DJ Krust looks at 10 things to give more value in your music
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 11:01 am
http://www.kmag.co.uk/editorial/feature ... music.html
KMag wrote:
Drum & bass legend Krust looks at ten things to give more value in your music production and business. "Change is not hard," says Krust, "it's creating a new set of habits and behaviours to support it that create the challenge."
1. Pay attention to detail and quality
We always notice the little things and it's always the little things that make the difference, so why not look at what you're doing and look at ways of putting an extra 10% into your production, it will help your sound stand out. With very little difference in the software that people are using today it's more important than ever to create a unique sound, so you have to think of creative ways to stand out. This will need a change in mindset, the way you think about your approach will need a minimum 20% shift. Doesn't sound like much but it could make the difference between having a career that last 10 - 20 years or you being a weekend wonder
Think about what you're doing, can you give more quality not quantity? Drill down and have a look at everything you do. There will be lots of places where you can make tweaks and adjustment in your sound and the way you go about making your sound. There's always more and there is always a better way to create. Don't be satisfied with doing what everyone else does. You will just get what they get and you'll just be a sheep, leaders take risks, that's why they lead the pack. Decide where you want to be and step up.
2. Improve your service
Look at what you're doing in your relationships with your fan-base network, business or community where can you improve. Make a real effort to look at least 20 things in these areas that really matter to your bottom line. Businesses are made up of people. We buy into what we think these people are. So it is important that we make sure we give the best service we can. There are lots of ways you can go about this. The best companies right now are the ones with the best service. It's not about how big you are, remember you are the business; people look at you as a person first. They might buy your music but if the service sucks and they feel like you don't care about them then you'll just keep losing them.
3. Take it easy on yourself
We all have taken a bit of a battering right now with the music business the way it is but there's a lot to look forward to. It's in times like these that movements in music grow. Look back in history, it's always times like these when people are at a breaking point that they have the most to say. It's in times like these when new ways to create and sell and interact are invented. Right now it's like the Wild West. No one really knows what's going to happen. There are no rules or set ways of doing anything anymore. If you have a great idea now is the time to make it happen.
4. Have passion
We all talk about how passionate we are about our music. Where else are you passionate and how can you add that? Think about the effect that would have on the people around you and your network. Right now I get very passionate about creating music workshops and talking about how and why I got into music and people can feel that. It makes them want to know more about me, my background and helps reach more people. Remember, we buy into people and passion is infectious. We want some of what makes that person come to life. Be that person.
5. Embrace a new set of tools
The old world is dead long live planet earth 2.0. If you're struggling to get to the next level it could be because you're trying to create something new by using the old mind set. Everything has changed, there is a new way of thinking, being, doing, living, seeing and acting on planet earth RIGHT NOW. So try using a new set of tools and see what happens. By tools I mean strategies, thinking, networks, widgets, free web based apps. Find people who are making waves using these tools, do what you can to learn as much as you can.
6. Dare to be different
For you to live an exceptional life you have to do exceptional things and this will require you to take some risks. Or at least they will seem like risks. For you to really crack the code create the formula you're going to have to do things others are not. This is going to require you to take the biggest risk of all. Be yourself and trust your feelings. Yours not someone else. When you know you have to do something and you have that gut feeling that you know this is right. Is it a risk? I bet there is plenty of people out there with a masterpiece but don't want to take the risk of standing out and so it will never see the light of day. We all have done this one time or another. So take a chance.
When I made Warhead it didn't sound like anything I made before and I got excited because I knew it was different. It took almost a year for everyone else to see it the way I did but eventually it became a massive hit. If I had just gone for a track that everyone was doing it would have never happened. My motto is look for what everyone else isn't doing and do that.
7. Good is the enemy of great
There's a great book by Jim Collins called from Good To Great where he talks about it's not enough to be good any more, you have to take it up a level and be great. Why? Because we're all good now so what do you do to stand out to get noticed in the crowd? If we all use the same programs, the same plug-ins, the same beat patterns, the same bass sounds then how do you stand out? Imagine you go to the movies and every film you see is called something different but when you watch the film they do the same thing, how are you going to feel knowing what happens next? How many times are you going to want to go to the flicks? What are you looking for in a great movie? You want to be surprised, you want to see something you've never seen before in new places doing new things. So take what you do up to the next level. Think about how people will be listening to your music or buying things from your company. How are you going to engage them? What's the difference that will make the difference?
8. Don't play the game
Create your own game that you can win. Do you want to be a leader? So why follow the pack? Lead your own. Create your own game with your own rules. Think about it. What stops you from being a leader in your field? What can the leaders do that you can't? We all put our trousers on one leg at a time. What one human can do so can another.
9. Touch people's hearts
Do you want to go down in history? Make lots and lots of people really happy then think about the things that connect you with others. Now use that to connect your gift with the world. At the end of the day we all just want to have fun, it's not rocket science. Make people happy. The secret is making yourself happy first. Do what makes you shine and that will lead to other people shining.
10. Follow your dream
Sounds simple right. Then why do so many of us not do it? Because to go off road and live your passion is the hardest thing and the most rewarding thing we can do with our time here on earth. The secret is to feel the fear and do it anyway. Courage is the ability to act despite feeling afraid. How do you want to live your life? Fast-forward ten years, what are you doing? Are you happy with the way things are going. Did you do what you said you would do? Did you make the changes you said you would? Is your life the dream that you dreamt?
Write out your dream life, no holding back. Just let it out, do it by yourself and dream big. Remember, if what you write down can be done easily it's not a big enough dream. It has to scare the sh*t out of you to be a life changing dream. We get the most out of life by doing things that we thought we couldn't do, then when we look back we see how much we have grown as a result. You always end up in the place you think about the most.
