Persistence

"Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently pushing what's not working." - Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, the first major indie music distribution company

Tom Petty explains why he got more famous than all the other Florida bands who he played with at the time: "all the other ones just quit."

So persistence pays off. But sometimes, it doesn't. Derek explains that sometimes they're just not into your music:

In a way, maybe you should do some kind of electronic record or just wear purple suits. Just try something different instead of doing the same thing without changing it.

I feel like CD Baby's success is like a one-hit wonder. It's not that a hit song is written by a better writer, it's just that for whatever reason, people wanted to hear "Who Let The Dogs Out" at that moment.

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