Sunday, August 10, 2008

Now on iTunes!


Joe Palen - Subject to Change

There's something special about being on iTunes. Yeah, I know there are thousands of musicians there already. And I'm not expecting to be a featured artist anytime soon. But that doesn't matter. This is iTunes we're talking about. It's special. I'm not going to try explaining it. All I know is that the first time I did a search and found myself there (only a couple of days ago), I got choked up. No exaggeration. While listening to the preview samples of my songs, I was brought to tears. Seeing my CD cover art, hearing the songs I've been mostly keeping to myself for all these years, and seeing the other artists linked to me by the "Listeners Also Bought" feature on the bottom of the screen... well, it all just washed over me in an overwhelming wave of emotion. There's no telling how many people will stumble into my songs while randomly roaming through the vast iTunes music library. But I do know one thing. There's a hell of a lot better chance of them finding me now than a couple of days ago. And an infinitely greater chance than a year ago... when all of my songs were stashed away in a bag in my closet.

Everybody Has An Audience (Yeah, I’m Talking to You!)

I've come to believe that everybody has an audience...

No matter what your craft might be.

It can be music, comedy, films... quilting, knitting, macrame... horse training, dog grooming, cat juggling...

Everybody has an audience.

You've just got to risk putting yourself out there...

Again and again...

And again...

And again.

Everybody has an audience.

It's a simple matter of mathematics.

I mean, there are over six billion people on the planet. And they're all looking for _something_.

Chances are, a lot of them are looking for you.

Not convinced? Then think about this...

You're on stage in a room with a hundred people in it. Do you think _one_ of those people would enjoy the results of your craft?

Just one in a hundred?

That's a real small percentage, isn't it? Just 1%, according to my calculations.

Well, that small percentage equates to 60 million people in the world.

I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty happy with an audience of that size.

In fact, I'd settle for half of that...

Which is only 1 in 200 people...

Or half of a person in 100...

But I digress...

Frequently.

The point is, you don't have to please everybody. In fact, you don't even have to please most people. Even pleasing 1% can lead to a pretty big audience...

If you put yourself out there enough.

So, don't get caught in the trap of "why would anybody be interested in what I do?". I'm speaking from experience. I was caught in that trap for years...

Got the scars to prove it.

Fresh scars.

I've only recently pulled myself out of that trap, and am finally starting to believe that maybe...

Just maybe...

Some of the six billion people strewn around this planet of ours might just enjoy whatever it is I'm putting out there.

It's not ego...

It's mathematics.

Sure, there's going to be a lot of people who don't like what you do. That's fine. They're just not "your people".

Don't worry about them. They're looking for somebody else. Don't take it personally.

In the meantime, your audience is looking for you.

Your audience is out there, somewhere, just dying to meet you.

And you're going to find that audience. Or, better yet, your audience is going to find you.

Everybody has an audience.