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Show your work (if you can) 👀
Damon Brown
February 07, 2024
Hi reader,
It what ways can you show your work?
Not showing off your work for ego. Rather, be able to position your work so it serves your community in the best ways.
And we often don’t know all the ways we can serve in the future.
Take Tracy Chapman. The singer/songwriter swept the Grammys three decades ago with her song “Fast Car”.
But this past Sunday, she was on the Grammys singing the same song. Now it was a duet with Luke Combs, the country singer who recently covered “Fast Car” and made it a hit for a whole new generation, even garnering Country Music Awards - something the original didn’t do.
But here’s what isn’t talked about: Tracy owns the masters, or the music equivalent of intellectual property, to her song. (I explain the details in 41 seconds here.)
This is rare.
There are awful stories about unique opportunities, business and otherwise, that creators had to say “No” to because they actually didn’t have the ownership to say, “Yes!”
Tracy could be on the stage with Luke because she was the one who could give clearance to the music being used in that form.
You don’t need to be a popular musician to relate.
As I reach mid-career, more and more of my early stories are disappearing. My career-defining essay that I did for an indie publication? It’s been offline for years. My feature for the bunny-logo magazine that inspired my first major book on technology? The website was suddenly redesigned and the story URL goes nowhere.
Luckily, I have a virtual file cabinet of nearly all my work. But, depending on the contract signed, I may not even have the rights to republish it elsewhere.
So yes, creating itself is noble. But being able to serve your audience, now and forever, is directly tied to having enough flexibility to meet them where they are.
Otherwise, you may not be able to show your work anyway 😤
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🙋🏾 I’m Damon! (http://www.damonbrown.net) I help side hustlers, solopreneurs & others like yourself bloom. As a bestselling author, 2x startup founder & 4x TEDTalker, I co-founded the popular connection app Cuddlr and led it to acquisition within a year while being a stay at home dad with his infant son.
🫱🏼🫲🏿 Today, my boutique coaching business Bring Your Worth supports hundreds through one-on-one virtual and in-person support, as well as behind-the-scenes services for TED, Heroic Public Speaking, and other impactful organizations. You can catch this free weekly newsletter as well as the 18,000-subscriber strong television show BringYourWorth.tv.
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