimes, but there is any energy to live performances that can be intense emotional stimulation. I’m not suggesting that this should be an article on music psychology, but just some observations.

There are a few energetic moments in every musical performance that I do that show me that my songs and presentation are on the right track. Entertaining an audience is super fun, but there is something so fulfilling about being on stage getting an energetic rush of musical success that helps the whole performance feel more genuine. Sometimes it’s a lyric, a really great tone on a note, or an arrangement decision that works seamlessly. That rush gives me the creative confidence I’m looking for in a performance.

The idea of creating moments is really important to me, because I know how I think. As a person, I like to gravitate to the intentional subtle gestures, the inside jokes, the witty banter, the genius content connection. Performances feel the same way. A 1-4-5-6 song doesn’t change the way I look at music, but a decision to make a strong melodic statement in a key moment in a predictable chord structure right in front of me does.

Live music lets an artist highlight the key influences of their humanity for their audience. Whether they perform original or cover music, they can’t escape showing what their music really does to them. Even in a 2 hour performance, they may give off something so subtle just once, and it lets the audience know that they were driven by that musical moment. We need that sincerity in our lives, as we all know how hard that can be to find in our daily lives.

Be energized by your live musical moments, whether you’re the one performing them or not.

A bad recording can ruin your career.

It’s true. For the same reason that you wear expensive clothes for big business deals, own nice house for lavish parties, and drive nice cars to extraordinary outings, we’re very driven to be our best when introducing ourselves.

However, we have the ability to be captured by notable efforts: A new entrepreneurial venture, and unique DIY hand made product, a child’s athletic success, conquering personal fears, overcoming situation challenges..

Consider my music a hand made DIY “pre-introduction”, and stay connected for the “tuxedo” music coming soon.

Wander over to www.henrywhitemusic.com/music to hear what I’m talking about.

Dreams fall into two categories for most people. They are either the inspiration behind a fraction of their lives that doesn’t involve integrating into society, or they are a symbol of failure and depression. Either way, following your dreams for most people involves a small or negative portion of their being.

If we all did what we were passionate about, I think we’d all need to sit down and define passion together, because I don’t think that we’d all agree. Passion for one may be horrifically detrimental to another, or even to society. Passion seems to be a cultural comparison.

Necessity should inspire us. Because of who we are, what is necessary for us to do? Because of what we’ve seen, what we’ve learned, what we desire, what should be necessary for us do to fulfill our lives?

It is necessary for us to be what we were made for.

Do what’s necessary.