Trump Hangover

I sent this to the Gigmor team today.

I know we’re all still digesting what happened on Tuesday night. And I know we all fear what a Trump presidency means—for this country and for the world. Seeing someone as thoughtful and well-intentioned as Hillary lose to a narcissistic buffoon is really hard.

I think we’re in all agreement that Hillary was the far better candidate. (It’s great to have such unanimity. As we get bigger that won’t always be the case.) I share your grief and I know it’s not easy to stay focused on work. The implications of a Trump presidency keep washing over me in waves of fear.

Of course there have been so many post-mortems published already, it would take weeks to read them. I’m not going to presume to have any special insight when so many smart, well-informed people are weighing in. But it’s also impossible for me to stay silent about this election.

So at the risk of seeming absurdly parochial, I want to offer one key takeaway for us at Gigmor. Because at least that’s something we can control. It may surprise you, it may not be relevant in the long term but I can’t escape the similarities I’m seeing between Trump supporters and Gigmor members. Huh? WTF? It’s this: there are strong echoes between our customer support mails and what we hear from Trump supporters. The similarities are anger, resentment, suspicion, disillusionment. A sense of lost opportunities. The bitterness of broken dreams.

Obviously we’re trying to help musicians by connecting them with gigs and opportunities. And we can’t solve all their problems. But this election is a reminder of who is on the “other side of the screen,” as one tech entrepreneur put it.

Musicians are talented and creative. They put an enormous amount of work into getting good at their craft. They make a giant contribution to society. They’re trying to make a living doing what they love and mastering an art form that is universally loved. They deserve to be treated with respect—yes, even when they’re not civil or making bad decisions. Their lives aren’t easy—almost universally. This election is a reminder that, like so many others in this country, they feel left behind, deserted by the “establishment,” which in this case is the music industry in its various incarnations: labels, managers, bar owners, our competitors in music tech, etc.

We are trying to make a difference by making it easier than ever to find and book musicians and bands so there’s more music than ever in this crazy, fast-changing world. God knows, we’re all going to need it!