That’s right! There’s a lot you could learn from an underwear snatching little gnome. Well, let me clarify…there’s a lot you can learn from a cartoon about an underwear snatching little gnome. If you’re an occasional viewer of the Comedy Central show, South Park, you may be familiar with what I’m talking about.

Season 2 – Episode 17, entitled “Gnomes”, had our young, foul-mouthed, heathens pursuing a gang of gnomes who had a very detailed business plan on how to make enormous profits from collecting underwear. The business plan (as you can view below) is this: Phase 1- Collect Underpants….Phase 3 – Profit.

Simple yet effective, right?

I see this plan often. Almost every client I meet with comes in with this exact same plan actually. Phase 1– Make the hottest new songs…..Phase 3 – Be famous.

Even when they think they’ve created a Phase 2, it follows the same formula. Phase 1 – Post my music on the web…Phase 3 – Have 20,000 downloads. Or Phase 1 – Giveaway my music for free….Phase 3 – Be famous. Phase 1 – Make a bunch of mixtapes….Phase 3 – Get a deal.

No matter what you put together for Phase 1 and 3, the result’s ALWAYS the same. Failure. Why? Because Phase 1 and 3 are relatively easy to develop. Phase 2 is where you have to fuse the artist with the entrepreneur. Phase 2 is what is going to set you apart from every other band on Facebook and YouTube, posting their new event on my wall 5 times a day, hoping that bombarding me with their name/upcoming show will convert me.

I am one of those people who think that to be an artist right now is actually a good thing. Even though there seems to be more competition than ever and despite the bad economy. I believe (and have personally witnessed over, and over again the past few years) that if an artist takes that creativity they are born with, and apply it to the business of music, as well as the music itself, than a living can be made (check out my article on all the money artists ignore, here).

Phase 2 doesn’t have to be a permanent question mark on your board of success. Just spend a little time developing the right strategies, thinking about your fans and their likes/interests, and you will finally make it to your Phase 3!