[blankenship]

The whole interview is great, but the last few paragraphs on advice to young musicians are brilliantly helpful.

“Be voracious when it comes to uncovering the secrets of the music business and how people outside the music business behave as entrepreneurs.”

And I wish more of my fine art friends would embrace this mentality (primarily so they can keep making art):

“[Art and business] seem diametrically opposed, but I don't think you can survive being just an artist or just a businessperson. If you're only business, you will lack the flair that attracts an audience. If you're only flair, you'll be taken advantage of.”

[ajtaylor]

The last sentence was the kicker for me:

"You have to be both. Then you can surround yourself with smart people, secure in the knowledge you can control your own art and your own career--because if you don't, someone else definitely will."

I'm not much of an entrepreneur these days, but I know that the best way to succeed in life is to control your own destiny.

[pohl]

It's especially important if you're in a small artistic niche like instrumental rock that only connects with mainstream interest on very rare occasions, like Satch's Summer Song or Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover. Steve Morse handled this by becoming a commercial pilot, which gave him the latitude to focus on composing music that he himself found interesting, rather than trying to tap into what the market wanted.