Tag: Advice For Music Bloggers

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How to Care For Yourself And Your Music Career [VIDEO]

take care music career

Everywhere you look, people are encouraging you to work harder, but there is more to life and success in music than grinding yourself to death.

The world is full of lies, and the most hurtful are often those disguised as advice. Motivational speakers and authors everywhere have spent the past several years speaking about the need to work harder. “Do more of what you love,” they say. “You have to want it more than anyone else.”

Working hard can lead to success, but there is more to life and having a career than working around the clock. The CEOs of tomorrow are not necessarily the people working eighty-hours a week right now. The innovators who will lead us into the future are not pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion every single day. Hard work plays a part, sure, but it is not the entire story.

When you speak to people in positions of power they will tell you that taking time off can be as beneficial as working long hours. The human body has limits. You can only do so much and come up with so many ideas before you hit a wall. You can push yourself beyond that point, which many do, but such behavior produces diminishing results.

In this episode of Music Biz, host James Shotwell tells us about the dangers of living a ‘hustler harder‘ lifestyle.

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The Best Career Advice That No One In Music Takes Seriously

The best advice for avoiding burnout and developing your career requires the least amount of work.

We live in the ‘motivation age.’ Whether it be in books, on podcasts, or plastered throughout social media, there is no shortage of people shouting into the void about maintaining forward momentum. They tell us to sleep eight hours a night, exercise daily, eat clean, and hustle — always hustle. 

Want to get your dream job? Hustle. Want to get ahead in your career after landing that great gig? Hustle. Want to have a spouse and a family? Well, you better hustle so hard that you can afford the time away from hustling required to do all those goals that have nothing to do with work.

If you’re working in entertainment today, you have probably spent a Saturday morning or Sunday evening checking emails when you should have been doing something with family and friends. You have likely worked ten or twelve-hour days when you’re only required to do eight. You have chased the approval of superiors to a fault because you fear something bad will happen if you take even one day for yourself. 

I have been this person more times than I would like to admit. My partner has been this way, too. We are always struggling to balance work and life outside of work. More often than not, work takes priority.

There is a growing body of scientific evidence that tells us such thinking is bad for our mental and physical health. You can push your brain pretty far, but eventually, your brain starts to push back. The creativity that once flowed like water becomes a slow drip. The spreadsheets that once felt straightforward suddenly feel complicated. What is easy feels exhaustingly difficult.

“There is a lot of research that says we have a limited pool of cognitive resources,” says Allison Gabriel, an assistant professor of management at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies job demands and employee motivation. “When you are constantly draining your resources, you are not being as productive as you can be. If you get depleted, we see performance decline. You’re able to persist less and have trouble solving tasks.”

The law of diminishing returns is a phrase used to refer to a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested. All humans have this point, and most of us are doing all the wrong things to increase the longevity of our productivity. We do more and more when we should be doing less. We fear asking for time off because we feel to do so is admitting weakness. We tell ourselves we are undeserving of rest because there is more to be done.

Everyone’s story is different. The vacation time afforded to one person may be far greater or less than the next. Whatever your case happens to be, use these steps to get ahead by getting away:

Experience life outside work:

When Scooter Ward of the rock band Cold finished his last album cycle, the legendary musician had the opportunity to record something new. Ward chose instead to take some time to experience life. In an interview on the Inside Music Podcast he explained his decision by recognizing the role everyday life plays in creative pursuits. “My music is inspired by what is happening in my life. You can grind it out on the road or in the studio nonstop, but eventually, all you’re doing is writing music for other musicians stuck in that situation.”

Sometimes people lose sight of why we work. You don’t have a job because it’s the cool thing to do. Careers can be exciting, but they are not (usually) the main source of joy in our lives. People work so that they can afford to spend time with friends, care for a family, and travel the world. Living life without feeling tethered to work is key to our longterm happiness. Don’t lose sight of what really matters.

Take a vacation.

You do not need to visit another country or spend a ton of money to take a vacation. For some, vacations take place in the homes they otherwise never see because they are working around the clock. Others may use time off to try new hobbies. Find what fits your budget, set an away message on emails, and do your best to do as little as possible that puts a strain on your brain.

Set boundaries with your job by setting aside at least one day or evening a week that is work-free. 

The wheels of business never stop turning, but you should. You are legally afforded time off.  However, it is on you to take full advantage of that allowance. If you do not draw a line with work it will follow you everywhere you go. You should be able to eat dinner without keeping your phone on the table. You should be able to wake up and not immediately check your emails. You have to separate your life from your career because, in time, the job will pass and the business will roll on without you. When that day comes, what will you have left? Will there be people in your life? Animals? Will you have an existence that continues without the tether of work or will you have given your precious time on this planet to help someone make more money?

Take short play breaks during the week.

Sometimes the break your brain needs does not require time off or hours away from your work. Sometimes all you need is five minutes to grab a cup of coffee without checking your phone or go one a walk. If you want to check your social media or play a mobile game, that’s fine too. Take a few moments to yourself whenever you feel brain strain setting in and you will be amazed at how fast you recover.

If you don’t feel like you can take five minutes to do something without checking your work emails or answering a text, please reconsider the boundaries you have set at work. There are very few jobs where every message is a life or death scenario that needs immediate attention. I’m not encouraging you to slack off, but you have to take care of yourself.

Take naps

Finding time to rest in the middle of the day is harder for some than others, but it is a worthwhile affair for all. Carve out time when you’re working through the weekend to decompress on your couch or in your bed. Take thirty minutes to rest and recover. Your body will thank you.

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Learning how to fail is an essential part of succeeding in the music business

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” - Thomas Edison

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

As much as you may like to believe your career in music is infallible, or that you have a gift for songwriting no one will be able to deny, I can guarantee you there will always be days when your best efforts come up short. Failure is an unavoidable byproduct of any creative endeavor, and regardless of what level of fame you reach in this business there will always bad days. The point of continuing to create is not to work towards perfection, but to take into consideration everything that has happened, both good and evil, and apply it to whatever comes next. Art, like life, is a constant progression, and the best you can do is learn how to frame each failure as something other that is ultimately beneficial to your career.

The number of ways you can screw up in music is numerous, and they range from writing a bad single, to performing in such a way that disappoints your fans. We cannot begin to break down every single instance of failure and how it can be viewed as a positive, but we can offer tips to help you deal with any situation where things do not go as planned. The advice that follows may seem fairly obvious to some, but if applied to your next misstep we guarantee growth will occur. It might not be easy, but it will be beneficial to your creativity in the long run, and at the end of the day that is what matters most.

Start with the truth. Accept the situation for what it is, and be prepared to face it head-on.

Everyone has heard that line about how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and the reason we’ve all heard it is that it’s entirely accurate. You might have written the best song you believe yourself possible of creating, but for one reason or another, it might not connect with listeners. Likewise, you may give what you feel is the performance of a lifetime, only to look at Twitter after the gig and read tweet after tweet complaining about the sound. In times like this it’s incredibly easy to take a defensive stance, but to do so would be an error. Accept that not everyone will experience things the way you do and try to see things from the outsider’s perspective. Be humbled by the fact you received any response at all, as most never do, and ask yourself how you could improve or change what you’re doing in the future.

The key to this step is honesty. It’s okay to say you love something that your fans do no, but do not blame them for not feeling the same. Art is subjective, but if you listen to your audience, you should be able to find a way to do what you want while still playing to their demands. You don’t have to, of course, but most great artists find a way to compromise that satisfies everyone.

Look for the positive, no matter how small it may be.

Let’s say your new album was expected to sell ten thousand copies its first week and only sold fifteen-hundred. That disappointment would be quite a sting, especially from a financial standpoint, but considering the fact that less than 1% of all the albums released in any given year sell more than a thousand copies then you’re still among the most famous musicians in the world. You may not have ten thousand people clamoring to purchase your new album, but fifteen-hundred consumers are indeed nothing to scoff at. There are towns and villages all over the world that have populations far below fifteen-hundred people, and even fewer people outside those communities know they exist. You may not be where you want to be, but you are farther along than most, and that is something you should never take for granted.

The point is, there is also an upside. Your new demo may have gone over worse than Jar Jar Binks, but at least by sharing it with fans, you learned something new about what they expect from you and what they hope to hear from any future material. This knowledge can and should inform future recordings which, in theory, will be received better than whatever came before.

Do not be afraid to take time away from the internet.

We are convinced there are at least two negative comments for every positive one on pretty much every song, video, or think piece posted online. People are far quicker to complain than they are to compliment, especially in a public forum, which is why you should consider taking time away from the constant barrage of commentary social media provides when things take a turn for the worse. If you know the incoming messages are going to be riddled with negativity, there is no reason to wallow in the hurt feelings such commentary can cause. Absorb enough to understand why people are upset, then step away and take time to reflect on how you can improve your efforts in the future. You do not need the internet to do this, and in our opinion, you shouldn’t use it. Stay offline until you have something new to share, and if that doesn’t go over then feel free to take more time away. In fact, take as much time as you need. The internet will still be here when you return.

Whatever you do, keep creating.

No matter how you initially react to failure, you cannot let the ensuing negativity defeat you. Keep producing, always, and do not stop until you decide you are finished. There will still be someone in the world who thinks you are not good enough, but you cannot let the opinions of a select few stop you from expressing yourself through art. Creativity is a gift that is all too rare in this world, and it should be shared at every opportunity. Don’t let the haters win.

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In the music business, you can never get too comfortable

Succeeding in the music business is hard work, and the only way to get ahead is by doing everything you can to consistently develop new skills.

The goal of every aspiring professional is to land their dream job and feel secure within it. You could say the same for current professionals as well. Everyone hopes to find something to do for a living that compliments their interests and has the potential to last for many years. No one likes looking for work, and no one wants to go through life feeling as though their job may be taken away from them at a moment’s notice, especially if they’re good at what they do. 

Life in the music business is a tricky proposition. On the one hand, finding employment can mean the actualization of dreams that have lived in someone’s soul from a very early age. On the other hand, maintaining a job once employed is never guaranteed. Business come and go in this industry just like trends in music. The label that employs 300 people today could very well find themselves needing only a fraction of that staff in five years time. Consumers dictate which businesses thrive and which companies die. You can be the best at what you do, but if no one is buying or supporting that thing there is a good chance you could soon be looking for work once more.

I tell you this not to discourage you, but to reinforce the need to stay engaged in the industry.  If you want to work in music then you have to accept the fact you the hustle really never ends. That doesn’t mean you have to work 24/7, but it does mean you need to be constantly pushing yourself towards bigger and better things. Full-time employment is not enough. Paying your bills is not enough. It’s not about money and it’s not about things. Longterm success in music is about constant personal development, both for yourself and for those around you.

Several years ago the head of publicity at an iconic heavy metal label told me that he challenged himself to develop a new skill every year that would – in some way – aide him in life. The year we spoke he had set to learning video editing, and by the following spring, he was making additional money creating promotional clips and lyric videos for bands of all sizes. He was also creating more interesting content for work, which in turn helped push the label forward.

We apply a similar practice here at Haulix. We invest in the skills our marketing and sales team need, such as public speaking and graphic design. We encourage our programmers to be creative with their designs, make training available to support team members, and hold weekly meetings to discuss the economics of our market with the entire team present. We don’t want our team to understand our business alone, we want them to understand the industry and our role in it, as well as that of all our competitors.

So ask yourself: What don’t I know?

Got it? Okay. Get to work.

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A crash course in avoiding music industry burnout

Everyone in music works too much and has a million things they feel they must accomplish, but taking time to recover is just as important as getting ahead.

Movies and television based on the life of music professionals and the artists they support make the entertainment business seem like a nonstop party highlighted by epic highs and perilous lows. It’s true that there is a lot of fun to be had in this industry, as well as plenty of opportunities to cut loose, but work is work. Music professionals often put in 45-80 hour weeks, every week, for as long as they can convince their body to continue getting out of bed. It’s like the postal service motto about how no weather can stop the mail from being delivered, only without the exercise.

There are many professionals working in music today who are great at their jobs. These individuals are the movers and shakers of the industry. They pour every ounce of themselves into their daily tasks, exceed expectations, and quite often find themselves being praised for all they do on industry blogs. The entertainment business tells us to admire those professionals because they have the power to make dreams come true, but far too often celebrations of talent overlook one key to success that anyone who makes a lasting career out of music possesses: Avoiding Burnout.

If 100 people decided to pursue working in the music industry at the same time, how many would eventually have a career? Of those that make it, how many would last more than five years? Ten? Twenty?

These are questions I think about a lot. Having worked in music for a decade now, longer if you count unpaid work, I’ve lost count of how many friends and acquaintances have chosen to pursue other careers. Some feel they will never find stable employment, while others run themselves ragged trying to establish a presence in the industry.

Not long ago, a magazine Editor I had worked with for nearly six years abruptly exited his role. When I inquired as to  why he stepped down his response was simple, “I’m just tired.”

Anyone who chooses to pursue a career in music is told from the day they make their desires known that success is a rarity guaranteed to no one. We are trained to believe music is a battleground where the hardest working people trample one another to uplift the most creative minds we can uncover. We are told to network, but also keep our cards close to our chest, and because of all this the stress involved in pursuing a music career can be downright overwhelming.

When you pour everything you have into something you’re passionate about results will happen. The problem is that no one is able to pour themselves entirely into their passion for as long as they have air in their lungs. Human beings did not evolve to be creatures of habit, living to work and working to live. To borrow a phrase from the band Switchfoot, “We were meant to live for so much more.”

But the music industry doesn’t recognize that. No business or industry does because businesses and industries exist to profit above all else. From a business perspective, time off equals time spent not making money, and who doesn’t want to make money?

Money is great, but it’s not everything. Your happiness and peace of mind are worth more than any paycheck could afford, but the need to realize that falls on the professional and not the people who employ them. If you allow it, working in music or any other industry will drain you of your passion, work you ragged, and keep you away from those you love. In a business as fickle as music, it’s hard for those working to feel strong enough to express a need for a break or vacation, but it’s something that must be done to ensure longterm success in this business.

With all that in mind, here are a few tips to help ease the burden of the nonstop pace of the music industry. The advice outlined below should be viewed as a treatment and not a cure. You need to get away from it all in order to remember why you gave a damn in the first place. Don’t lose hope.

1. Put a priority on face-to-face social contact with supportive people

Social media is a fantastic innovation, but all too often we confuse the connections the digital world provides with being a replacement for legitimate human contact. Too much time alone can cause legitimate sickness, sometimes with life-altering consequences.

2. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect from technology

You are addicted to technology. We all are, in fact, and because of this, our brains are rarely given a chance to decompress. Set aside a part of each day, even just 30 minutes, where you exist without the aide of a screen or device.

3. Move your body frequently—don’t sit for more than an hour

You don’t have to go to the gym, but it certainly won’t hurt. Physical activity increases the endorphins in your body, which in turn alleviates stress. Try to never go more than two-hours without fitting in physical activity of some kind. Take a walk. Try yoga. Be active.

4. Reduce your intake of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine

In other words, “control your high.” You may think you need these things to function or fit in, but too much of anything is not good for you. In some instances, as with cigarettes, any amount is not good for you. Try to limit mind/body altering substances so that your body does not have to work as hard to reset your system from day to day.

5. Get all the restful sleep that you need to feel your best

The average American adult currently gets just 6.7 hours of sleep per night. Medical studies have related a lack of sleep to health problems and cognitive impairment. With this in mind, try to get anywhere from 7-9 hours a night. If you cannot make that work, maybe carve out a cat nap in the afternoon.

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The importance of brand consistency in music

Your music is your business.

You might not rely on music to pay your bills, but I am willing to wager that a part of you hopes will one day provide for your needs. The fact you even consider this as a possibility should make it clear that your music is a business. Your name – be it your own or that of your group – is your brand, and your product is a mixture of music and live performance.

The term ‘brand consistency’ refers to any attempt to communicate messages in a way which doesn’t detract or wander away from the core brand strategy, values and foundation. In other words, brand consistency is all about being yourself in everything that you do so that consumers know who you are, what you produce, and what your work is all about.

To be clear, brand consistency is much deeper than remembering to use the same logo with proper Pantone color over and over again. These things are helpful, but brand consistency is an ever-evolving process that pulls consumers into your narrative and makes them feel as if they are a part of your personal journey. From your music to the photos you choose to promote your every move, and everything in between, your message and focus needs to be clear.

Without brand consistency, consumers will lose sight of the message you are trying to convey, which in turn will cause them to lose interest. If they cannot understand what you are trying to do, they will find it hard to trust your future output, thus making it increasingly hard to convert listeners to supporters.

The biggest acts of today, be it Drake or Twenty One Pilots, have impeccable brand consistency. Everything these artists release relates back to the messages they are trying to convey, and in many cases further, a narrative that the artist has been developing for the majority – if not all – of their career.

Every artist and band should establish a brand and a guideline for maintaining it as soon as possible. These efforts should include instructions on how to use all your branding tools (name, logo, typeface, photos, color palettes, etc.). Being specific is key. Know exactly how you want to be presented and find clear ways to communicate that to anyone who works with you moving forward. This includes publicists, booking agents, promoters, etc.

If you are unsure of what your brand is or what people expect from your music, do not be afraid to turn to your fans for answers. Their response may not be uniform, but it will shed light on what elements of your current output are resonating most with your audience. Embrace those things, further emphasize them, and plot your next moves with that knowledge in mind.

For help marketing your new and unreleased music to the industry at large while staying on brand, consider using Haulix for your promotional distribution needs. Haulix offers customizable promo pages and email invitations no competitor can rival. Sign up now for a free one-month trial.

J

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10 Ways to Ensure You Never Get a Reply From the Band/Publicist You Emailed

One of the great things about running this blog has provided us is the opportunity to engage with a wide range of music industry professionals on a daily basis. From publicists and marketing gurus, to bloggers with big dreams who are still in college, the spectrum of people we consult when creating content is pretty vast. You never know where the next great idea will come from, but you know it will come in time.

Recently, one longtime reader of the blog shared with us their list of reasons why bands and/or publicists may not be replying to a writer’s emails. Some of the points made were obvious, but as we have learned time and time again it’s never safe to assume people understand a certain concept or process unless you’ve walked them through it before, so we decided to run the list in full. A few items have been altered ever-so-slightly for the sake of editorial fluidity, but the points remain the same. Here we go…

1. Your subject line references Satan and/or includes the word(s): “hails”, “perfunctory”, “slappin’”, or “skunked.”

This one applies mostly to the metal world, but those hoping to work with Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus would be wise to keep mentions of the dark lord to a minimum as well. Every email sent should be viewed as an extension of yourself, and as such should reflect the level of professionalism found in your work. You don’t want to come across as a fanboy looking for early access, and you certainly don’t want to sound like an inexperienced critic who relies far too heavily on edgy adjectives. Just keep your subject line direct and simple and you will be fine.

2. Your subject line is empty.

This may actually be worse than mentioning Satan in your subject line, if only because the presence of the word ‘satan’ would mean you actually put effort in your pitch. There is nothing professional or engaging about blank subject lines. In fact, they make your message appear more like spam than anything else, and we all know how people respond to spam.

3. You begin the body of your email with “Look…we both know”

No, we don’t. Unless you’re best buds with the person you’re email you should never begin a letter with something as vague and presumptuous as the phrase highlighted in this point. There is nothing you both know until the receiving party receives your request, and even then they probably have some questions for you. Do not assume anything when contacting other professionals. Instead, always make it a point to introduce yourself, your outlet, and the purpose of your message right at the top of every email. This way, confusion will be kept to a minimum.

4. You put more time into the out of context Proust quote for your signature than you do in the actual content of your email. 

What this means is that your message reads like it was copy and pasted from a hundred similar pitches mailed to a hundred different artists or outlets. While there will be some who reply to these type of emails, most prefer a more personal approach. Address people by their name, reference the artist/album you’re writing about, and make it a point to present yourself in an intelligent. Bands and publicists often receive dozens of emails a day, if not more, so make sure the content of your message is worth their precious time.

5. Your signature is basically just a bunch of random GIFs of you wearing a gas mask and throwing up the horns.

Remember the three or four times I mentioned professionalism in the points above? If your signature appears to be something created by a middle school student setting up their first-ever email account it may actually lower the likelihood of you receiving a response. Artists and publicists are always seeing someone to cover their latest projects, but they want that coverage to come from respectable outlets they believe will benefit their talent. Establishing their belief that you can provide such benefits begins with your first email. Don’t mess it up.

6. You misspell stuff

Spellcheck has been around as long, if not longer than the internet. There is no excuse for your poor grammar in 2015. 

7. You’re a pompous ass

You’re not the next great thing in music journalism. Even if you are, don’t act like it. You may be able to expose artists to large audiences, but that doesn’t make you a one man Rolling Stone or give you the right to act as if you are somehow above anyone else in the music industry. Being humble in this business will get you much further than walking around with a chip on your shoulder. 

8. You (repeatedly) mention the time you smoked weed with a celebrity only to find out later it was just a random homeless woman at Arby’s.

While it’s true that a lot of wild and crazy stuff can happen during interviews, it’s considered incredibly unprofessional to brag about those exploits when attempting to establish one’s standing in the business. No one cares how many shots you did with Escape The Fate in the basement of The Crofoot, nor does anyone want to know who won in the blunt rolling contest you had with Juicy J in Atlanta, at least not in a pitch email. If you can fit that stuff into a feature that’s one thing, but tales of debauchery set against what should be professional situations are not going to impress anyone in music.

9. Your request turns into a 2500-word invective against “The Machine”

Everyone is busy in music and no one has time to read everything sent their way. Your chances of having your email read, let alone responded, increase exponentially with the less words needed to make your inquiry known. Be thorough, of course, but also try to cut out any unnecessary information. Tell the band or publicist who you are, who you write for, and how you would like to cover them and/or their latest project. Add details that answer any obvious questions they may have (length, time frame, format) and provide information on how to follow-up with questions of their own. Beyond that, there is very little your initial outreach should require. Remember: Keep it simple.

10. It’s been in your Drafts folder for six months even though you thought you sent it. Dummy.

No one is above this mistake. You’ve either done it, or you will do it sometime in the future.

This article was created with help from Jonathan K Dick, who requested that we also give credit to Trevor Shelley de Brauw. Thanks guys!

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