Another early newsletter repost, this one just before Halloween last year. In issue number 46, the sections were under development; a few in this issue either became other sections or disappeared completely. The Big Story from this issue, Scary Mess, was a good reminder today about the difference between sales and marketing, lead generation, and engagement. It is a good reminder about the challenge of building something for fans and the satisfaction of sticking with it until you can develop a community of people who believe.

Below is the copy of the original post, enjoy!

<Start>

Another week in the books, and we squeeze newsletter #46 in just under the wire. In 6 weeks, the time it takes to complete the newsletter has doubled. The process gets better with each post; the news, new sources, ideas for new sections, and the writing that grows each day. Good problems!

As writers and creators, we are always looking for feedback. We also come from marketing and know the difference between lead generation and engagement. Some of us recently went to the DIY Musicians Conference in Austin, TX, produced by CD Baby. At this conference, the difference between lead-gen and engagement became clear.

We are making the distinction like this; lead-gen is sales; you do research and put ads out in a pond with the type of fish you are trying to catch. Engagement is marketing, with artists especially; the product is already made, and it wasn't made with a type of fish in mind. Once the artists make the art, they send it out and start engaging with whoever likes it. This is oversimplified, but it helps us get to the point.

Engagement wants feedback and is interested in improving the product based on feedback from colleagues, users, and fans. As artists, we always look for better ways, more color, a new excellent sound, or adding input to our current work. Fans aren't changing your work, but they can help you see it differently.

We've talked with many songwriters and musicians over the years, and many tell us what a song means to them is not as important to them. When they put the piece out, they want it to be something to you, and they want that something to be personal to you.

To us, engagement is a pull, and lead generation is a push Seth Godin started this conversation in the office today. His daily blog seths.blog talked about The Opportunity to be wrong. We also had to look up the work sinecure (a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit). In Seth's post, Seth talks about decisions and the freedom to make decisions. With that freedom, there is also action and consequence, and both are beneficial.

With Bono’s book Surrender being released next week, more reviews will start trickling. We will update the newsletter whenever we read something we think you might like.

Bono took a picture in the 2000s with George W Bush, and George Soros called him a sell-out. Bush funded a project that helped provide HIV medication in Africa to the tune of $15b. Sell out? Guess you could argue that; what you can’t argue with, he ain’t cheap!

[Music Notes]

In perfect Halloween fashion, Pitchfork came out with an article called The Story of Goth in 33 Songs. We spent some time with the article and reminisced about the bands we knew well, and the tracks we haven’t heard, we added to our playlists. This article, the bands listed, and the songs reviewed will be a lengthy wade-through for the team. It might even get its own weekly section; Goth Talk.

Pitchfork gave credit to the birth of Goth to Bauhaus and a 9-minute masterclass of Goth in Bela Lugosi’s Dead. The write-up on Bauhaus and this song are also worth the read. A couple of notable points Peter Murphy adds to the article include

Bela Lugosi’s Dead is an iconic song, and its length almost makes it sound like a Grateful Dead jam band sort of song. Instead of being traditionally melodic and each musician handing off to another, its unique sounds are layered on each other until you can’t take it anymore, and it bleeds into something else. Goth has always been style with substance; when Bauhaus came on the scene with haunting music and Peter’s tone, Goth, in retrospect, seemed a perfect category.

Other entries on the list include; A Forest (The Cure), Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division), Spellbound (Siouxsie & the Banshees), and Head Like A Hole (Nine Inch Nails). We will dig into those in later issues. Read the Pitchfork article; it is fantastic!

We will highlight another creator and any advice they provide that we like. Today we will highlight August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic), a writer and creator who writes a popular newsletter called Tribe 1K. In an email he sent out today, he talks about planning. We are rounding the corner in 2022. Have you started to think about 2023 yet? August explains that planning doesn't have to be complicated. Here are a couple of questions he recommends you answer as you prepare for the new year:

Sign up for August Birch here.

Secret Links to Cool Stuff:

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

All this Goth Talk…

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout Team