Does size really matter? Let's talk about it.

We’ve all sat around with friends and had the conversation. We’ve all heard it before, the same things.

“It wasn’t big enough to satisfy me : (“

“I really like it to be big … and it was smaller than I wanted.”

“How can I get a bigger one? I’m worried that mine isn’t satisfying people.”

“It wasn’t even close to full : (“

“Is this big enough? Like, what’s normal?!?!?!”

Yeah. It’s time to talk about size, and whether it matters! Crowd size, of course.

So, let’s do this.

Let me cut to the chase for once and not make you sit through my long-winded ramblings. Yeah, it is NOT irrelevant. It’s also not the only thing that matters.

It’s not irrelevant to me as a venue owner (okay, co-owner … hugs, my bestie Blue!). It costs a ton of money to run a venue, especially if you pay artists. Some artists play for tips only, others ask for a fee plus the tips they receive. Artist fees are far from inconsequential to a venue. If you charge a fee to venues, at a certain point that venue is going to start evaluating if you’re bringing in big enough crowds and revenue that comes CLOSE to covering your fee. We can do all we can do to promote your shows, but at the end of the day, after we’ve done what we can do, it comes down to whether you’re bringing in big enough crowds to justify your fees. Few venues really turn a profit, but the amount of money a venue can afford to lose is not infinite. So, either you earn your keep or you don’t. If you play for tips only, then venues do have a wider latitude on how much the size of the crowd you draw matters.

But nobody REALLY cares about venue owners! What about artists?!?!? Does it matter to artist? I know a few artists that truly have convinced me that they literally do not care how many people show up. However, most I know really do care, and for multiple reasons.

They find great satisfaction in people showing up and enjoying what they do. The high-quality artists you hear in SL have worked hard and sacrificed to get as good as they are. They’ve developed their voices. Many have mastered one or more instruments. It takes an amazing amount of work and sacrifices to get to that level. Of course it’s meaningful to have people show up and demonstrate that they value what these artists have accomplished. Also, for many, more people mean more tips, and/or the ability to charge venues bigger fees. Certainly, the money serves as a form of recognition for the talent and hard work that it takes to be a great musician. But a lot of SL musicians are looking to this to be a meaningful component of their income in RL.

But, how MUCH should size matter?

I really think each artist needs to answer that for themselves and they also need to ask themselves what they are willing to do to draw a crowd. In fact, I think examining what you are willing to do as an artist to draw a crowd informs you how much it matters to you.

Are you willing to simply set aside your own artistic principles to play what is going to maximize crowd size? There are plenty of performers that are essentially karaoke singers who succeed by paying attention to what a large segment of the SL population wants to here. It’s an option open to you if that is what you want.

However, does that mean the only path to success is “selling out” your artistic integrity?  I don’t think so. I really believe there are plenty of other things that can be done to increase crowd size WAY before one decides to just become a human jukebox. At the end of the day, you and your music are products. Are you doing everything you can do to curate that product?

• Have you talked to other artists and trusted fans and asked for constructive feedback on how you can be even better at your art?

• Have you looked at your set and really considered how varied and up to date your show is? Have you been playing the same hour of songs for a year, ten years, more?

• Have you been doing the same venues forever, or have you tried to expose your art to new and different people by playing at different venues and times?

• What about collaborating with other high-quality musicians?

• Are you still enjoying what you’re doing? Joy can be felt by your audience. If you’re not having fun, what can bring back that sense of enjoyment for you?

• Have you invested in things like promoting your Group, spending some time leveraging social media, or focusing on other possible marketing tools like that?

• Do you engage with the people who come to your shows? Do you make it a priority to make them feel welcome and valued?

As usual, I’ve said a bunch of stuff, but it’s all just my opinion based on what I’ve seen in Second Life. Tell me what you think in comments so we can all figure out how much size really matters : )