I don't see this as a repudiation of the 10K hours theory. Hannah Montana's fame is due to the Disney machine as teej mentioned. I'm sure the brand managers, agents, marketers and other pros responsible for her success have logged that kind of time individually and she is the product rather than the producer. I'm not a Doors fan, but maybe they had a stellar agent who spent countless hours developing relationships and promotional skills. Godin's better point is that it may take far less time to become successful in emerging media rather than mature businesses since there are no established benchmarks.
Sorry, but I disagree. Of course it helps to be under the Disney name/brand. But to say she's a "product rather than the producer" is plain wrong.
"She wrote eight of the ten songs, credited by her birth name Destiny Hope Cyrus." (wikipedia)
People generally don't blindly buy music that sounds rubbish just because it has the Disney name on it. Give her some credit at least... Perhaps you dislike the particular genre of music, but that doesn't mean there isn't a large amount of talent there. Especially for a 16 year old.
Axod, I agree the Disney name alone isn't going to ensure success, but I also don't think she rose to the top because of native talent. She has 1) famous father in the business 2) the backing of the most impressive youth marketing organization in the world. Can she sing and write music? absolutely, but I find it hard to believe her success is due to her song writing rather than the push of the amazing organization around her. Again no judgment on her I just think she has the benefit of superior promotion.
