…is all you need, according to Kevin Kelley:

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce.

They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

The hard part:

The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love.

Author/marketer Seth Godwin calls 1000 fans “a breakthrough opportunity” for artists and songwriters.

Consider:

1. What would it take for you to acquire 1000 ‘true fans’?
2. What are you doing now to make that happen?

Christopher Hopper talks about collaboration and has five tips @ CatalystSpace on how to affect it:

1. Designate a point person
2. Develop consensus (not unanimity)
3. Compromise promotes ownership
4. Sharing canvases carte blanche
5. Open air policy

These strike me as healthy and achievable, but not easy.

How does your team collaborate?

Good advice here for seasonal choir rehearsals from Michael Smith (no relation) of Clearview Baptist in Franklin, TN.

He includes this ‘backbone of the worship choir rehearsal blueprint’:

• Begin with something familiar
• Put the hard work in the middle
• End with something familiar.

More here.

Thanks Mike!

Bill Gaither on what it takes to become a successful Christian artist:

I think he has to understand feet washing…a real follower of Christ gets down on his hands and knees and washes the other person’s feet…I think that’s the beginning…

Not all (young artists) understand that…kinda hard to understand that when the lights on the stage are shining pretty bright…

Jake Hess used to say that when the lights on the stage are shining brighter than the lights at home, you better go home…

He also has interesting comments on the sacred and the secular in songwriting and what are the most requested Gaither-penned songs.

The interviews starts at 3:53 into the podcast here (stay tuned for the quartet practice backstage at the National Quartet Convention at the end – it’s priceless).

(Photo cred:  Gaither.com)

Interesting snippet of helpful band discussion.

View on YouTube here.

More from Vitamin Z here.

(HT:  WorshipMatters)

Pastor Kevin DeYoung has a great post on Defending Musical Diversity in which he posits four ‘traditions’ of songs we should be singing:

1.  Psalms

2. Hymns

3. Contemporary songs

4. Non-anglo songs

The fourth catagory he admits to being ‘artifical,’ but his points should be considered:  There is great room for Biblical and artistic diversity in music for Christian worship.

Worth the read.

Midnight Friday (July 10) is the deadline for the National Worship Leadership Conference (NWLC) in Leawood (Kansas City).

Otherwise registration is done only as a walk-in at the door.

Michael W. Smith, Mac Powell (Third Day), David Crowder, Paul Baloche, Christy Nockels, Lenny LeBlanc, Leeland and others are among the songwriters, singers, worship leaders, and speakers.

I’ll be leading workshops on worship renewal and serving the poor through music.

Click here for details to register.

Hope you can join us July 20-23 at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood (Kansas City), Kansas.

Mike Hyatt has 8 things he’s learned about leadership from attending a Nashville Symphony Orchestra concert and observing the conductor.

Among his thoughts are:

Start with a great score. Conductors have a plan, starting with a score and a clear idea of how it should sound.  Only then do they attempt to recreate in real time their musical  ‘vision.’

Recruit the best talent. Great conductors attract great players; mediocre conductors attract mediocre players.  The best want to work for the best – like attracts like.

The conductor is purposely visible to be seen by everybody. He stands on a platform so that every member of the orchestra can see him.  This is the only way they all stay together, starting and stopping at the appropriate time.

More from Hyatt’s blog here.

(photo credit:  MikeHyatt.com)

Have you made plans to attend the National Worship Leader’s conference next month?

It’s happening July 20-23 at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas (Kansas City).

A host of known speakers and practioners will be on-hand, with 14 different tracks with over 70 different workshops such as:

Every night culminates in corporate worship led by some known practioners such as:

•  Michael W. Smith

•  David Crowder Band

•  Paul Baloche, Laura Story, Mac Powell (Third Day)

…and many more.

We will be there and participating as exhibitors and leading workshops on worship and serving the poor.

Let me know if you’re coming – I’ll buy you coffee!

John Maxwell has a very encouraging post here, especially if you’ve been shellacked by circumstances.

Sample:

Vincent Van Gogh failed as an art dealer, flunked his entrance exam to theology school, and was fired by the church after an ill-fated attempt at missionary work. In fact, during his life, he seldom experienced anything other than failure as an artist. Although a single painting by Van Gogh would fetch in excess of $100 million today, in his lifetime Van Gogh sold only one painting, four months prior to his death.

Before developing his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein encountered academic failure. One headmaster expelled Einstein from school and another teacher predicted that he would never amount to anything. Einstein even failed his entrance exam into college.

Prior to dazzling the world with his athletic skill, Michael Jordan was cut from his sophomore basketball team. Even though he captured six championships, during his professional career, Jordan missed over 12,000 shots, lost nearly 400 games, and failed to make more than 25 would-be game-winning baskets.

Failure didn’t stop Vincent Van Gogh from painting, Albert Einstein from theorizing, or Michael Jordan from playing basketball, but it has paralyzed countless leaders and prevented them from reaching their potential.

Maxwell’s seven principles for ‘failing forward’ are:

1. Reject rejection
2. Don’t point fingers
3. See failure as temporary
4. Set realistic expectations
5. Focus on strengths
6. Vary approach to achievement
7. Bounce back!

Read it here.