Longing for the day ...

The most important ingredient for success

One of the most compelling, thoughtful and thought-provoking panellists at Big Sound 2008 was John Watson of John Watson Management. He's the guy who signed Silverchair, among others. John was the most aware and articulate person I've ever seen at one of these industry things. He had a clear theory to back up his view of what was happening in the industry, and articulated it well.

But one of his best moments (and there are more following) came when he was pontificating with the other "big players" in the Australian music industry about what has changed and what has not in the new environment. They were reflecting on what it takes to succeed when he paused for a minute and then said:

"The only thing we know for sure is that if you are doing something really good then people will gravitate towards it."

Brilliant! Thanks, John. Damn good advice, that! In fact, Michael Chugg had brought this realisation to the fore in an earlier panel, where he said:

"I find the best marketing tool is to make a great record."

As Wayne Bennett says about football: concentrate on doing the best you can at every opportunity and the rewards will follow ...