Welcome to the Jungle

Where Broken Branches Become Firewood

Author

Erik Abel
November 23, 2022

Follow the Thread Crumbs: An Introduction

It's an age-old question that plagues each and every artist, and many of the surrounding players in the music industry. Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing with my life?

Coupled with a few other questions which test our self-confidence and resolve-- Do I belong here? Am I good enough? When will all of the work pay off?

For years, I asked myself all of these questions, as I progressed at what seemed like a snail's pace. From the time I taught myself to DJ until the release of my fourth and final album, sixteen years had elapsed.

And sure, I'd performed at festivals and opened for many of my childhood heroes in the process, but that's 16 years of my life spent breaking even, which, from an outside perspective, seems like an abject failure.

Still I'm occasionally reminded of a conversation with an old DJ friend, while on tour in Boise one night. A couple stiff well drinks in (the ones we could use our drink tickets on), I voiced these same concerns; feeling like my artistic pursuits were becoming a dead end. And he spit some of the wisest game that's ever been uttered in my direction. He reminded me of all of the skills I had accumulated as an independent artist/DJ/producer, and assured me every one of them would be a valuable addition to my resume, regardless of the direction I ended up going. And he was right.

You see, after years of waiting on engineers, I learned to record and mix my own music. And when I couldn't afford a publicist, I researched and found over a thousand writers and editors, and learned to craft my own press releases. I started my own label. Landed my own distribution. And even booked my own shows.

I know many of you can relate.

So this independent driven skill set born out of necessity led to unique opportunities I could have never predicted. And after 16 years of struggle, I finally gained some traction as a booking agent, which evolved into an unexpected opportunity to direct my first documentary, write my first screenplay, and work closely with many of the artists who heavily influenced my personal path.

And that's why I've decided to start this newsletter.

It's the same reason I recorded a short-lived podcast The Indie Playbook. And it's the same reason, I pump countless music biz threads into the Twittersphere.

It's because I see myself in so many of you-- The young entrepreneur. The hungry artist. The irrationally overconfident, endlessly driven, budding mogul of the future.

I aspire to help you, because I can only dream of a world where this once guarded information was shared with me 10-15 years ago, as I stumbled along the path of my journey.

I'll provide useful tools and actionable advice that you can utilize as an artist, manager, agent, writer, content creator, promoter, or entrepreneur. I'll also analyze and expound upon tweets, videos, and highlight artists and teams who are doing things the right way.

Artist to Analyze: TOKEN

I started working with Token at the top of 2022, and soon after booked his upcoming 42 city tour, which kicks off this January. But the reason I want to highlight Token isn't for personal gain. It's due to his most recent legal battle with Disney.

I've always been very fascinated with guerrilla marketing, and finding creative ways to reach new audiences. And although I don't usually recommend going to war with a multinational conglomerate, his story is definitely turning heads, and I think there are some ideas here that can be applicable to other artists trying to find ways to cut through the noise.

If you haven't heard, Token dropped a new music video Toy Story. His team created a replica of Sid's bedroom, complete with mutant toys, and Token even dressed as the abusive computer animated anti-hero.

When a cease and desist arrived, Token took to social media, declaring a war with Disney, refusing to take down the video, and even going so far as recording a response video directly outside Disney's campus gates. And Disney's latest response is to actually serve the rapper with a lawsuit, but he's still not backing down.

Given the countless entertainment options these days, our biggest challenge is competing for attention. Incredible music isn't enough. How can we create an undeniably engaging story or entertaining visuals, or evoke an emotion worth sharing?

Token is nailing it.

A Few Joints in Rotation

Thread Crumb Thursdays

Moving forward, I will do my best to send the Follow the Thread Crumbs Newsletter out every Thursday. After all "Thread Crumb Thursdays" almost has a ring to it. But for this week, enjoy your holiday!

Feel free to hit me on Twitter to give me feedback on this thing. I'm here to serve y'all, so let me know what I'm doing well, and what I can improve on.