I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s Marketing micro-posts for years. Every so often he writes something in very few words that is absolutely true. I’ve reposted a particularly good one below. I need not say any more. This man knows what he’s talking about.
When I read it, I thought to myself, well, that’s the way it is. But I’m going to keep at it in any case. I’m afraid this music writing business is a bit of an obsession.
The reality of chasing pop
It’s tempting for a creator. To make a pop hit, a song or a book or a meme that becomes a popular idea and part of the culture.
In our lifetimes, it’s become possible to imagine that you could even make a living creating pop.
But pop is a harsh mistress, because pop means popular, which is, by definition rare and unfairly distributed. As long as it’s easy to create and rare to have a hit, there will be a huge majority of people who don’t win this lottery.
And it is a lottery.
It’s tempting to believe that passion, skill and perhaps talent are sufficient to make a living in pop, but the math says otherwise.
It’s available to all of us, but there’s no guarantee that you can make a living at it.
FEBRUARY 26, 2023