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Food for thought: I recently connected to over 1000 new artists. Of those 1000.... 10 reached out without prompting. 5 of those ten had a compliment to share, 3 of those ten were suspicious of why I connected, and 2 of those ten were hostile or rude. Of those 1000.... I earned several fans & hundreds of plays by sharing a work attached to my first email (out to the group,) After the initial email... 5 artists reached out privately with positive comments. 3 artists pursued services. 4 more artists requested reviews while hinting they'd be interested in services. At least 8 artists responded negatively... Mostly with a "who the @#$% do you think you are contacting me?" vibe. In two cases... It escalated to highly unprofessional hostility that led to blocking. No... The fire wasn't fueled by a negative response to negative responses. It was seemingly unavoidable. That's 1%... 1% negative reaction of either extreme or resistant natures while reaching out with "practical or useful content" for a community driven mostly by music. This week... I shared an interview with Kevin Smith on Prince, two links to music competitions that artists could participate in, and was then told I'm a selfish spammer by not one... But several artists. For those of you new to Broadjam... Publisher emails will not be the only kind of messages you receive if you choose to connect with other artists. As a matter of fact... I've been a member of Broadjam since 2008, I've shopped thousands of dollars in work, and have connected with dozens of publishers along the way. I've gotten perhaps 10 notifications through the Broadjam system over the years, so really, that's not a whole lot of communication (or business) through official channels. I have on the other hand done a significant amount of business on Broadjam with other artists & film makers in unofficial channels... Much more than I have with publishers to be honest. I no longer rely on "Broadjam email notifications" to tell me if my music is successful this week. I don't even pay to submit anymore. My work is already out there, it's kind of everywhere, but I don't measure my success by that. I measure my success by my next great goal... And they only get bigger as I go. I have accomplished all these things by taking advantage of the vast social network here on Broadjam, by getting the contact information from publishers as they sign me, and by allowing other artists to contact me with "their spam," mostly so I can keep a steady finger on the pulse of the community. As such, I've created jobs for others with my own goals, I've done jobs for others with "their" own goals, and I have even been published through "non official" opportunities thanks to the relationships I've built through Broadjam's communication system. Business... Lots and lots of business all thanks to my willingness to engage with others. That's a lot of business that has nothing to do with Broadjam Ops but everything to do with Broadjam's community. It is literally your own choice as to whether or not you'll take part in it. How do I give back? If you're reading this, it means your connected, and it also means that you'll receive likely two to four emails from me in a month. In most emails, I try to share things that are useful to other artists, artists of every skill level mind you. Whether it be links to competitions, information on awesome gear, or even blogs that can teach you new things... I'm always trying to pull up on the rope. Why? Because I "too" know what it's like to have a gift that no one is aware of... I get it... I do. But artists should not expect to build a profile and then have "the fans just come." It just doesn't work this way. And if you're an artist with only ten connections... Might I suggest you're not qualified to tell me otherwise? Being a successful artist in today's market is hard, it takes a lot of networking & social skills, it also takes a lot of hard work in the studio. Some of us are better at some things than others though, and not all of us are approachable, and that's ok. What isn't ok is being a condescending a-hole that thinks he's better than everyone else. So... If you don't like to be bothered, don't connect. Seriously. If you feel like Broadjam's mail system should be reserved for publisher communications, that's perfectly fine, and in ten years... You can let me know how that approach to your market worked out for you. I've already got my statistics, but maybe you'll do better, maybe you're a significantly better producer than me? Really though, I'm just another fish in the fish bowl, doing my thing. I listen to the work of the people who treat me with respect, I support the artists that I love, and I'm willing to work with anyone who is willing to pay my hourly rate. This is not exactly what I'd call a negative position to take with a rather large & diverse community. Why people will treat me negatively for reaching out can be over a handful of reasons, but none of them will be reasons I (or any of you) should lose sleep over. "Angry artist lashing out over another artists existing?" Yeah... It sounds like they're very successful, both in in personal enlightenment and in their professional accomplishments as well... I'd recommend anyone who bumps into these sorts to just block communications and carry on. Reaching out is hard... Mostly because no matter what, 1% is going to try and smear their negative crap all over you. It's a very small world... There are a lot of shallow souls in it, but there are a lot of great souls that inhabit it too. My best recommendation to new Broadjam members, would be to try to show respect to those who "connect or reach out" to you, you're not going to be earning any new fans be responding poorly or "entitled" in your first email. My advice to said "entitled" artists would be this. "To avoid such things... Just don't connect with any artists, kindly direct them to the "follow" tab and let them know you're about as interested in "actually connecting" as you are interested in experiencing their work." "You can let me know how that attitude works out for you in ten years too." With all that said, those of you who are connected and in good form, welcome to Broadjam. This is a wonderful website with endless potential to kick start your career. How you chose to use it though is on you. It is wonderful to have all of you on my feed... And I look forward to experiencing all of the work you share in the Broadjam email system. Thank you for your support and the time taken to read this little rant. I hope it is useful to at least a few of you... And would encourage artists to try to live and let live as they connect with other individuals. You never know what kind of opportunities you're burning by "acting entitled to strangers likely more connected than you are." Just a thought some of you may consider while you interact on the equivalent of "Facebook for musicians." N
Sigh, life is hard for everyone. An elderly lady once remarked that I was too kind (I had told her that she's too young to be a grandma), then I told her that there is not enough kindness in the world, so I try to give others more than my share.
I think the first step to being human is treating others like human beings... You're a good man John, I know this because of our brief conversations, and would like to suggest you're "doing it right." Take it easy brother. Thanks for being a part of the journey. N
A crafty band could find other bands to tour with here, a good producer can find talented clients to help build up and support, film directors have memberships on Broadjam... You could shop your work direct to the client if you were so inclined. I think many individuals take for granted the power of the network at play here. It is vast... It is great... And there are many giants that roam these halls. N
I'm glad you reached out to me. Good to be in touch. Negative people get back what they display. I've dealt with that faction and I have peace with it. I do what I can and I am thankful for the experience.
Indeed... At the end of the day, it's a community here, those who put into it can get a lot out of it. Most of the negative people really don't have a clue or are has-beens. Thank you for commenting Gladstone, it's good to have you. N
Wow, I can't imagine why anyone would be so negative.........oh wait, I've met some of those people in person.....yes, yes I can, and I'm so very sorry that you had that reaction, just for reaching out N. I always learn something with your entries, and happy that you share your experiences and technical/artistic knowledge. Bottom line, like Peter just wrote, "Negative people get back what they display".....yes, Karma, Laws of Cause and Effect, "What you sow, so shall ye reap".....I could go on, but I shan't........We've all felt the Love, and the rejection; I prefer the Love! Bless you all "out there" in bj-land, for being such a kind inspiration, a wellspring of support and vessels of LOVE!
Thanks, Nathaniel; I enjoyed reading this. Have a good day! Alex
Cheers Cyndi & Alex. Glad the read and the wisdom enclosed was worthy of your time. Best: N
Good stuff man. Thanks for sharing your experience and insight.
It's outstanding how many artists I run into that close themselves off from "being bothered." It is interesting, because many of these artists are still seeking something from this world, something... That ultimately will come from "another person." I have found... That sometimes the goals we perceive in our mind are not the same in reality. I have discovered, often, that processes previously compared to "Oz behind the certain" are actually much more simple than thought. Everything that happens in this industry, any industry really, revolves around other people. Some one on my feed may actually direly want to connect with another individual on my feed... They just don't know it yet. Heck. "Even I" may not be aware of how much I wanted to connect with someone already here. The world is open with possibilities when we remain open to them. N
Nice post Nathaniel, it's amazing that you would get such negative reactions. Take care, Mal
For some individuals, email is sacred... I get it. There's a great feature on the website that I've utilized a few times, you can go into connections, and then manually adjust wether or not you can receive messages from any particular person/band. It makes things simple. No one needs to have a bad run in over "being turned off by a person's presentation." Just mute the voice and cary on. It's what the pro's do. N
Amen!
Very good post N.Jones. I'm not as vocal on Broadjam as perhaps I should be but I enjoy being a part of this community. My music is Contemporary Christian Gospel and there's not a whole lot of folks here who share that genre. But I still enjoy listening to others music and reading as many posts as time permits. Wishing you much more success!
Glenda, Thank you for reaching out and commenting. Regarding religiously themed music, it may not be the main stream genre for the kids these days, but it's actually very popular with Broadjam members. My advice to you would be to get involved with the Broadjam review system and have a poke around. You may be shocked to discover that, even though it feels like a small genre to operate in, you have a lot of company. Regarding any music... If it speaks to you then so be it. I tend to not ask questions when I actually like something, in my old age, it gets harder and harder to be impressed... So I'm always thrilled when something my ear gravitates to peaks my interest. So... If it works for you, I say embrace it:) Don't be shy, if you look around, you may find people that really have an appreciation for the same things you do. N
Well said. And thank you for sharing your experience and helping us further our careers by giving your seasoned advice. I've only been on BJ for a couple of weeks but in that time I've already seen the importance of connection and communication on this site is paramount. There are some great, really supportive artists around here - and if the purpose is to get your music heard and touch someone's life - then here it is right in front of you. Very thankful for artists like you and this very special community of musicians. We're all in this together!
really like your work man. congrats on being considered for that dramatic TV ad. Would very much appreciate your insight and opinion on my most recent track Snatch and Grab. Any constructive criticism you may have would be very welcome.
Thx for the kudos. I will check ur tune out next week. On a long weekend right now. Cheers!
appreciate it. enjoy you weekend
Hey man, just checked out your track Snatch and Grab. Most of my criticism is going to focus around your sounds. The brass sounds are a little "canned" sounding. Your pizz string sounds are also a bit weak. As for the composition itself, I think your intro is too long. But it's really difficult for me to criticize any piece not knowing what it was written for. I compose a lot of "trailer" music. So, when it comes down to it, I'm doing stuff that quickly accelerates and is very dramatic very quickly. In any case, I hope that helps man. Cheers!