Timing is (Almost) Everything

I’ve booked thousands of concerts over the years, and sometimes the success stories are unexplainable, as are the failures. It could be timing. It could be competition (or lack thereof). Many factors come into play.

I bring this up, because one of our artists completely sold out a large, well-known venue this past weekend. But just six months prior, we played a much smaller venue in the same market (about 25% of the capacity). And the performance before that? We couldn’t even sell enough tickets to continue with the show, and we were forced to postpone.

It’s not like this artist has been shooting up the charts, so the results are baffling.

Of course, there are many factors at play, such as the entire show lineup, day of the week, etc. But those factors only move the needle so far.

So what are we to make of such a large disparity in ticket sales? Is it the promoter’s fault when a show doesn’t sell? A lot of artists would like to think so.

Then how does that same promoter sell out shows with other artists?

Is it all timing? Maybe a specific show just becomes a moment that nobody wants to miss. And maybe it’s the angle used to promote that moment that makes all of the difference. For instance, you might get no bites on a 19th anniversary show celebrating a classic album; but a year later? Fans wouldn’t dare miss that one.

“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing it’ll go.” -Yogi Berra

I think a lot about the timing of everything that has worked out in my life, and the anticipated victories that have fallen short. And usually, the opportunities that never developed actually fell through for a reason. And I couldn’t truly understand the reasoning until years into the future. But as Alexander Graham Bell famously stated, “When one door closes, another opens”.

And when I truly reflect on timing, I think about how one chance meeting could have lead to a completely different life. Really, the possibilities are endless. So who’s to say which decisions were good or bad? It’s all just a matter of perspective.

It seems the only way to truly beat timing is by adding more at bats. More trips to the plate = more home runs. It’s all just a numbers game.

I learned early on that I couldn’t just put all of my eggs in one basket and wait for them to turn into Cadbury chocolates. Instead, I figured out that I needed to fertilize a bunch of baskets in hopes that just one of the eggs would turn golden.

So, the same goes for everything we want to achieve at. The 10,000 hours. The early bird gets the worm. You know, basically any practice that gets you more reps than the competition.

I know it’s cliché, but behind every overused adage lies a whole lot of truth.

So take those extra shots. Post those extra clips. Release those extra songs. Study those extra hours. It’s all leading to something. You just might not know what that something is yet, but I promise it will all pay off.

Thanks again for subscribing and spreading the good word. Much love you all of you.

Til next week.