Seth Godin’s blogs and podcasts have been a relatively frequent topic on this blog (and they’ll probably continue to be in the future), but his Akimbo podcast episode from October 10, 2018 really stuck with me.
Entitled “You’re It”, this episode has the overarching theme of how the internet has removed the big gatekeepers from almost every industry, Where previously one (or a few) monolithic groups decided what was going to be (or have a chance to be) popular, now just about anyone has the chance to pick themselves.
Seth covers lots of different industries where these gatekeepers were the only game in town: book writing and publishing, movie and TV shows, comedy troupes and classical music to name a few.
His couple of paragraphs on classical music and our current audition system for schools, scholarships, and jobs really hit home. If you’re a classical musician hell-bent on making a living by only winning a big job, you should listen.
You can listen in the podcast player of your choice, or you can listen right here:
Of course, the whole podcast is well worth a listen. If you’re desperate for a short and inelegant synopsis, my summary would be: If you’ve got something to say, then say it.
This can be starting a YouTube channel, starting your own blog or website business, writing a book and giving it away (or self-publishing), learning a new skill while volunteering at a non-profit, or lots of other things.
If you’re determined to just wait until someone says “Your turn”, you should know that not only is the math against you, but with the gatekeepers becoming less and less relevant, your chances of getting picked are shrinking by the day.
Don’t wait. Pick yourself.
