Most kids have a fantasy at some point of living like a rock star. Being on stage, the fans, traveling the world, etc. Most people come back to earth pretty quickly after trying to learn an instrument, but we miss the real point in the process. Living like a rock star is an option available to all of us, and it’s actually the key to escaping the 9 to 5.
It’s really about time and how we use it. Successful performers use their time differently than most people. Most people work 5 days on, 2 days off, with the occasional holiday thrown in. Then there are the vacations we race to and try to suck every bit of enjoyment from in a short period of time. Performers use their time differently. They make their money based on events and acts of creation. Do something once and be paid over time. Performers time is broken into periods of rest, rehearsal, and performance. Generally with the performance piece being the shortest from a time perspective. What can you do to transform your business to live like a rock star?
Options?
That was the question running through my brain last night while I watched a true rock star who also exemplifies living like a rock star. I’ve seen Todd Rundgren perform a few time. Most people just know him for a silly song that gets played at 5PM on radio stations and at sporting events = I don’t want to work, I want to bang on the drum all day. Not my favorite song and he skipped it in the playlist last night. Prior to that little ditty were a series of brilliant examples of music from a 20 something performer which have endured through 40 years. While his musical contributions of the past few years have been obscure to the outside observer, he has left his mark on the musical landscape like few people before him. He is an active producer and contributor to many other musicians and continues to crank out the occasional album. Not bad for someone eligible for social security. But instead of sitting by the mailbox, he is still going strong.
I was thinking about the math. Most of us have been to concerts at major arenas. They have huge price tags, both for tickets and productions. They sometimes take a couple days to setup and breakdown, and you need a small army to move around the globe. Each of times I’ve seen Todd Rundgren it’s been at a small theater (1000 people +-) and it’s a lesson in minimalism. The first time was acappela so no instruments, The second time was a piano and a ukulele, and I don’t think the piano was even his. This time was your basic drums, keyboard, bass and lead guitar. No stage setup, no monitors, no earpieces. They probably can do setup and take down in a couple hours. Minimal advertising, just applicable web sites, venue marque, and that’s about it and still filling 80% of the seats. All based largely on work done almost half a century ago.
For anyone looking at an entrepreneurial lifestyle there are lots of comparisons. Todd Rundgren has built a platform of content, in this case songs, but could just as easily be blog posts. He combines them together different ways to create information products (albums), and does live events (concerts) based on the information products he has produced. Because he has a platform and credibility, he is viewed as an expert so he is sought after as a coach (producer). And as a result he gets to work/travel and do things he likes with people he likes, for people who appreciate him. Not a bad life – and I haven’t even gotten to the math yet.
I don’t know how close to reality this is, but lets say you do 50 shows a year at a typical venue seating 1000 with an average ticket price of $40. After everyone gets their cut, you are probably making $20K per night. Not a bad way to make a million dollars and still have most of the year to do other things. And all largely based on a platform that he built in the 1970s.
Now clearly few of us are musical geniuses with multi-platinum albums as our starting point, but the principals apply to many things. Build a platform that allows for your content to be reused in different ways and this will lead to multiple streams of income. This leads to changes in the way you use your time, and eventually expands the way you can leverage your platform to earn a living. If you ever wanted to live like a rock star – you still have a chance.
