the AMP - Issue 01

Author

PAUL SAUNDERS
July 27, 2023

"If you play music with passion and love and honesty, then it will nourish your soul, heal your wounds, and make your life worth living. Music is its own reward."
— Sting

In This Issue... You'll Get...

• READING — a strong recommendation on music legend Rick Rubin's new book.

• WATCHING — the must-see 2020 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song awarded to Garth Brooks.

• OUR APOLOGY — We let the FaceBook Group sliiiide.

• TALKABOUT BUSINESS — about you 'MONEYtizing’ your Singer Songwriter career.

• A TIP FROM TAYLOR (As in Swift) — a turn-on to a great article on cision.com: Taylor Swift: Master of the Product Launch. Lessons from the Midnight’s Album Release.

• FEEDBACK JACK (and Diane) — the AMP is your deal. Tell us what you want most.

• PS from PKS — The boss gets to rant: Do You Show Up or SHOW UP!
Let's have at it...

• READING— Rick Rubin's new book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being

No matter where you are in the arc of your maturity as a creative artist, mega-successful music producer Rick Rubin's new book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, will AMP UP your art and your life. The book is all about both.

A sample:

The making of art is not a competitive act. Our work is representative of the self. You would be amiss to say, “I’m not up to the challenge.” Yes, you may need to deepen your craft to fully realize your vision. If you’re not up to it, no one else can do it. Only you can. You’re the only one with your voice. The people who choose to do art are many times, the most vulnerable. There are singers considered among the best in the world who can’t bring themselves to listen to their own voices. And these are not rare exceptions.

Many artists in different arenas have similar issues. The sensitivity that allows them to make the art is the same vulnerability that makes them more tender to being judged. Still, many continue to share their work and risk criticism in spite of this. It’s as if they have no other choice. Being an artist is who they are, and they are made whole through self-expression.

So... Deep? Yeah. The good kind. Not a piece of fluff on any of the book's 400ish pages. Rubin, Rick. The Creative Act. Penguin Publishing Group. A MUST read for artists who must read.

• WATCHING— The 2020 Gershwin Prize Awarded to Garth Brooks

Up for a Singer Songwriter's Master Class in how to hold your audience in the palm of your hand, because they're holding you in theirs? Then pop for this priceless piece on PBS*: The 2020 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song awarded to Garth Brooks. Besides notable performances by Garth's wife Trisha Yearwood, you'll get Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton, Keb' Mo', Lee Brice, and the Howard Gospel Choir. But the man of the hour is the star of the show.

Our own John Fogg said..."Wow! Cheers. Tears. Wow! Wow! This was the best concert I've ever seen. You've gotta experience a hall full of Washington D.C. pros and pols singing along with ‘I've got friends in low places' and then deal with the lump in your throat as Tricia sings the song she and Brooks co-wrote about falling in love 'For the Last Time.' And the last time thing Garth says at the end after thanking God, America, and his family, is for us all to please remember him, 'As a Songwriter!’”

* SHAMELESS PLUG: PBS Passport is $5 a month. You'll need it to watch Garth and the 2023 Gershwin Prize winner Joni Mitchel. And you'll also get a gold mine of musical magnificence: Austin City Limits. Great Performances, The Devil's Instrument, The Songpoet, American Anthems, Buddy Guy, Billy Joel, Celine Dion, and more and more and MORE. It is THE best $5 a music freak can spend.

IMPORTANT: Comes with our NML Guarantee. If you don't think a PBS Passport sub is worth $5, we'll send you your money back. We'll also kick you out of our club, 'cause you're stupid crazy!)

• OUR APOLOGY— We Let the Facebook Group Slide

In the beginning... there was the NML Group. And we started off with a furry of good-to-great posts and, and, and... Mea culprit. Keeping up got placed behind the back burner. So, we've recommitted. Our promise is to 'stock-the-pond' with news and views and other interest and value. Because... you deserve it. Again. Sorry. We'll do better.

• TALKABOUT— 'MONEYtizing' Your Singer Songwriter Career

And let's tell it like it is: NML is all about YOU being able to MONEYtize your Singer Songwriter career with revenue-generating activities, services, assets, outreach, making connections, sales, creating Fans and TrueFans. Forget that American politically INcorrect barbarism 'monetize'. This is about making MONEY. And... The #1 Key To MONEYTIZE Your Career Is... Build Your List

When NML is up and really running (oh so soon) you'll get a Power Tool we've developed called Tip4. It's a QR Code FOR you to get tips whenever and where ever you perform, live or online. And it’s FOR you to build your list of Fans and turn them into MONEYTIZING TrueFans. High-Touch Tech. It's a way cool app. You'll have it on your phone soon.

Speaking of TIPs...

• A TIP FROM TAYLOR— Lessons From the Midnight Album Release

Seed your audience with sneak peeks at the new product. Different industries build excitement by offering early access or sample content: unboxing, cover reveals, listening parties, and video trailers... Mastermind Swift has leveraged this tactic in the weeks leading up to her album drop.

Consider how to use multimedia to preview what is to come to your superfans and the general public, and benefit from the online engagement that amplifies your story. And don’t be shy about directing your audience to the platforms where a pre-order, purchase, or registration can be made. Make it easy for consumers to consume.

This tip is just a small piece of a great article on cision.com: Taylor Swift: Master of the Product Launch. Lessons from the Midnight’s Album Release. Make the time to read it. Remember, Taylor Swift started the same way you did. So smart of you to learn from the Master.

AND... if you haven't listened to this yet, https://youtu.be/anqxTwGE_nQ, the acoustic version of Lavender Haze. Is there something this woman knows about becoming the most successful Singer Songwriter in the world...?

• FEEDBACK JACK (and Diane)— Tell Us What You Want Most

If you don't know the John Mellencamp song, tap here:https://youtu.be/h04CH9YZcpI

NML's AMP UP WEEKLY is FOR YOU. (Another Tip4 deal.) Like it? Love it? Tell us why. Don't...? Tell us that, too. We want to know what you want. What can we do to make it better. Again... FOR You!

• PS from PKS— Do You Show Up or SHOW UP!

Remember who paid to get into your SHOW (and who's really paying you). The audience. Your fans. You are the SHOW, so make sure you deliver. No matter how few or how many come to see you. They all deserve to see your SHOW. Make sure you leave it all on the stage FOR THEM.

Quick story. Once many years ago— Yeah, I'll date myself— I went to see Procol Harem. I got there before their set started. They were supporting Nazareth. I think there were less than 30 people in the theater. The rest of the audience was still wandering in. But that didn't stop the Harem from playing a full set, fat-out, and putting on a really great show. And I've never forgotten it— or them. Instant TrueFan.

The other side of that... I went to see Shania Twain play in a packed house of 25,000+ people. She was boring as hell. Distant. Didn't engage with the audience. Even seemed to ignore her own band. She did not put on a show. Just played songs. Just showed up, but didn't SHOW UP! I've never forgotten it. Instant, not a fan.

So... Put on a SHOW. Every SHOW. SHOW UP! (And UP! and UP! and...) Instant TrueFans!

Thanks for reading. Trust this helps. AMP UP! your Singer Songwriter career.