Hi,

Before diving into today’s newsletter, I’d love your feedback on a quick poll to help me provide as much value as possible. Also, worth noting 10 industry open job roles at the bottom of the newsletter for those looking.

While this newsletter is mostly music focused, I’m curious if you’d also be interested in content that’s not necessarily music specific.

Okay now back to regularly scheduled programming.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the 80/20 rule and how it applies to almost everything in life, especially work and our careers.

It’s interesting though…the more I observe the entertainment and creator landscape, the more I see that idea being overlooked.

I thought it’d be valuable to dedicate a newsletter to it and why it’s worth thinking about.

This newsletter highlights:

• Why the 80/20 rule is so important

Let’s dive in ⬇️

Okay boom…so you may be wondering “what exactly is the 80/20 rule?”

The 80/20 rule is also known as Pareto’s Principle - it states that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of causes. Basically, the majority of a situation’s outcome or impact can result from a small percentage of actions that drive the bulk of those outcomes.

For example, the majority of a company’s profits may come from only a handful of customers. The profits are the 80% and the handful of customers are the 20%.

Another example is time management and prioritizing your to-do list. What are the most important tasks on any given day that will have the biggest impact on that day or generate the biggest result?

I find this theory is so often overlooked with artists, creators, and their teams and it can really be of value in certain situations.

Let’s go through a few examples:

1) Finding your content format

Let’s say you’re an artist or creator and are experimenting with different types of content.

As an artist you’re testing out various kinds of short form content to support your music:

• One format is you performing

• Another format is a behind the scenes look at making the song

• A third format interviews the people involved in making the song

Over the course of a few weeks or months, you produce that content and launch it on your social media with enough output to get a sense of which format performs the best compared to the others.

Abiding by the 80/20 rule in this situation would mean focusing on the format that is providing you the most return.

Is the interview footage outperforming the other formats in terms of shares, likes, and comments and you get the sense that is the format your audience cares about most?

The 80/20 rule would suggest putting the majority of your time into the thing that’s working best and doubling down.

What is the habit, action, format, or behavior that is going to provide the most amount of return for the work being done?

2) YouTube Creators

Let’s say you’re a YouTube creator and notice that videos following a specific theme and length on YouTube tend to over perform compared to others.

For example, you create content about books and noticed that your book breakdowns have longer watch time, more views, and more engagement than your other content.

The 80/20 rule would suggest doubling down on that and repeating what works over and over again.

3) Marketing

You’re thinking about a marketing approach for an artist, creator, (or maybe even yourself).

What strategy will provide the most return on your work?

For example, historically, which strategies have given you the most growth?

Are there particular outlets that when posting your music you see more noticeable growth than others?

Are there individual influencers that have higher views and engagement than others in your genre?

Following the 80/20 rule here suggests doubling down on what works and repeating it as much as you can.

3) Your career as a whole

Creative careers can be tricky because in many respects there is no blueprint - there’s no 1 size fits all approach that can work for every single person.

As a result, it’s easy to feel like you have to try a million different strategies or approaches and throw stuff at the wall.

While that is true on some level, it’s important to monitor what sticks and double down on that.

For example, let’s say you’re an artist and notice that certain markets consistently perform well for you.

You’re selling more concert tickets there than other cities, more people are buying merch in those areas, etc.

Instead of trying to conquer the entire country, double down on the 20% that’s accounting for the majority of success.

It seems like a simple idea (maybe even obvious - duh, Mike…why wouldn’t you?) but so many people overlook this! Instead of trying to be everything and do everything all at once, it’s really helpful to laser focus on what you’re best, what provides the most return, and double down on those.

What is the 80/20 in an album rollout? What is the thing, activation, or moment that you feel like could generate more attention or conversation than any of the other pieces?

As a creator, instead of overwhelming yourself feeling like you have to make money in numerous different verticals, what are the spaces that are already working you can double down on?

I’d love to know what you think your 80/20 is - feel free to reply to this email and let me know.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

_{Music industry job opportunities}

1) Music Partnerships Manager - TikTok

Salary: $83,600 - $192,533

Location: Los Angeles, CA 

Apply HERE

2) LN Concerts, Regional Marketing Coordinator - Live Nation

Salary: $20.80 - $26.00 Hourly

Location: New York, NY

Apply HERE

3) US Latin Music Programmer, Amazon Music US Latin Team - Amazon

Salary: $69,200 - $148,100

Location: Culver City, CA | Miami, FL

Apply HERE 

4) Music Intern - Electronic Arts

Salary: $19 - $29 Hourly

Location: Del Rey, CA

Apply HERE 

5) A&R Scout - RCA

Salary - $60,000 - $65,000

Location: Culver City, CA

Apply HERE

6) Hospitality and Events Coordinator - Warner Music Group

Salary: $37.00 to $33.33 Hourly

Location: New York, NY

Apply HERE

7) Curated College Associate - Live Nation

Salary: $20/hour

Location: New York, NY 

Apply HERE

8) Music Agency Internship - Universal Attractions Agency 

Salary: College Credit

Location: New York, NY | Los Angeles, CA

Apply HERE

9) A&R Latin - Epidemic Sound

Salary: $85,000 - $95,000

Location: New York, NY

Apply HERE

10) Marketing Manager - The Psychic Hotline 

Salary: $65,000 to $75,000

Location: Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia or North Carolina (Durham or Asheville) 

Apply HERE