I think it’s time to try a different tack with this Music Biz thing. 2011 was supposed to be the Year of Promotion, and looking back, I don’t see a lot of progress as a result. Continuing to do the Same Old Thing while expecting different results is the classic definition of insanity; I would rather do something different and hope (more sanely) for different results.

Some advice I gave Michael and Sedona when they were doing the first Sedona Fire album (just released, by the way, and I want a copy—it’ll be the first new record I’ve bought since 2008) was do short runs. Sell what you’ve got, and then do another record. If you’re dealing with a small fan base, supply it, and supply it frequently. I believe I will take my own advice.

So how does that affect the 2012 Worklist?

ALBUM, first. It means I put out another album in 2012. I have a big backlog of material; I have come out with an album’s worth of album-able stuff nearly every year since 2006. While the shortage of money is definitely an issue, I do have production costs down to a minimum level. It won’t cost that much. And I can ask the Fan Base which songs I should put on the album. Yes, I’ll keep working on the all-videos Southern Pigfish album, too. It’s got a ways to go.

GIGS. About half with the band, half solo, just as in 2011. The “closer in” focus doesn’t change what I do, here; it does get me playing out more. Every place I’ve played I should play again, and I will add as many new venues as I have old ones. What doors can people in the Fan Base get me in?

VIDEO. I learned a lot in 2011; in 2012, I can apply what I know and learn more. Every song I have should be turned into music video, and every video should be different. Do videos of some co-writes, too. Again, enlist people—as actors, as filmers, and as musicians. A live concert video of some of the performances at the 2012 Relay for Life, too.

PRODUCE SOMEBODY ELSE. That’s a new one. I know how to do it, and I can do a lot of the pieces myself and where I can’t, I know where to get them done at minimal cost. I’ve done it for myself; the next step is to do it for somebody (or somebodies) else. Who? Somebody who has a following and wants a bigger one, I think—and I do know a few of those; since I don’t have the marketing connections (yet), I have to consider any CD I produce primarily useful for promotional purposes—their promotional purposes, in this case.

INFRASTRUCTURE. I’m getting there—I might have a little PA system now, and I’ve got a computer that can burn DVDs and a good video camera. In 2012, I’ll do the Website (finally), get Skype on the home computer, learn how to do podcasts and streaming video.

THE WORLD TOUR. Still a ways away, but I’ll keep working on it. If I had the money—which I don’t, right now—I’d be on the horn (whatever form “the horn” takes) to the people I know in England, Sweden, et al., saying, “I’m coming—what can we set up?” I want to perform in Mongolia because no one I know has ever done so, and I’d like to meet those 61-plus people in Latvia who are reading the blog.

What’s left from 2011? Marketing? Household word? Staying in touch? Let’s put all that together and call it LINKS. All the people I know, and all the things I do and can do, are connected (and connectable) and can feed off each other. Couple that with the BIG FISH, SMALL POND mantra. Supply the Fan Base, rather than trying to expand it. Let it grow on its own.

And WRITING, of course. The previous standards still apply: I want on average one good song a month, and one good co-write a month; I’ll keep trying new genres (I need to try jazz this year), and expand the writing itself into other forms. What can I do besides plays? Is it time for that country-music opera?

Happy upcoming 2012, everybody. It’s supposed to be a short year, with the world scheduled to end on December 21. I’m sure there’s a song in it…

Joe