1. It’s all about the name
Lisa thought that 80% of music marketing was taken care of if you had a good band name that communicated something about your story or your sound to fans, talent buyers, and journalists.
2. You have to know your story
What IS your story? How did you come to music? Is there a narrative about your life or music that will captivate someone even before they’ve heard a note?
3. Your music is the LAST thing that matters
We live with what Lisa called “the reality of the glut.” There is an abundance (many would say an overabundance) of music being released today. People in the industry, and to a lesser degree music fans, are required to constantly sort through all that music and make quick decisions. If you send an email to a blogger, what separates that email from the other 300 correspondences they received that day asking for the same attention you’re seeking? Your story!
4. Brainstorming will yield both brilliant and batshit crazy ideas
One thing that took me a while to understand is that there’s real power in the process of brainstorming, but you can’t be afraid of looking or feeling dumb. And on the flip side, you can’t be judgmental of someone else’s ideas. Early on, I would leave a conversation with Lisa saying to myself “she’s spot on half the time, and then the other half it’s like she doesn’t even know me!” (Again, because we’re all misunderstood geniuses, right?)
5. You need a reflector
Not a shiny thing to wear while bicycling (though you might also need one of those). What I mean is, sometimes we don’t see what makes us unique. We lose perspective. We live our whole lives inside our thoughts, bodies, and habits, so nothing about us feels particularly noteworthy.
6. What makes you different is your most valuable asset
Be fearlessly unique. Lisa was. She was the first at any club to get up and dance when the music moved her (this in the hipster HQ of Portland, Oregon where most people would listen to music with arms folded and head nodding almost imperceptibly). She wore outlandish hats. She greeted you at the front door by ringing a gong. And she valued what made others unique. Which is why she was so skilled at helping artists identify it, cultivate it, and communicate it more effectively.
7. You don’t stand a chance unless you stand with others
Perhaps Lisa’s best gift was as a builder of community. She connected people. She connected the right people with the right people. She knew that any effort you make could be enhanced by collaboration, or that overused term “synergy.”
8. Find your artistic persona
“Persona” is another word for image, branding, packaging. It’s the thing that carries your story into the world. It’s the “wardrobe” for your soul. Lisa could really help an artist uncover their persona by searching for that unique, authentic element that set them apart — and then brainstorming ways to dramatize or supersize it so it connects with an audience (in a live setting) and with industry people (on paper or online).
9. Promotion is about growth, not conquest
Lisa’s nickname was “ProMotion Queen.” Pro: “Professional?” Yes. But mostly “in favor of moving forward.”
The whole promotion process for Lisa was really about self-discovery. We engage through telling stories, and you can’t tell your story until you know it. So there’s an element of digging deep, and of reflecting on the past — but all as a means of motion and growth.
10. No one will do it for you
Because Lisa had a reputation as a real connector (as well as a manager, consultant, festival booker, etc.), people would come to her with expectations that they’d receive some immediate career benefit: a booking, a review, whatever. For most artists, that wasn’t her job. Her job was to empower you to get your own bookings, reviews, etc. It’s that whole “teach a man to fish” thing.
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