So you look at all these bands who have had hit songs through the decades. And how often do you come across a band from years ago that you really didn’t know about? Not only that, but come to find out that this band had a significant hit that you also didn’t really know about?
So how does that happen? How can a band have a hit, but you never knew about it? And if that’s the case, who exactly determines that this unfamiliar music is a hit?
Take the artist Aretha Franklin for example. Certainly she had some huge hits (Respect, anyone?). But Aretha Franklin’s music may not be your thing.
Or maybe it’s Nirvana that you don’t like, but they certainly had hits too.
Then there are bands which are a little more obscure, like Catherine Wheel or The Chameleons. They had huge hits (Black Metallic and Second Skin respectively), and a huge following.
So if either A) you knew about a particular artist all along, but didn’t care to pay attention, or B) it slipped through the cracks and you simply never knew about it before, then just how did it become a hit, and who determined that it was a hit?
The answer, of course, is that it was a hit within the respective followings of each artist or band-not a hit for everyone. That the people within those followings are the people that decided it was a hit.
The artists focused their efforts in such a way that they were able to build a following that worked for them. They were able to build a following based on an initial set of music, and then continue to find music for this audience.
Which is the point. You don’t become a hit band by creating music which can appeal to literally everyone. You focus your efforts to the people who the music is exactly for, ignoring the rest.
And this is not a hard set number or formula. There are many variations that come together in specific ways within the context of what you’re doing to create your hit. Certainly Aretha Franklin’s audience was larger than Catherine Wheel’s, but they both had hits.
Then over time the lines blurred. Over the last 25 years we incrementally became distracted. We began to think that we needed millions of fans to buy millions of records in order to have a hit. And if you’re caught in that game the irony is that you’re never going to have your hit.
So focus on your fans. Focus on what exactly you are. Create music specifically for your fans, ignoring everyone else. Then you will have your hit.
Thoughts?
//stinson (find my other blog here: www.producernotes.com; on Twitter here: @stsn)
