Bridges.

One thing that needs to be said - be careful who you cross.  This goes for every person, every race, every profession. It's a pretty self explanatory thought - some people get it, some don't.

I will relate this to music being that's what i am a part of.  What I do know is that having a 'my shit don't stink' attitude doesn't get you far...especially in music.  Sure, it's fun for a while and the rock star persona comes with the territory.  Really, who doesn't want to act like a rock star! Anyone in the industry is often at the mercy of someone.  Promoters, booking agents, and everyone in between are always at the mercy of someone higher up.  Artists -  very often are at the mercy of just about everyone, and I mean everyone.

• Your fans are the reason you have a job, some of them may even know more people than you think - be nice to them.  It's not hard to give someone a bad reputation.
• Random people that you meet may not be fans, but may in fact have a black book full of connections and you don't know it - be nice to them.
• If you are in a band, it's likely that your team behind the scenes has created opportunities for you - be nice to them too.

You have no idea if the person you talk to knows everyone there is to know in radio.  Rub them the wrong way, and they can easily put road blocks in all sorts of directions.  You have no idea if the person next to you has ties to the biggest management or publishing company.  If they don't like you as a person, they can also make life harder for you.  It could be that the person next to you knows just about every and any venue owner.  If they don't like you, you might have a few less places to showcase your music. 

Sounds mean, I know!...but these things do in fact happen.  Personally, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to make anything harder for anyone, I generally have other things to worry about.  Have I though? Absolutely.  I also know that karma runs it's course without me having to do anything. 

It's a brutal competition sometimes - actually most of the time...no wait, actually 99% of the time.  Being nice isn't always going to happen.  But realize this - there are always people that can make you or break you. 

Everyone's shit stinks just the same.  Say please and thank you - it gets you further than you think.

TM