Having been involved in the entertainment industry for pretty much my whole life I can tell you in no uncertain terms that content is not enough. It’s vital, but it takes more to make a dent. Everything has to be sold. It’s the whole performance that counts, and everything matters.
Check out this video from a great up and coming pianist named Primavera Shima. She is a really great talent who has worked very hard to master her instrument. She’s going to be successful within the boundaries of her particular part of the industry.
It took extra time to master playing in those high healed shoes. She happens to be very attractive, and wisely is tapping in to that resource to help sell her brand. Could she succeed in her genre without this? Yes. Will it make it lot easier to achieve a higher level of success? Absolutely.
This is part of selling, which is something else I’ve been involved in for many years.
If you have an idea you want to get attention find a way to sell it. Learn about your audience and find a way to seduce them. It doesn’t have to be through physical attractiveness, though that usually helps, but you have to appeal to something they care about on their terms. Aesthetics are an obvious way. Make things look good and people are more prone to pay attention (see the physical attractiveness of TV/Movie actors, politicians, news anchors, houses for sale, cars, stereos, computers, bottles of wine, etc.). But take care not to go too far, because when it starts to look contrived it backfires.
An imaginative approach to something also works. It just has to capture our imagination and intrigue in some way, or it has to affect us emotionally. Humor also works well. The point is, you need a little show business, a little art, because especially this day and age the facts alone just aren’t compelling enough to get people to pay attention to what you have to say. You need a little show business.