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Bad Songs Don’t Bond, Then They Don’t Buy

Haven’t you wondered how is it that some artists can have a fantastic voice, look great, and never really get to the top?

Then there are artists that sing pretty good, look okay, and yet have long careers. (Come on, haven’t you thought at one time or another, “hey, I can sing better than them”?) It seems it’s a conundrum.

It’s not. It’s a very simple concept that the successful artist truly understand. If you bond with the audience or listener, they will buy. They will buy you, and anything you sell. If they don’t bond, they don’t buy.

How do the successful artists figure this out? You might say it’s their public relations person, manager, agent, A&R, or even accountant. Though the team helps in the process, in the end, the artist has to understand how to connect in that special way.

That’s why Tom Jackson is so valuable. He is the guru, in my opinion, of helping an artist bond with the audience. But, even Tom can’t get an artist to the top with a mediocre song.

In over thirty years, (that sounds ridiculous to me, but it’s true) I have never seen an artist who caught my attention singing an okay or bad song. But I have had many okay artists at least give me pause doing their very best singing a great song, because that song touched me.

You have to have both a great song and a great performance, and that “x thing.”

There are three points to this bonding:

  • The audience must feel connected (x thing).
  • The artist must be willing to sing other songwriter’s songs.
  • Your level of performance is propelled by the strength of the song.

You see this over and over on American Idol, America’s Got Talent and now X Factor. Even though you may be an artist, when you are watching those shows you become the judge. If you are not moved, you don’t remember them the next week. Right? You didn’t bond with them.

If you are interested in learning more about the bonding technique and these three key points, check out my three part series coming up in Backstage Pass!

Lynn Barrington

Lynn Bowden Barrington is a Contemporary Christian and Country music expert with 30+ years experience. Presently, she's on A&R staff at TAXI Music Services. She's been Director of Publishing for Light/Lexicon Music & Starsong Records; consultant for Word Records; Account Executive for Wells, Rich, Green; consultant for Business Affairs for MGM, Universal Music; and has taught hundreds of seminars on songwriting. Currently living in Nashville, Lynn continues relationships with many publishers, producers & artists, and has a best selling book with Simon & Schuster.

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Series - Bad Songs Don't Bond, Then They Don't Buy

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