The new year is almost here, which means right now the music business is largely silent. Industry professionals at all levels tend to lay low in the days between Christmas and New Year’s day, which in turn leaves music writers with little to discuss aside from their picks for the best album, song, new artist, video, etc. of the preceding year. That content is good and expected, but if you really want to make the most of this time you should be putting the majority of your effort and focus into deciding how you will further your work in the new year.
The world of digital music writing has changed immensely over the course of 2016. Dozens of sites went under, leaving writers at every level looking for steady employment, and several sites combined forces because doing so was the only way to stay afloat. The value of digital advertising also fluctuated more than ever, which in turn made it increasingly difficult for sites to cover their costs. 2017 will likely be no different, if not worse, so those hoping to do make it through with their job and sanity in tact need to embrace the constant state of change we now exist within and use it to their advantage. Here are three tips to get you started:
Video is more important than ever before
The fact video has become the predominant way people consume information online is no great surprise. This trend has been emerging steadily since the launch of YouTube over a decade ago and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.
Every major news outlet has upped their video output and smaller sites hoping to play in the big leagues need to do the same.
Create video listicles, film interviews, record exclusive performances, and brand all that content with your logo so people know where to turn when they need the latest/greatest music coverage.
Start a podcast (and if you already have one, keep at it)
The podcast medium garnered a lot of attention in 2016, and it is likely to see even more growth in the new year.
The possibilities with podcasting are seemingly endless; You can record a conversation about a single topic, offer regular news updates, interview people, or simply talk to the world at large — all from the comfort of your home (or anywhere else, for that matter).
Podcasts can be as long or as short as you want, and there is no limit to the amount of podcasts you can record. Find a niche that has not yet been filled an fill it with your voice.
Simplicity is an art. Quality > Quantity.
When everything is available with a few clicks and keystrokes the temptation to try and cover all corners of the entertainment world at all times can be great, but for the sake of your health and sanity you need to resist giving in to such ideas.
There is no way anyone or any one team can cover everything and do a good job. You can cover everything and be pretty mediocre, sure, but being the best at everything just isn’t in the cards.
Find what your audience wants and serve that to them as often and as well as you possibly can.
Today was crazy. I’m sure your day was crazy as well. Whether you’re employed or forever stuck in job limbo you probably had a full list of things to do that did or did not get completed as planned. Do you keep lists? I keep lists. Sometimes they keep me on track and sometimes they remind me how easily I get distracted.
Things took a turn for the worse when a call came from home. A private family matter has come up that is entirely out of everyone’s control and there is nothing we can really do except continue moving forward — into a holiday that is all about family. I will not get into the details here, but suffice to say it was the kind of thing no one ever wants to receive a call about.
I was in shock. My heart was racing and my body was felt like it was riding a literal rollercoaster of emotions while my brain tried to process everything at the same time my stomach was probably starting to digest the last drops of my morning coffee. The holidays are right around corner and a trip back home was going to happen regardless of the latest developments, but suddenly the distance felt greater and the time even more precious.
It’s funny how we typically only consider the value of certain things – the most important things – in moments of crisis.
Time passed. I don’t know how long. Twenty Minutes. Maybe thirty. A ding from my computer notifying me to an incoming email snapped me back from the daze I had been lost within for the better part of the last half-hour. This week is usually quite slow, but with both major holidays beginning on the weekend people seem to be pushing their time at work a little later than usual. I read two emails and then read them again, trying hard to process easy information. My brain knew what it would typically be doing and wanted to go back to that routine in order to try and calm the rest of my system, but unfortunately for it and me it wasn’t working.
I had already worked on the social posts and blog content for the day, so my brain switched tasks and attempted to focus on those instead. Was everything timed well? Did I need to edit my writing again? I scanned and scrolled, but if I tell you the honest truth it all felt like a blur.
Frustrated, I turned my back to my computer and decided to take lunch. If work could not solve my problems I assumed tacos could. This theory was based on previous experiments that yielded great results, and I thought a little time in the sun might do me good. I put on music, then a podcast, and headed out in hopes of taking deep breathes of cool winter air. The cold wind on my face was a good distraction. The tacos were even better. In the end, however, I was alone once again with only my thoughts and will for creativity at my side.
We live in a world today that tells anyone with an inkling of creativity that they need to channel everything they experience into their art (and by art I probably mean brand). Did you have a good day? Share some optimism with the world. Did someone break your heart? Write a song about it or draft a screenplay where you say everything you didn’t say in the moment. Take the moments that define who you are and make it something people can connect to because the only way to be anything anymore is to define yourself by being as relatable as possible to the widest, yet most niche demographic we can find.
I’m not saying I wanted to turn my recent family hardship into art or profit, but I am saying that when faced with the need to confront something difficult the thing my brain chose to run to was work. Imagine it as if a part of my brain were poking another part of my brain and slyly suggesting, “Why deal with this when we could do that thing we do with the things we’ve already dealt with? You know, get to work. Create!”
But working right now doesn’t change the fact that there are more important matters at hand. Getting to work will not undo or otherwise void the way life is changing around me and I need to process that. Anyone who finds themselves in a situation where close friends or family come calling needs to know that answering their call and taking action is what matters most. How we deal with things and how we alter our own paths based on the changes we are faced with will come in time, but first we have to step back from our work and art and whatever else we busy ourselves with to fully embrace our new realities. There is healing that needs to happen. You have to acknowledge the pain in order to allow that healing to begin.
So yea, today was pretty crazy. I learned something about myself that told me I need to focus on disconnecting from work in order to devote more of my attention to what matters most in the new year. Finding a perfect balance is probably impossible, but it’s worth working toward.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, the host of the Inside Music podcast, and a 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
We have made it something of a holiday tradition to find a band we believe them and ask them to detail their safety tips for life on the road in the dead of winter. Bands of all sizes have contributed to this series in the past, and the latest is none of other than fast-rising rock act Civil Youth. Enjoy!
Hello everybody! Civil Youth here to tell you
everything you need to know when it comes to touring during the winter months!
Weather you’re a band or a fan, here’s a side to touring most people might not
think about when driving to their favorite group’s next show….
Smart Routing
-If you’re still an independent band or have any sort of say with your
booking agent, be smart when you’re routing in the Winter months
– If you can be “out” of the storm states as much as
possible and as financially feasible as possible, DO SO. There’s no reason to
stay only north in the states when you can circle the south and stay warm at
least half of the time…
– Look ahead before you travel. Don’t just plug in the next show via GPS
and go. Make sure you’re not taking any highways or roads that are too
dangerous for your vehicle and it’s trailer. Think “how would a trucker
navigate?”
We’ve certainly learned from experience trying to come east through Denver
during January. You run the risk of hitting a storm like we did and getting
trapped on top of a mountain in Vail, CO…
Clothes
–
Tour packing is always “as little as possible” but think about unpacking the
trailer in 10 degree weather and the venue hasn’t turned their heating on yet…
–
Bring gloves, hats, boots and those little warming pads you can essentially put
ANYwhere. They come in handy more than underwear.
–
If you’re smart with your routing and have some hot southern states, don’t
forget about those. It’s a huge jump having a tour start in Florida and end in
Colorado. Pack 80 cold / 20 warm
– Tons of blankets for your feet, if you’re sleeping in the car still, and for
the window to keep as much cold out as possible. (If you’re not idling all
night)
– socks on socks. Once your feet get cold, theres no turning back. Bring double
socks and extra shoes/boots
Van Essentials
– Make sure your vehicle is in top shape, Oil changes, transmission fluids,
antifreeze, windshield wipers and their fluids, good battery
There’s been times where our antifreeze leaked and we had no heating until we
had an off day and took the car to the shop. Waking up in Flagstaff with snow
and no heat SUCKS. We also wasted SO much money 🙁
We also had a bad battery one tour and every time we stopped I had to jump the
van which made me stay out in the cold even longer at 2 am… not fun, especially
in sketchy areas.
–
Tire tread is in good condition and you have chains. Never know what crazy
storms you can hit
– Ice scrapers because no one likes to get snow off of the window with old
boxers
– Lights you can hang in the trailer so you can see during load in. It gets
darker faster in the winter. The quicker youre out of the trailer, the quicker
youre getting to warmth.
Extra
-Coffee,
Emergen-C, Tea, water
These are usually a given, but people tend to get more sick during the winter.
Being on the road when you’re sick is literally the worse thing next to dying.
– Portable grill if you’re hardcore and like to grill in the cold like Evan. He
was a boy scout so get at us.
– Extra car fluids just in case.
– Spare tire and jack
Most importantly:
Be smart
and careful. Shows are what we live for, but if one needs to get canceled, it’s
not the end of the world. Your safety is first. Drive slow, smart, and allow
extra driving time to your next show due to weather, traffic, etc. Don’t get
trapped on a mountain like we did during a blizzard and had to call emergency
service to get us down.
I would hesitate before ever claiming there was too much music in the world, but sometimes I do worry over the state of the unknown talent. There was a brief window in time not all that long ago where a catchy song and a working knowledge of social media would be enough to at least land you a few blog mentions, but today’s competition is so fierce the most artists need more than that to even be considered for coverage. Most artists either need to know a music writer, know an artist music writers like to cover, or somehow create a viral smash hit that becomes so popular music writers have no choice other than to shut up and pay attention to what you’re doing. All of three of those options are harder than they seem, but they do work if you work them.
Every year a few artists manage to emerge from the underground in a way that makes everyone turn their heads. You might not ‘get it’ or enjoy what is being created, but the level of notoriety they are able to reach in an incredibly short amount of time is so immediate and overwhelming that you cannot avoid their presence. Fetty Wap did this incredibly in 2015 well while making the most of “Trap Queen”. The song’s viral success lead into a string of chart-topping singles that dominated radio and rap blogs for the majority of the year.
Remember how much you loved(then eventually hated) this song last year?
In 2016, few new artists have been as divisive upon entering the global music conversation as Canadian solo artist Lil Yachty. Some might call him a rapper, but to do so would be to set unfair expectations for his music. Yachty is not a rapper just like Adele is not necessarily a pop artist. Both Yachty and Adele are capable of being those things, and sometimes they are nothing other than that, but the extent of their artistic talent and expression has the ability to transcend those genre classifications. Like most major artists today, Yachty fall in between everything that is popular today, and in by doing so has enabled himself to do just about whatever he wants from song to song. Maybe he raps the whole time, or maybe he sings with a heavily slathering of autotune on his vocals. Anything is possible and that plays a big role in his continued success.
It’s safe to safe say Yachty has some buzzworthy friends.
Yachty recently told The New York Times, a publication he mentioned in his 2015 single “Minnesota”:
“I’m not a rapper, I’m an artist. And I’m more than an artist. I’m a brand.”
Hip-hop notables were among the first to recognize what Yachty was doing with his music. By the time Yachty’s now frequent ‘best of 2016 nominee′ mixtape release Lil Boat was the talk of the internet he had already booked a number of guest verses, including D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli” and Charlie XCX’s woefully underrated “After Party”.
It is nearly impossible to walk away from an encounter with Yachty’s music without having an opinion. It’s intentionally polarizing. Yachty wants you to decide how you feel up front and act on it. He knows If you connect with his vibe and pursuit of endless happiness through sing-song hooks with deeply personal, yet deceptively amateur lyrics that you’ll subscribe to his social media accounts and eagerly anticipate more of his material. If you don’t then you will likely will do none of those things, but you may be so turned off that you decide to talk about Yachty on social media or some corner of the rap digital universe.
Yachy’s music is cleverly constructed to both entertain and inspire immediate reaction, which in turn creates a currently unstoppable wave of opinion, news, and conversation in a digital space that demands new content 24/7. This is no doubt a nightmare for those who are immediately turned off by his free-wheeling musical spirit , but for those who ride his wave it is a pleasant disruption in a time when music – and perhaps the world – needs more original thought and perspective than ever.
In an age where the smartest way to navigate the music business is by developing a unique sound you own without the backing of a questionable contract no one has done it better this year than the young man born Miles Parks McCollum in August of 1997*. To deny his intelligence because you do not connect with his sound is just foolish. Instead of judging or hating Yachty’s critics would be wise to learn from his moves. He’s younger than 99% of the so-called industry professionals, myself included, and he’s done more to change the way we believe artist development works in the last twelve months than anyone. He took a risk and it paid off. Whether it not he can harness it again in 2017 doesn’t really matter because his rise has made it possible for another new thinker to rise through the ranks.
The lesson here is simple: With a new year on the horizon there has never been a better time to embrace the person you always wanted to be, both as a professional and in your daily life. Be weird, and realize your idea of weird is often just a lack of familiarity. Take risks. Be bold. Commit to being yourself more than ever before, and find a way to express yourself through your creativity.
* = As someone who will be 30 in 2017 this is both inspiring and heartbreaking. A tidal wave of emotions, if you will.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of the Inside Music podcast. You should consider following him on Twitter.
Christmas and Chanukah just days away at this point, and as a music news writer you have no doubt noticed a major drop in the number of press releases and pitches hitting your inbox. Many PR firms, as well as many record labels, take off the last few weeks of the year, if not longer. It is a long-standing corporate tradition that is both a gift and a curse to blog owners, and so far this year seems no different. On the one hand, you have less emails to keep up with and far more time to relax. That said, the lack of breaking news almost always means a dip in traffic, which is the kind of thing that keeps most serious editors awake at night.
Though this certainly won’t prevent you from worrying about the longterm impact from the drop in traffic try reminding yourself when things get slow that these dips impact virtually everyone in music journalism. Culturally speaking, there is very little emphasis placed on entertainment news and the tour plans of emerging musicians around this time. We as Americans are conditioned to view the time immediately before Christmas, as well as the days leading into the new year, as something intended for family gatherings, get togethers with old friends, and generally strengthening the bonds within their individual communities. People are not reading your review the new album from Before Their Eyes because they do not care, but rather because they have been trained through years of advertising, lessons from parents, and countless other avenues to focus more attention on themselves and their immediate surroundings. You are likely the exact same way, even if you don’t notice it. The only difference between you and them is that you understand what it is like to rely on the number of unique clicks given to any one site or page in order to make it through the day without hating yourself.
I wish I could say that the holiday dip gets easier to handle with each passing year, but sometimes I believe the opposite may be true. When you first start out, the importance of day to day traffic is not as big as, say, how you perform over an entire month. You are happy that anyone is reading your work at all, or at least you should be, so dips come and go without much thought given to the reason for their occurrence. As you begin to build your professional profile however, the frustration you feel towards negative changes in traffic only continues to build. It is at that point that traffic becomes a true addiction for most bloggers, outpacing alcohol and prescription pills in the rate at which they can make or break a person’s day. You begin relying on numbers to justify your work rather than the feeling of accomplishment writing about music well typically provides. When that happens, and it hits almost everyone who finds the smallest bit of success, it is hard to not feel like the world is telling you they no longer care. You feel as if you are a hobby, or maybe even something less, and that the vast majority of internet users would be perfectly fine living life whether or not your site ever existed.
Of course, this is all big and lofty stuff that holds little real weight, but in the mind of a creative person trying to use their voice to share their vision or perspective of the world around them it can feel like a 10-ton boulder weighing on their shoulders all day long. The dip inn traffic sets off an internal struggle between the belief one is doing what they were put on this planet to do and the horrifying notion they may have chased a fruitless hobby to the point of no return. This is admittedly a selfish thought, but that is the way the mind works for many writers. They feel every change in traffic directly correlates to something that was first birthed in the deepest canals of their brain. Every success is because of them, but so is every failure, and allowing themselves to believe that is true can often worsen an already fragile sense of self worth. Writers typically believe they are good, even if they won’t admit it to others, but it is a lot easier to believe with data. When data says differently, that initial blind faith is hard to maintain.
My battles with the holiday traffic dip have been epic since day one. Like many young writers, I believed the easiest way to create more traffic was to have more posts. More content would equate to more unique readers, at least in my inexperienced mind, so I would spend long hours writing about artists – many of whom I did not even care for – who had for new or even recent updates that we had previously not run. I was a news madman, but for all my effort the results were typically about the same. A day with twenty articles and a day with forty articles would only be separated by about 500 uniques, which made the value of those extra twenty posts incredibly small. Ever worse, I knew how much time with family and those I love had been sacrificed in order for them to be created. I was losing on all fronts and feeling even worse about myself than I had just knowing the dip existed.
Two years ago, things started to change, but certainly not as fast as I might have hoped. Instead of driving myself insane by sacrificing large amounts of time for content that very few people would enjoy, regardless of that content’s quality, I decided to use the holiday slowdown as an opportunity to plan the year ahead. Admittedly I did not plan as well as I might have liked, but for the first time in over half a decade of blogging I had found an outlet for my frustrations that allowed me to constructively combat my own demons, as well as the drop in uniques, all while focusing on the one hobby/job/passion/interest I have carried the last decade of my life. It was not perfect by any means, but it was more productive and beneficial than any of my previous late December breakdowns, and I am hoping to improve upon those efforts in the weeks ahead while I set to planning what this blog will do in the new year.
When we started the month of December I had no plans to write this article, as we wrote a similar entry last year, but as I noticed students posting about final exams winding down and saw numerous friends begin complaining about traffic I had a change of heart. I saw myself in those were frustrated, and I wanted to reach out in hopes of easing their worried minds. Let me tell you right now that anyone thinking that the dip they see in traffic around this time is a direct result of something they did is wrong, and that perspective is coming from someone who has spent many holidays being hard on themselves for not producing stronger traffic during Christmas Break. You are worth more than you know, and so is the work you are doing to promote the art and artists you love. That is true whether or not your analytics surpasses your expectations, and it always will be as long as you do not allow yourself to get lost in data. You didn’t start writing to become obsessed with who is or is not reading you work, so don’t let it distract you now. Be the best writer you can possibly be and the rest will follow.
Believe me, young writers, when I tell you that the world has not forgotten about you. The audience you have built remains dedicated, your work remains consistent, and the support you have from the rest of the blogging community is as strong as it has ever been. Instead of letting the holiday slowdown throw you and your emotions for a loop, accept that traffic dips and focus your efforts on creating a more productive new year. Don’t waste time with stories no one will read or social media efforts that will find only minimal traction and look to the future. Build a content calendar, draft requests for 2016 album releases, apply to SXSW, and/or something else altogether. Whatever you do – stay positive. The world is not ending and your talent is not going unnoticed. People simply have other priorities right now, and in less than two weeks things will return more or less to normal. Just breathe.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music podcast, and a ten-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
Barack Obama’s time in offer may be just over a month from coming to an end, but the current President of the United States has one last surprise for music fans before his exit.
As Engadget reports, yesterday President Obama signed the Better Online Ticket Sales act into law. The act —which you could call the BOTS act (get it?)— makes it illegal to use automated software to buy up tickets to events. Those bots are a huge part of the reason you can’t get good seats to big, popular shows without dumping huge amounts of money on the secondary ticket market.
According to the new law, people will only be able to use those bots to buy a specified number of tickets, and they will not be allowed to sell any tickets bought with a bot. Anyone who knows how the tickets were purchased is liable for the offense; it’s not just limited to the person who used the bot to buy the tickets. And state governments will have the power to sue to get restitution for their affected residents.
Whether or not anyone will ask you if your tickets were acquired through legal means is another conversation altogether, but if nothing else it’s good to see something being done to curb the rise of ticketing bots. I write this with absolutely no irony in my body: “Thanks, Obama.”
This is the number one question any aspiring professional in any field asks their peers. If you want to tour the country full time you look to someone who is currently performing 200 shows a year for advice. If you want to write the next great novel you talk to an author or two who knows what it takes to finish a book. If you want to be run a record label you look at how your favorite labels operate and build off what they have found to be a proven method for success.
Some might call this an act of imitation, but most would call it research. You have to ask questions in order to learn what you do not already know, and if you’re someone looking to work in entertainment then your first question to any peer is probably some variation of what I wrote above. How do you make it? How do you do this full time? Who pays you? Where did you find a job? Who do I talk to about a job? How do you keep a roof over your head? And so on.
The most frustrating, yet entirely accurate response to any version of the question of how one ‘makes it’ is one that has been around long before the internet:
Find something you love to do, pour everything you can into doing it, and — eventually — it will be what you do.
Maddening, right? But it is absolutely true.
I wrote about music for more than half a decade before I met anyone willing to pay me for my words. The years before that had been spent writing in between class and shifts at whatever miserable job I could find. I woke up early and stayed up late, often splitting my nights between covering concerts and writing about what I had seen so that I could go out and cover something else the following evening. Everything in my life took a backseat to my passion for writing, and even though I wasn’t making much, if anything, through doing it my continued efforts to improve gave me an immense sense of personal satisfaction. I wrote with hopes of becoming a writer just as much as I wrote to make myself happy.
By the time anyone other than PPC (pay per click) vendors were willing to pay me for my work I had already established a presence and personal brand in the world of music. I knew the people I once wanted to be and they knew me. I posted about securing a paid gig and several of those same people congratulated me, but within hours they — and I — had moved on. The news money was coming in soon was nice, but I had to focus on the present in order to reach that point where someone paid me. I had established a routine for writing that remained largely unchanged by the presence of paid work because in my mind I was going to be writing either way. My passion for writing was never tied to money so the fact it was starting to come in was — to me— no excuse to act in any manner than the way I was behaving when it felt like no one cared at all.
Years later and I am now a full-time professional doing what I love in the field I love. The journey to this place was filled with ups and downs, but in hindsight I am able to understand every step of the way was necessary in order to handle the demands, challenges, opportunities that working full time in entertainment can present. I have a thick skin, and I know that in order to be my best self creatively I have to care for mental and physical well being. I understand how to network and I know how to write.
There is still plenty left for me to learn, but every morning when I wake up I know I am able to handle whatever life throws at me because of the time I have invested in my craft. Others recognizes this as well, which is why I am able to have a job and continue building my connection. People know I can handle the work, and they know it is ultimately not money that motivates me, but passion. This industry runs on passion.
Once you harness your passion and set to being the best you can be at whatever it is you want to do the rest will begin to fall into place. It won’t happen today, tomorrow, or even next week, but if you stick with something and constantly work at improving yourself the day will come when you finally lift your head and realize you’re where you always wanted to be. It sounds foolish and maybe even a little delusional, but I am telling you it is the truth because it happened to me in spite of the fact I believed such ideas to be nonsense.
No one wants to tell young minds how few of them will actually grow up and do the work needed to reach their goals, but it is the absolute truth. Most people are not willing to do the work, and of those that are many will only work for so long before they demand the world give them something in return. The world owes you nothing. If you want to be something you have to make something out of yourself. Do the work and you will succeed. It’s that easy and that hard.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of the Inside Music podcast. You should follow him on Twitter.
Say what you will about how the age of streaming has decluttered the life of music fans by doing away with the need for physical releases, but ask someone to use those same services to learn the lyrics of their new favorite song and your question will be met with silence. Between Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Rdio, and Tidal there is not a single platform that allows users to follow along with a song by reading the track’s lyrics. Those wishing to do that music first open an internet browser, Google a few keywords, and then-9 times out of 10-they will find a non-artist owned site to read from. Any ad money generated from this activity goes to the owner of the site that posted the lyrics and not the artists who wrote the lyrics in the first place.
This was rarely the case when CDs were popular. People talk about holding the album in their hands and how the presence of a physical product gave more value to the fact money was being spent, but for me the best part of owning any record was pouring over the lyrics contained within the meticulously crafted booklet included with each album. When I bought a record and no words were within, I was upset. With enough spins you can learn the words to pretty much any song, but there is something far more meaningful about being able to read and understand them from the first or second listen. It frees the mind to focus more on the music as a whole, allowing listening the chance to properly experience each rise and fall as the artist intended, which in turn gives more meaning to the lyrics.
Regardless of how famous or unknown they may be, every artist should make it a point to post their lyrics online through a site or page they control. If not for the sake of controlling the conversation around your content online, then for the sake of fans new and old. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve discovered a promising new band online, only to become instantly discouraged when there was no place for me to read and decipher the content of their music. Fans want to be able to sing along with the songs they love, regardless of whether or not the words are easy to learn (I’m looking at you, Korean Migos), and when artists do not take the responsibility to educate fans about their art it either gets posted by a third party who then profits for no good reason, or it goes uncovered, as is the case for many smaller bands.
Platforms like Purevolume and Bandcamp offer the ability to add lyrics to streams. They understand that part of the music discovery experience is learning to sing along. They know that once someone finds an artist they feel a connection to they will immediately want to know everything they can about that talent, starting with the words behind the music. They want to see what it is about the words that connect with their life, or what it is about the hook that makes them feel inspired. When no lyrics are immediately available, there is a high risk of quick burnout from new new listeners. An artist’s music may be strong, but in an age as flooded with quality artist as today’s music market it requires a lot more than sheer talent to hold the attention the average music consumer. There needs to be a real emotional connection, and while that may begin with the music, it’s often sealed with the words themselves.
Start today. Don’t wait another minute. Chances are high if you’re an artist reading this now you already have some, if not all of your lyrics stored somewhere on your computer or mobile device. Log onto you numerous streaming accounts, as well as your personal website, and post those lyrics as soon as you are able. Afterwards, promote the presence of these lyrics and invite fans to learn the words before your next show. You can also use this approach for regional marketing, challenging various cities to sing along to singles louder than other cities, or simply encouraging a quick refresher of what’s in store before your big show. Whatever you do, get those lyrics online. Please.
This morning I woke up to learn it was -7 degree Fahrenheit outside. This was not the wind chill estimate, but in fact the actual temperature. It was a moment of horror that soon gave way to reflection because the sheer fact it’s possible for such a cold to set in can mean only one thing, and that is that we are almost to the end of 2016. A new year is less than three weeks away and to be completely honest I am not at all prepared.
Working online is a constant battle between what you want to be doing and what cultural trends demand that you do. Maybe you want to write a daily editorial on something that matters to you, but you also need to exist on social media, actively market your existing work, and plan for what you will do over the next several days, weeks, months, etc. Heck, I spent more than three hours of my weekend scheduling tweets to run during the holidays so that I might spend a little more time with family and a little less staring at my phone (note I said less and not ‘no time at all’ because – let’s face it – that simply isn’t a reality for most right now).
So there I was, avoiding the cold and contemplating the approaching new year. The one thought running through my mind over and over was what it was I wanted to do in 2017 that I have as of yet been unable to accomplish. I’m sure many of you have or will find yourself internally debating this same question in the days to come if you have not already begun to do so. Most of us never thought we could get a foot in the door of this business, so usually we’re pretty happy just to be here in the moment working on whatever is immediately in front of us, but we owe it to ourselves to look up and think about what could lie on the horizon. It took a world of belief in yourself to get this far, so you – and I – can’t stop now.
Here are a few things I encourage you to think ask yourself when contemplating the places you will go in the year ahead:
Is what I’m doing right now making me truly happy?
No one gets into music because they dislike music, but just because you’ve gotten your foot in the door or found a role that helps pay the bills does not mean your journey has to come to an end, or even stall. We have all spent our lives being told that next to no one makes it in the entertainment business, and because of this we have a tendency to not want to risk what little success we have already found. This may be good for the sake of security, but in the grand scheme of existence all you are really doing by not chasing after exactly what it is that you want to do is restricting a part of yourself. You are preventing yourself from becoming the person you feel you were meant to be in order to please someone or some thing other than yourself. That may provide short term happiness, but it will absolutely create longterm regret. 2017 should be the year you focus in on what makes you happy and pursue it with all the strength you have in your bones.
Am I making the most of my time?
Laziness is a disease that infects us all to varying degrees. What few people will tell you is that the extent laziness impacts your life is entirely in your control. Just like how we all have a habit of settling for the first opportunity that comes our way we also have a habit of wasting time we know could be better spent focusing on our goals. Maybe you tweet too much (guilty), or perhaps you scroll Facebook even after complaining to everyone you know about how awful Facebook is these days (also guilty). Maybe you sleep until the last possible minute every morning and rush to work without eating a good breakfast or exercising (guilty again). Whatever the case, there are things you do on a regular basis that deep down you know are nothing more than a waste of time and resources. Identify those elements in your life and set to minimizing them in the new year. I’m not saying you shouldn’t relax, but if you feel something you are doing is not right you need to listen to that sensation and correct your path.
How can I work towards my goals without sacrificing something I need (work/money/etc)?
Reaching almost any goal requires some kind of sacrifice on your part, but you have to be smart about what you sacrifice or else you may get yourself into trouble. If your passions lie outside your current workplace and you have no other way to make money then you probably shouldn’t quit your job to pursue your dream full time. Dreams require money. Life requires money. You have to make sure your needs are met in order to have the mental clarity needed to pursue your passions. I like to say people should sacrifice within reason, or sacrifice what they are able, as long as it does not interfere with their quality of life in such a way that they are doing harm to themselves and/or their families.
What can I do to improve life for those around me?
If your bucket list for the new year reads like the agenda of a person who has the world’s biggest ego then your brain is leading you down a broken path. Happiness in life comes from much more than personal gain. You know that saying about how it’s cold at the top? People say that because they often reach the pinnacle of their personal journey and realize they have left behind the people, places, and things that mean the most to them. Victory doesn’t have to be a lonely thing, but you have to be conscious about your actions if you wish to lift up everyone around you in 2017. Helping others often improves happiness far more than personal accomplishments, and it does so while developing better relationships with those who mean the most to you.
How will reaching my goals for 2017 help me in 2018 and beyond?
Life is about the journey, not the destination, so you shouldn’t be looking at 2017 and thinking it will be the last year you ever have goals. Knowing where you want to be in two, five, or even ten years can help you figure out what you need to do in the coming months in order to achieve your long term goals. Once you reach them, set more and repeat the process over and over again until you die. Life is for the living. Keep your head up, your hopes high, and never let a bad day, week, month, or even year deter you from chasing after the things you want.
It’s important to note that not all goals have to be long term. If you want to eat the world’s biggest slice or pizza or work your way to running a 5k those things can be done in a relatively short amount of time. My advice is to balance the big goals with smaller, more easy to accomplish ones so that completing those tasks will help keep you motivated to fight for the bigger picture.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of the Inside Music podcast. You should follow him on Twitter.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, video is the future of communication. This is not an easy thing for me to admit, but from everything I’ve seen in 2016 it appears to be an undeniable truth. In a time where fake news is causing a kind of global disruption we have never really witnessed before, video driven content can be a powerful tool for shaping the dialogue around pretty much anything.
There will always be a need for the written word, so please do not consider this post as a reason to slack off or stop writing every day. You need to write, but you also need to recognize the fact that people are consuming more information than ever these days through many more channels than ever before. A good amount of people still read the news, but many also listen to news related podcasts and watch lengthy video editorials about hot topics. Some learn everything they carry with them each day through video segments shared over Facebook. You can believe that is a good thing or not, but that doesn’t change the fact its true, and if you want to continue growing your audience in the new year you’re going to need to focus more on video. Here’s why:
Video helps people know, like, and trust you.
One of the coolest things about the internet has always been the fact it enables everyone to have a voice and share their opinion. As social media has taken off and further empowered this idea the ability for any one writer or thinker to stand out has become incredibly difficult. Discerning one writer’s work from another when most are communicating in 140 characters or less can be hard on consumers, but there is no denying who you are when you put yourself on video for the world to see. By presenting your thoughts and opinions through video you are able to establish a connection with your audience that the written world simply cannot duplicate. People will feel like they know you even they you have never met, and if you choose to broadcast live you can interact with your audience in real time (something, again, that written word cannot offer).
Videos can humanize you in a way the written word cannot
There is no escaping troll culture. No matter where you go or what you write there will inevitably some – likely anonymous – commenter who tells you that you are somehow a lesser than them and the rest of the human race. It happens to everyone everywhere online and making video content will not change that, but it can lead to a more immediate connection between you and your audience. People seeking out information online regarding the things they love are looking to hear that information from people who share their passion, and our brains are wired in such a way that we make that judgment far faster visually than we do through text. You can give the appearance of looking smart and informed far easier than you can make people believe you know what you’re talking about through text. Again, this is both a good and bad thing, but it’s a truth nonetheless. By putting yourself front and center you are inviting the audience to experience life with you, as well as through you, and if they enjoy that journey they will stick around, binging your updates as if they were the latest Netflix original series.
People are consuming more and more content on the go, and most of what they consume is video.
The Ericsson Mobility Report highlights how 50 percent of mobile data traffic currently comes from video, and in 2016 that number is expected to rise to 52%. Reuters predicts video will grow 14 times within five years and account for 70 percent of mobile network traffic. You can debate whether or not written word provides more depth and detail, but there is no denying what these numbers tell us about how consuming behavior is changing in the digital age. People want video, and there are no signs of that trend changing in the coming years.
If you don’t embrace video you will get left behind. It’s that simple.
