There is a thought that has been rolling around in my head lately and it comes back to the idea of survivorship bias.
What is survivorship bias? It is the mistaken belief that a small group of successful individuals and their actions to achieve success represent the normal for that group.
Years ago I worked as a music producer in Nashville. I worked on quite a variety of projects with various artists. The question I often get asked is, did you work with anyone famous? It’s an understandable question and I did indeed work with some artists who achieved Grammy winning success.
Now something happens when you drop the Grammy word. There is an assumption about my ability. Let’s table that for a moment though.
Talented? Check
Some of the artists I worked with In Nashville included an indie rock band, an indie folk band, a singer songwriter and a gospel artist. Each of those artists were accomplished and talented in their song writing and musicianship.
Some of those same people went on to become a New York Times best selling author, owner of a successful digital marketing agency, an awarded film maker and a charting country artist. The funny thing is, none of their music projects had incredible success but each of them could very well have.
Truth is, there are many talented artists out there, writing amazing songs not many people will hear. What is popular isn’t always the best, what is famous isn’t always the most deserving of that infamy. Those things are incredibly subjective at best.
There are MANY reasons people don’t achieve popularity or fame but talent isn’t always the reason.
The Takeaway: If you’re an artist or band, avoid measuring success via vanity metrics and the lauded trinkets of the music industry. Write for the joy of writing with a desire to have those songs connect with people. If you see a life is invaluable, how many people you connect with doesn’t really matter.
0 Comments