Hello everyone! Thanks for reading. Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts and had my mind blown so I'll share this insight with you all.
First, I need to share my love for "The Entrepreneurial Musician" podcast. As a former member of Boston Brass, host Andrew Hitz learned at a young age the importance of entrepreneurship in music. The Entrepreneurial Musician (TEM) podcast has been incredibly transformational for me and I encourage musicians to listen. https://www.andrewhitz.com/tempodcast
The podcast has a few different formats for episodes: long-form interviews, TEM shorts, and book reviews. The podcast that blew my mind was TEM178, a book review on Seth Godin's 'Purple Cow.' (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-entrepreneurial-musician-with-andrew-hitz/id987659537?i=1000440943682) The intended audience is musicians or artists beginning their career.
We live in a world where there is access to an almost unlimited amount of content to consume. It feels like the moment I finish watching a TV series, I get recommended 3 more. I can't keep up with new music while also trying to learn the centuries of music already written. How do we select what to consume? If we're on the other side, how do we get people to watch or buy or content?
The content needs to be remarkable. I avoided watching new series in college because I didn't want to spend all of my time in front of a TV; however, I watched Breaking Bad because every single person I interacted with raved about the show. I began watching Game of Thrones because my friends begged me to start. I saw people online react in shock and awe to the new episode each Sunday night. I felt left out and I wanted to join the community.
These shows were remarkable because they created a cutting-edge product. Sure, there had been dramatic television before both of those shows but it felt new and exciting.
The title 'Purple Cow' comes from a remarkable idea that sticks in your brain. Imagine you've lived in a large city for your whole life and you travel to the Northern Italian countryside. Surely, you'd be in awe of the landscape. You'd probably stare at the rolling hills and cows for the entire first day. Perhaps by day three, you'd acknowledge it and smile, but get on with your day. What would grab your attention? A purple cow.
Creators need to consider moving towards being remarkable if they hope to create an audience that sees value in their work. This doesn't mean throwing out the business model every week. By teetering closely to the edge of your market, they'd likely be remarkable. If you're someone that wants to offer something to the world, how can you change your habits or content to help you become remarkable?
The sentence that shook me to my core was so unexpected, I had to stop driving. Admittedly, I look back and realize that's pretty nerdy but if you're here, you probably already know that about me. Seth Godin advises that by being remarkable, you can create your market and audience. I found myself asking, "Well, how do you know you're remarkable? How do you know if you're not remarkable?" Thankfully, Godin shares that answer. The opposite of remarkable is...
Very good. The opposite of remarkable is very good. We live in a world where there is an almost unlimited supply of very good content everywhere. If you want to break through the noise, seek to be remarkable. Being very good will only get you so far.