j.chan

Baby you light up my world like nobody else.

Would you dare to disagree? Because I wouldn’t.

Derek Sivers, founder of the widely known CD Baby, shares his experiences as a young man in New York, expanding his career and the beauty of connecting online, where he discovered it’s all about who you know.

Taking that first step into the music industry (or any industry, for that matter), can be quite intimidating because everything just seems so BIG. But once you get your feet wet and wade in a little further, you’ll quickly realize how small the industry is. Everyone knows everyone, and if someone doesn’t know who you’re referring to, chances are that more than half of said someone’s contacts knows who you’re referring to. Six degrees of separation is not a myth.

Life can often seem like a big popularity contest. You may not be the most outgoing person, but that’s no reason that you can’t know a whole lot of people. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from my experiences working in the music industry, it’s that relationships are everything. With some people, you’ll form fast friendships, with others it’ll take the pace of a sleeper hit. In an industry where many opportunities can come from relationships, it’s paramount to not just go out and meet people, but to know people. Know people as know about them, not just find familiarity in a long list of names.

If you meet great folks at a conference, showcase or industry event, don’t be afraid to chat and offer opinions, stories or insight. The people you’re speaking to might be new acquaintances to you, but you never know who they know and who you both know. Talk to them as people, not just potential providers of opportunity - ask them about where they went to school, if they saw the big game last night or their favourite restaurant in a city they’ve vacationed in. Exchange business cards, Twitter handles or email addresses. If the circumstances are right, ask if you might be able to visit their office for a tour, or reach out the next time you’re in their area. When you have to tear yourself away from the conversation, don’t let that be the end, it’s only the beginning.

You don’t want to be forgettable in person, so don’t let yourself be forgotten when that person returns to their office after your run-in. It seems that the follow through is always left behind. Remember what you chatted about and follow through with an email shortly afterwards reiterating that it was nice to meet, or you said you’d send them a file or whatever. Speak specifically about “stand out” things you talked about or an interesting thought you took away from your conversation. Carry on treating the person as a person, drop them a line every once a while to ask what’s new, send holiday greetings or an interesting article that reminded you of them.

With the wide-spread popularity of Twitter and Facebook, and the ubiquitous nature of smartphone devices connected to said social networks, there’s no reason that you can’t get to know anyone you meet. Meet people in a way that is organic to you. Most importantly, let people get to know the real you. It doesn’t take much to spot a phony person and most people just don’t want to spend time on phonies. Cultivate your relationships and don’t forget that for every opportunity that opens for you, you should always try to pay it forward. There’s always someone you know who could use a helping hand.