It’s a disservice to get all your competition news from the NFL. Sport is not life itself, as you are surely aware, with its competition committees and scheduling gurus to gin up excitement. The music world has brainpower to be admired.
Take the news about the spat between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. Apparently, the “I don’t like you” caravan pulled up to recent Ja Rule concert and torpedoed the star’s enthusiasm. Dig deeper and you find two astute businessmen with a long-standing beef. The story goes that Fiddy bought up 200 front row seats at a Ja Rule show – leaving them empty – to emphasize two points: Not a fan and you’re selling front row for cheap.
Please – and, I mean this – don’t shot the messenger.
I get it. A few years ago I got a call from a meeting planner about a date in Atlanta. How much, she asked. I should have told her five figures – what I was worth at the time – but, I told her what she wanted to hear. Learned my lesson. No stomping by championship rapper required.
You don’t get to see a master class in marketing like the one that we’ve been invited into by two giants.
It’s not the middle school talent show. Fiddy and Ja are playing for big bucks. It’s a teachable moment, sure. There are some touring bands out there that are trying to span both worlds – make their money with the $75 ticket but hold a few $25 tickets for walk-ups but, yeah, something about knowing that you’re covered before you walk into the arena.
The overall point is well taken: value builds value.