The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is one of the more popular books in the self-development space and uses historical references to illustrate modern-day ways of thinking and mindset.

While I don’t agree with everything in the book, I did think it was dope how some of the concepts apply to music and creators in addition to life and business.

This newsletter highlights:

• 5 ideas from the 48 Laws of Power and how they relate to music

Let’s dive in ⬇️ 

Here are 5 ideas that stuck out to me and how they apply to music and creative fields:

Law #5 - Guard Your Reputation

The 48 Laws of Power stresses the importance of creating and maintaining a favorable reputation, especially as it relates to warfare and battle. How the enemy perceives you (for ex: having a reputation for being a skilled warrior or general) can intimidate potential enemies and work to one’s advantage. The book argues that having a high reputation is an important part of the arsenal in amassing and maintaining power.

The sentiment can also hold true in business whether you’re a musician, executive, creator, or another role. Reputation is everything - it’s important to do good business, treat others the way you want to be treated, do what’s right, and set a favorable precedent for how you want your name/ brand to be perceived in your field.

Law #6 - Court Attention

PT Barnum, who founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus, was one of the most celebrated showmen of his time and as explained in the book, mastered the art of creating attention and interest. He was known for elaborate hoaxes and stunts to attract visitors to his circus, including planting fake stories in newspapers as well as public spectacles.

Everyone is fighting for attention nowadays - we’re all aware of how much oversaturation exists (music, podcasts, social media, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, sports, etc) - the list of things vying for people’s attention is endless. It’s important to find ways to “cut through the noise” if you’re trying to capture people’s attention.

When an artist is gearing up to release new music and thinking of marketing ideas, they’re essentially trying to figure out ways to court attention.

When a content creator is thinking about ideas for their YouTube channel or social media, in many ways, they are thinking about what will catch attention, drive interest, and create intrigue.

There is a huge caveat here though - in no way am I suggesting to be inauthentic, ingenuine, or do something that doesn’t feel right just to capture people’s attention.

It’s important to always stay true to your values, morals, and the art you’re creating - however when thinking about how to market those projects, it’s important to think about what will capture people’s attention and cut through the noise.

Law #18 - Isolation is Dangerous

Law #18 states that isolation is dangerous as it relates to one’s safety and the avoidance of danger. For example, a king or queen isolating themselves in a fortress away from everyone becomes an easier target (as well as cut off from the world and what’s happening) than if they were surrounded by people and protection.

The same concept can be applied to those looking to amass an audience through creating, whether it be music, content, writing, or more. With how fast media and content are consumed nowadays, it’s important to be top of mind to maintain relevance. Slipping into isolation and taking a step back from output (releasing music, content, writing, etc) can make it more challenging to remain top of mind.

To avoid confusion, this comparison does NOT suggest that people aren’t entitled to or shouldn’t take breaks - it’s important to recharge, take breaks, and create in a way that feels healthy without leading to burnout. It all depends on what you’re looking to accomplish. When it does come time to release or publish the art that you’re proud of making and created in a healty way, it’s important to think about consistency.

Law #23 - Concentrate Your Efforts

The book states that concentrating your efforts is important in warfare, business, and life. In war, it’s important to concentrate your efforts on specific initiatives and campaigns as opposed to spreading them out in a scattered way and potentially diluting their power and effectiveness.

It’s also important to concentrate your efforts as an artist, creator, marketer, etc. What are you best at? What are the few things you can focus on and repeatedly do over and over again for maximum impact?

It’s easy to jump from one thing to the next in the hopes of increasing your chances of success and feel like you’re not putting your eggs in 1 basket - making different types of content for social, trying 100 different marketing tactics, building your brand as a musician, etc - however, concentrating your efforts can actually make that execution + impact more powerful.

For example, instead of trying to come up with 10 different types of social media content series as a creator (that will pull your time, energy, and creative resources in multiple different directions), try focusing on just a few, executing at a high level, and then potentially considering more.

Law #29 - Build a Cult-Like Following

The 48 laws of Power explains the theory behind how kings, queens, and others would build followings to increase their power. Some of those principles apply to artists and creators in today’s world of building an audience.

For example:

Step #1 - Keep it Vague, Keep it Simple

The first step is keeping it simple and easy to digest when communicating your message to others early on. In order to build a following, the book states you must first attract their attention and keep them engaged. Anything that feels overly complex or complicated will be more work to understand and potentially less enticing for someone to want to engage with.

Step #2 Emphasize the Visual

This step tries to circumvent the boredom and skepticism the potential audience feels early on. The book states it’s important to dazzle your audience in an effort to captivate them - using visually interesting tactics that make people intrigued and excited.

It’s a little similiar to Law #6 (Court Attention). When trying to cut through the noise and build an audience, it’s important to give them something dynamic and different than what’s out there. If you’re a content creator, what is dynamic or exciting about your content that separates it from other creators? What separates your brand as an artist from everyone else?

This concept is why some artists and entertainers pull stunts to gain social media and press coverage.

Step #3 - Borrow Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the Group

*This section is not intended to discuss any particular religion or the specific ideaologies within them. It simply states that most organized religion share their own set of beliefs, values, rituals, and norms that its followers believe in.

The same can be applied to building a following - many audiences and communities (for musicians, creators, etc) have a shared belief or vision that in many cases is held by the person building the following. That shared belief helps strengthen the bond of the members of that community.

Note - I don’t align with every single law proposed by the book. I just thought it was interesting how some of them relate to the strategy and mindset around creative endeavors and might be interesting to think about.

Hopefully some of these can be of value on your journey.

Thanks for reading, until next time.