March 4, 2010 Who Do We Reward More, The Best or The Most Visible?
Since you’ve been reading my blog and know how I roll, you can probably figure this one out. (Read this fantastic post by Eric Barker for the science.)
The most visible are consistently more rewarded than their performance merits.
That’s why Nickleback has sold over 6 million albums. They’re everywhere, whether you like it or not. Magazines, blogs, radio, tv, etc. Pretty much everyone knows about them. Yuck.
So what’s going on here? Why is this? Is this a giant troll that the world is going to unveil in a few years? (a la Andy Kaufman’s style).
Nope. Once again the peculiar human brain is at work.
Cognitive Fluency: The ease with which an idea is recalled directly relates to how the brain processes it. Information that’s easy to recall is treated as more true and important than other information.
Remember what I said about flyer design? If it’s not easy and legible, you’re wasting your time.
Long before our band was in their current incarnation, one of the names we went through was The Cask of Amontillado (based off that AMAZINGLY metal story by Edgar Allen Poe where a guy is buried alive.) I still love the story, but whenever we’d mention our name to someone they’d get confused. Even worse, no one in the band could actually spell Amontillado without looking it up. (haha, I know, I know!). So we changed our name, and people remember. Lesson learned.
Flip on youtube and you’ll find fifty million people who can play their instrument better than you ever will. They’re 12 and they play years ahead of many professional players.
Whatever.
Who do we think of when we think guitar gods? It’s not jUssGTR33, it’s Dimebag Darrell.
Talent can only do so much. If people have to strain to remember anything about you, you’re selling yourself and all your hard work short.
Be visible. Be easily memorable. Promote.
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Derek is an MBA student and bassist for Onward We March, a Dallas-based Progressive Metal band. Their first EP The Golden Vine will be released Q3 2010.
Reader Comments (3)
Actually, Jesus said it best a few years earlier: "For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has."
That's how complex adaptive systems work, and the human race is most certainly a complex adaptive system.
The best solution to this is ritual self-deception, often called by it's more friendly name "positive thinking."
When I was first coming into music I was amazed by the volume of people who are incredible musicians that never play outside of their bedroom. These days these people are able to get more notice than then because of the new ease of distribution & home recording & video. To me, as long as they aren't expecting to become sensations, this is great. You can show your co-workers your hobby. But of course it is a third class of musician (professional, struggling indie professional, satisfied amateur). If a lot of us were smarter we'd hire these kids out like assassins to perform our own guitar solos.
@Justin Nailed it. Considering the odds we come up against as musicians, it takes a *big* dose of denying the facts to keep moving. It's a hustle, most def.
@Brian Hahaha, I love that description of "assassins to perform our own guitar solos". And that's definitely true, the exposure afforded by youtube and such is a great motivator to improve your playing as you can get feedback on your skills without needing a full on gig first.