Stop! Collaborate and Listen?

“Stop, collaborate and listen” as made famous by the lyrics of early 90’s rap star Vanilla Ice, little did he know that would become an intriguing reference to my blog 20 years later. The point is, collaboration is not only all around us but a great way to get another perspective or test and re-create your art form. Collaboration is the heart of teamwork and it takes communication, respect and a central vision in order for it to be successful.

            Communication is the key to any type of relationship, whether it’s personal or business and can usually be a large factor when things fail. Yet clear communication between people is harder to ask for than it sounds.  The important part to take note of is that you try your best to communicate, and if you can effectively listen to the feedback you gain from others then you can tweak the way you communicate with them based off of the feedback. Your verbal and non-verbal communication shows people the respect you have for them and if you reflect negativity onto them, it will reflect negativity back onto the project as well.

Whether given or received, respect can allow a connection between two people create positive success in any endeavor. Collaborations are prominently seen in the music industry through any aspect of the creation of a song, or even music video. A recent example of successful music collaboration is “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna. One reason this record came across so well was that the artists had complete faith in each other. Eminem commented that he felt Rihanna was the only one that could pull that part off (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640580/eminem-talks-lil-wayne-rihanna-pink-recovery-collabos.jhtml) and when Rihanna had gotten the offer to join the creation, she did not hesitate to take the song on because she stated that “Eminem is an artist of class, and I knew if he sent me a record there must be something to it” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b5uRE-m6WM).  Some of the best or most interesting records have been produced based off of collaborations, but as CMT’s website states “Great music knows no boundaries” when talking about it’s hit television show Crossroads, that showcases collaborations between country music stars with different music genres for remakes of the two bands original works while telling stories as well as their common love for music (http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/cmt_crossroads/series_about.jhtml).

To gain focus and complete the task at hand, an agreement on the centralized vision is an important ingredient towards successful teamwork as well. If everyone agrees on the vision it can direct them down the right path, however if there are some misunderstandings, it can wreak havoc and delay the process while trying to get it worked through. Compromise is usually the best way to handle when this situation arises, as long as it’s in the project objective’s best interest.

It’s important to understand that there will be conflicts in every group, but it’s how the group manages to get through the conflicts that direct the way the group is going to go. Communication, respect and a centralized vision intertwine for the success of the ultimate project. Examples of collaborations are widely seen throughout the music industry, but it's those collaborations that can cause true classical records and moments in time.