Why Marketing Matters?

It matters simply because being remarkable isn't enough, people have to realise you are remarkable.

There can be no greater proof of this than the recent Washington Post experiment which saw a virtuoso playing a multi-million dollar violin being virtually ignored while busking in a busy metro station. The full story (complete with telling videos) is here but the final paragraph says it all.

Bell headed off on a concert tour of European capitals. But he is back in the States this week. He has to be. On Tuesday, he will be accepting the Avery Fisher prize, recognizing the Flop of L'Enfant Plaza as the best classical musician in America.

But to hundreds of commuters, he was just another busker. Or perhaps as the Saw Lady would have it, he was just a bad busker.

A busker is someone who can turn any place into a stage. Obviously, Joshua Bell needs an actual stage. As a busker one needs to interact with those around, break walls of personal space, and lure people into a collective and spontaneous group experience on the street, in the moment, with you. A bad busking act is when the performer doesn’t make an effort to connect with the audience. Like musicians who play for themselves, not acknowledging the audience, just burying their heads in their instruments.

Are you a good busker?