Nashville, We Need You

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

While some folks are on a long, extended vacation, for many of us others, it’s back to work this morning after the Christmas holiday and thus back to reality.

For our friends in Nashville, though, it’s not that simple.

Following a Christmas morning explosion, it has been a long weekend of police investigation and what will now be an even longer cleanup period, not to mention several people dealing with the aftermath of the blast and figuring out how to get back to something even close to resembling normalcy.

The thing is, we need all those folks there.  We need to pray for them.  We need to help them.  And we need to be grateful for them.

As I said, the Christmas holiday just passed.  And a lot of us (a LOT of us) opted to listen to seasonal music.  It has also been a long year of quarantining, but one of the things that has helped us get through it is listening to music.  And similarly, the New Year’s Eve celebrations this Thursday night will also be filled with, yup, lots of music.

Sure, there are lots of music creators in other key entertainment spots in the U.S. like New York and California.  But if you asked 20 people on the street what they think of when you say one of those two places, you’d get a range of answers – not just music.  But if you asked 20 people on the street what they think of when you say Nashville, if it wasn’t unanimous, then the overwhelming majority of them would certainly say music.

Make no mistake.  I certainly realize that there are lots and lots (and lots) of creators in Manhattan and in Los Angeles, not to mention countless other areas around the country, and yes, even elsewhere in the world.  But, Nashville just oozes music.  And again, while I know that parts of California have had to deal with some real catastrophes (wildfires being just the most recent of them), that’s kind of like comparing Goliath to David.  Nashville is dwarfed in size by those other major U.S. destinations, yet is as hard working and talented when it comes to putting out the songs that we rely on to get us through so many of life’s challenges.

Only now they are being challenged again.  First it was a tornado back at the start of March.  Then it was the Coronavirus shutting down all the live music joints that people count on when they walk up and down Broadway, Printer’s Alley, and other tourist spots in Music City.  Also affected were the in-person writing sessions that enable collaborations to happen in a more personal way.  And now it’s a Christmas Day explosion that prevented many there from waking up and being merry three days ago.

But Nashville, we need you.

We need the songwriters.  We need the artists who perform what gets written.  And we need the songs.

When the clock strikes midnight on Thursday night and the calendar does change over to 2021, the Coronavirus won’t have gone away.  But let’s hope that these tragedies that Nashville has had to endure will.  I’ve heard it referred to as a big small city.  They have huge talent there and we’ll be counting on seeing it all as we hope for a return to something more closely resembling normalcy.

What’s your connection to Nashville?  Tweet your thoughts and experiences to me via @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, post them on either Facebook or LinkedIn.  For those that would rather not do social media, you can send them to me via email.  And if your new year’s resolution entails getting help with your music career, take advantage of my more than 15 years doing management, promotion, and booking.  Go here to book a private, one-on-one online video consultation with me.

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I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

Creative Ways to Promote What You’re Creating

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

You’ve been beaten up by the now nine-month long pandemic.  You feel ignored because everyone is focusing on the homestretch leading up to Christmas in approximately a week-and-a-half.  And you feel lost in a sea (or, more like, ocean) of others doing exactly what you do.

Welcome to the world of being a creator in 2020.

Whether you’re a recording artist or a podcaster, this can feel like a great time to go into hibernation – if you let yourself crumble under the aforementioned molehill that has become a mountain taking the form of the Grinch.

Alas, there is help, however.  And it’s found in the fact that you are a creator, which looks a lot like the word creativity, which is what is required to get some lights flashing around your notice to people that you’re still around and still doing what you do.

I loved seeing exactly that being done by the sister duo REYNA, who I just interviewed last month for Episode 353 of my weekly “Now HearThis Entertainment” podcast.  They have a song called “7’11” and demonstrated their creativity in the way they’ve gotten people engaged with it.  Heck, yours truly fell for it yesterday, I don’t mind admitting.

They simply told people to screenshot their smartphone’s home screen when the time displayed 7:11 and post it as an Instagram story – with their song by the same name playing over it – and to tag them.  In return, they would send you a Christmas card.  Brilliant.  I say, ‘Bravo, ladies,’ because I love this idea.  (And I’ll be anxious to get my Christmas card from them.  Wink.)

Some artists might be saying, “That’s great, but I’m on the clock, here.  I’ve got a Christmas song that I’m trying to push through all the others so that people will purchase and stream mine!”

Here’s my suggestion.

While it would be ideal if your song were called, “(Ugly) Christmas Sweater,” do a spinoff on what REYNA did.  Ask people to post a picture on their story of themselves wearing an ugly Christmas sweater (or drinking something – maybe a hot drink – out of a Christmas mug), put your song in their post, and in exchange you will (insert gratuitous gesture here).

Now more than ever when opportunities are scarce to go out to perform live and hope to get attention and thus sales for your music, you need to get creative as to what you can do from home.

Recording artist Natalie Duque posted over the weekend that if you sign up for her mailing list, starting in 2021 you will get access to her new releases one week before they’re available to the world.

See?  No one is reinventing the wheel here, per se.  Instead, much in the same way that you would challenge yourself to write a new song or give your podcast a refresh, of sorts, it’s a matter of digging deep to pull out something that – again, just like the content you’re creating – will not only get people’s attention, but move them to take some kind of action, whether that’s streaming, purchasing, liking/following, or whatever desired result you want.  If you gain ten streams, okay.  If it’s a hundred, even better.  But I can assure you that if you do nothing and hope that fans will magically interact with what you’ve put out, it will be a long, cold winter.  Have a good nap.

What clever tactics have you employed or seen others doing lately that are great case studies?  Tweet them to me via @NHT_tweets or through Facebook or LinkedIn.  Too long to post about on social media?  Email me about it instead.  Or, if you need help with your challenges and want a one-on-one, confidential video consultation with me, book it here.

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I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.