Reason to Dance

Have you ever given a pep talk? Have you ever needed a pep talk? I found out that I need one the other day when I listened to Kid President. How convenient that the title of his message is I think we all need a pep talk, I guess I walked right into that one.

At first, I thought, here is a cute little kid pretending to be the president, but once I listened to him I realized, this kid really has something of importance to say. He started right from the beginning letting me know that I needed to stop being boring because that is something easy that everyone could do. He said that life is not a game but if it is, then we need to all be playing for the same team, and the way we play is by simply getting up and doing something. I also loved the way he added a portion of Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken. He said, the road that was less taken hurt and basically scolded Frost because of it. He ended his speech by saying it is everyone’s job, duty as he put it, to give the world a reason to dance. A reason to dance? I could understand if he said give them something to dance to, but instead he said a “reason” to dance. I had to stop and think about that for second.

Since music is what I love, I focus on making music the backdrop of life, the musical score to life’s events, but I had never thought about it being the reason. Now Frost’s poem made even more sense to me. Taking the easy road would be providing music. The road less traveled, the painful, rocky, lonely, unpredictable road would force me to reach deep and take chances. That is scary, hence the reason it is the road less traveled.

I found myself now facing a decision and thinking, how did this little kid get me to thinking so hard. Chris Anderson’sTED talk was right about the web’s power of crowd accelerated innovation which is a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. Because of this video, a global community has opened up for Kid President and here I am contemplating giving people a reason to dance.

I have to admit, Kid President was right, it was time for a pep talk even if I did not know I needed it. I could sit here and be boring or I could take Frost’s road and make the world awesome. I can and I will do my duty to give the world a reason to dance. Thanks for the pep talk Kid President!

Where is the Money?

     Being an over thirty graduate student, I often tend to think about how I will live out my life’s dreams once I graduate. I cannot help but think about which path I should take concerning my future finances. It seems so obvious to everyone that because I love to sing and I am an Entertainment Business student, surely I am setting my self up for a solo career in singing. Surely?

     Well after years of personal experience and listening to so many others, I have learned that making “good” money, as a singer, is so hard that it is almost impossible. When I say good, I am speaking of a type of lifestyle one should attain by the popularity of their music. Let me explain my thoughts, if you are a top selling artist then the money you make should be able to afford you a luxurious life, if that is your preference. If you are a great singer with or without an album but work consistently, you should be able to independently support yourself, at least I think so.

     I ran across this article the other day that I wish was shocking to read. AloeBlacc claims he has earned less than $4,000 from digital media for co-writing and singing on the 2013 major hit song, “Wake Me Up” by Avicii. How is it possible that a song that literally everyone in the world has heard at least twice has a media return of less than $4,000? That is so hard to wrap my brain around yet deep down, I know that this is truth to many others. So, what is an artist to do? Well everyone knows that if you are looking for the answer to something, you go to Google. To my dismay, there were not many links with great answers. I did find one website that promised to teach me how to become a professional singer easily. They devoted one page to this issue, one short page. I read it, laughed a little, and even agreed with some of it but cannot honestly say I learned anything new. I ended my search and settled with this conclusion, keep singing for enjoyment and not as my only financial source. If for some reason I gain overwhelming recognition that allows me to prosper financially then great, but it will not be the central focus of why I sing.

Award Winning (Song) Connections

This past Tuesday in Nashville, TN the Gospel Music Association hosted the 45th Annual

Dove Awards. When I lived in Nashville this was absolutely an even that I would not

miss, especially because of all the events that surrounded it. This year, instead of

attending in person, I got a glimpse of what happened through the lenses of Instagram,

Facebook, and web postings.

I searched the web and found an article written in The Tennessean and the title, “Hillsong

United, Nashville artists win at Dove Awards” captured me immediately. I just love

Hillsong and I really love the song in which they won the award, “Oceans”. I have played

this song so many times and I have even posted it to my Facebook and my Tumblr. page.

Why did this feel like a personal win? Sure, I have met some people from the Hillsong

Church but not enough that they would remember me or know my name. What is it about

a song that makes you feel so connected? Maybe it is the memory you hold when you

first hear a song or the memory that surfaces to the connections you have with the song.

Maybe?

Another song that won high honors was “Overcomer” by Mandisa. Again, I was very

excited but not because I know her or totally in love with the song. I honestly cannot say

I know more than a fourth of the words and I have never posted it anywhere. But I do

know that I remember hearing it played over the commercial for Good Morning America

and thinking, wait, that is Christian song being played on a mainstream secular show, I

wonder if they know that? I am from a gospel singing background and I know how hard

it is for any artist to get mainstream recognition, and I believe gospel and/or Christian

artist may have it the hardest. I also remember watching the touching story of Robin

Roberts and hearing her encouraging herself by singing that song. Then I realized, it does

not even have to be my personal connection to a song, just some type of connection, even

bad connections. I love music. I love the emotions it stirs up. I love that we celebrate

artist, writers, and producers at different events such as award shows. Guess I need to

start making preparation to attend next year.