I'm back - Did you miss me?

Hey, everyone.

Let me first say thanks to those of you who were concerned about my brief "disapperance" from posting on Mill's Indie Music Insider blog...you know how life can get some time and for that I want to thank you for your concern.

I've surely missed sharing my thoughts with you. I've actually been doing a lot of thinking about how I touch the world with my own musings and knowledge of the industry. I've come up with a few ideas, but need some feedback.

If you are interested in attending teleseminars, live seminars, hearing podcasts and participating in possible "webinars" (web-based seminars) on various topics in the industry, especially for those just starting in the industry, are already involved in the industry and just need some assistance with building and growing your indie music business, then by all means, please let me know what topics you are most interested in and if you'd like to participate in any of the activities I've listed above. There will be some with free admission as well as paid admission events, but we can start a mailing list so that you can receive information as they become available.

If you don't want to post your response on this blog, then drop a line to mill@gamusiccenter.com - that's GA Music Center - I'd sincerely appreciate it. Please be sure to put "blog comments" in the subject line. I get tons of spam so I'd like to be able to get to the legitimate feedback quicker.

Today's message is about defining your purpose, that is clearly defining, with extreme clarity, what you want out of all of the effort, time and energy you are putting towards your music pursuits.

Is it to get a record deal?
Is it to make more money?
Is it to sell more cds?
Is it to become famous?
And why do you want to achieve this?
What will it do for you once you achieve it?

Without this level of clarity, how do you know where you are going? How do you know when (and if) you've "arrived," if you don't have a clear purpose or direction for your efforts?

There is a ton of knowledge in different formats available for plotting this journey, including data, video, audio and each of these formats in different media for example, delivered via the web, cds (enhanced cds), dvds and information on several millions of websites. How do you really find what you are seeking? I know you've heard the saying "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." This is one situation you can definitely apply this to. You want your music to get into the perfect listeners' cd players, ipods, mobile phones, etc., but who is that perfect listener? What does he or she look like? What are they interested in, what do they enjoy doing? You have to step out of the musician's role and look at it from the consumer's point of view, just for a moment. You want people to appreciate your talent, you want them to know how to get a hold of it, but you've also got to know whose ears you are trying to reach and give them a path to find it. Therefore, defining YOUR path will help you have others follow you on the journey through your music suceess. They can only follow you in the path you make for them.