“Work that matters for people who care” – Seth Godin

I’ve been watching a lot of Seth Godin recently and have been enjoying hearing him say to make “work that matters for people who care” because that’s all we’re trying to do as composers and musicians. Make music that matters, for people who care about it. The other stuff isn’t really the goal. Yes, you need to find a way to be able to afford making that music and afford producing and recording and releasing and performing it. BUT. The main goal is to make music that has an impact.

So the first goal is to make music that matters. That’s music that matters to you.

Then the goal is to find people that care. Find the right audience for your music. And remember that not everyone is your audience. My music is definitely not made for everyone to enjoy. It’s glitchy. It’s often electronic. It’s sometimes atonal. Not everyone enjoys that. So then they’re not part of my target audience. I need to find the people that do care about that type of music and want to listen to that type of music.

Same thing with my YouTube videos. They’re not for everyone. If you enjoy learning about science and astronomy, then my videos probably won’t excite you. Go watch Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye. But if you like learning about music, music composition, and music production then my videos are for you.

Figure out who your audience is, or who your audience would be and try to find those people.

Not everyone is your audience and that’s fine. Everyone shouldn’t be your audience.

Make work that matters for people who care.

ISJ