Reputations can rise or fall in the blink of an eye in today’s hyper-connected world.
Yet one of the best examples for classy (and profitable!) A-Lister behavior comes from last century. The Grateful Dead.
You heard me, The Grateful Dead. To your relief, or perhaps disappointment, I’m not a Deadhead. I’ve never attended one of their concerts. I’ve probably only listened to a handful of their songs.
You probably never saw them in concert either. Yet both of us know about The Grateful Dead. I respect the heck out of how they handled themselves after they became famous.
No matter how big, how widespread, how influential you become, that success (and the money it generates) can come toppling down. If you turn your back on those who made you, on the values that you built upon, you’ve just set the clock ticking for the beginning of the end.
Fear not! The example set by The Grateful Dead is easy to understand and emulate.
This post is part of the October Word Carnival. The topic is A Call to Arms for Decent Bloggers: What Carnies Want to Tell the A-Listers. This month’s topic is more exciting than the fire breather, fortune teller and strong man rolled into one!
In honor of Halloween, imagine each rule being read by the Count from Sesame Street.
Grateful Dead A-Lister Rule #1
Don’t take your base for granted.
Grateful Dead fans (a.k.a. Deadheads) made the band. I remember first learning about them while working as a waitress during my college years. One of the managers was a huge fan, and would recount his vacation time spent following the band on tour.
The Dead never advertised. They never needed to. Their fans would talk about The Dead with anyone who would hold still for 60 seconds.
Did I mention that The Grateful Dead could fill stadiums for their concerts?
Stadiums.
No advertising.
Before social media.
Before the internet as we know it today.
How did they do it? How did they create AND maintain that devotion? They never took their base for granted. They rewarded them.
Some Deadheads literally followed the band to every single tour stop. To cover expenses these fans starting creating tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-Shirts and selling them at concerts. Instead of complaining, asking for a cut or shutting them down, The Dead encouraged this behavior.
Yes, The Grateful Dead encouraged their fans to sell T-Shirts with their logo and didn’t take a cent of the proceeds. They realized that this hyper-dedicated group needed a way to support themselves. The band gave up a sizable chunk of money (think of it, people were living off these sales) simply to reward their most loyal fans.
Wow. That alone was enough for me to admire them.
But wait there’s more (hey when did we switch over into an infomercial?)…
Grateful Dead A-Lister Rule #2
Don’t abandon your values.
A little earlier I mentioned my former manager who was a Deadhead. When he discovered I had never heard a song by The Dead he whipped out a cassette and started playing their music for me. (Yes a cassette, don’t let that distract you). I noticed it was a homemade recording, and asked if it was bootleg.
If possible he became even more excited as he explained no it wasn’t bootleg. He (my manager) had made the recording from a live event. The Grateful Dead encouraged their audience to make recordings and share them with others. This policy helped fuel their popularity. Think about it – my manager could share a recording of his actual experience with anyone. It made it personal (again this was back before the internet was even a thing).
Once they became famous, and had established a large following, the band could have started to curtail those recordings. Or at least tell people not to make copies for others. They didn’t. They knew that allowing their fans to freely record and share recordings was part of their foundation. It was a core value, one they never abandoned.
As tempting as the additional profits may be (or as big as your ego may get), NEVER turn your back on your core values. Your bottom line will surely suffer.
Grateful Dead A-Lister Rule #3
Have fun. Share the fun.
I admit I was intrigued by the picture my manager painted of the experience to be had at a Grateful Dead concert. It sounded fun. They sounded fun.
You started your business for a reason. Don’t forget it.
Your clients are people, and people like to enjoy themselves. Wouldn’t you rather do business with someone who can make you laugh over a dour stick in the mud? Me too!
Final Thoughts
Do you know that there are even more business lessons you can learn from The Grateful Dead? Check out my book, “How to be a Finance Rock Star: The Small Business Owner’s Ticket to Multi-Platinum Profits
P.S. The irony of posting this on Halloween is NOT lost on me.
My 18th and 19th years were spent as a sometime Deadhead. Yes, with all the subtext that entails. I attended probably 8 or 9 shows in different parts of California and remember lamenting I’d been born too late to really enjoy the revolutionary 60s.
One of the things that I always admired about The Dead was their generosity. Yes, in ways you’ve already pointed out, but also during the shows themselves. They played loooong shows. When every other band was doing a 1 hour set, they’d do 3 hours. Sometimes more. The drum solos covered multiple time zones. And all of the music was played with pure joy. And received the same way.
When we can give 3x as much as others do — joyfully — we’ll be more than halfway to rockstar status.
I really do wish I had made the point to see at least one show. It sounds like quite an experience.
Yes it was clear to me from my former manager, as well as other deadheads I’ve met, that they really cared about their fans.
Totally fun post, Nicole, and a FAB analogy!!
Seems to me The Grateful Dead didn’t stick their hands out to have their palms lined with greenbacks …
They stuck them out to shake hands with their fans — to support them and show how much they appreciated their loyalty.
What a concept!
Greed was not the creed of The Grateful Dead.
Thanks Melanie. I’m going to borrow that final slogan “Greed was not the creed of The Grateful Dead” Love it.
Borrow away, Nicole! 🙂
And, hey, thanks for the invitation to follow you on Pinterest.
You’d have been more likely to catch me at a Guns N’ Roses or Alice Cooper concert, but I TOTALLY heart the Dead just for this very behavior. They *got* it – without question. I’d like to see more of those very virtues on the web, too!
Well Annie I was more of a Nirvana fan myself. But that first introduction to The Dead has never left me. Clearly I was impressed.
I’m not a Deadhead, but I have new respect for the way they handle things after reading this post, Nicole. Good lessons for any A-listers who have gone to the dark side here.
The Dark Side – he he. Now I’m imagining Darth Vader at a Grateful Dead concert.
Always loved the dead for these very reasons. Share the fun! Nicole, you do that in spades!
Thanks Clare.
The fact that you talk about values and cassettes in Rule #2 make it my favourite!!!
Not having been a Deadhead (can I borrow that cassette?) I’m delighted to find out they walked the talk in such an inspiring way. Thing is, they remembered their humanity in the fame, and took care of the folks who helped them succeed. Something sorely lacking in today’s A-Listers!
I remember when CDs really started getting big, I wondered why would I give up my cassettes? Too funny now as I don’t think I even own any cassettes any more.
fun comparison with Dead heads!! I knew of a dead head who turned all around the states to see them too.. on two different tours! i wondered how she could afford it and didn’t know die hard fans would actually make a living selling their own DIY merch.. wonder if that’s how she did it! I know nothing about the Grateful Dead and their cult following but loved learning about it here.
It’s definitely possible that’s how she paid for it. Others made jewelry and according to my now infamous former manager, there were even people who would make big pots of spaghetti and sell dinners… Maybe Tea will chime back in as she actually went to a concert.
Awesome post Nicole! I am wayyy too young to have been a Deadhead or even really know any Deadheads (though, fun fact, I DID once meet a dude a few years older than me who was born at a Grateful Dead concert) but these are really interesting observations & I find it also cool to note how easily they transfer into online – for example, the parallel with the bootleg cassettes & MP3 sharing. It’d be good brainstorming fodder to think about how we can transfer that into an online, service-based business.
Wow I can’t even imagine what growing up in that guys home was like. Born at a Grateful Dead concert. There’s no way I would have even done a home birth much less at a CONCERT!
Abso-frigin-lutely. For a more *ahem* “current” example featuring social media, you can also take a look at Straight-No-Chaser.
They actively encourage people to make recordings, to talk about their favorite bits, to share and take pictures, to tag themselves in photos taken from the stage… etc.
Straight-No-Chaser reminded me very much of how business should be and why I enthusiastically support creative commons licensing. Copyright is BS. Let your fans use your work however they like – let them remix it, let them share that remix, it always comes back to the base again anyway.
Great examples, great message – rock on.
Nick are you trying to say I’m old? LOL… I will definitely take a look at Straight-No-Chaser. Just the name alone is intriguing.
Not sure I’m on board with dumping copyright altogether, especially if the copying is done against the wishes of those who created it. Depends on how and why. For The Dead, they made their money from concerts, not selling recordings, so they were able to make a profit and let copyright take a leap.
I’m thinking The Grateful Dead were savvier marketers than they let on.
There was no social media. But they created their own social network of supporters. They let fans sell t-shirts, and probably gained more exposure that way than by handling all sales internally.
That leads to filling stadiums (where the real money is at!)
Was that the intent? Probably not. Turned out to be a pretty brilliant marketing move if you ask me :).
Eugene I’ve wondered too if some of the effects were intentional regarding marketing. But then you have to remember they started in the 60’s, and that attitude was pretty common in their generation.
Over time, as they became successful I’m guessing it became more intentional. That’s not to say they didn’t keep their values, just that they found a way to keep their values and profit.
I loved this, Nicole! For starters I had no idea about all this stuff about the Grateful Dead. I probably knew the fans more than I ever knew the band because you’re right, they’re really die-hards. It’s awesome to hear this type of thing and now I’ll have to be a fan even if I never listen to their music 🙂
I love the way you put this into context for the rest of us. Everything you said was so true and… um… dead on! Wish everyone did business like this. I especially like the part about having fun. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that in the midst of trying to make money but no matter how much money you make (or don’t!) you’ve got to enjoy the ride.
Dead on… ha ha. Good one Carol Lynn.
Since having fun (and making others laugh) is part of my business mission, I’m always looking for ways to keep that spark. Even so, it can be easy to forget in the midst of the daily grind.
This whole post and the ideas you’ve talked about here are just fascinating to me. I’ll admit, I wasn’t a Deadhead, don’t think I knew any Deadheads, and can’t honestly confirm if I’ve heard any of their music , but your description of how they built their following is awesome and truly inspiring. I knew their fans were passionate about their music, but as for the rest, I had no idea. I’m going to have to think about this for a long while and figure out how to apply it to my plans for a career of fiction writing, because there are some _very_ good ideas here. Thank you!
Rock on Nicole! I have never been a Deadhead but the energy and devotion of their fans makes your points so clear!
I think with the Dead they were passionate about what they were doing and genuinely wanted their music (and experience) shared with people over making themselves super stars. That makes a difference.