Seth Godin, on multiple occasions, talks about the “Race to the Bottom,” or a race where providers vie for position as the low-cost provider. The problem is, they could win, and hurt everyone else along the way.  Take pianists. In the pianist marketplace, there’s a relatively standard hourly rate of $100.00 per hour for a solo pianist gig. Typically there’s a minimum charge of 2 hours. Some pianists charge $125.00/hour, while others might cost $75.00. What happens if a Milwaukee pianist started charging $65? Then another started quoting $60? Then another, $50? Do you see where this is going?Wedding/function/party bands. I’ve seen a similar pricing trend. Milwaukee providers will often charge lower as DJs become more and more popular alternatives to larger bands. For the Milwaukee consumer looking for a cheap option, this is great. However, Milwaukee consumers also hire groups from Chicago, ones that charge a heck of a lot more than the groups from Milwaukee. Why?Chicago is a premium. It’s not, they’d like to think they are, but they’re not. But, in the minds of our customers, they are. Chicago is at the top. Interestingly, Chicago bands treat their clients differently than most Milwaukee groups.  When a bride buys music from a well plaid Chicago group, they feel as if they’re part of an enterprise. Many of these groups not only have bands, but they contract string quartets, jazz groups, they play continuously, it’s a network. They feel too big to fail. They’re quality, and they’re safe.  Stop racing to the bottom. If you win, you’ll do it on the backs of others, you won’t enjoy your work, and it won’t sustain you.  Race to the top. Be different than the rest. Create quality over quantity. Focus on what your customer needs. Deliver on that need better than anybody else. People will gladly pay top dollar for someone to meet their needs.  But for the people that don’t want to pay, they’re not for you.  They’re for someone else.  Focus on others like you.Serve them.

All of the sophisticated arrangements in the world do not grab your audience’s attention unless you’re performing a concert where people have paid to see you. But at a bar, a wedding, a casual gig - no, no one cares. They didn’t come for you; you came for them.  “We have the best musicians,” a typical tag line amongst many bands and agencies. Who cares?  Every group will say they have the best musicians. They’d be fools not to answer the question that way, or would they?  Musicianship, the quality by which a musician executes a performance as defined by other professional musicians, is in the eye of the beholder. Truly. How I see a musical performance will be different than how another person will see it. My mother, not a musician, will experience music differently than I, and others like me, experience music. Nine times out of ten, the consumer is not a professional musician. They are a professional human being and often go to music to “feel” something from it.People purchase live music because of the feeling it creates within them. They hope to recreate that feeling for those they’re bringing together for a special occasion.  They remember how it felt to hear their first orchestra, band, musical. Experiencing live music might recall memories of their first private lesson. They see in movies couples having their first dance to a live band. People seek out live music because it helps them connect to something that no longer exists - a memory.  All of the musical talent in the world is meaningless unless you can effectively recreate memories.  What Can You Do?Decide to be different.When speaking with customers, make it a goal to understand what they remember about their earliest experiences with music.Adjust arrangements, as needed, to highlight the lyric and the written word.Improvise solos that are hummable by a non-musician.Make personal connections with as many guests as possible and care about getting to know them.Assert how you want your customers to feel.Ensure you do everything in your power to help customers feel your brand.Actively survey and learn what people remembered most about your work.The above brainstorms are ideas. Flesh them out. See if they work for you. Try something else. For myself, I thought about how I would describe myself if I were a jazz musician:  “We bring to your party what a musician brought to you, so many years ago. A lifetime of good memories, positive vibes, and a feeling they’ll want to share with others. We also happen to play jazz.“If I were a customer, I’d consider having a phone call with me.  Recreate the memory.  Oh!I have a new mailing list feature. If you’d like to receive the Brady Helps’ Blog directly to your inbox each day, with no spam, consider signing up. No spam. One email each day. Promise.

The future of the general business, casuals, jobbing musician has changed, is changing; it’s “changed!“Every decent enough musician is introducing themselves, and their product, to an over-saturated marketplace.  With so many services appearing the same, I see two differentiators amongst the majority.One group of musicians possesses more sophisticated arrangements and quality of musicianship (as judged by musicians).Groups are competing for being the lowest cost provider.Amongst the minority, I see two differentiators.Longevity in the marketplace. A small number of musicians have been in the market for more than four years.Bands with the highest number of bookings per year appear to enjoy themselves a lot more.How does this impact the customer?The customer gets watered-down choices making it more challenging to determine who’s the answer to their question. They have to work harder to find the diamonds in the rough.The quality of musicianship matters less and less. Not every customer possesses enough knowledge to make sense of the difference.Customers make purchasing decisions with the minority. The ones in the market place with longevity are safe. The ones who appear to enjoy themselves are safe and look like them.I’m not suggesting that we quit, throw in the towel, and not try to gig. I am suggesting that we understand the market, what’s needed, and go against the grain. The beginning of a series on the marketplace and your role within it starts now.

Yesterday (today) I wrote (write) my last article for the failure series. I felt it appropriate as I had a significant fail that day.

Like you, I have pet peeves or small things that profoundly irritate me.
Like you, I wish people would not do things that irritate me.
Like you, I wish people would do what I say.

I woke up in the best of moods: the sun was out, the wind calming, and I felt a cool breeze. Indeed, in my mind, I was “blessed and highly favored.” How could this day get any worse? I live with my sister.

As a child, kids bullied me.   As a child, people would choose others before me. As a child, people always seemed to have better things. As a child, I thought like a child. 

During early adulthood, I would see others and want to be like them. I noticed leaders chose others over me. People would often post about their grandiose life on social media, and I would be jealous. As an early adult, I thought like a child.  

My mind works too fast too often. Growing up as a teenager, it was a struggle. Later as a young adult, it became a headache.

As I’ve intimated in previous entries, I live with bipolar disorder. I feel people create a stigma in their head about what that means; it means different things for different people. For me, when I’ve been up, it means that my mind races a hundred years into the future.

My father would tell me, as a kid:

“God and ‘me’ make a majority.” — John Brady, parent

He would later come to regret imparting this advice.

I am a principled individual. I strongly believe in my values. More often than not, I have done what I think is right in spite of the majority opinion. More often than not, I ruined relationships because I felt the other party violated a sacred belief - my opinion.

I used to own a music contracting agency. This type of business hires musicians for gigs — a broker. When I started this business, I was young - 18 years old. I started it because I had something other musicians didn’t. I had access.  

If you’re going to introduce a new product to the market, having access to the market is critical. Being able to connect others to your product or service leads to increased business. My problem was not the access; my problem was that I was aware others did not have the access I had.  

When I used to be a bandleader, I had a terrible reputation as being a hard ass. I was. I dedicated my entire self and soul to the music I performed. I expected no less from those playing with me. That was my problem. My expectations did not allow for mistakes.  

Night after night, I demanded of myself flawless execution. There was never a reason not to do it right. One musician even asked me, “Brady, I don’t know what you want from me.” My response, “I want one thing, one thing. I want it right. Always.”