Module 3: "Creative Differentiation - Becoming An Original" in the Hacking Music - Habits of Headliners Master Class Training Differentiation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to really be honest here is the very few artists are born originals. To achieve this takes time and effort and persistence. This is not something you get right after this training. This is something you get right over time in working this out throughout all the decisions of your career. Differentiation is a term and concept that, to one extent or another, influences nearly every section of this training. So how do you become an original? How do you stand apart from everybody else and still have your creative core in place? We talked a little bit about that in the Different beats Good hack in Artist as Hacker, but here in module 3 Creative Differentiation, we want to work through this process and really set out some actionable steps to get you there. Action Items: ACTION ITEM 1: THE AGILE ARTIST: THE ARTIST OF THE FUTURE ACTION ITEM 2: SWOT MATRIX: TELLING YOURSELF THE TRUTH ACTION ITEM 3: RED OCEANS VS BLUE OCEANS: BECOMING AN ORIGINAL ACTION ITEM 4: THE E.R.R.C. FRAMEWORK CASE STUDY: Journey’s Answers ACTION ITEM 5: GETTING U TO A BLUE OCEAN To Watch the Free Hacking Music Training, “THE 5 SILVER BULLETS” Sabotaging Your Music Career. https://www.hacking-music.com/webclass

1. 1

2. Housekeeping
2

3. Module 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATION
• Section 1: Your Brand Words
• Section 2: Know Thyself (Your Superpower)
• Section 3: The Artist Audit
• Sect 4: 3 Gears
• Section 5: The Entertainment Ecosytem
• Section 6: Content vs Platform
• Section 7: Time - Talent Matrix
• Section 8: Strategy And Tactics

4. Module 2: ARTIST AS HACKER
1. Forgiveness > Permission
2. Team > Talent
3. Missionaries > Mercenaries
4. Different > Good
5. Future > Nostalgia
6. The Third Way
7. The Cupcake Hack
8. The KPI Hack: The Power Of Measuring
9. Resourcefulness Beats Resources
10. Fight Beats Want

5. MODULE 3: Creative Differentiation
1. THE AGILE ARTIST: THE ARTIST OF THE FUTURE
2. SWOT MATRIX: TELLING YOURSELF THE TRUTH
3. RED OCEANS VS BLUE OCEANS: BECOMING
AN ORIGINAL
4. THE E.R.R.C. FRAMEWORK
5. CASE STUDY: Journey’s Answers
6. GETTING U TO A BLUE OCEAN

6. 6

7. 7

9. You either have to
be first, better or
different.
— Loretta Lynn
9

10. An entrepreneur
has the elegance of a poet,
the precision of a mathematician,
the vision of a mystic,
and the drive of a soldier.
10
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

11. An artist
has the elegance of a poet,
the precision of a mathematician,
the vision of a mystic,
and the drive of a soldier.
11
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

12. Section 1:
THE AGILE ARTIST:
THE ARTIST OF THE FUTURE
12
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

13. Differentiation:
the process by which you
consciously create ways to
set yourself apart from
everybody else.THE
AGILE
ARTIST

15. Agility: represents
flexibility and how quickly
an artist integrates change
and develops new thinking
and action.THE
AGILE
ARTIST

16. Consistancy: represents the
artist’s ability to focus and
plan/manage/do the work
when it needs to be done.THE
AGILE
ARTIST

17. 17
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

18. 18
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

19. 19

20. 20
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

21. 21
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

22. 22
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

23. 23
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

24. 24
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

25. 25
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

26. 1. Label an artist in each box
2. Where have you been in the past?
3. How to tune your AGILITY
1. What worked in the past that no longer work
2. Where are you most A (top 3)
3. Where are you least A (top 3)
4. How to tune your CONSISITANCY
1. Where are most C? (top 3)
2. Where are you least C? (top 3)
Action Item
26
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

28. An ARTIST
has the elegance of a poet,
the precision of a mathematician,
the vision of a mystic,
and the drive of a soldier.
28
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

29. Section 1:
THE AGILE ARTIST:
THE ARTIST OF THE FUTURE
29
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

30. Section 2:
SWOT MATIX
TELLING YOURSELF THE TRUTH
30
SWOT
MATRIX

31. No bullshit,
Real world,
100% actionable.
31
SWOT
MATRIX

32. -If you know both the enemy AND know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
-If you know yourself but NOT the enemy,
every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
-If you know NEITHER the enemy NOR yourself,
you will succumb in every battle.
— sun tzuSWOT
MATRIX

33. THIS SWOT TOOL HELPS:
Artists know BOTH the enemy
AND know yourself,
SO THAT you need not fear the
result of a hundred battles.SWOT
MATRIX

34. SWOT
MATRIX

35. 1. What are our Strengths?
2. What are our Weaknesses
3. Where are our Opportunities?
4. What are our Threats?
SWOT
MATRIX

36. SWOT
MATRIX

37. SWOT
MATRIX

38. SWOT
MATRIX

39. SWOT
MATRIX

40. SWOT
MATRIX

41. "The first principle is
that you must not fool
yourself and you are the
easiest person to fool.”
-Richard FeynmanSWOT
MATRIX

42. SWOT
MATRIX
Action Item

43. SWOT
MATRIX

44. ARTISTS ARE TYPICALLY
AVOIDERS,
SWOT MAKES SURE THAT
HAPPENS LESS OFTEN
SWOT
MATRIX

45. SWOT
MATRIX

46. Tough on Process,
Easy on People
SWOT
MATRIX

47. SWOT
MATRIX

48. Action Item
SWOT
MATRIX

49. "The first principle is
that you must not fool
yourself and you are the
easiest person to fool.”
-Richard FeynmanSWOT
MATRIX

50. Section 2:
SWOT MATIX
TELLING YOURSELF THE TRUTH
50
SWOT
MATRIX

51. Section 3:
RED OCEANS VS
BLUE OCEANS
BECOMING AN ORIGINALRED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

52. In this section, we are
going to address how you
can determine, tune and
build on the uniqueness
of your brand.
52
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

53. You either have to
be first, better or
different.
— Loretta Lynn
53
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

54. Differentiation: the process
by which you consciously
create ways to set yourself
apart from everybody else.
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

55. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

56. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

57. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

58. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

59. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

60. Red Ocean:
1. Extremely crowded with competition.
2. Are more focused on competition than
creating a consumer experience.
3. Expectations within your industry are
strictly defined and accepted
4. Allows for very little creativity or divergence
from the “normal.”
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

61. Blue Ocean:
1. Artist make the competition irrelevant.
2. Market as an“experience” (Apple, Nike).
3. No limitations - allows for greater creative
solutions, and product evolution.
4. Artists develop their own personality
5. Fans feel they share when they ex. the
Artist

62. Examples of Red vs. Blue Ocean:
1. A community college vs. Stanford
2. Traveling Circus vs. Cirque du Soleil
3. Ford Taurus vs. Tesla
4. Acer vs. Apple
5. Barnes & Noble vs. Amazon
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

63. Red Ocean in music and media:
1. Cover bands
2. Open mics and writers nights
3. Expecting to become famous from cosplay
4. Songwriter competition
5. Jam sessions
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

64. Blue Oceans in music and media:
1. Jimmy Buffett and his “Parrothead”
fan community
2. Gwar
3. Garth Brooks
4. Here Come the Mummies
5. KISS/Taylor/Coheed
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

65. Music
Engagement
Messaging
Products Experiences
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

66. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS
Action Item

67. Section 3:
RED OCEANS VS
BLUE OCEANS
BECOMING AN ORIGINALRED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

68. Section 4:
THE E.R.R.C.
FRAMEWORK
EERC
FRAME
WORK

69. EERC
FRAME
WORK

70. EERC
FRAME
WORK

71. EERC
FRAME
WORK

72. So, the big question is ... how
does a new artist initiate and
develop a unique brand that
allows them to operate in or
move towards a Blue Ocean
instead of becoming just another
bottom-feeder competing for
scraps in a Red Ocean? 72
EERC
FRAME
WORK

73. A career is built, not
making one lucky
decision.
A career is built by
making 1000s of right
decisions over time. 73
EERC
FRAME
WORK

74. 4 words:
Eliminate, Reduce,
Raise and Create
74
EERC
FRAME
WORK

75. EERC
FRAME
WORK

76. EERC
FRAME
WORK

77. THE FOUR QUESTIONS:
1. Which factors should be (E)LIMINATED
from what is currently an industry
standard (e.g., reverb-drenched mixes, bone
dry mixes, guitar solos, no guitar solos, disco
music, boy bands)?
EERC
FRAME
WORK

78. Whether BIG or SMALL these
trends were ELIMITED. They
have become opportunties for
the artist that is BRAVE enough
to both ANSWER and ACT on.
EERC
FRAME
WORK

80. THE FOUR QUESTIONS:
2. Which factors should be (R)EDUCED
well below what is currently an
industry standard (e.g., big background
vocals, no background vocals, three-
minute song formats, overproduced
recordings, underproduced recordings)?EERC
FRAME
WORK

81. Whether BIG or SMALL these
trends were REDUCED. They
have become opportunties
for the artist that is BRAVE
enough to both ANSWER
and ACT on.
EERC
FRAME
WORK

83. THE FOUR QUESTIONS:
3. Which factors should be (R)AISED well
above what is currently an industry
standard (e.g., artists who write their own
songs, artists who only record outside songs,
Bro-Country/Traditional Country artists)?
EERC
FRAME
WORK

84. Whether BIG or SMALL these
trends were RAISED. They have
become opportunties for the
artist that is BRAVE enough to
both ANSWER and ACT on.
EERC
FRAME
WORK

85. EERC
FRAME
WORK

86. THE FOUR QUESTIONS:
4. Which factors should be
(C)REATED that the current industry
has never offered (e.g., rap on the
verses/sing on the hook, screamo
vocals, 24-hour raves, beard bands
LGBT themed songs)?
EERC
FRAME
WORK

87. Whether BIG or SMALL these
trends were CREATED. They
have become opportunties for
the artist that is BRAVE enough
to both ANSWER and ACT on.
EERC
FRAME
WORK

88. EERC
FRAME
WORK
Action Item

89. 1. Think about an artist whose career you admire.
2. What did that artist ELIMINATE and did that decision move
them in the direction of a Red or Blue Ocean? Did it move
them in the direction of a Red or Blue Ocean?
3. What factors did that artist REDUCE and how did those
decisions affect whether the artist was in a Red or Blue
Ocean?
4. What factors did that artist RAISE and how did those decisions
affect whether the artist was in a Red Ocean or Blue Ocean?
5. What factors did that artist CREATE and how did those
decisions affect whether the artist was in a Red or Blue
Ocean?
Action Item
89

90. Section 5:
CASE STUDY:
Journey’s Answers
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

93. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

94. 1. Which factors did
Journey (E)LIMINATE?
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

96. Helped JOURNEY
become part the Future
instead of part of History.
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

97. 2. Which factors did
Journey (R)EDUCE?
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

99. 3. Which factors did
Journey (R)AISE?
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

101. 4. Which factors did
Journey (C)REATE?
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

103. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY
1. Fan First - The band’s songs
were primarily focused on
how the fan was able to see
their own story in the music.

104. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY
Fan First Strategy:
1. Centered on audience
2. Tell their fan’s Story
3. Give fans songs they could “STEP INTO”
4. Band was there to stage and support the
FANS experience

105. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY
2. Digestibility - Journey’s
Steve Perry and Jonathan
Cain focused on songs that
were shorter in length.

106. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY
The Combination of these 4:
1. eliminated the jam band persona,
2. reducing the emphasis on the B3
3. raising the vocal bar with Steve Perry
4. creating the “Fan First” approach

107. Helped JOURNEY
become part the Future
instead of part of History.
JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

108. JOURNEY
CASE STUDY

109. Section 6:
GETTING U TO
A BLUE OCEAN
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

110. BENEFITS ENJOYED BY
ARTISTS IN BLUE OCEANS
1. Answering them forces
originality. Music artists and
managers trying to answer these
four questions are pushed in
simultaneously new directions in a
manner that benefits the artist.
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

111. FOUR BENEFITS ENJOYED BY
ARTISTS IN BLUE OCEANS
2. Answering them requires teams to
align. Teams are given a clear goal to
work toward and they can immediately
engage in conversation and
brainstorming.
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

112. FOUR BENEFITS ENJOYED BY
ARTISTS IN BLUE OCEANS
3. Answering them requires honesty. Completing
the grid is a challenging task and it encourages the
team to honestly scrutinize everything about the
current condition of their music business. It also
sheds light on the wide range of assumptions
made by many people working in the industry.
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

113. FOUR BENEFITS ENJOYED BY
ARTISTS IN BLUE OCEANS
4. Answering them encourages Whole-Brain
Thinking. Because the questions require a
great deal of analytical exercise, answering
them forces artists to utilize both Left-Brain
and Right-Brain Thinking, combining analytical
examinations with creative problem-solving.
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

114. Action Item
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

115. 1. Think about you.
2. What three things have you recently ELIMINATED in
your own career? Why did you choose to eliminate
them?
3. What 5 things have you recently REDUCED in your
own career? Why did you choose to reduce them?
4. What 5 things have you recently RAISED in your own
career? Why did you choose to raise them?
5. What three things have you recently CREATED in your
own career? Why did you choose to create them?
Action Item
115
GETTING
TO A
BLUE
OCEAN

116. Section 7:
ACTION ITEMS

117. Concepts may make ME
look smart, the action
items and the execution
makes YOU look smart.

118. ACTION ITEM 1:
THE AGILE ARTIST
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

119. 119
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

120. 1. Label an artist in each box
2. Where have you been in the past?
3. How to tune your AGILITY
1. What worked in the past that no longer work
2. Where are you most A (top 3)
3. Where are you least A (top 3)
4. How to tune your CONSISITANCY
1. Where are most C? (top 3)
2. Where are you least C? (top 3)
Action Item 1
120
THE
AGILE
ARTIST

122. ACTION ITEM 2:
SWOT MATRIX
SWOT
MATRIX

123. Action Item
SWOT
MATRIX

124. ACTION ITEM 3:
RED OCEANS VS
BLUE OCEANS
RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS

125. RED OCEANS
BLUE OCEANS
Action Item

126. ACTION ITEM 4:
ERRC FRAMEWORK
EERC
FRAME
WORK

127. EERC
FRAME
WORK
Action Item

128. 1. Think about an artist whose career you admire.
2. What did that artist ELIMINATE and did that decision move
them in the direction of a Red or Blue Ocean? Did it move
them in the direction of a Red or Blue Ocean?
3. What factors did that artist REDUCE and how did those
decisions affect whether the artist was in a Red or Blue
Ocean?
4. What factors did that artist RAISE and how did those decisions
affect whether the artist was in a Red Ocean or Blue Ocean?
5. What factors did that artist CREATE and how did those
decisions affect whether the artist was in a Red or Blue
Ocean?
Action Item
128

129. ACTION ITEM 5:
GETTING U
TO A BLUE OCEANGETTING U
TO A BLUE
OCEAN

130. Action Item
GETTING U
TO A BLUE
OCEAN

131. 1. Think about you.
2. What three things have you recently ELIMINATED in
your own career? Why did you choose to eliminate
them?
3. What 5 things have you recently REDUCED in your
own career? Why did you choose to reduce them?
4. What 5 things have you recently RAISED in your own
career? Why did you choose to raise them?
5. What three things have you recently CREATED in your
own career? Why did you choose to create them?
Action Item
131
GETTING U
TO A BLUE
OCEAN

132. 132