The Voice… What it Teaches Musicians

Last night was the beginning of The Voice’s ninth season… wow, it has been on that long? I have really enjoyed watching this show over all the other talent shows out there for a couple of reasons but what I my biggest take away is the messaging; the educational aspect along with being entertaining.

This season coaches include two constants, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton along with last season’s winner Pharrell Williams and the ever stunning and beautiful Gwen Stefani. These four, as with past coaches, brings more to our living room then just entertainment; they bring a ton of very educational and inspirational "real life stories" and solutions which are incredibly valuable for any musician.

Anyone honing their craft can benefit from what we learn from the beginning with "Blind Auditions", to the season’s finale. Sure, you won’t have the hours of intense education, training, and day in and day out tutelage afforded those who get onto a coach's team, but for the serious musician, great tips and advice abound.

The opening video last night tells it all… these coaches love what they do, not just writing music and singing, but helping other artists as well… and Gwen hit the nail squarely on the head… “It feels like a family here and everybody wants to help each other, and I want to be a part of that…”

So, what did we learn from just the first 10 minutes of The Voice?

Adam Levine: “In every one of these artists you see yourself…  because everybody struggles so you immediately feel connected with everyone that is on the show.“

Blake Shelton: “The Voice offers training you can’t get anywhere else, knowledge you can’t get anywhere else because its artists working with artists.  

Pharrell Williams: “If I got another win means that the artist on my team has won. That’s why I love this show so much because it’s not about me, it’s really about helping them change their lives”

Gwen Stefani: What artist can learn from Gwen? Style and packaging. Check out her Instagram page for example. For women artists, you can see the incredible potential there for marketing an entire range of fashion trends. On her website, check out the cool shoes, purses, pants and an entire variety of cool stuff... and when it comes to cosmetics... women you have a gold mine there. And this is not just for women artists either! Men, you should also take note from Gwen when it comes to marketing. It has, is, and forever will be all about what fans love when it comes to who you are, your image and what you love in and about your life... 

It’s called Lifestyle Marketing.

KEEP IT REAL! 

It's about branding yourself and being able to market yourself. No matter if it is a fan, a merchant, a label, or even someone who may invite you for an audition on The Voice. What is it about you that makes someone want to buy you? We certainly can learn a great deal from what we are seeing on The Voice.

It’s not the artists either that provide instructional and educational “messages”. Take for example Mark Hood’s mother Jodi “At 10 you shouldn’t be talking about babies, or other things that some of the other artists were singing… it wasn’t the singing, it was ‘the message’.” Jodi was speaking out about what children should be listening to and Mark's mother always made that point very clear to her son; so was there any surprise as to the direction Mark Hood was to take? 

Music that inspires, lifts us up… music that makes us feel good will always trump music that trashes people, groups or society in general or has any trashy and immoral messaging. Musicians, if they really want to be successful in this industry, should focus on what the majority of listeners enjoy. Why do you think The Voice is so popular? It’s certainly isn’t trash mouth music. Yes, the coaches do make it entertaining... but at the end of the day, it's the music that moves us and their stories that inspire us... and that is what moves fans.

Get those fans... engage those fans, help your fanbase want to associate with you and support you. In today's music industry, that's what's used to gauge and measure the success of artists.

Listen to all the great stories, the hardship, the losses etc.; watch as they inspire the audience and even the coaches. Only one of the many reasons I enjoy watching The Voice. And you just never know who is going to surprise you next with their incredible “raw” talent... and then see them grow. 

The takeaways from watching The Voice is simply amazing. I was talking with a good friend of mine just today, someone who has been in the industry for his entire life… someone who has worked with some of the greatest artists. Just on the first night he saw two artist that he would have loved to have an opportunity to work with… but he said they all were great. So if you’re a musician, you should take notice of “The Voice”… you just might learn something that will make a difference for you and your future in music… and if you aren’t a musician… don’t worry, there are plenty of stories there that inspire all of us that no matter what. Each artists we have seen all have a passion and a dream... and they have not let anything get in the way in pursuing their dream... no matter what! Everyday I watch The Voice it teaches me to never stop... never stop helping others in reaching their dreams. What has it taught you? 

Never Give Up – No Matter What

How many of us just want to give up? We hear in the news all the time how people just give up when they lose their job and are unable to find another. How many of us give up if the job seems to be just too tough? Even I have felt disappointed at times, discouraged, and even out of place sometimes now that I’m retired.

I spent my entire career in a profession where I was confident in what I was doing, achieving… I felt I was contributing to a critical need, so nothing stopped me. I rarely had that feeling of giving up… rather when something wasn’t going right, I made changes. But after retiring, things did change. But was it me, or my situation?

After retiring I no longer had that burning drive; everything I did now became a hobby, after all, I didn’t need the money… well I thought. I did enough to get by, helping people as a consultant I could work my own hours. I did spend much of my time helping others… and as I became more and more aware, helping them with their dreams. I had up to that point figured I no longer had any interests or dreams of my own. Again, I was retired.

So what does this have to do with anything? Because I retired, everything changed for me. My perspective of how I work with people remained the same, but I needed to change that perspective. The dynamics were different; my expectations needed to be adjusted, but again, given I was retired I just never gave it much thought. Goals? If I had one it certainly wasn’t the same as everyone else’s… hey I was retired. I was always there for others... and their team, but it wasn’t my team.

At one time in my career I had the responsibility for putting together a production team while in the pre-cast concrete business; it became a great team. Never had so few, did so much, for so little under the worst conditions. But we were a family although we were not related... that was the way I worked... it is the way I like to treat my "team". During my career in the Navy, we built strong teams… leadership training and application is one of the most important proficiencies one can achieve in life and the Navy did an excellent job in that area. The common thread among all the various jobs I had was we “all” had a job to do… we were all professionals. Didn’t matter if we were slinging mud, or working in the world of electronics and high technology, we worked together as a team. So building a team has never been something new. Then I retired… and it all changed for me… my way of thinking and the way I used to do things just didn't seem to be clicking, and it started weighing heavy on my mind. Before retiring, we all did our jobs without being concerned about where the money was coming from; we got paid every week, or whatever the schedule was.

When I retired I just couldn’t simply lay around doing nothing. Before retiring I dabbled in the web business as a result of affiliating with a product brokerage company. I had some health issues and found their nutritional line of Isotonix supplements turned my life around so I decided to affiliate with them. One of the most important aspects of my life has been to only associate with people, organizations, companies I can trust and rely on. It just so happened that this one company had a rock solid history and a great track record; and to be honest there was one very important aspect about this company that made a significant impression on me; they had a strong family culture built in – one where even if there were no financial connections, everyone was there helping everyone else in a “team” environment. I felt at home. Given I had been with them for so long during my years as an analyst and consultant, I never had the real desire to build a business until a few years after retiring. Things have a way of changing one's mind when there are changes in one's financial stability... or lack there of.

After a few years after retiring I began to make changes in my focus but things just didn’t seem to click as well as I had hoped. Ever have that happen to you? What do you do about it? Blame others? Get mad? Worry about the problems? What good does that do? But hey, we all know it’s easy to quit… it’s so easy to talk bad about someone, something, or how miserable life treats you - or how “unfair” everything is. Ever hear that one? (Don’t get me started) It takes courage to say it is my fault… I am the one who is the problem. It is so easy to give up on yourself… but I submit to you this nugget of insight… if you give up, NOT everything and everyone “else” is wrong. Who was it that made the brilliant observation that you are always right?

If you say you can’t, you’re right / if you say you can, you’re right.

Some people can play baseball, some people can’t; some people can play football, some can’t. Pick any sport… some people have a gift, some don’t. It may be a physical impossibility that is the cause. But then, what about those who can… are they all equal? No… those who practice and work the hardest will be better than those who don’t. Look at golfers… now you know you have to have some coordination correct? But the one who practices the most will be the ones who win more championships. The musician who practices the most gets to be part of the orchestra. Same with anything in life. It all boils down to this... we all are given choices... the choice to complain, the choice to give up, the choice to be lazy, the choice to work hard, the choice to work smart, etc. What choice will you make?

But here is what caused me to think about my own challenges which recently had been causing me stress and frustration, and was the impetus to writing this blog at 3:00 am in the morning. (When you have something in your head, get it down in writing otherwise you lose it.) Her name is Jordan Bone… several years ago she was injured in a severe car accident sustaining a C6 injury. As any of us could testify, when we’re young we believe we’re invincible, nothing can stop us. But when thrown a life changing blow, becoming a paraplegic totally devastated Jordan. Jordan was depressed, unsure of what the future could be like for someone who could not walk and no longer able to use her hands. Feel free to read her blog but it was her video that really got to me… and got me to thinking straight again. When you watch the video, her story will hit home to many. The point she brought home to me was profound - she made a choice... she never gave up!

We all have challenges… we just have to be honest with ourselves when dealing with them. So, do you really want to give up? You think you have it bad? You think you’re the only one in the world who has been dealt a bad hand, or is unlucky? Think about people who I consider heroes like Jordan Bone… this video is quite inspiring; and reminded me of the type of person I want to be around… the type of person I want on my team. Now I understand even more why people I work and associate with over the past several years look for those who have “The Right Stuff”. They may not start out with it… but I know, if I ask the right questions, if I find that person who has the desire… together we can make things happen. 

Don’t give up on yourself, don’t give up on others. But caution: know this… do not under any circumstances work with the wrong people! The ones that always complain, the ones who always tell you how bad they have it - run fast and hard away from them.

Don’t you ever give up! No Matter What! Jordan didn’t and now look at her.