WEBVTT - When's it time for divorce? 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.920 Pat it, Welcome to the show, Welcome to the EEE Farm, 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:09.640 the EEE Apparel headquarters. This is a crazy time, so 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:11.840 many things to talk about. This is gonna be a 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.080 good show. I've been going through. I set up an 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:20.639 email a couple of shows ago called Granger Smith Podcast 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.520 at gmail dot com, and I have been fielding these emails. 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.520 I'm overwhelmed with how many emails are coming in. So 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.360 first of all, thank you. If you've emailed me, thank you. 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:34.640 I'm going to go through some of these randomly because 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:36.519 there's so many. I'm not really gonna be able to 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:37.760 pick and choose, but I'm going to go through them 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:40.560 randomly and just sit there and scroll on my phone boom, 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.760 pop an email out and talk with you as if 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:45.879 you're sitting in the living room or sitting next to 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.760 me in the shotgun seat of a truck. That's the 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.720 way I want this show to be, not planned, not scripted, 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.240 very raw, and I believe that that's the way that 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:59.640 I think it should go. And I think that you 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.520 will enjoy it more if it's more just me and 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:06.520 you getting to know each other, very conversational, Very grateful 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.200 today that this podcast is brought to you by ship Station. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.680 And with the holiday season right around the corner this year, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:14.280 we know that people are going to be buying more 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.240 stuff online than ever before, and if you're an e 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.399 commerce seller, you better be ready to meet those demands 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:22.760 of a record breaking online shopping season, So you could 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.920 be ready with ship station. That's whether you're selling online 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:29.600 getting a massive amount of orders out real quick, it 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:32.280 could be really tough. How do you keep track of 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.000 who does that? Which shipping carrier do you use? Are 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:38.600 you getting the best rates? And that's why my choice 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:43.039 and ee Apparel's choice is shipstation dot com. It's the fastest, easiest, 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.920 most affordable way to manage and ship your orders. Just 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.440 takes a few clicks. You could actually do it boom 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.720 right here on your phone. They offer online seller they 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:56.440 can get their orders out quickly, save money on shipping cost, 0:01:56.960 --> 0:02:00.360 and keep your customers happy. It doesn't matter what you're selling, 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:03.600 whether it's Amazon or Etsy. You may have your own website. 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:08.280 Maybe you're you're selling protein to buff dudes or T 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:11.520 shirts to country dudes. It doesn't matter. Shipstation brings all 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.639 your orders into one simple interface and makes them really 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.160 easy to manage from right there in your device, Like 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.280 I said, boom right here on your cell phone. It 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:24.600 works with all the major carriers like u USPS, FedEx ups, 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:28.400 even International, and you could get the best rates of 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.720 anyone out there. They have big discounts on shipping cost 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:37.639 and any business could get the same access to all 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.000 the discounts as even the big boys, even the big 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:43.639 Fortune five hundred companies. You always know you're going to 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:46.640 you're gonna get the best deal. So right now, Granger 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:50.320 Smith podcast listeners could drive ship station for free for 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.440 sixty days. Just use the offer code Granger and make 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.240 sure your business is ready to meet demands of a 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:00.880 massive online shopping season. Get started at ship station today. 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:03.280 Click on the microphone at the top of the homepage. 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:09.440 Type in Granger. That's ship station offer code Granger shipstation 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:13.240 dot com make ship happen. And a lot of people 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.160 have actually speaken enough have asked me how they're going 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:19.520 to start an e commerce business. I know that with 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:23.160 its craziness of COVID that a lot of people are 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.040 switching their business model. Maybe they wanted to open little 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:29.160 shops somewhere in a downtown and then they saw what 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:32.040 happened with everything shutting down so they decided to stick 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.840 with e commerce, and that's what we do. We have 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.560 plans down the road maybe to have like a ee 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.280 Seed and Feed, maybe some kind of storefront, but right 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.400 now we're sticking with e commerce. We are a mom 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.880 and pop company. Still, We're still a family run business. 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.720 We always will be. We fulfill everything, so we don't 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:53.160 print our shirts, but we have a lot of people 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:55.160 that we work with at print them, and then we 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:58.200 have a design team and then we get everything the 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.200 big bulk boxes mail here and then me and my 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:06.080 crew will go through personally, sort through them, ship them out, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:08.480 which we're really busy because of the fall launch, so 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:11.280 we got a lot of people in there shipping away 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:15.080 like crazy, trying to make it happen. If you're one 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.960 of those people waiting on an order, it's going to 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.280 take a few days. Like I said, family run business, 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.240 that's just the way it is. I'm going to get 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.839 to some of these emails next week, next podcast. I 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:28.320 believe it is going to be done just like the 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.000 old ones were done. Back of my bus, a Wildflower 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.360 on tour at least that's the plan. We are starting 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.159 the tour here and there, so check check my website 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.719 Grangersmith dot com to check out that tour. And before 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:44.920 I get into these questions, there's one question overwhelming above 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:49.600 all others, and that is will you be in blank city? 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:56.320 Whether that's Sacramento, or Fayetteville or Charlotte. I'm getting all 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.880 these questions. The answer to all of them is yes, 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.640 we will be. We're not going to skip your city, 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.320 and if we do, we're coming close by to a 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.640 nearby town. We will not skip any of the fifty States. 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:12.040 We will not skip Europe coming up in the next 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.320 couple of years. So be patient with me. I know 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.200 this is a crazy time, but we will be coming 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:20.760 to your town. Promise you don't even have to ask 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.599 that question. I want to. I know you need me to, 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.360 and we will. Welcome to the granger Smith Podcast, Episode 0:05:27.400 --> 0:06:09.239 fifty one. Roll that intro d month times and long 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:30.040 line of us down the back. It's Rangy Cog. I 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:31.920 guess the most important thing I could say to start 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.520 this this show is that the album is out. I've 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:37.760 been talking about this. I don't know how many episodes, 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.760 I don't know how many times I've built it up, 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.240 but as we speak right now, it is out. It's 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:47.440 called Country Things Volume one and it has eight songs 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:49.560 on it, and then there'll be a Volume two that 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.320 comes out at the end of November, so you'll be 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:55.000 able to get Volume two collect them. You'll have sixteen 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.440 songs total. Right now, there's eight. It's out wherever you 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:04.599 find music, whether that's iTunes or Spotify or Apple Music 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:11.200 or Pandora or YouTube. There's a million ways to hear 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.080 this album. I just hope you pick one of them. 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:16.920 The only thing you can't do right now is get 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:20.360 the physical copy the CD, but we will when Volume 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:24.000 two comes out and they're collected together into sixteen songs. 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.480 You'll be able to get the CD at Walmart or 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:29.120 wherever you do that, and you'll also be able to 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:33.920 get the vinyl album. The vinyl album doesn't have all 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.920 of them because you can you're only allowed twenty minutes 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.600 per side on an old timey vinyl record, so I 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:42.320 had to kind of pick and choose what would sound 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:47.080 better on vinyl. But oh, in all pretty pumped about it. 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.760 And it's a really important week for you guys to 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.560 check this out because this is the week that first 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:58.320 seven days is what matters most on if this album 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.360 gets to be ranked as a a top five or 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:05.200 top ten album on Billboard. I've never personally had a 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.240 number one. That's not to be confused with like an 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:12.760 iTunes number one. That's different. Billboard is everything combined, whether 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.280 that's iTunes or all the streaming service, all of that 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:21.920 combined into one. And this is a this is a 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.920 crazy fact that most people don't know. But the way 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:31.880 that Billboard counts this for units consumed, right, it used 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.480 to be so easy. You're just how many records did 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:38.040 you sell? Boom, that's it. But now because of streaming, 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:43.360 it adds this interesting wrinkle. So it takes fifteen hundred 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:50.320 streams equals one download. So that's either that's a song 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.560 or an album. Same thing. So my album right now, 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.160 if you buy it on iTunes, it costs I believe 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:59.280 it's seven ninety nine seven dollars and ninety nine cents. 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.800 That if you do that, that equals the equivalent of 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:08.720 you streaming it. The whole album fifteen hundred times one thousand, 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:13.560 five hundred times is the same equivalent on Billboard for 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:16.840 the charting system as you paying seven bucks in ninety 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:20.880 nine cents. Isn't that wild? Like? Who even comes up 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.440 with these numbers. Who was the one that said it 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.560 needs to be five hundred, No, it needs maybe a thousand, No, 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.280 fifteen hundred, like who came up with that? But that's 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:31.640 the way it is, and that's the way when you 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.160 get You see some of these plaques on the wall 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:38.560 from Billboard, and it'll say instead of saying like a 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:43.040 gold record, for instance, which is five hundred thousand sales. 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.040 It used to be so easy. You sell five hundred 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.760 thousand copies, you get a gold record. But now it'll 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:51.120 say instead of sales, it says I think I believe 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:55.319 it says equivalent sales, so that that means it's including 0:09:55.440 --> 0:10:00.599 streams fifteen hundred streams per not wild. But this is 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:04.640 an important time for me. So if you do buy 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.600 the album for seven ninety nine, or if you already 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:08.840 have a few songs, you complete my album for just 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:12.440 a few bucks. More so, if you've already paid four bucks, 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:14.320 then it's you know, you only play three ninety nine. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.439 But this is an important time because that's when those 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:24.160 numbers really matter. But that being said, ultimately my main 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.800 goal is for y'all just to hear it, hear it 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:29.600 and like it and connect with it. There's eight songs 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.440 on there, so let me let me be honest with you. 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:37.440 If there's eight songs, I hope you really I hope 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.520 you like them all, and I hope you really connect 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:44.679 with three of them. And I hope one of them 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.600 is one of your favorite songs. That would be amazing, 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.560 like that's that's the odds I would like to play. 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.440 I would like you to really deeply connect with three 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.040 of them and go, man, that's my jam, that's about me, 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.400 or or I used to live that song. Yeah, so 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.240 comment below. If you're watching this on YouTube, comment below, 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.000 and subscribe to this channel too, and subscribe. If your whatever, 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.880 your favorite podcast app that you're listening on, subscribe to 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.640 that and we'll keep this thing rolling. Then I'll start 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:17.360 previewing volume two. Yeah, I was going to go through, 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:22.679 and I've had this question before. Why don't I go 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.640 and do the old podcast where I it was really 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:29.679 in depth and the production value was higher and there 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:31.600 was a lot of cuts and there was music playing. 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.640 I had to cut that out because YouTube and these 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.240 podcast apps don't allow me to play music, even if 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:42.720 if it's my own music. They will literally, without explanation, 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:47.040 mute that song. So I could be talking in a 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.880 random podcast and then there's like a dead space where 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:54.200 a song was playing. So yes, I could go jump 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.200 some hoops and get you know, lawyer's approval on since 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.400 they're my own songs, and get it all cleared. But 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:02.480 it takes a long time, and the easiest thing is 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:05.360 just to tell you guys, sorry, I can't play the 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.679 songs on this podcast, but you could literally just click 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:12.440 one click away and listen to anything off Country Things. 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.000 And I have like all the descriptions of these songs 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.400 and how I wrote them and how I recorded them. 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:20.719 I was going to read it. It might be kind 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.040 of long, so I don't know. In the artist world, 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:26.440 we call that cut by cuts, and I probably won't 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:28.800 read them on this podcast. I'll probably get to your questions, 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.319 but if you do want me to read these, let 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:33.960 me know, and I could do that next time. Let 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:35.839 me know if you want to hear the full stories 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:41.240 these songs. It's country things. That's why I love dirt Roads, 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:46.720 Mexico country, and you know it. Heroes, Chevy's, Himmys, Yoda's 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:49.840 and Fords, hate you like I Love You, and I 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:53.280 Kill Spiders. Those are the eight songs on volume one. 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:59.240 Then I'll start revealing volume two soon, very soon. Let's 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:00.720 get to some of these questions and so this is 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:05.880 a Grangersmith podcast at gmail dot com. If you have 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.800 a question, if you want me to acknowledge something on 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:14.800 this podcast type of way, and I have them boom 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.120 right here on my phone. So I'm not I'm not 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.000 gonna go in order, because that then I would just 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.520 be picking either the oldest or the newest. So I'm 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:25.400 gonna just gonna flip through and go boom. This one 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:30.280 is from Michael Cannon says, Hey Granger, once again, let 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.200 me let me preface before I read it. I have 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:35.600 not read these, so this is going to be random. 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:38.360 I don't know what I'm getting into. I'll do my best. 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:45.760 Hey Grainger, it's Michael from Indiana and he's actually from Granger, Indiana. 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:49.800 It says great town name. I wanted to get your 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:51.760 opinion on what you've done in the past when you're 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.480 working a job that you didn't like or that left 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.520 you unfulfilled. I'm only a few years out of college, 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:00.560 so don't get me wrong. I'm extremely thankful to be 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.880 working during these crazy times. But my day to day 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:08.040 typically leaves me feeling discouraged and unsatisfied where I'm at. 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.000 I can't wait to have a job parentheses like you do, 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.480 where it doesn't even feel like work, jumping out of 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:16.680 bed and excited to take on the day. I can't 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.200 wait to see one of your shows again. Yeeee Michael, 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:28.200 Where do I start? I think everything you're asking, Michael 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.520 is right when you're right to be thinking this, especially 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:38.600 you're only a few years out of college and you said, 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.320 don't get me wrong, I'm extremely thankful to be working 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:46.000 during these times, but my day to day typically leaves 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:52.280 me feeling discouraged and unsatisfied. So I can't wait to 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:53.720 have a job like you do, where it doesn't even 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:57.280 feel like work. Well, my first thing, let me talk 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:02.360 about this first. That I'd be lying to you if 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.840 I said that every single day in my life I 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.560 get out of bed and I go into my job 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:13.040 and it doesn't even feel like work, Because it does. 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:17.840 And it doesn't matter what job you have. It doesn't 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:21.240 matter if you have the ultimate dream job in the world. 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:26.400 You do it long enough, and we're all human. It 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:34.200 starts become monotonous at times, it becomes burdensome and discouraging 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:40.680 at times, and you can't get around that, and I 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:46.160 can't get around that. A job alone, a career cannot 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:56.600 fulfill you enough to satisfy you enough to find happiness. Now, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.760 don't get me wrong, it helps. I'm very grateful to 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:02.920 be doing this instead of something else that I absolutely hate, 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:08.560 But I don't find my life fulfillment through this job. 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.080 And to answer that question better, you could just look 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:16.040 back in history and you could see how many people. 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.760 There's documentaries about how many people have lived their life 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.640 working one job. So it's a factory job. They're doing 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:27.920 one thing, very monotonous, getting the same paycheck, and they're happy, 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:32.680 way happier than someone else that's doing something that sounds 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:36.320 much more exotic, because the happiness comes from a different place. 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:41.520 That joy comes from a different place. So there are 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.840 definitely days when I'm I don't want to go to 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:48.120 work because I have a ton of radio calls coming 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:51.520 up or a bunch of interviews and I know it's 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:53.160 going to wear me out, or maybe I have to 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.400 go shoot a bunch of old nibble stuff and it's 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.440 either really cold or really hot outside, or it's raining, 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:04.160 and I gotta get it done. There's times when I'm 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.160 about to hit the road and go on a long tour, 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.280 and I know that my little girl's got a birthday 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.680 coming up. Then I'm gonna have to miss gonna there's 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:14.760 all kinds of housework and yard work I need to 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:16.760 take care of. I'm gonna miss it over these next 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:18.239 ten days. And I know that when I look at 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.720 those ten days, I see that we come home for 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.080 one day and then we're back out for another twelve 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:25.520 days or you know, And I'm just like, oh, I 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:31.399 hate this. I hate this feeling. And to balance that, 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:33.639 I have to go back to my old thing. I 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.280 always say, I have to raise up my gratefulness and 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.040 lower my expectations a little bit. Now, keep keep my 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.919 expectations as high as I can. But if I do that, 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:44.959 I got to keep my gratefulness a little bit higher. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.440 So you're right, Michael in saying that. Don't get me wrong, 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.680 I'm extremely thankful to be working during these times. So dude, 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:56.920 you got a paycheck. That's awesome. All of that being said, 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:00.600 that was like my preface. All that being said, you're 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:05.080 a few years out of college and it's not too 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:08.200 late to change. It's fact that I don't think it's 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:11.439 ever too late to change and find something you're passionate about. 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:15.399 Maybe you got to do a trade school thing to 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.520 get something you're more passionate about. Maybe you got to 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:22.240 go you got to go and intern and work double 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.520 so you're gonna work your job, and then after you 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.760 get off work, you got to go and work for 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.159 free to build up a skill or a trade or 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.359 find something you're passionate about. It might take money to 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.119 start up a company. Maybe you want to get it. 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:37.320 You need to invest in some kind of equipment to 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.600 start a new company, and it's going to take a 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.240 few years to build up, you know, slowly saving that 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.240 money for that investment. So none of these answers are easy. 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.920 Nothing's like, oh boom, I want to quit. I'm starting 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:53.360 my dream job. It all takes a lot of sacrifice. 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:57.680 This music business took endless sacrifice for me, and I 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:00.800 don't ever want to come across as a guy that's 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:04.439 had success or that feels like he's on top of 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:08.520 the music business. Because my first album came out in 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:14.080 nineteen ninety nine, so that's twenty one years ago, and 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.720 most of those twenty one years were a struggle and 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:19.800 it felt like life was slapping me in the face. 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.439 It felt like I wasn't going anywhere and nothing was 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:27.880 going to happen. But I kept trying and kept pushing forward, 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:33.199 kept believing, kept working other jobs to help fund it. Ultimately, Michael, 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:35.360 I think the thing to take away from this email 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:41.399 is you cannot rely on your job to provide you happiness. 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:43.480 You get that from other places. You get it from 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:48.600 your family, your either your mom and dad, or your siblings, 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:51.840 or your wife if you have one girlfriend, kids if 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:54.320 you have them, could even just be a dog, you know. 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:58.040 But you get that kind of happiness from that responsibility 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:02.359 you have taking care of something else, and you find 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:05.200 that gratefulness and keep cultivating that gratefulness and in the meantime, 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:13.160 keep your eyes open, keep your eyes wide open. Next 0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:22.240 random question goes to Mary Marrieds from Iowa State University, 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:27.560 the Agricultural Engineering Department, and she says, Hey, Granger, my 0:20:27.680 --> 0:20:30.960 name is Mary. I'm from Lowell, Michigan, but I'm not 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.280 here in Ames, Iowa for school. We have a great 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.840 livestock show arena for a concert. Just saying I'm down 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:39.960 said I've been wanting to ask a question about the 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:42.760 music industry, and with your new album coming out, it 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:47.560 fits perfectly. So how is the song slash album rated 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:52.520 or ranked? Is it YouTube, streams, Spotify followers, iTunes sales, 0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:56.679 and when an album is going platinum? How does that 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.439 work and what makes that happen? Another question is what 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:01.440 helps in our just the most, like i e. Making 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:04.960 money and gaining popularity with iTunes sales, CD sales, watching 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:07.760 your music videos on YouTube or streaming music. Thank you 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:09.440 so much for reading my email. I've been a huge 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:12.120 fan of your music and all your YouTube channels and podcasts, 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:17.760 also slowly growing my ee apparel collection as well. Thank you, Mary. 0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:22.360 Thank you for those kind words. It's ironic that I 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:24.919 almost answered all of that at the beginning of this 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:30.880 podcast with how an album is ranked and how it's 0:21:31.040 --> 0:21:35.440 charted and talking about how one purchase of a song 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:41.719 equals fifteen hundred streams. Now, that doesn't totally answer your 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:46.800 question because you're asking how what helps an artist the 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:51.600 most to make money and gain popularity and you said, 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:54.600 is it iTunes sales, CD sales, watching your music videos 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:58.360 on YouTube? And the truth the truth is it's it's 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:02.000 all of it combined. So if I'm not really selling 0:22:02.000 --> 0:22:05.440 any on iTunes, but I'm getting hundreds of millions of 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:08.680 views on YouTube. That makes up for it. If I'm 0:22:08.680 --> 0:22:10.480 not getting any views on YouTube, but I'm selling a 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.800 whole lot of iTunes, that makes up for it. The 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:20.000 ultimate thing for an artist today right now that probably 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:22.760 a lot of people don't know is touring. Touring is 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:26.719 where is really the bread and butter of our lifestyle 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:31.439 right now, I'm making zero on touring, and pretty much 0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:34.000 every other artist is making zero on touring. We are 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:37.000 going out a little bit, but I was just in 0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:39.240 here talking with my tour manager Chris and my lead 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:42.480 driver Bull, and we're going out on the Northeast run 0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:45.760 and we're going to lose a little bit of money. 0:22:46.640 --> 0:22:48.200 We're going to go into the hole a little bit, 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:54.119 just because the diesel fuel show, pay for the guys 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.520 making sure everybody has food, the commission I have to 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:02.320 pay to book an agent, things like that. It adds 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:06.120 up so fast, and the guarantees of us getting money 0:23:06.160 --> 0:23:08.840 on tour right now during this crazy time is not much. 0:23:09.000 --> 0:23:10.960 So I am going to lose a little bit of money. 0:23:11.160 --> 0:23:14.160 That being said, on a normal year, a normal time, 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:19.879 when we put out music, it really is an advertisement 0:23:19.960 --> 0:23:24.920 for shows, and ticket sales is where any artist really 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.520 makes his income, is able to pay all his guys 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:32.560 and to continue moving forward. So we hope we sell 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:35.120 a lot on iTunes, we hope we stream a lot, 0:23:35.119 --> 0:23:38.880 but as you could imagine, those sales have plummeted over 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:44.800 the last fifteen years, and streams pay fractions of pennies, 0:23:45.960 --> 0:23:48.679 and so do YouTube views. Really it's not much, it's 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:51.080 not enough. I can't make enough on a YouTube video 0:23:51.320 --> 0:23:54.760 or a stream to put diesel fuel in my bus 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:58.679 to go on this next run, for example, to the Northeast. 0:23:59.040 --> 0:24:02.199 It's going to cost a thirty six hundred dollars of 0:24:02.440 --> 0:24:05.639 just fuel. That's just fuel. That's not including hotels for 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:09.040 a driver to sleep in, or meals or per diems 0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:14.959 or show pay rental gear. It doesn't count for any 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:17.119 of that. And God forbid, something breaks down, we have 0:24:17.160 --> 0:24:20.760 to fix it. I hope that answers your question. But 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.560 touring is the bread and butter of the music industry 0:24:24.000 --> 0:24:26.960 now today. So the best thing you could do is 0:24:28.160 --> 0:24:30.720 look on your calendar, look on the tour dates, see 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:33.639 when your favorite artist is coming to town, and support 0:24:33.680 --> 0:24:35.840 them in that way. If you can't do it. If 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:38.080 you can't get out, then I would say the next 0:24:38.680 --> 0:24:43.080