the AMP Issue 20

"If my heart could do my thinking, and my head begin to feel, I would look upon the world anew, and know what’s truly real."
— Van Morrison

In This Issue... [11 pages, approx 16 1/2 minutes to read] You'll Get...

• RECOMMENDS—  The Thank You Economy book by Gary Vee

• the 100 GREATEST SINGER SONGWRITERS— Kurt Cobain

•  BACKSTAGE PASS — "Don't Quit Your Day Job"

• GUEST ARTICLE —  Don’t Fall For These 6 Urban Songwriting Myths!

• PS from PS— Thank You for TrueFans

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Here’s the playlist
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• RECOMMENDS—  The Thank You Economy by Gary (Vee) Vaynerchuk [Book Summary] by Sahil Moray

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Tap the link to watch Gary Vee's TED Talk on the Thank You Economy [10:30].

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"The Thank You Economy" by Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) is a business book that explores the importance of genuine human connections and customer-centric approaches in the digital age. Vaynerchuk argues that advancements in technology have transformed the way businesses interact with their customers, creating opportunities for deeper engagement and personalized experiences. 

By embracing the principles of gratitude and empathy, businesses can build strong relationships with their customers, foster loyalty, and thrive in the modern marketplace.

Introduction
Gary Vaynerchuk introduces the concept of "The Thank You Economy"— a business landscape where the customer’s voice is amplified, and genuine appreciation and gratitude are at the core of successful businesses. He emphasizes the power of social media and technology in shaping customer relationships and urges businesses to embrace these platforms to create authentic connections with their audiences.

Chapter 1: We Got It All Wrong
Vaynerchuk challenges traditional business practices that prioritize mass marketing and advertising over personalized interactions. He argues that businesses need to shift their focus from transactional relationships to building emotional connections with their customers.

Chapter 2: How We Got Here
In this chapter, Vaynerchuk provides historical context to explain how businesses have evolved from a local, community-oriented model to a mass-market, profit-driven approach. He highlights the impact of technology on shaping consumer behavior and urges businesses to adapt to the changing landscape.

Chapter 3: "State of the Union" Address
Vaynerchuk discusses the state of the business world in the digital age. He emphasizes the importance of listening to customers and paying attention to their feedback on social media platforms. By acknowledging and responding to customer concerns, businesses can build trust and loyalty.

Chapter 4: What’s the ROI of Your Mother?
This chapter explores the concept of return on investment (ROI) in the context of customer relationships. Vaynerchuk argues that valuing customer interactions solely based on immediate monetary gains is short-sighted. Instead, businesses should invest in building relationships for long-term benefits.

Chapter 5: The Humanization of Business
Vaynerchuk advocates for humanizing businesses by putting real people at the forefront of interactions. He encourages businesses to show vulnerability and authenticity, which can lead to more meaningful connections with customers.

Chapter 6: The Role of Community Manager
This chapter discusses the importance of community managers in fostering engagement and trust. Community managers act as the voice of the brand, responding to customer inquiries and concerns with empathy and gratitude.

Chapter 7: The Thank You Economy Meets the Real World
Vaynerchuk illustrates the principles of "The Thank You Economy" through real-world examples. He showcases businesses that have successfully built strong customer relationships and loyalty by embracing gratitude and empathy in their practices.

Chapter 8: If Content is King, then Context is God
This chapter delves into the significance of delivering personalized content and experiences to customers. Vaynerchuk emphasizes the value of understanding the context in which customers engage with businesses and tailoring messages accordingly.

Chapter 9: The Best Marketing Strategy Ever
Vaynerchuk discusses how customer-centric approaches can become the most effective marketing strategy. Satisfied customers become advocates, spreading positive word-of-mouth and influencing others to engage with the brand.

Chapter 10: Conclusion
In the conclusion, Vaynerchuk reiterates the central message of the book— that businesses must prioritize customer relationships and embrace gratitude and empathy in their interactions. He emphasizes that... 

…the future of successful businesses lies in creating authentic, personalized experiences for customers.

"The Thank You Economy" is a compelling and insightful book that emphasizes the significance of genuine human connections in the digital age. Gary Vaynerchuk’s message is clear— businesses must adapt to the changing landscape of consumer behavior and leverage social media and technology to build meaningful relationships with their customers. 

By showing gratitude, empathy, and a genuine desire to provide value, businesses can foster customer loyalty, generate positive word-of-mouth, and ultimately thrive in the modern marketplace.

The book serves as a practical guide for businesses seeking to navigate the digital landscape and create authentic connections with their customers. By adopting the principles of "The Thank You Economy," businesses* can differentiate themselves from their competitors, cultivate brand advocates, and achieve sustainable success in an increasingly customer-centric world.

* Just a reminder: Your Singing and Songwriting is a 'business.'

• the 100 GREATEST SINGER SONGWRITERS of All Time— Kurt Cobain

"I didn’t know how to deal with success. If there was a Rock Star 101, I would have liked to take it.  It might have helped me."
- Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the frontman of the rock band Nirvana, serving as the band's guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain's compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was often heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock. 

Cobain formed the band Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene, which later became known as grunge. After signing with major label DGC Records, Nirvana found global success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991). Although Cobain was hailed as the voice of his generation following Nirvana's sudden success, he resented this, believing his message and artistic vision had been misinterpreted by the public. In addition to "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Cobain wrote many other notable songs for Nirvana, including "Come as You Are", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Something in the Way", "Heart-Shaped Box", "All Apologies", "About a Girl", "Aneurysm" and "You Know You're Right". 

During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction and chronic health problems such as depression. He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame, and he had a tumultuous relationship with his wife, fellow musician Courtney Love. In March 1994, Cobain overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol, and he subsequently entered an intervention and underwent a detox program. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle at the age of 27; police concluded he had died on April 5 from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. 

Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, in their first year of eligibility in 2014. Rolling Stone included Cobain in its lists of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, 100 Greatest Guitarists, and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. He was ranked 7th by MTV in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music". In 2006, he was placed 20th by Hit Parader on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time". 

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Nirvana accidentally kicked off a cultural revolution with 1991's Nevermind, an album that brought rock & roll kicking and screaming into the modern world. The Seattle trio disdained the kind of bloated, corporate music that was then dominating the airwaves; as a result, their approach was raw, punk-inspired and messy, and fueled by an underlying desire to ignore (and subvert) the status quo. Nirvana expressed angst, ennui and frustration through their music— but made sure to deliver plenty of catharsis as well. 
— Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2014)

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To visit on the MusicThisDay.com  website, tap the link. the 100 Greatest Singer Songwriters of All Time 

•  BACKSTAGE PASS — "Don't Quit Your Day Job"

Back on November 1, 2023 we released the AMP Issue 14, Backstage Pass Podcast  with Singer Songwriting legend Jim Parker. Of all the wisdom Jim shared from his 60 year career in music he made the biggest deal of this bit: "My advice to Singer Songwriters... Don't quit your day job."

Well. Okay. Jim's old school. But... Chris Greenwood, aka 'Manafest' of SmartMusicBusiness.com, isn't that. He's new school. And when two successful music artists who are decades apart say the same thing... Old school / New school. Got to be something worth listening to and learning from. Here's what Chris recently wrote in his weekly newsletter:

I regret quitting my job to play music.

If I could hop into a time machine, I'd have a chat with my younger self— the one who made the hasty decision to quit his job. 

You see, it all happened too fast.

I went from working five days a week, to four, then three, and eventually waved goodbye to that steady paycheck. 

At the time, it felt like the right move, but looking back, I realize it wasn't.

You know why? 

Because having that job allowed me 
to invest in my music career. 

I had the financial freedom to pump money into my music, helping it grow faster. 

But once I quit, I had to rely solely on my music income, which, to be honest, was barely there—  thanks to a record label deal that didn't quite pan out as expected." 

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So... Jim never did quit his day job. He's a very successful realtor in Huntsville, Alabama. Chris did quit his too soon, and it took some time, but today he's an  independent artist and successfully markets his music selling thousands of albums and millions of streams. 

A friend once told me (when I was still drinking), "when three people tell you you're drunk, lie down." So... Jim, Chris and here's the third:

"Two years after receiving an Emmy award, Songwriter Jason Blume said, "I was still working a day job when, for the first time, one of my songs appeared on Billboard’s Hot Country chart. That independent release (which I had rewritten 7 times) led to everything in my career, but it did not allow me to quit my day job." 

Up to you what to do. But "Don't Quit Your Day Job" is advise worth considering.

— John Fogg

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in partnership with he Jim Parker Songwriter Series

• GUEST ARTICLE — Don’t Fall For These 6 Urban Songwriting Myths!
by Marty Dodson, co-founder of SongTown.com.

1) I can write only 10 songs and have several hits in the bunch.
Songwriting is a craft that takes years to develop. No painter paints a masterpiece within his first ten pieces of art. Most people have to write hundreds of songs before they write a hit.

2) I can move to Nashville (Or LA or New York) for a year and get my songwriting career going and then I’ll move back home.
Most people I know spent 5-7 years trying to write full time in a music center before they succeeded. It’s not going to happen in a year.

3) If my co-writer signs a single-song publishing deal, I have to sign it as well.
False. Your publishing is completely separate from your co-writer’s publishing. You can each sign them to separate publishers or one of you can sign and the other can keep their publishing. It’s up to each individual to decide what is best for their publishing share.

4) I have to write with an artist to get a cut.
False. I have over 100 cuts. Fewer than 10 are with the artist. Out of 6 #1 songs, only one was with the artist. It can be done. You just have to write better songs than the artist is able to write.

5) I can stay in Nebraska and just mail songs in when I get a great one.
Nope. Nobody does that. You have to come to a music center and build relationships. You don’t have to MOVE to one, but you do have to put in time there. 

Imagine saying that you are going to start a restaurant in a far away city, but you are never going to go there. That doesn’t work. You would go there, search for the best location, hire a great chef and manager, get things rocking and THEN maybe you’d move back to Nebraska. Any business you start is going to require time on the ground getting it going.

6) Getting one big hit makes it easy to get more cuts.
I wish! I still have to provide a great song every time. They don’t care what I did before, it’s all about the song I’ve got in my hand at the moment. A big hit can open up more doors, but it won’t get you more cuts unless you have other big hits to back it up.

Don’t get sidetracked by believing these myths. Keep working hard and making each song better than the last. That’s the secret to success! Write On!
— MD
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Marty Dodson is a multi #1 songwriter, co-founder of SongTown, and co-author of The Songwriter’s Guide To Mastering Cowriting and Song Building: Mastering Lyric Writing. SongTown.com is a rich resource of useful and valuable Videos, Articlers and a great Podcast. Tap the link and explore. 

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• PS from PS— Thank You for TrueFans

When was the last time you said "Thank You" to someone and truly meant it— as in REALLY meant it? Not the automatic nod when the server brings you your food. Not that unconscious knee-jerk thanks when you're handed something by someone.

Really, when was the last time you said Thank You and I Appreciate You? 

If you can't remember... Shame on you. It should have been the last time someone— anyone— came out to a show you were playing. Purchased a t-shirt from your merch table. Or even digitallylly when you sent a heartfelt thank you note to someone that left a comment on your social media. The key is heart felt. Not a drive-by posting. The dreaded thumbs up icon.

In this ever-increasingly digital world we seem to have little time to stop and genuinely  acknowledge and appreciate others. Look— and this is important— what your fans are truly seeking is recognition and appreciation. It's why they come to your shows. It's why they come to your merch table. It's why they seek you out. Crave engagement with you. So make sure you seek them out, too.

Talk time to send Thank You messages, especially Thank You notes by mail. Take the time to be different. Do it proactively. Seek to recognize your fans and you will have TrueFans forever. Be the first to thank them and do it simply to show you care. With truth and heart felt, because after all these TrueFans are the people who enable you to be a Singer Songwriter. Take the time and the effort to nurture them and show you care. For real.

The world is now more than ever focused on what can you get from it. Turn it the other way 'round to what can give to it. You will get much more back when you do. That's a promise. 

As Gary Vee says in The Thank You Economy book, businesses— and you do have a business— need to shift their focus from transactional relationships to building emotional connections with their customers. My version for you as Singer Songwriters is...

"Singer Songwriters need to shift their focus from transactional relationships to building emotional connections with each and every member of their audience, developing them into TrueFans."

Worked well for our favorite Singer Songwriter billionaire. It'll work for you, too.

Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback.

And PLEASE, if you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...