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Quote from IQ_mag twitter: Paperclip Agency’s @HildeSpille discusses how empowerment can help musicians who feel screwed by the music biz bit.ly/1TqEtLe
music
Success by developing your strengths
At school I’ve learned that I have to put extra attention to the subjects I’m not that good at. In my case it was French, Latin and sports. All the good grades in history, religion and music were taken for granted. The focus was on getting better in the stuff that I wasn’t that good at. It took me quite some time to find out that there are alternatives to that approach. Waldorf schools, Montessori schools and other alternative schools […]
Go out and conquer fear
After the attack in Paris last week with 89 people being killed at a concert at Le Bataclan, everyone in the music business is shocked and grieved! And we react accordingly. Some Dutch venues have increased safety measures by using twice as much security people ans searching every single visitor and his/her bag. Prince is postponing his European tour. The targeted attack on pop music affects us all. Music is important to us. Music can cross borders and connect people, […]
Golden fall
After some weeks of gray and rainy weather, the sun is back. I now know again why fall is my favorite season. The yellow-orange-brown leaves in the sunshine give everything a golden line. It’s really beautiful to see, the trees are shining like stars! The beauty outside comes with a melancholic touch. I know hat the golden beauty outside is only temporary. End of November you can count the last leaves on a tree on the fingers of one hand. […]
Who do you trust?
How more success you have in the music business, how more ‘friends’ you gather. Everyone wants to share in your success. Everyone wants to stand in the limelight with you. And they all start to make great promises. Who can you trust? “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” (Oprah Winfrey) First of all, the music business is […]
How musicians can use purpose to become more flexible
As musicians and as person it’s important to know your purpose. Purpose is about your meaning, knowing what motivates you, why you want what you want. Purpose gives you a direction for your career, it helps you to stand out. On the other side the music business is an ever changing business. Look at the last 150 years and how technical developments have pushed creative developments in the music industry to come from operas with 400 visitors to arena shows […]
4 reasons why empowerment is important for musicians
Everything at Compass for Creatives is about the empowerment of musicians. The importance is so self-evident to me, that I often forget to explain myself to others. I hope that after reading the 4 reasons below it’s evident to you too. 1. Stay motivated even after demotivating comments Using your musical talents brings you lots of fun, as long as everything is going according to plan. You enjoy becoming better and better on your instrument, others enjoy it more and […]
5 golden rules how (not) to treat famous musicians
1. Praise them for everything they do. They are quite vulnerable. And if you want something different, present it as supplement or improvement to their great plan. You can also make the musicians believe that your idea was actually their idea. See it as exercise in seeing the best in everyone. 2. Don’t confront them with open criticism in front of others, ever. You can do it backstage, and even than it’s best to be as cautious as possible, so […]
6 most useful European seminars for musicians
As artist it’s important to network. Conferences and seminars offer great opportunities, especially if you want to address new countries. You can pick a seminar or conference per country, you’ll have to travel quite a lot. Or you can pick some more international oriented seminars/conferences. I’ve put them in a list for you. At seminars and conferences you can also catch up on new developments regarding technology, music business and music. For the international music business in Europe there are […]
Music – of beauty and solace, or a hammer?
What’s the function of music and art? “Of beauty and solace” was the title of a Dutch TV series some years ago. At that time I thought that there would be no better definition of the function of art. In every episode the presenter had a musicians, writers, scientists, philosophers or similar as guest and asked questions like what makes life worthwhile. “Art is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer with which to shape it” is […]
The scary part of creativity is vulnerability
When I saw an old high-school friend last month, he told me about his new job in city planning and about his creative new boss. The boss loves to come with new plans and to draw them. “I hope that you don’t expect it from me, I have no inch of creativity in me,” my friend warned him, “my mom is creative, I can judge your drawings and give you my opinion, but don’t expect me to be creative too.” […]
Decision time?
I just read about a research of the McKinsey Institute about making decisions in the world of big business. Many decisions go wrong in that world by two psychological factors: confirmation bias and overconfidence bias. Both can be overcome by asking the right questions. If you take both biases in consideration, it helps you to know when it’s the right time to take a decision. Confirmation bias means, that for all of us it’s much easier to integrate new information […]
Search for silence to hear your own melody
Do you still know the sound of silence? I mean the sound when you don’t hear traffic, voices or music. It’s the sound you hear when you are not wearing a headphone, when there is no TV playing, away from traffic and people. Working in the music business, I have music around me all day. I wake up with classical music from the alarm clock. At breakfast I listen to the radio. In the bathroom I’m making too much noise […]
Rhythm is all around us
Music needs rhythm, no doubt about it. But where do you get the rhythm? Your own heartbeat is a good inspiration. I love it, when I’ve done some sports, heaving a quick heartbeat and listen to music that has the same rhythm. It’s so exciting! It also works the other way around. Music with a slow rhythm can calm me down when I’m upset. My heartbeat tries to mach the rhythm of the song. If you look around, everything seems […]
Is music with a message still able to become mainstream? 3
If you listen to the radio here in the Netherlands, you don’t hear music with a message, unless the DJ put it on by mistake. When I think of 20 to 50 years ago, I think of many songs with a message with mainstream success, from Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” in support of the civil rights movement, through “God Save The Queen” by the Sex Pistols against monarchy, to “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the […]
