Sometimes For Success, It's Best to Do It Yourself

By Zack on October 26, 2009

I'm currently taking a grad-course on social and digital media and have just finished reading Wired editor Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail. The book is essentially about the new economy created by the proliferation of new technologies. That aspect of the book, while very interesting, is not what I want to talk about in relation to ThinkTalk and careers, however. (But if you would like to know more about the book you can check out my personal blog which I use for class assignments and thoughts.)

In the book, Anderson briefly uses a colleague's band, Birdmonster, to illustrate a point about the reduction in barriers to entry encouraged by new technology. Birdmonster was able to build an audience using MySpace, blog attention and select music-focused websites and as a result, had mild success. Anderson writes:

Labels were calling with deals, but Birdmonster turned the offers down. As [lead singer Peter] Arcuni put it, “We’re not anti-label in principle, but the numbers (risk vs. reward) didn’t add up.”

A music label exists primarily to fulfill four functions: 1) talent scouting; 2) financing (the advances bands get to pay for their studio time is like seed capital invested by a venture capitalist); 3) distribution; 4) marketing.

From Birdmonster’s perspective, they didn’t need that. A growing local fan base, amplified online, had already spotted their talent. Improving digital recording technology had made studio time cheaper than ever—they could record the tracks in a few days in the studio and then mix and overdub them at home using personal computers. The cost to record the entire album was less than $15,000, which they covered with credit cards and savings. CD Baby and a similar company called Cinderblock provided the distribution, which gave them a reach as broad as iTunes, Rhapsody and the other top services. And MP3 blogs and MySpace were free marketing.

Why sign their life away now to a label, they reasoned, when they can record and distribute their music themselves and keep their creative independence? If the first self-released album does well, they’ll be in a much stronger negotiating position with the label for re-releasing the first album in stores, or for the second album.

This approach is called DIY or "Do It Yourself," and is largely a punk rock ethos dating back to the late 70s and early 80s. The DIY movement offers a note of encouragement to any aspiring entrepreneur or careerist who is simply looking to find success through alternative means to the mainstream. As for ThinkTalk, DIY was best summed up in our interview with American Hardcore director Paul Rachman and writer Steven Blush. The two give excellent insight into how to build a stable and successful career with a bit of entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, grit and a DIY attitude. For more info on how you can utilize the DIY ethic successfully, check out our interview below: