Tag: Advice for musicians

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Haulix Advice: Embracing Internet Radio

Hello and welcome to the very first ‘Advice’ column of 2014. We have been planning a number of these articles for the weeks ahead and are beyond excited to begin rolling them out this afternoon. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

If you read our feature with Vince Edwards from Metal Blade Records last week you may recall him mentioning how radio is still one of the best pathways to a career in music available today. This was directed towards aspiring professionals at the time, but the same applies to independent musicians as well. Radio has always been one of the best avenues to new listeners available to artists, and even though your time at terrestrial stations may still be far away, the age of the internet has created countless new stations/podcasts/outlets for reaching consumers. We cannot guarantee airplay for anyone, but if you follow the advice below you will position yourself as well as you possibly can for exposure on radio in 2014.

It’s worth noting that it is possible for artists to hire people and companies who specialize in radio promotion, but for the purposes of this column we are speaking to those who prefer to go the DIY route. It usually takes more effort on the part of the artist, but the costs are much lower (and people tend to appreciate the personal touch).

As I mentioned above, the digital age has brought a wealth of new radio opportunities for artists that were not possible even a decade ago. Whether you hope to be in the mix on Pandora, spotlighted with other newcomers on New Music Inferno, or if you want to sit across from comedians like Marc Maron and talk life, the boom of internet radio has created a variety of new and innovative avenues for your music to reach people who may have otherwise never knew your art existed. Before you can reach them however, you need to set some goals. Decide what type of audiences you hope to reach and in what ways you want to reach them. Do you want to have your song added to a bunch of shows, or do you want to promote the new record with an interview? Every radio show is different, especially online, and knowing what type of programming you want to be a part of before diving any further into your quest for digital exposure will aide your efforts later on.

Once you have a handle on the type of shows you want to contact, you will undoubtedly need to research the best programs that fit your criteria. To help get you started, we’ve included a few links below:

  • Want to be featured on Pandora? Make sure you meet the requirements outlined in this article and then head to the official submission site to apply for placement.
  • Need a list of popular radio shows? Wikipedia can help get you started. We also suggest combing through the top radio stations and music themed podcasts available on iTunes.
  • Looking for airplay and are open to exposure from anyone will to share your art? Signing up for Music Alley will help make your media available to broadcasters in search of new music.

After your list is compiled, you will need to research each outlet individually to understand the procedures that you must follow in order to submit your music. There will likely be similarities along the way, but every station is unique. Keep this in mind and do whatever you can to personalize the messaging that is sent alongside your media. Sending a blanket message to every email you find is tempting, but crafting original messaging can go a long way towards forging relationships with hosts, DJs, broadcasters, and beyond. You never know who will read your message or who will hear music as a result of your submission. Don’t take any opportunity for exposure for granted.

Need more help on this topic? Maybe this article can help:
Advice: 5 Tips For Crafting The Perfect Pitch Letter

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Haulix Advice: Optimizing Your YouTube Presence (Pt. 2)

Hello and welcome to the final Advice column of the week! We have had a lot of fun on the blog this week, and we’re excited to cap things off with the second installment of our ongoing series on YouTube optimization. If you have an idea for a future installment of this column, or if you have any questions you would like to see tackled in the weeks ahead, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.

If you stopped by this blog last week there is a decent chance you caught the debut of our new series on YouTube optimization. That column, which can be found here, covers the basics of metadata and how proper tagging can benefit your ranking in search results. This week we’re looking at profile (know as your ‘channel’) design, and how following a few simple tips can make a wealth of difference in your overall engagement. To do this, we reached out to our good friends at Digital Tour Bus, and once again they were kind enough to collaborate on this piece.

Before we dive in, I wanted to inform you that this series will be continuing for at least another two weeks (until the end of 2013). We are tentatively planning a 2014 installment after the next wave of updates rolls out. Make sure you are following us on Twitter and Facebook to ensure you never miss another post.

Setting Up Your Channel For Success

YouTube is a game that is constantly changing. Google is always finding ways to make the site better and faster, with the ultimate goal of improving the experience for their users. That being said, it is important to always keep yourself informed of these changes, if you want your strategy to give you the best results. Here are some sites you should bookmark to keep up with the YouTube scene: YouTube’s Creators Blog, New Media Rockstars and Tubefilter.

In this blog, I want to focus on the organization of your YouTube channel. With the new layout that Google introduced early this year, they have provided their channel owners with a lot of new organizational tools.

Take a look at my channel, Digital Tour Bus. If you’re not subscribed to our channel, you’ll immediately see our featured video, which is currently the debut episode of our new series, Cooking at 65 MPH. This spot can either be used for a video that you want all of your channel viewers to watch or for an introduction video to your channel. We’ve chosen to feature an existing video until we can come up with the most effective way to introduce our channel in a trailer.

Right under the featured video, you’ll see what are called “shelves.” With the new layout that YouTube launched, this is one of the big organizational features they started offering. There are a lot you can do with a shelf. If you look at DTB’s profile, we currently have shelves for our “recent videos,” “popular videos,” and a few individual “playlists,” as well as a shelf to display all of our playlists. My goal with DTB’s shelf placements is to showcase the variety that we offer. You might want to use the shelves for a different reason to effectively showcase your videos.

Now, I want to move onto the “About” tab. It’s very important that you take the time to fill this page out and take advantage of all the space and sections that YouTube provides you.

– Fill out your bio section. I recommend putting something short and sweet in there. Also, if you plan on releasing videos on a specific schedule (which is really important to do), then outline your release schedule there as well!

– Populate the links section they provide. They allow you to put ten custom links, which you can title yourself and send your visitors to wherever you want to go to check you out. They also allow you to have four additional links, which display in the bottom right of your top banner. These can only be linked to a list of pre-approved sites, including: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.

– Use the feature channels section (below the links) to recommend other accounts for your viewers to check out. This is a great area to recommend your friends, similar channels that you’d like your viewers to compare you to, etc.

– Below the feature channels, you have the option to display the channels you’re currently subscribed to. I currently have this option disabled, but you’re more than welcome to use it to showcase more of your friends and related channels!

Since we’re talking about organization, you can ignore the “Videos” and “Discussion” tabs for now. Just make sure you take the time to reply to fans who leave you comments in your discussion section!

The last thing you need to do to complete the overall organization and branding of your channel is create a header image and profile image that will be used to represent you across the entire YouTube platform. This can be a very tricky process and I suggest to keep it simple and let your videos speak for themselves. Lucky for us, YouTube knows how overly complicated their header image design is and they provided you with a breakdown of the image. Use that to your advantage!

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Haulix Advice: Optimizing Your YouTube Presence (Pt. 1)

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first advice column of the month! It has been a couple weeks since we last touched on the world of YouTube, but after receiving a number of questions and suggestions in the last week we’ve decided to revisit the powerful video sharing platform once more. If there are any topics you would like to see covered in the months ahead, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.

Last time we talked about YouTube we discussed the powerful influence its community can have on your career trajectory, and in order to leverage that to the best of your abilities you will need to make the most of each opportunity for reach optimization offered on the site. We hope to touch on each of those areas in the weeks ahead, starting this afternoon with a closer look at how metadata can make a world of difference in the success of your video campaigns.

Before we go any further it needs to be said that content is king when it comes to success online. Just as you can only lead a horse to water, but not force it to drink, you can only lead potential fans to your content. Making something they want to see is entirely up to you.

So, What is metadata?

Good question. I always hate when I’m trying to learn something online and the person writing the content doesn’t take the time to explain the lingo. Metadata means ‘data about data,’ or for our purposes ‘information about your video content,’ and it greatly improves the quality of said content. Especially with video, where its content (descriptions of what’s seen and happening) are not directly understandable by a computer, metadata allows for efficient search terms to be created.

When it comes to YouTube, metadata makes up the title, descriptions and tags of your videos. Inserting descriptive information about your video into these areas will impact how your clip ranks on both YouTube and Google. What follows are a few quick tips about making the most of these sections on your content:

1. Correctly (and descriptively) title your video. Always.

It may seem like this is starting off a little too obvious, but I’ve lost count of how many time an indie artist has linked me to video content that is simply a song title or worse, a series of numbers followed by the original video extension (PROTIP: no one shares something titled ‘929592.avi’). Be creative, and do your best to develop a concise, descriptive title that uses phrases people would search if hoping to find your video. As an example, if you’re releasing a new video for your single, something long the lines of ‘[band name] – [song title] (music video)’ would be a good idea. This ensures people searching any combination of your name, song title, and the term ‘music video’ will be directed towards your content.

There are people who use YouTube as a music discovery engine, and descriptive titles will give you a better chance of being spotted by people not specifically searching for your band.

2. Never take the video description for granted.

You may think your art speaks for itself, but that is never the case when audio and video files interact with computers. Leveraging the space allotted for a video description on your content’s unique page will undoubtedly help raise your overall visibility. Describe the content, including the lyrics when applicable (music videos), and always be sure to let people know where they should go to learn more about your band. An example of a great video description, courtesy of our friends at Digital Tour Bus, can be found below:

Fans and unfamiliar music listeners who enjoy your content will want to know more about your band and future efforts. This space offers you the opportunity to immediately give them everything they need to know, while promoting future engagement on additional channels.

3. Add accurate tags to your videos.

YouTube’s tagging feature allows users to highlight key words and phrases that are relevant to the content of the clip, but do not necessarily fit in the title. For bands, this is a goldmine of opportunity to leverage the search habits of hungry music fans. If not handled correctly however, it can also make you look like a fool. The only content that should go into this section are terms and phrases relevant to your music and the content contained in the video. Trying to piggyback on popular/trendy phrasing like ‘cute cats’ or ‘harlem shake’ will get you nowhere.

For proper optimization, use ten to twenty tags per video when editing this section. Phrases tend to work better than single terms, but you should use whatever is comfortable and relevant to you. Highlight your genre (once or twice – be specific), song title, band name, album title, etc.

REMEMBER: Metadata is only one piece to the grand puzzle that is YouTube and Google ranking. Properly optimizing these sections of new video uploads helps get your videos discovered by a relevant audience more likely to watch your video. The more your video is watched in a short amount of time, the higher it will rank for a variety of key phrases related to its subject.

There will be additional chapters to this study later this month, so make sure you check back often for updates. You can stay up-to-date on the go by following us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Haulix Advice: Making The Most Of Your Soundcloud Presence

Hello, everyone. This will be our last post of the week before the company recap, so if we miss you on other networks be sure to have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We know many of our friends in music are unable to be home tomorrow and if that applies to you just know our thoughts are with you. Keep chasing the dream and we’ll keep doing whatever we can to support you.

If you’re looking to protect your music ahead of its official release while promoting your work to journalists and other industry figures we’re confident there is no better service available than Haulix. We offer secure music hosting, watermarking, and a state-of-the-art distribution system that allows you to present your latest material exactly how you want it to be presented. If you want to learn more about our services, click here. If you’re in the market to share material already available for sale or otherwise with the general public, please read on.

There are a million ways to share your music online, but few work as simply and efficiently as the software developed by our friends at Soundcloud. It’s the one player that runs on pretty much every social network and/or blogging platform, and over the last few years it has developed a community of passionate music fans all its own who are ready and willing to take a chance on rising talent. Many of you are likely already members of Soundcloud, but in today’s article we’re going to look at ways you can expose your music to even more people by leveraging the awesome power of this unique music sharing platform.

1. Never underestimate the power of sharing your content. Getting people to listen to new music released online by small/unknown acts in 2013 requires a lot more than a simple upload to Soundcloud. You need to promote your work, to fans and members of the industry alike, and Soundcloud has made that amazingly simple thanks to state-of-the-art sharing options. After you successfully upload a track on SoundCloud you should post it on all of your other channels to maximize its reach. After that, repost your material on a regular basis at varying times to better expand your reach. Time zones (as well as other contributing factors) cause a variation in peak engagement points around the world. Don’t be afraid of reposting your content, but do take time to be creative in your approach. You may even have to send a few emails, but don’t worry – we can help with that.

2. Utilize all data fields when uploading new material.

Soundcloud offers a variety of options for tagging, metadata, and the like to artists uploading new content. These data fields allow you to be found through Soundcloud’s search system, and by leveraging them properly you can reach potential new fans who may have otherwise never stumbled across your efforts. Be specific and you will reach people interested in the style of music you perform. Winning them over is all on you.

3. Put effort into your artwork.

It can be very tempting to slap your current band photo or Facebook/Twitter icon on your latest Soundcloud upload and share your work with the world, but artwork with even the tiniest of original effort will have a much better chance of catching people’s eye. This is the image that will make an impression on listeners new and old before they even hear your music. Don’t take that for granted.

4. Use Soundcloud to share demos/progress as you develop your new material.

The key to successfully marketing yourself in the modern music industry is creating a bond with listeners that goes beyond entertainer and audience member. Fans want to feel like they know you personally, and through leveraging Soundcloud’s comment system you can allow fans to engage with your creative process. Upload demos or rough recordings so listeners can hear what you’re working on, even if it’s only for a limited time. Sharing this ‘unpolished’ side of you may come with a sense of vulnerability, but it’s through allowing fans to see that side of you that a lasting bond will be forged.

5. Engage the Soundcloud community. 

Sharing new material with fans and social networks is important, but don’t get too wrapped up in discussions outside Soundcloud that you overlook the built-in community of music lovers that comes with your membership. There are groups perfect for sharing your music with if you take the time to look, and their state-of-the-art commenting system makes highlighting specific moments in your music for discussion easier than ever before. Embrace the community.

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Haulix Advice: Are You Getting Paid What Is Owed To You By Streaming Services?

Hello, everyone! We are continuing our look at life in the music industry this afternoon with the first of two Advice columns for the week. If you have any questions about the content of this article, or if you have a suggestions for a future installment of this series, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Hunter S. Thompson famously called the music industry ‘a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.’ While we do not necessarily agree with this sentiment,we can agree the music publishing world is a strange and often confusing place place where things slip through the cracks when no one is looking. If you’re a band working with sites like Spotify or Rdio today without someone representing you in the publishing world who has at the very least a working knowledge of how the business game is played there is a good chance you may be missing out on money that is owed to you. We cannot help you claim monies potentially due, but we can help you better understand the numerous ways independent artists are able to generate income through streaming services.

1. Basic stream payments

There have been dozens, if not hundreds of blog posts written across the world wide web about the lack of quote/unquote “fair” payout to artists from streaming platforms. Many bands have turned to social media with complaints, often citing how thousands of streams resulted in less cash than would be required to fill the same band’s van a single time while on tour. Regardless, there is money to be made here. These payments are often referred to as the ‘master royalty’ or ‘artist royalty,’ but in simpler terms they are fees being paid for streaming your licensed sound recording.

2. Peformance royalties

Performance royalties in the music industry can include any of the following:

  • a performance of a song or composition – live, recorded or broadcast
  • a live performance by any musician
  • a performance by any musician through a recording on physical media
  • performance through the playing of recorded music
  • music performed through the web (digital transmissions)

That last one is where streaming comes in. As long as you’re registered as both a songwriter and publisher with a performing rights organization such as ASCAP or BMI, then you’ll receive these royalties. If not, click here for more information on Performing Rights Organizations and how you can become a member.

3. Mechanical royalties

The term mechanical royalty covers any copyrighted audio composition that is rendered mechanically. For example: 

  • tape recordings
  • music videos
  • ringtones
  • MIDI files
  • downloaded tracks
  • DVDs, VHS, UMDs
  • computer games
  • musical toys etc.

Several online services, including YouTube and Spotify, likely owe you for these royalties. Unfortunately, due to a number of loopholes and similar ‘industry troubles’ many independent artists never see this money without the help of a publishing agent (HFA, for example).

4. Performance royalties for the master recording

This one requires the help of our friends at SoundExchange. They collect performance royalties on behalf of the people who helped create a particular sound recording, including session players, record labels, etc. Spotify pays these kinds of performance royalties to SoundExchange for “non-interactive” plays via Spotify Radio, but not for on-demand streams).If you’re interested in joining SoundExchange, click here for information on becoming a member. Signing up is fast, easy, and best of all – absolutely FREE.

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Haulix Advice: The Importance Of YouTube

Hello and welcome to the latest installment of our Advice series. We plan on covering YouTube a lot in the next month or two, and this afternoon we’re kicking off those efforts with a look at what makes this video sharing network such a great tool for artists on the rise. If you have a recommendation for a future installment of this column, or if you have a question you would like us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your ideas. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

There are arguments to be made for the importance of a well-maintained presence on any major social media network, but in 2013 there may be no channel more important for artists on the rise than YouTube. Since launching in the mid-2000s YouTube has risen from humble beginnings as a place to watch silly cat videos to being the number one destination for people under 18 hoping to discover new music. Yes, YouTube tops Facebook, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, terrestrial radio, and even your brother’s ‘awesome’ music blog when it comes to attracting music fans hungry for new ideas, and today we’re going to look at why it’s important that you take an active approach to controlling how your music is seen (and heard) on the world’s number one video sharing site.

How did YouTube outpace all its competition for new music discovery with the younger and arguably most important demographic of fans? One word: Sharing. Not long ago, anyone hoping to share a song they heard on CD or radio would have to put in quite a bit of effort to give or otherwise tell the world about that material. You needed to make a copy, upload that to the internet or burn it to a cd, and then find another service (digital or physical) to deliver it. In a world where YouTube exists sharing is no longer a hassle. It has become as simple as copying and pasting a URL to any friend/network/email/etc. you can imagine, and it will probably become simpler still. Anyone can share any song or clip from YouTube with countless people in the time it takes to breathe a single breath, and that has made a major difference in the site’s popularity. Additionally, you have to consider that YouTube is essentially available anywhere you have an internet connection. If I see a clip from our offices here at Haulix that I want to share I can send it to my mom’s iPad in Michigan, my brother’s cell phone in Iowa, and to half a dozen industry friends worldwide on their preferred devices with a single link that works (almost) 100% of the time. No other streaming service comes close to that kind of universal connectivity.

The ease of sharing and connectivity that YouTube has given music fans has allowed them to play a more immediately active role in the success of artists, and by pairing great music with matching visuals you can leverage that ease of action to help your career. People love sharing great content, and if you put extra effort into your digital content (video updates, lyric videos, etc.) people will notice and help you get the word out. Think OK GO, Justin Bieber, or Gotye would have found success nearly as fast without the aid of thousands of curious music fans sharing their videos? Probably not.

There is no downplaying the importance of having a website, writing great songs, playing gigs, doing interviews, and running smart PR campaigns, but there are opportunities available to creative minds through YouTube that were previously unavailable to unsigned talent as recently as a decade ago. In a way similar to great covers, great video content can make your art accessible to people who otherwise may have never given you the time of day. Don’t take that for granted.

As if all of this was not reason enough to join YouTube and dedicated extra time to crafting video materials, it’s worth mentioning that YouTube is one of the few social networks that allow artists to monetize the content they create. Through YouTube’s Partner Program allows channel owners to monetize their content through advertising, but that’s just one of many ways the service can put a few extra bucks into your new van fund. Head over to Billboard for a rundown of additional money-making opportunities offered by YouTube.

We are nowhere near done covering all the great opportunities offered by leveraging the power of YouTube and its audience. Stay tuned for additional advice columns on this powerful social tool in the weeks ahead.

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Haulix Advice: Holiday Cover Songs That Do Not Require A Mechanical License

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the final ‘Advice’ column of the week. We have featured a lot of great content this week, but today is the first time we’ve mentioned the holiday shopping season. If you have a suggestions for a future installment of this series, or if you have a question you want us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.

The topic of cover songs can be a tricky one. Not everyone loves them, but every year a number of artists new and old rise to the top of their respective music scenes by adding their own take to an already well-known song. The problem with covers as far as young artists and groups are concerned usually involves royalties and whether or not they can afford to market their recording beyond streams and videos. Today we’re going to look at holiday covers, and how you can leverage royalty-free songs to reach new listeners who otherwise may have never discovered your music.

You may or may not be aware of the term ‘public domain,’ but it refers to works whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. In other words, works that are unavailable for private ownership or are otherwise available for public use. You do not need mechanical licenses to sell your version of these works, but certain arrangements me be copyrighted (do your own research). Below is a list of holiday songs currently in the public domain:

  • “Deck The Halls”
  • “The First Noel”
  • “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing”
  • “Jingle Bells”
  • “Joy To The World”
  • “Come All Ye Faithful”
  • “Silent Night”
  • “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
  • “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”

There is no question that some of the songs mentioned above have been reinterpreted by so many artists that putting an original spin on proceedings seems impossible, but it’s often the most challenging of endeavors that prove to be the most fruitful. By taking a holiday classic like the ones above and making it your own you’re further engaging already devoted followers while simultaneously creating an amazing opportunity to reach new fans. The holiday season generates a large amount of sales and internet searches for seasonal music, and with proper tagging your efforts will reach countless new listeners who could very quickly be converted into fans.

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Haulix Advice: 5 Things To Do AFTER Receiving Media Coverage

Hello and welcome to the first ‘Advice’ column of the week. There have been at least three installments of this column dedicated to getting the attention of bloggers, labels, etc., but today we’re going to turn the tables a bit and look at what happens AFTER you gain the exposure you’ve fought so hard to earn. If you have a suggestion for a future ‘Advice’ column, if you have a question you would like us to tackle in the week ahead, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.

Gaining the attention of blogs and their readers is no easy feat, especially for unsigned talent with little-to-no history. You can write the best songs and have the nicest videos, but if you do not know how to network and pitch yourselves no one will ever learn about your talent. Once they do however, there will only be a small window of time for you to capitalize on having won a moment of their attention, and this afternoon we’re going to learn what you should do in the hours after first receiving media attention.

1. Take time to celebrate, but realize there is still a lot left to accomplish.

I was never in a band that became popular enough to appear on sites like Absolutepunk or the like, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t spend many nights wishing one of the influential tastemakers of the scene mentioned my efforts in their publication. If your music/video/album gets mentioned, celebrate! You’ve taken yet another step towards your goal of a career in music, and while it’s certainly not enough to pay the bills it does serve as a strong reminder other people in the world care about your art. Don’t take that for granted.

2. Tell everyone in the world about the news (and ask them to share it).

This one probably goes without saying, but the unwritten rule of exposure on music outlets is that the band featured will publicly share and/or promote the publication’s content once its live. Don’t just share link to stories with fans, but ask them to share it as well, and don’t be afraid to request they comment on the post if time allows. Sites that see a bump in traffic or discussions from coverage of your band are likely to cover your band again in the future because they believe there is a value to your content that other unsigned acts cannot provide. In order to show them that value you will need the help of your fans, and its up to you to sell them on sharing your work.

3. Engage the comments section, but don’t antagonize them.

If the reason you’re reading this post is because the first article about your music just went live, you need to understand the response in the comments section may be very slow at first. As much as sites love to help expose young talent, people are not always quick to comment (especially in a positive sense) about something they are unfamiliar with. A great way to combat this is to actively participate in discussions taking place in the comments section of articles about your band. Answer questions for people, offer insight into your creative process, and generally speaking do whatever you can to be a decent human being that is open to criticism. It’s not that difficult, but it can make a world of difference in how quickly people become engaged with your art.

4. Say “thank you” and/or support the publication that wrote about you.

You would not believe the power the phrases “please” and “thank you” have in the music industry. From labels, to bands, publicists, and everyone in between you would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks they hear either of those phrases too often. People tend to do as they please and take what they want without giving much though to the process behind it all, but you can stand out from the countless unsigned artists of the world by voicing your appreciation to the sites that give you space on their front page. It does not have to be anything formal, but it should be sincere. People remember those who are kind to them, and they’re far more likely to want to work with you again in the future as a result.

5. Don’t be afraid to begin teasing your next announcement.

Once people learn about your art it’s very likely they will want to know everything they can about your current efforts. Using social media and the comments sections on posts about your work, take a moment to tell people about everything else you have going on while your name is still fresh on their minds. They might not buy the album or see the tour you’re trying to promote, but at least they’ll know of it and will have the ability to share that information with others if such opportunities present themselves.

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Haulix Advice: Overcoming Writer’s Block

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first Advice column of the new week! We have at least two of these features planned for you, and I swear I’m being honest when I say they’re some of the best we’ve had to date. If you have a suggestion for a future advice column, or if you have a question you’d like us to address, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts.

It feels almost ironic to admit, but I put off writing this blog post as long as I possibly could. The idea came to me in September, and shortly after weighing whether or not I felt I could write at length on the topic I added it to the shortlist of topics to cover in the weeks ahead. Days went by, the list grew shorter, and instead of tackling the task I knew I had to accomplish I went out of my way to find friends with suggestions for additional columns to buy time. It seems foolish in hindsight, but at the time running from my need to create seemed far easier than actually sitting down to make something appear out of nothing more than the thoughts in my mind even though I knew it was something that needed to be done. This was my latest encounter with writer’s block, and today we’re going to work on overcoming this bit of mental resistance when it appears in your life.

Everyone who creates encounters writer’s block in their own unique way. Musicians find they cannot craft original melodies, painters have no visions to depict on canvas, and writers have no thoughts they feel are worth putting to paper. We’ve all been there and we’ll all be there again many, many times in the years ahead. There is no cure or escape, but with focus and dedication the walls built in your mind to stall the creative process can be knocked down in time. The following tips will help you get started:

(For the sake of simplicity we’ll use writing as an example in each of these tips, but know that the same applies to music or anything else you’re trying to create.)

1. No matter what, write each and every day. No exceptions.

The only thing worse than feeling like you have nothing to say is being forced to create something in spite of your lack of inspiration, I know, but if you ever want to overcome creative blocks you need to face the challenge presented by a blank page every single day. It’s not about creating something brilliant on day one, but rather the simple act of committing to your art. Sitting down to write even though you do not feel compelled to do so trains your brain the way running daily helps strengthen your lungs. Your mind is a muscle, after all, and with a consistent exercise regime it can begin to perform better in time. You might not create anything worth saving the first day or even first week, but by making writing a part of your daily routine you will begin to chip away at the resistance that’s holding your creativity at bay.

2. Set a schedule for when you will write and stick with it.

Building off the point above, consistency is key when it comes to strengthening your mind against mental blocks. By setting a specific time to begin working on your craft your telling yourself and the world that what you’re doing matters. It’s not a hobby or interest that can wait for whenever a moment allows, but a passion you want to be a profession and as such it deserves time in your schedule where it is allowed to be at the very center of your attention. If your art is something you can put on hold there is no reason others won’t feel the same.

3. Avoid passive justification at any cost.

The biggest obstacle between where you are now and where you want to be creatively is everything else that interests you. I know that seems silly, but those attempting to follow tips one and two above will likely find this to be the hardest of all. Passive justification is that little voice in our head that tells us slacking off, be it for a moment or longer, is okay. It’s the same voice that used to tell you going out with friends was better than doing homework, only now it’s attempting to steer you away from personal goals without you even realizing what is going on. The things we choose to do through passive justification are rarely terrible, and as a result it can take a long time before people realize just what damage has been done. Drop the risk altogether and focus on consistency. Once you work, then you can play. It’s been that way since you were young and it (sometimes literally) pays to do the same today.

If you would like more information on overcoming mental blocks, pick up The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield.

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