A while back, Seth Godin posted a blog that had this to say:

Is it interesting because it happened … or because it happened to you? … Should we read your press release or come to your gallery opening or take a sales meeting because it’s important, or because it’s important to you? Marketing is the art of seeing (and then creating) what might be interesting to more than our friends.

(Read the rest of the blog here)

This question might be a tough pill to swallow for musicians. We all go through school on the same basic course of study as our peers, we play in the same ensembles (or types of ensembles) as everyone else, and play the same pieces that have been performed since time immemorial. Then we get out of school and audition to be in the same groups that everyone else is auditioning for and continue to play the same way everyone who came before us has.

What makes our musical life more interesting than anyone else’s?

We don’t have to stop playing the pieces we all love, but we do need to stop being a part of the boring, the same, the status quo. Our moms, dads, and friends will keep coming to our concerts because they care about us and our endeavors. But the world at large generally doesn’t.

It’s time to look in the mirror (or listen to the playback) and ask ourselves why anyone should care—and then take steps to make sure they will.