Personal Branding doesn't have to feel slimy
Want tactical tips and juicy life-stories? Join here.
Hey,If you want people to love your business like a Grateful Dead fan, let me tell you a story...You might or might not know I also used to own a record and gift store. I co-owned it for 16 years, and if you do the math on my age (38), you'll realize most of my adult life was spent talking to collectors about their favorite music, many days a week, when I wasn't helping speakers, businesses, and entrepreneurs build their brands. One of the nerdiest obsessions I developed during that period was studying how bands become insatiably collectible, how they build cult-like followings, loyalists. I thought, how can I dissect this and apply it to business? If you think of iconic bands and committed followers, and you're older than 30, you may think of the Grateful Dead. Like them, love them, hate them... Grateful Dead fans iconically follow the band around, concert after concert, self-identifying as Deadheads, and are wildly loyal. Every one of their shows, even with new iterations/members, is sold out. It's hard to find their vinyl records in any pre-owned record store because their fans keep them forever. The Deadheads who receive my emails are fist-pumping me, like "Damn right, we hold onto those records." I know. You'll see stickers that look like these colorful bears dancing on 1 out of 5 cars anywhere on the interstate, I swear. I mean, even in 2024, Dead & Company sold out 30+ shows of their "Dead Forever" residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, a venue with a capacity of nearly 18,000 seats. You get it. Do you know one of the reasons The Grateful Dead became larger than life in the 70's? It's actually really magical.In the late 1960s and 70s, bootlegging live recordings was a massive, industry-wide problem. Labels were suing distributors. Security was confiscating taping devices at venue doors and taking legal action. The response from artists and labels was pretty unified and loud at the time: “Stop the taping!” But the Grateful Dead paused. They looked at what was happening and went in the complete opposite direction. Of course, they did. Jerry Garcia's position across several public interviews was: If someone tapes a show and shares it, that's fine. If someone tapes it and sells it, that's a problem. By the mid-70s The Grateful Dead, not only allowed taping at their shows, but had created designated "taper sections" behind the soundboard where fans could set up their recording equipment and tape it effortlessly. By 1984 it was official band policy. Fans were absolutely encouraged to share the recordings with other fans but never to sell them. In addition, the Grateful Dead decided to change their setlist every show, improvising and creating an experience that could only be had LIVE, to increase the demand of the real-life thing. They went their own way and leaned all the way in while every other band did the opposite. It worked… insanely well. The tapes spread through their community as a shared internal experience. They built a roaring fan base that was dependent on the community and grew new community at scale. Fans who couldn't afford tickets heard the recordings and saved up to go. People who went once became people who went on every tour. The shared recordings didn't replace the experience of being there, of course not. But what the tapes did was create a demand to see the band live… By the late 80s and early 90s, Grateful Dead was consistently one of the highest-grossing touring acts in the U.S., even with few traditional radio hits.They built an empire on abundance and community in a time when their fans needed it most. Scarcity feels safe, and abundance feels scary. This is very real and very valid. And that's exactly why it works when you choose it, and why so many choose not to. The Dead made a choice that felt counterintuitive, against the grain, anti-norm, and paired it with a product worth showing up for, and their fans did the rest. You have something worth showing up for, too! I hope this inspires you as it has inspired me for so many years. Do you have a favorite music story like this? Tell me! I love nerding out about music. By the way, If you would like to join a highly-intentional, small, and growth-minded business mastermind, I have a few open spots starting at the very end of July in two different groups. We have very little turnover, so this is a great opportunity to head into FALL with a refreshed perspective on your business and life. Don't wait til January, get a head start. It will meet on Thursday afternoons/evenings. For more information, head over here.
---- A few sources if this story interests you and you want to know more about the Grateful Dead's interesting history! Marketing lessons from the grateful dead https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/321832/a-long-strange-trip-by-dennis-mcnally |
Personal Branding doesn't have to feel slimy
Want tactical tips and juicy life-stories? Join here.