What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

A cozy place to hang out and discuss all things music.

Moderators: admin, mdc, TAXIstaff

User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 878
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 7:42 am
Location: Calabasas, CA
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by admin » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:33 pm

I think you should always do what you do well. 80/20 doesn't tell you to NOT do that. What it tells you is to notice what is working best for you, and spend more time/effort doing that which produces the best result. Why spend 80% of your time and effort doing something that doesn't give you the result you're looking for.

Let's not over think the Pareto Principle. At no point did he suggest doing something you don't like doing, or something you're not good at. I think the point is pretty simple. If genre A produces a big chunk of your income, then you might want to do more of it. Of course, that's assuming you want to earn your income (or MORE income) making music.

I don't think the Principle says you should follow trends or do what you hate. My interpretation of it is to just take note of what is working best for you, and do more of that. I also don't think you need to limit yourself to just one genre. It could be that 4 genres are doing well for you.

And the concept isn't ONLY about genres! Read this book, then weigh in.

http://www.amazon.com/The-80-20-Princip ... 0385491743

Leaving genres out of it for the moment, doesn't it make sense to feed more music to publishers that get you the most placements? Why would you want to equally spread your music around to pubs that don't get the best result?

And if you write songs, and you've noticed that songs with optimistic lyrics get many more placements, would you continue to write darker songs that don't, or wouldn't you trend toward the positive? It doesn't mean you have to STOP writing darker material. It only means that you could take note and concentrate your efforts on the optimistic stuff. If you only ENJOY doing darker stuff, then try to find what makes some of your darker stuff more desirable than the others.

I read this book in 2000, and have seen hundreds of little examples of it working over the years since reading it:

http://www.amazon.com/The-80-20-Princip ... 0385491743

I clearly remember Matt Hirt once telling me that the music that seemed to do best for him was niche oriented stuff like Latin or Asian. He didn't chase trends, he just identified trends that worked for him and concentrated his efforts there.

You can obviously use what I put out there on TAXI TV or not, but please don't read stuff into it. I read the book 14 years ago, and have noticed that many of our members who have found success shows signs of the 80/20 rule working for them, whether they realized they were using it or not. Glad the show is at least making viewers think about this stuff.

One last analogy: If you're a track star, and you win more marathons than sprints, would you enter more marathons or sprints if your goal was to win? If you're Forrest Gump and you run just because you can, then it really doesn't matter which you choose. And if your goal is to challenge yourself, then maybe you'd choose to run sprints any way.

Michael
Last edited by admin on Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: typo

User avatar
funsongs
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 7162
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:18 am
Gender: Male
Location: So Cal
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by funsongs » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:46 pm

my 2 cents, because some replied to it this way:
they tried doing material (per Taxi lisitings) that wasn't their norm... and discovered, even with happy surprise, that they were good at something they would not have even otherwise considered.
And, their new discovery proved to also be profitable. Funny what a little experimenting, and success, can do.
How cool is that? 8-)
Cheers.
Peter
Peter Rahill - aka "funsongs"
NOW, back on YouTube (2022)
https://www.youtube.com/@peterrahill9263/featured
https://soundcloud.com/funsongs-1
https://peterrahill.bandcamp.com/

“The future aint what it use to be.” - Yogi Berra

User avatar
HectorRContreras
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1407
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:38 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Desert Hot Springs CALIFORNIA
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by HectorRContreras » Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:02 pm

Oh thank you dear Michael, ah you have a way with thoughts and words, and ... common sense, and functionality.

I shall never forget you. You are very special. No doubt your Grand Father is very proud of you. :)

Having said that, when our minds are going a wee bit wild, it is interesting. It fuels the subject. It makes us ponder. We are good too, dear Michael ;)

User avatar
TheElement
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:26 am
Gender: Male
Location: Bahamas
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by TheElement » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:52 pm

Great Taxi Tv again this week. the 20/80 rule is basic business sense. Over the last 5 years in business I have been adjusting my pool business plan so I work less and make more. but once you work less and make more you can then work more. if that makes any sense. what I used to make in one month I now make in 1 hr.

I can't really comment on what 20% of my music makes 80% yet as I am new and don't even have 1 year yet and no placements. But the 20/80 rule makes good business sense. What also makes sense is enjoying what you are doing as that will keep you going longer and as this music business is a long road to success you might as well enjoy the ride. So I think keeping it fun is very important as well. Its not always about money.

As for plug ins and vst's. I've narrowed my vst's down to just 2 that stimulate the most creativity, gel well together and sound great overall in the mix. I think this is a good idea. as for plugins I just use mostly stock. so keeping to just a couple decent vst's you can learn the sounds inside and out so that you can get better productions out quicker. at least thats my thinking..is that practicing 20/80 rule for vst's and plugins? :)
Hollywood Music In Media Award Nominated Record Producer from The BahamasFacebook | Soundcloud

User avatar
Russell Landwehr
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 3476
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:59 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Midwestern Ohio
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by Russell Landwehr » Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:08 am

I think that when you use the 80/20 to find what makes up the 20 that got you 80... then when you focus on that 20... it becomes the new 80/20 but the return is greater... perhaps the new 80 returns the same amount that the previous 20 got you... which means that the new 20 gets you... um... 400% more than the previous 20 got you? THAT is driving a serious wedge in the income stream.

Russell
Multi-Genre Composer and Producer of TV and Film music Providing Easy to Use Cues for Every Scene

http://www.sensawehr.com
https://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home. ... l_Landwehr
http://soundcloud.com/russell-landwehr

User avatar
HectorRContreras
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1407
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:38 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Desert Hot Springs CALIFORNIA
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by HectorRContreras » Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:24 am

Russell Landwehr wrote:I think that when you use the 80/20 to find what makes up the 20 that got you 80... then when you focus on that 20... it becomes the new 80/20 but the return is greater... perhaps the new 80 returns the same amount that the previous 20 got you... which means that the new 20 gets you... um... 400% more than the previous 20 got you? THAT is driving a serious wedge in the income stream.

Russell
And that could make a very popular Stand Up Comedian Sketch ... !

Just read the words aloud dear Russell, and next imagine Robin WILLIAMS performing a "80/20" Show, ... oh my God I can imagine it so well, ... and I am laughing so much, ... just as when Robin was still among us. :( :cry:

Robin WILIIAMS.jpg
Robin WILIIAMS.jpg (24.08 KiB) Viewed 1211 times

JamesCarvalho
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 6:59 pm
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by JamesCarvalho » Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:26 pm

when i think about 80/20 .. i often think about hamburg meat for a mushroom swiss grill to perfection .. although i think about 90/10 for ground beef..


i need to comment more to get my fader to go to ... serious musician. :)
Freelance Composer, Singer/Songwriter, Artist

User avatar
funsongs
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 7162
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:18 am
Gender: Male
Location: So Cal
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by funsongs » Thu Aug 21, 2014 12:29 pm

jimc wrote: i need to comment more to get my fader to go to ... serious musician. :)
so...?? get busy!! :? :shock: :lol:
you're on the celebrity list now; no excuses. 8-)
Peter Rahill - aka "funsongs"
NOW, back on YouTube (2022)
https://www.youtube.com/@peterrahill9263/featured
https://soundcloud.com/funsongs-1
https://peterrahill.bandcamp.com/

“The future aint what it use to be.” - Yogi Berra

Len911
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 5351
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:13 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Peculiar, MO
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by Len911 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 1:32 pm

There's an old song, "Do what you do do well boy, do what you do do well"....
That's a pretty simple and clear message.
I tend to over analyze, or maybe work the principle in context, in this case business, and then see if there are any parallels to other things.

In the business sense, perhaps the reason for many business failures is not simply "unable to compete", that there is a possibility that the 80/20 rule was applied. :shock: Bookstores that only sell what's on the NY Times best seller list, record stores that only sell the Billboard top 100... the same selection that large discount department stores sell, thus the "unable to compete" scenario. Who sells the non-bestsellers,lol, if all the discount lumber yards only sell #2 lumber where does all the #1 lumber go? If all the grocery stores sell only USDA choice beef, where does the prime beef go? Or do they only raise #2 trees and scrub cattle? Warp the lumber and scare the cows, we need more of the lesser grade.
https://soundcloud.com/huck-sawyer-finn
Not an expert on contemporary music

User avatar
HectorRContreras
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1407
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:38 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Desert Hot Springs CALIFORNIA
Contact:

Re: What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

Post by HectorRContreras » Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:55 pm

Dear Len,

I remember, just about in the Center of Paris, we used to have what we called "Les Libraries Saint Michel".
A "Librarie" in French means a Book Store.

Ah they were not selling the latest Literally trends, those Libraries, or not exclusively so, far from it.

The word "Libraries" is in plural, because there were about 5 to 6 Shops, as they extended along the years. And each Shops had many Floors, to the point that it was nearly exhausting to pay a visit.

Exhausting because so exciting to discover there about everything that may be called a Book.
From the tiniest to the largest, from the oldest to the newest, from the rarest and expensive to the most common, and this in zillions of Genres and Subjects.
Needless to say that these Libraries were very renowned.
They were doing exchanges for School/Scholar Books as well.
http://www.gibertjeune.fr/page/new/librairies.php

Let us dream : what about a large "Library" like that in some Capital City of the World, or in several Capital Cities of the World, where Serious Musicians and Music Lovers would be able to find anything and everything to their Heart content.
And where Musicians could contribute to the Store with their Work and Compositions. In another word, simply sell them.
This could be done through virtual means, and or through real means.
A bit similar to the Virtual Books that we can find on line : you can have a real Book edited and delivered to your door, if you liked what you saw on line. It is really good for Writers and Illustrators.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests