That's the hardest thing to do these days, to get someone to experience your art, your production, your work. They just don't have the time, their most precious asset. You think it's a minor inconvenience, but it's not. It's a privilege. You must beg for attention. You might have to even give a reward, promise something in return. They keep making more art, they aren't making more time.
And you've got to make it easy. NEVER EVER SEND A CD, NEVER EVER! You feel good about yourself having sent something, but it's nothing but a pain in the ass for the recipient. They've got to pick it up, god forbid you sent it signature required, they've got to open the package and then...THEY DON'T HAVE SOMEWHERE TO PLAY IT! And even if they do, it's so much work. They've got to break the shrinkwrap, insert the disc, wait for it to fire up. Whereas a link you can click on instantly, which probably the recipient won't do either, but it saves everybody a lot of time and effort. ALSO, never ever send an MP3, NEVER EVER! It labels you a Luddite. That's so aughts. Just send a link. And also know that unsolicited material barely breaks through, especially in the days of unsolicited overload.
And hype doesn't work either. The main audience is immune. And the younger audience is not paying attention to the outlets whatsoever. Like broadcast television or newspapers. It may feel good to see your name/album in the newspaper, but other than being able to send it to your mother, there is no benefit. Nada. Then again, you do keep your publicist in business.
No, now it's organic. And it happens slowly. The faster it happens, the faster it fades. Word of mouth is the driver today. And no one has ever figured out how to start it and keep it going, it can't be faked. But it's a feeling, a knowledge your group has that maybe no one else has yet. Start small if you're a nobody. You're trying to build a fire. Not a bonfire, not a conflagration, but a small flame to cook dinner at your campsite. You need to tend the fire, keep it going, and if you're a great fire builder and if you get lucky, the flame will spread.
And it's got to be easy, it's got to be where people can partake of it. You want to be on every streaming platform, EVERY ONE! From Spotify to YouTube. Forget payment, you're on the wrong path, you want NOTICE!
So "Love Life" is on HBO MAX, I loved the first season, I wrote about it: bit.ly/3q4LASM Everybody who loved "Sex and the City" would dig it, this is what they are looking for, not one of the lame movies or the redo without Samantha. And "Love Life" rings more true. Although the second season occasionally devolves into "Sex and the City" hokiness.
So it's a different cast, a different story this year. It's about Marcus, who is Black.
Yes, the producers were influenced by the woke. But it's great to get a peek into the world of middle class Blacks. Not up from the bottom rappers, but educated workers. I can't even write about this without risking backlash, but the truth is most white people aren't aware of the middle class Black experience. They know some Black people, but not their parents, the people they grew up with, their neighborhood. Despite protestation from the woke, the truth is so many whites are still afraid of Black people, never mind Black neighborhoods, but "Love Life" gives great insight, which we need.
So Marcus works in publishing. He's Black, but he's married to a white woman, Emily. But at a wedding, he meets Mia.
"Love Life" nails universal truths in a world of cartoon superheroes and villains. You're just going through life naturally, and then BANG!, you meet someone new who titillates you the way your significant other does not.
And what is cheating? Is texting cheating?
And what do you tell your significant other?
And you think you're on the same page as the new person you've met, and then you find out you're not and...
You're single.
One of the worst spots in life. You were together, you weren't thinking about your time, you were complaining about your partner and then..,.you've got unlimited time, you don't know what to do with yourself, you have to rebuild your social life, the friends you abandoned or drifted away from...and it's so hard.
And new people... You forgot how many hoops you jumped through to get this close to your significant other, over YEARS! It's amazing people can get along at all!
And it's going to be hard to build momentum on the second season of "Love Life," because they're dribbling out episodes week by week, a failed strategy. You want all episodes available so you can build BUZZ! It's about buzz, not keeping people paying month by month. The buzz will keep them subscribed. And look at the second season of "Ted Lasso," by time it was done no one was talking about it, they were bingeing "Squid Game." You could jump in, watch all the episodes and instantly participate in the conversation. There are no water coolers around which shows can build through office talk, hell, a ton of us never even go into an office at all. If you've succeeded in gaining our attention, DON'T LET GO!
But this will fall on deaf ears. Netflix knows its audience, seemingly no one else does. HBO is caught up in their old paradigm, which is why so few subscribe to HBO Max independently, those who do not have a cable subscription. And the oldsters watching week by week on cable...are not addicted to the app, so the app doesn't grow.
Used to be if something was great it would surface, everybody would end up knowing. That is no longer true. You can do something great and most of the public can be oblivious to it. You certainly don't want to put up barriers to your work.
So, there's no buzz on "Love Life." There's no buzz on HBO Max. No one you know is watching it, it's not part of anybody's conversation. So what are the odds it will gain traction? NIL!
But you should check it out.
Should you subscribe to HBO Max just for "Love Life"? No. It's a bad value proposition, I can tell you about many even better shows on Netflix and Amazon which you're already paying for.
But if you're interested in relationships, "Love Life" is one of the best places to go to feed your addiction. And life is all about relationships, they're much more important than work. So, if you watch "Love Life" let me know, but I doubt I'll get much incoming.
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