Selling Out

Fans, especially überfans, are very concerned about this concept of "selling out." However, corner them about a definition of the phrase, and they usually cannot produce anything coherent. Answers range from "Oh, I don't know," to "Well, it's like, um."

All joking aside, have you ever tried to define a sell-out? Two things come to mind when I try to answer this question, and I hope my analysis will better equip you to communicate your concerns to your favorite artists and their respective agents, managers, and business executives.

The first is a financial sell-out. This is most readily identified by a connection to a third-party commercial product. Depending on the artist's intentions and goals, this may or may not be selling out at all. In the Information Age, art is cheap to create and distribute, provided you find your creative spark, and it follows that the end product is expected to be inexpensive or even free.

This doesn't mean that the artist is bound for poverty, it just means that he or she must also creatively leverage the art to develop revenue. This concept of leverage is foreign to most people in the "work-a-day" world, but entails connecting a third party (who has something to sell) with your fanbase. There are many ways to execute this, but basically the artist earns a commission of some sort off the sales made because of his art.

For this not to be a sell-out, the third-party has to share the same intentions and goals as the artist, and be offering a product that the fans actually want. While generic sponsorship (i.e.: fast food corporations) might lead to short-term revenue, the reputation of the sponsor becomes an issue. When the fans dislike the sponsor, they feel abused by the artist. This has a long-term degenerative effect.

Which leads me to the second, and more critical form of selling out: the compromise of one's principles. To gain any sort of fanbase, a creator must be equipped to create art which resonates with a number of people. Basically, to "resonate" is to be harmonious with certain universal truths. The wiser the artist, the more universal the art, and the greater the fanbase. (This is different than formulaic elements, which only superficially represent real life.)

When an artist gets comfortable and chooses to stop pushing the envelope of his art, he relies more and more on what worked before. This, in my opinion, means he has actually stopped being an artist entirely. To stop uncovering universal truths or expressing them in new ways is to compromise the very thing that makes your creation a work of art. That being said, the main issue comes in making that choice. Every artist hits a wall from time to time and must backpedal to find his way again.

One must remember the natural cycles of any business, and art is ultimately a business if it's not a hobby. As the überfans naturally share what they love with those who don't yet know or understand, the balance will naturally shift away from a heavy concentration of überfans to a general and mainstream appreciation. This is not selling out, but moving on. Some überfans may move on as well, because the less they feel they're part of an exclusive thing, the less they care to be a part of it.

Ultimately, I think selling out means betraying your fans, especially your überfans. If you can't sell the vast majority of your überfans on the change, then you've bitten the hand that feeds you. On the other hand (pun intended), if the change brings your art closer to its FIT state, then your fans will either come around or they weren't true fans—either way, you'll increase your überfanbase.

FEATURED MEDIA: Adaptation - Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is given an assignment to write an adaptation of a book. This not being what he usually does, Charlie can't help but write a crazy story about a secret love affair and drug trafficking mystery, which himself and his fictional twin brother are forced to solve.

Subtle Distinctions

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - US Declaration of Independence

Common language is never as concrete in its meaning as the writer would like. Simply because you know what you're saying, and you have a deep understanding of words, doesn't mean your reader will take your meaning.

Recently, I posted "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of stuff..." to Twitter and Facebook, as a reference to the above quote from the Declaration of Independence. My intention was to point out the fallacy of the consumeristic idea that stuff = happiness, which pervades our culture and media.

My friend Matt, however, pointed out an historical distinction which I was aware of, but did not consider when writing the post. He observed that philosophers like John Locke had stressed "property" as an important right in place of "happiness." There are two subtle distinctions in language here. The first is my intention with the word "stuff." The second is Matt's understanding of the word "property."

In using the word "stuff," I was intending it in the George Carlin sense of trinkets or possessions which we pile up as a measure of status. Stuff, in this sense, is empty and does not lead to happiness, but to the pursuit of more stuff in the name of seeking happiness. Matt seems to have missed my meaning—which is entirely my fault, because I created the post. As is indicated by his assertion, he took "stuff" to merely be an informal word for "property."

By my understanding, however, "property" in 18th century philosophy referred not to individual things like candlesticks and washbasins, but to those things owned as a means to do business. These things include [chiefly] land and all that is on the land to add to its value. Property is a tool to generate an independent lifestyle, and therefore, happiness in whatever manner a free citizen might define it. I could, of course, be wrong in my understanding.

All-in-all this example illustrates the challenge with contemporary bite-sized media blasts, such as are found on Twitter, banner ads, magazine covers, etc. While it might be a benefit forcing people to condense their thoughts into 140 characters, each of us has a different experience with the depth of our words' meanings. We must be cautious when loading words with meaning that we are understood.

As always, I differ to Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: "Habit 5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

FEATURED MEDIA: Lost in Translation - An aging actor whose life is empty meets the young wife of a celebrity photographer in a Tokyo hotel where they are staying on business. Removed from those around them by cultural and language barriers, the two bond in an unlikely friendship.

Linchpin FIT

It may be unclear to some what is meant by "finding your fit" in an organization that also promises freedom. Is it not true that fitting in or "conformity" is synonymous with being a cog in the machine?

In his latest book, Seth Godin goes to great lengths to describe and illustrate through examples the indispensable people he calls "linchpins." He argues rightly that although employers seem to want (and even emotionally prefer) replaceable "cogs" which can be used and discarded at will, they actually NEED people willing to do emotional work.

Most people approach a job—whether employed or self-employed—as an assignment. "I'm here, what do you want me to do?" This is reactionary.

Being indispensable is about being proactive. It's about seeing something that is not being done, and doing it. It's about finding your fit.

These gaps are often seen and best filled by those who stand to gain the most by it. Hence, necessity is the mother of invention.

Rather than rapidly building an organization of arguably empty people, why not begin with solid building blocks? Why not build an organization around linchpins, rather than hoping they appear?

While anyone can be a bolt, a nut, a crosspiece; more integral to an automobile is an engine, a transmission, a brake system. An organization which seeks out those who fill a large place can always find the miscellaneous parts later.

FEATURED MEDIA: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? - Like his earlier books, Linchpin is broken down into short blog-length sections. This makes it an easy and fun read—and it is filled to the gills with great examples and clear, plain language.

Independence Day

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” -James Madison

With the weekend's celebrations lingering in your thoughts, consider your personal level of dependence. Broaden the scope of your understanding beyond political dependence: the laws, officials, civil servants, and military that legitimately preserve nationwide freedoms.

If you lost your job, how long could you survive on what you have saved? If you get downsized, are you emotionally willing to downsize your lifestyle?

If you have a sudden health issue, do you have the insurance to cover it? Would you still be covered if you lost your job? What about if your insurance company suddenly changes its policy unfavorably? Can you cover the expense from savings?

Consider your debts, subscriptions, and contracts. Can you live without the material goods and services they provide? Do any of them help you pay for the others?

There are a thousand ways in which we become dependent on external systems. Economically, we take support in times of trouble, then conveniently fail fail to give back when things go well. We become increasingly dependent on large institutions to take responsibility for our problems, then become so used to the services that we demand more for less without thought for consequences.

The system encourages us to behave like children—emotionally lusting after material desires. The more they succeed in dumbing us down, the easier we are sold on hype!

Independence is not a choice, but a series of choices. It is created by a spirit of self-sufficiency and a giving heart. There must be sacrifice in times of strife for there to be victory at the end.

FEATURED MEDIA: 1776 - David McCullough gives an enrapturing account of the events of that historic year, beginning with what I feel is a fair treatment of the situation on both sides. He tells of the splendor and good character of George III, and of the many loyalists who resided in the colonies at the time. He also extols the virtues of George Washington, who had just taken command of the then nameless "rabble" which barely constituted an army.

U-Turns in Suburbia

A while back after we moved, my wife and I were driving around the city, getting to know the lay of the land. We got lost, of course, from time to time. Often this meant we needed to do a U-turn.

This is more difficult than it sounds once you get into suburbia. On country roads, a "yooey" is perfectly acceptable, and in the city, one can merely drive around the block. In a subdivision, however, the roads wind around and sometimes come to a dead end. Suburban planning is built to funnel traffic—home to work, work to home—and is not designed for exploration.

It is not so laid back under the suspicious eyes of the residents as to allow a "yooey" or a turnaround in someone's driveway. However, it is also not structured enough to provide for convenient navigation without a knowledge of the neighborhood's design quirks. In a word, suburbia—like it's residents—is designed to be "cliche-ish."

The solution I often found was to turn around in a church parking lot. They are many and therefore readily available for this convenience. Also, no one is ever there, ironically. Aside from the frequently preachy signage, which suggests the author hasn't thought out who's reading the sign, one's blunder is not scrutinized.

A couple of days ago, I was doing some work at my parent's church, when this train of thought began. During the few hours I was there, three cars turned around in the parking lot! It occurred to me how deliciously symbolic this all is, and reminded me of the one sign that shows that the author did know who was reading his signs.

One of the times I got lost, I pulled into the parking lot of a medium-sized church in an otherwise inconspicuous location on the edge of a subdivision. When I drove into the parking lot, the signage greeted me with the expected type of good-willed message—the kind that is neither too preachy nor preaching to the choir, but generally not memorable.

On the way out, however, I read the back of the sign. There, quietly displayed in the conservative manner befitting a church sign were the words, "God allows U-turns."

FEATURED MEDIA: Weeds - Season One - A dramedy about suburban life, and the people that just don't fit the mold. Nancy Botwin, a newly widowed housewife and mother of two adolescent sons starts selling marijuana to pay the bills. Her descent into this unethical business reveals the darker side of the "upright" citizens and the lighter side of the lawbreakers.

"Drive"

As a follow-up to my manifesto-esque introduction for the "Month in Posts," I wanted to post the "Drive" video. This amazing 10 min piece sums up author Dan Pink's book, Drive.

June '10: The Month in Posts

I've spent a lot of time covering the basics of the productive spirit needed to revitalize media. Creators need to understand how great a responsibility they have to their fans, who have entrusted their perspective of reality to them. They must be vigilant in producing stories that adhere to the truth of reality, and they must uphold this vigilance independent of commercial interests that may persuade them to compromise their art.

This month, I turned my focus in a direction inspired by the rewards of creation itself. Enjoy.

Cognitive Surplus and the Appreciators - June 5, 2010

This month's Wired Magazine has an article which is extremely relevant to our cause. Wired contributing editor, Daniel Pink, author of Drive, goes head to head with Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus, about the themes common between their respective works. Basically, Drive points out that traditional "carrot or stick" methods of reward and punishment are not the only motivators—in fact, they're not even the best. (read more)

Hobbies: Creation is a Gift - June 11, 2010

Everyone has a hobby, but most of us never are able to devote enough time to it because we have to make a living. Mostly, perhaps, this hobby is something to blow off steam and forget the trials of your day-job. Maybe it would simply evaporate if you were suddenly endowed with a fortune... Realistically though, I doubt it. It seems to me that what we spend our precious spare time on is, by proxy, also precious to us. Does it not follow that we would like to make money while doing our hobby—and lose the job? (read more)

Violence: A Meditation - June 23, 2010

Does violence in the media lead to violence in real life? This is a profound question, and its answer is vitally important to choosing the correct path for future media creations. It is unlikely that I could definitively answer the question here, nor am I attempting to do so. The purpose of this post is merely to examine the question. (read more)

One Step Beyond - June 26, 2010

Everything has a story. That knick-knack you've had on your mantle or your desk for innumerable years isn't just a meaningless piece of junk. That clutter of odds-and-ends on your workbench wasn't placed there en masse. No, it accumulated for as many reasons as there are individual items. (read more)