After the Gig Newsletter

Don't settle... Go for it

Morning Thoughts

Something wrong can seem right if done confidently.

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Music News

Well… back to Spotify. In this article, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is quoted saying “The cost of creating content” in this world “is close to zero”. This sparked some serious outrage across the internet, and rightfully so. We need to do some unpacking.

The barrier to entry for anyone creating content is, in fact, next to zero. You can sign up for a distribution service, talk into your computer, and send it out to the world easily and cheaply. You can make videos on your phone and send them out in seconds. That’s all well and good, but we’re forgetting something — HIGH QUALITY content isn’t created in seconds, and its cost is not “next to zero”. Sure, you can record in your home, avoid extremely expensive recording studios and all the costs that come with that, but Ek discounts our most precious commodity. Time. It takes an extraordinary amount of time and energy to create something and share it with the world.

The other side: As you will read, the rest of the tweet is largely about which pieces of content will stand the test of time, which is a very reasonable question. Since the barrier to entry is so low, and because we continue to award effort rather than excellence, there is an awful lot of noise to weed through to find the good stuff. He isn’t just talking about music… There are memes that are unbelievably clever, and ideas that comedians wordsmith into a genius bit. Maybe it’s ok that no one thing stands the test of time, and that we enjoy and value the things we have while we have them.

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Education Corner

There isn’t a secret for how to get good at something. Sure, some people are naturally gifted, but that can only take you so far. Everyone starts somewhere. The key to getting good is slow and sustained growth. You have to be dedicated enough to get through the frustrating times, but if you do, the sky’s the limit.

Playing an instrument isn’t just about playing the notes. It’s the ability to play confidently and with feeling. If someone is really killing at the drums (or any instrument for that matter), it means they have groove. Great musicians have the ability to create a trance-like feeling with their groove. It sucks you in. That is what the masters do. They can suck you in with the most simple rhythm until your hypnotised.

One day, I was in the basement of the Uchida building at Berklee. It’s the home of the David Friend recital hall, and in the basement, there’s a bunch of drum rehearsal spaces. It may be the official drum department down there, but I always saw the 1140 building as the drum department… anyway… not important. I was down there when I saw professor Sean Skeet heading into one of the rooms to practice. He sat down calmly, pulled out a pair of sticks from his brown leather stick bag, took a deep breath, and began to play. The groove he was playing was similar to the James Brown “Cold Sweat” groove. I stood there for 5 minutes, until another student came over to listen… then another, and another, until the entire hallway was filled with hypnotised drummers. He played that same groove for 20 minutes and he kept us entertained for every one of them. When the 20 minutes was up, he put his sticks away, got up, and walked out the door. One student asked how he could play the same groove over and over again for so long. He just smiled and said, “because it needed work, and I feel better now. Tomorrow it’ll be something else, and I won’t feel good until I get it”.

If you find something that you have that endless pursuit for — something that you won’t feel better until you get to the next level — that’s worth the dedication, and the frustration. Don’t do it just to do it, not just for fun. Do it to be good at it, and to reach your own potential.

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That’s all for now

-Jesse