Mark Erelli – HuffPost 8.28.14

Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?

Mark Erelli: I guess I would say that if you meet someone who seems certain about where the music business is going and how to conduct your business, than you just want to smile and nod at and then walk away from them as soon as possible. Nobody has any fucking clue where this is all going. The old paradigm has fallen, has been out of commission for some time. It’s possible that it won’t ever be replaced by another ascendant model, but rather by endless variations on a theme, each tailored to fit a specific artist’s needs. This kind of a la carte diversity sounds great on the surface, but in reality, everyone is stressed out and busy and doesn’t necessarily have time to figure out how to connect in 100 different ways with as many different artists. All I can say is try to do great work, not good work, but truly great work, and keep an open mind. It’s going to be harder, and take longer, than you thought to succeed, and even if you do, it may not look anything like you thought it would. You have to be flexible enough to recognize that if it happens, and then run with it.