Bobtail Method

Who we’re looking for

Hi, I’m Bennett from the Bobtail Yearlings! We’re looking for a business partner who recognizes the opportunity presented by Bobtail Method, our songwriting book. I wrote the manuscript you see here as a proof of concept to win over the indie labels. I never published it on my own⁠— and not just because a songwriting book from an unknown band has zero value; it also works better as an interactive tutorial, I think.

So if you’re an entrepreneur with the vision to understand what Bobtail Method can be worth, and you’re interested in partnering with us to turn it into an online app for web and mobile platforms… please get in touch!

The backstory

Back when Yearling’s Bobtail was a standalone album, I sent out demos and got a good response from a few indies. But they wanted me to build a fanbase on my own, which confused me. I’m a nobody; it’d take me years to reach the same number of listeners that a label can reach in one day. If the idea of a label deal is to make any sense at all, then my role should be to double down on creating a notable work that, with their investment and influence, might win over the public. And in making my “Ulysses of rock albums”… well, I thought I’d done just that.

But, okay, I tried to do things their way for a while. I tried the hustle. And… it didn’t feel good at all. I wasn’t building my talents; I wasn’t advancing the art form. In fields where genuine innovation happens, fake work that wastes your time is known as “bullshit”⁠— I don’t like to curse, but that’s the technical term⁠— and my bullshit detector kept going off; it kept telling me this is the wrong way to go. So I decided not to hustle. And anyone who cares about the art form wouldn’t want me to, either.

Instead of building a fanbase, then, I wrote Bobtail Method and sent out promo copies to all the indies. The point was to show them that:

• It takes effort to craft strong melodies and chord progressions, and this is where much of my time and energy goes.
• As someone who cares about helping other artists improve, I can help the ones on their rosters.
• And, by using my own songs as examples, the book can promote the album⁠— and vice versa.

I just figured that, if you’re a label, then surely this is what you’d rather see a band do. Obviously, bands should innovate; the option to build a fanbase is just a bone you toss to those who can’t. Right? Well… no. The indies still insisted that I build a fanbase. But I didn’t see anything wrong with my reasoning, so I just assumed I hadn’t met some threshold. As long as I stuck to my strategy of always trying to innovate, then they’d eventually come to see my worth, however many more years it might take. And so:

• I invented spatial amnesticism, a theory for tonal composition in multidimensional spaces.
• I patented Bobtail Dominoes, a musical tile game.
• And, I coded and illustrated an audio webcomic to go along with Yearling’s Bobtail.

But sadly, the indies dismissed every one of these projects as well. Finally, it hit me: It isn’t possible to avoid the hustle by advancing the art form instead, because the indies are loyal to the hustle. And since they’re treated as “good guys,” the public is on their side.

Have no fear, though: There are plenty out there who’d like to see the art form advance once again. And given that you’re reading this, you might be one of them!