Whenever a songwriter finishes a track, they are rarely 100 per cent certain it’s going to be any good. They wait for others to validate it. Band, Manager, PR, Agent etc Or do they simply write for themselves and let the rest take care of itself?

In a memorable conversation with Lex Fridman, Rick Rubin offered this clear advice:

“Do what you love and make things that you love. Don’t make things for an audience. Be the audience.”

At first it sounds like familiar creative wisdom. Yet the more you sit with it, the more powerful it becomes. Creating for yourself keeps the work rooted in genuine passion rather than fleeting external expectations. Trends come and go, but music made from personal conviction (can) become\s timeless.

Here's what I've learned about how Rick Rubin works with artists and musicians:

Of course, the question of judgement is never simple. If the people paying for your creativity are the ones who will ultimately absorb and enjoy it, are they not the best judges? It is a difficult balance.

During my time consulting for one of the former members of Massive Attack, he would regularly say the music he had made was “shit” and could be ten times better. Nothing is ever perfect.

After Johnny Cash's second album (American Recordings) with Rick Rubin, he won the Grammy in 1998 for Best Country Album, Rick Rubin took out a full page ad in Billboard magazine to say thank you to the country radio stations who refused to play any of Johnny Cash's new music.

Perhaps sometimes, you’ve just got to say fuck it.

Right now, the focus is (still) on finishing the proposals for publishers. Each one has to be tailored strictly to specific guidelines, which is going to take some serious time.

I’m giving myself a hard deadline of May 1st to complete all the proposals. After that? I'm taking some time to recharge. Yeah, uhm… I think 1st June is more realistic….

Either way, I’ll let you know where things stand in a month's time.

Bing bong, Charles

P.S
Thanks to James Kirkham for being the 51st interview. For those that don’t know, James and I crossed paths (sometimes London, sometimes Cannes Lions!) a few times over the years and he’s now running his own business called ICONIC 77. I wanted to share an excerpt from his interview that I think is bang on point given all the brand partnerships that are going on at the moment, mostly with unrealistic expectations.

“The advice I give clients is unfashionable in a way that they must first invest in the scene, not the star. Show up for ten years if necessary before you ask for the photograph or go actually fund the room, the residency, the radio station, the rehearsal space all the the cultural infrastructure that makes the artist possible in the first place. Sometimes you need to look at the long, patient deposit into the culture that hands back compound interest no agency could ever have bought. Boring at first, initially expensive, but beautiful with amazing long term commercial and cultural returns. And maybe the only thing that genuinely works.”

The caliber of contributors who've joined this project truly humbles me. Here's the updated lineup shaping the Bing Bong Book:

Their contributions are outstanding and bring unparalleled expertise to the table that’s never existed in book publishing before.

The Bing Bong Book is organized into six dynamic parts:

We're at 51 interviews and counting. Here's a snapshot of some key contributors: