Episode 6: Created vs. Creative Content

Lessons on Creating Content from Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie was among the favorite artists of my early music-listening years before I got more into rock & roll. I was excited to see Richie, who had already been inducted as a Commodore, get his solo induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

His speech was one of the highlights of the 4-hour event for me because the message got to the heart of what I'm trying to communicate through the Rock & Roll Content Show.

Podcast Episode Details

Listen to the podcast to find out: 

1. What it means to be a “creative” artist vs. a “created” artist, in the mind of Lionel Richie
2. How we might start to apply that lesson to content creation

Richie’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Here's Lionel Richie in his own words from that night:

I'm celebrating tonight, probably one of the funniest...jokes in my life, because all the songs that I wrote and recorded...were told to be by so many people: These are the songs that will destroy your career.

What in the hell are you thinking about? For example, I had a group of people come to me and say, Lionel, this is funk. What are you doing with Three Times a Lady, a waltz? What are you doing? And it went on to do great things. And then they said, 'can you give us another one of those [like] Three Times a Lady?'

And I gave him Sail On.

And then they said, can you give us another one of those [like] Sail On?

And that's when I realized the business - the true business - was into copying - not being original. So that's when I realized there are two types of artists:

Creative artists...and created artists.

And from that point, I decided I would be in the creative artists category. So when someone said to me, Oh, my God. I wouldn't do that song about what you. That's the exact song I'm putting out. I'm going in the opposite direction.

Later in the speech, Richie continued:

I'm standing on this stage because I want you to understand how important it is to let the creative flow. If you get an idea, the last thing you want to do is open your mouth and say something stupid like 'I wouldn't do that if I were you' - especially if you're talking to a creative. artist.

What Content Creation Path Are You On?

Let's dive into Richie's words a little bit and connect them to whatever kind of content we might be making, whoever we might be making it for. Created vs. Creative. What category does your content currently fall in? It's something for all of us that consider ourselves creators of content to think about as we approach the new year.

Content creators can get ahead by taking the "created" path - the path that someone else already cleared and succeeded at, in other words. There's no shame in that. It's probably the smart move in some cases.

Would we be looking at Lionel Richie as a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if he'd simply followed the formula that the record label wanted him to? Would we get from Three Times a Lady, to Sail On as part of the Commodores, to songs like All Night Long and Hello, if he'd followed the well-traveled path? If he'd simply followed the trends and been a "created" artist?

Perhaps, but it seems to me that, despite the problems and controversies the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has in terms of who is admitted and who is not admitted, the artists that ultimately get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame do so because they had something new to say. They had something unique or creative to share.

Created vs. Creative. What category does your content currently fall in? We'll talk more about this in future episodes.

Rock & Roll Inspiration

Watch the entire Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction on HBO Max in the United States to see Lionel Richie's speech as well as performances and speeches by Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, The Eurythmics, Eminem, Judas Priest, Dolly Parton, and more.

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Episode 7: AI: LET IT BE Your Content Creation Power Tool

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Episode 5: Content A.I. and Humble Pie