03 - ASHER LAUB: Violinist, Composer, Showman

Sep 22

With a smile and an electric violin, Asher Laub produces a new music video faster than the climate is changing. With 200 gigs a year, this man knows how to stay on top of things.

It looks so easy to be a DJ violinist - put on a hat, walk out on stage, and money comes in.

But often, what looks easy turns out to be a hell of a lot more complicated than first assumed.

Someone who knows their instrument, plays it as if it's nothing more than preparing your breakfast toast.

And apart from the practice, there is a lot more we don't see: the networking, the scheduling, the contracts, the communication, promotion, travel, and let's not forget the things we spend time on but turn out to not be of use in the end.

Is it all worth it?

Asher Laub is a musician who's actively using Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. He regularly posts reels of himself playing his violin, and frequently there's even a whole new song with a video he both performs in and produces in his home studio.

But in our talk he asks himself, or perhaps all of us, "When is it going to stop?"

Give musicians the modern tools of the digital age, and trends are changing so rapidly that we can witness its many chapters before we hit retirement. (Some musicians retire.. or?)

At first, the quest seems to be 'How can I use the tools at hand?' until it becomes 'Which of these tools are in fact the right ones for me?'

And don't forget to have lunch while in the middle of this.

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[03:00] 'Neon Dreams'

[04:40] EDM, drones, and Google Calendar

[13:00] Social media and e-mail lists... is it valuable?

[20:50] Work life: contracts, economy, music videos and the spotlight

[34:08] Music as business (have you heard of Pandora?)

[43:03] The relationship to the fans

[54:55] The Comeback of the Violin

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Asher's Homepage