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Get Back On Track With Your 2022 Goals [VIDEO]

goals

With so much going on in 2022, it’s easy to lose focus and fall behind on your goals. Let us help get you back on track in ten minutes or less.

2022 is proving to be a tough year. While the music industry is looking to the future with bright eyes and hopeful hearts, there is no clear recovery path. Many are wondering if they’ll be able to tour this year, while fans are left to ponder whether or not the albums they pre-ordered in 2021 will ever reach their mailbox. Everyone is a little upset, but with nobody specific to blame, the industry feels frustrated.

But I bet you started this year feeling optimistic about the future. After two long years of pandemic delays and setbacks, you entered 2022 with goals and a plan to achieve them. Maybe you even watched our video for tips and tricks to getting ahead. If so, thank you!

Then, somewhere between January 1 and now, you lost your way. Maybe you fell behind on your weekly goals or had a setback in your personal life that demanded your full attention. Whatever the case, where you are now and how you feel about reaching your goals is less than ideal. You may even fear you’ve already spoiled any chance of seeing your dreams comes true.

Fear not! The Music Biz team is here to help. In this video update, host James Shotwell offers advice and support to those who fear falling short of their goals for the new year. You may need to make some adjustments, but there is plenty of time to take your career to the next level in 2022, and we’ll be here to support you every step of the way.

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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Five Goals Artists Should Have for 2020 [Video]

With the start of another new year right around the corner, the time to set goals for a better, more productive career is right now.

People have long viewed the start of a new year as an opportunity for change. More diets and exercise plans are started at the beginning of January than at any other point in the year. Likewise, more attempts for better financial planning and creative endeavors begin around the time as well. Setting goals for the new year as December ends is practically a tradition, but without serious change, the next year of your music career is bound to be like any other.

On the latest episode of Music Biz, our music education video series, host James Shotwell shares five achievable goals that all musicians should set for themselves in 2020. These goals are applicable to all areas of music, as well as artists at any level of success. If you are touring the country regularly, we can help you land better opportunities next year. If you are making pop music in your bedroom, we can help you get more fans. Just watch the video below:

Prefer to read? No worries. Here are brief explanations for every goal mentioned in the video above:

Write better songs

The first goal you should have is also the most obvious. You need to write better songs. Every artist needs to write better songs. The best way to ensure successful songwriting in 2020 is by getting into a routine of writing daily. It doesn’t matter if you can commit an hour every morning or fifteen minutes at night, make sure you spend a little time each day working on your writing. Don’t stress about creating a great song each day as much as you do writing anything at all.

Maximize your revenue streams

If you read enough books about millionaires and billionaires, you will learn every successful person has five or more revenue streams. Many artists have at least five (tour sales, merch sales, physical media sales, streaming royalties, and their day job), but there is always room for improvement. Fan clubs (AKA Patreon) can be a great way to make guaranteed money, as can adding VIP opportunities to your performances. Take time in 2020 to review the ways you make money and seek out ways to improve your income.

Gain 100 dedicated fans

We wrote about this last week, but don’t allow yourself to believe you need hundreds of thousands of fans before you can achieve a sustainable career in music. The smartest artists know you only need one-hundred devoted followers before you start seeing progress in your career.

What are devoted fans? You need people who care about you and your music as much as you do. People who will go out of their way to buy tickets to your shows, buy physical copies of your music, and tell everyone they know to do the same. If you can gain a hundred people who feel that way, the next thousand won’t take long to acquire.

Educate yourself

Success is rarely the result of chance. In today’s competitive marketplace, the artists most likely to succeed are those who make time to understand how the world works. Take time in 2020 to study social media, digital marketing, and music distribution. Review the latest trends in business and ask yourself how the efforts made by big corporations could be used in your career. You are a business, after all, so make 2020 the year you approach your job as a professional.

Collaborate and Network

Musicians tend to isolate themselves from others when pursuing their art. Too many artists believe they have to leave the world at large to create something uniquely their own when that is rarely, if ever, true. Collaboration and conversation can provide a better perspective on art and business, which in turn can help you lead a better career in music. Don’t hide from the world next year. Go out and embrace your fellow creatives. Learn from them and share your knowledge. Together, we can all create a better music business.

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How to Set Better, More Attainable Goals in 2019

Winter is here. I have tried to deny this fact since Thanksgiving, but the ice clinging to snow-covered grass outside my front door has forced me to admit the truth. Winter has set in, and before the weather gets warmer, we will be saying goodbye to 2018 and all it did (or didn’t do) for us. Are you ready for a new year? I like to think I am, but to be honest, I’m not sure.

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’ve been trying to program social media content to post automatically during the holidays in hopes of gifting myself some time away from screens. That work will help a little, but I know all too well I will still be glancing at my inbox periodically every day during my so-called “time off.” I bet many of you will do the same.

So there I was, avoiding the cold and contemplating the coming new year. The one thought running through my mind over and over was what it was I wanted to do in 2019 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  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 to please someone or something other than yourself. That may provide short-term happiness, but it will create longterm regret. 2018 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 is nothing more than a waste of time and resources. Identify those elements in your life and set to minimize 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 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 2019. 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 2019 help me in 2020 and beyond?

Life is about the journey, not the destination, so you shouldn’t be looking at 2018 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 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 of 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.

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This ‘one for you, one for them’ exercise will change your life

The most common question I am asked by people aspiring to find employment in the entertainment industry is how anyone can ever find the time needed to work on whatever passion project, band, book, record label, etc. they hope to build into a career.

While I hesitate to say there is any answer that can apply to everyone and their individual journeys, there is one approach to chasing dreams that has worked for more people that I know than anything else.

The ‘one for you, one for them’ approach to dream chasing revolves almost entirely around time management. Let’s face it: Most of us do not have the ability to quit our day job and pursue whatever it is we are passionate about full-time. ‘One for you, one for them’ recognizes this fact by embracing your work schedule and demanding you still make time for yourself.

Here’s how it works:

At the start of each week, sit down and write out a list of goals for the days ahead. Be specific, and make sure to categorize each goal as being something you want to accomplish for work, life, or your personal goals. You may never be able to perfectly balance your list and that is perfectly okay. What matters most is that you set clear goals for your personal development at the top of the week so that you may then begin scheduling time to work towards accomplishing those tasks. Maybe you need to get up an hour earlier three days this week to make sure you write X amount of words, or maybe you need to set aside two nights where you stay in and work on your business plan. Maybe you need to cancel your weekend plans because that is the only time when you’ll be able to focus on songwriting without having to worry about the next deadline your have at the office.

Approaching life with a ’one for you, one for them’ outlook reinforces the idea that you are not living solely to help other people profit. You are more than a cog in some corporate machine. You know this and I know this, but until you take steps toward changing your life everything is more or less going to remain exactly the same. You can’t abandon your current responsibilities because that is not how a professional behaves, so instead you must find a way to create the time needed to develop into the person you hope to become. It’s not going to be easy. Even if you could run from all your current commitment the journey that is this business is never simple. The road ahead is tough and you’re going to need people — not to mention finances — to fall back on. Be bold, but smart, and always be asking what more could be done to position you for the life you want to lead.

Is ‘one for you, one for them’ another way to say time management? Yes, but it goes beyond that as well. Being able to make time for your passion projects matters very little unless you actually get to work on said projects. In order for this exercise to become habitual you need to apply it to your life on a regular basis. The only path to success is through continual trial and error that, eventually, gets you to where you want to be.

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One month into 2017, where do you stand?

January does not officially end until next Tuesday, but this Friday marks the end of the last full week in the first month of 2017. To say the last several weeks have been busy for us would be an understatement, but what about you? 

If you recall, we told you at the beginning of the month that this year was one of progress and accountability. We’re going to keep you in check and we have asked you to do the same of us. Some of you have even gone so far as to email or tweet at us regarding promised updates. For that, we thank you.

Our month has been spent planning not only the rest of 2017, but also where we want to go in 2018. We have been doing a lot of research into how the industry has evolved in recent years in hopes of better understanding where things are headed. Our prime reason for existing has always been to fill the need people have for secure way to share unreleased music, but will that always be a need people have? There is no way to know the answer, but we can guess from past trends that things are going to continue evolving and we need to be aware of how those changes impact the industry’s needs. If we can predict that, which is a big if, then we can stay ahead of the game.

But what about you? Some of you have told us about albums you hope to record and companies you hope to launch, but how far have you actually gotten toward achieving those goals? If you are still dragging your feet at the starting line, it’s okay. Be honest with yourself about your progress, or lack thereof, and ask yourself what simple steps you can take to accomplish more in the month ahead than you have in recent weeks. 

There is a lot of 2017 left, but unless you make changes now you are going to struggle to achieve your goals in a timely manner. If you need help, just ask. We are always here for you.

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Make a plan to try something new every week

They say variety is the spice of life, but if that is the case then many of us are living a bland existence.

Most of our daily lives depend on repetition. We wake up, shower, eat, commute to work, eat lunch, work some more, commute home, eat again, and then sleep. The stuff we do in between those those things may change from day to day, but I am willing to bet many of us do the same stuff most days (watch TV, read a book, etc).

Repetition is good. Establishing a routine that ensures we to make the most of the time we have each day is one way to ensure our goals are met is a good thing.

But repetition can also be bad. Just like eating the same meal over and over, doing the same thing day in and day out can become boring. When that happens the likelihood that you break from routine and do something that potentially derails all the progress you have been able to make begins to skyrocket.

With all this in mind, how can anyone hope to stay on track without growing bored or losing focus?

Starting this week, make the decision to consistently try new things. Start small, perhaps by trying something new for dinner or by walking an extra five minutes in the evening, and build from there.

Make a plan to try something new every week, no matter how small, and you will always have something to look forward to whenever the struggles of daily life begin to weigh you down. Trying new things also promotes healthy brain activity and creativity, both of which can help you find greater success in your individual pursuits.

Life goes by fast. If you do not make time to take in as much of this incredible experience as possible your time on this planet will pass you by before you know what is happening. There is so much variety in every aspect of existence that you never really have an excuse to be bored other than your own lack of motivation. Get out. Try everything you possibly can and learn from all the unfolds.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music Podcast, and a 10-year music writing veteran. If you enjoy this article and want more stuff like it – or if you hated it so much you have to say something – follow James on Twitter.

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Nothing beats a good reminder

You would not believe the number of great ideas that have been forgotten simply because a person or group decided to note make notes.

We’ve been there, so we are sure you have as well. A meeting is taking place and someone has a moment of pure genius that sets the room ablaze with fresh ideas. The power of the group mind springs to life and you suddenly feel excited about the future once more.

Then, inevitably, the moment ends and you each go back to your individual work stations to focus on what is immediately in front of you so that maybe — hopefully — you can get back to whatever new notion had just been the talk of the room.

Nine times out of ten, unless you remember to take serious notes or or immediately put thought to action when a good idea strikes that amazing notion will soon be lost to the annals of your brain. You may be able to salvage of the components, but they will never work together as well as they did when the thought first crossed your mind.

When we encountered problems with a new platform we attempted to launch last year, one of our first decisions was to create several spreadsheets to document our response. We outlined every issue we found, as well as those mentioned by our users. We also made a list of things people said the wanted to see included in any future updates. We made lists of what we could do and what we had no idea how to handle, as well as steps to learning what we did not yet understand.

Every morning our team begins their day by drawing up individual to-do lists. From there, we usually have a group discussion about our company’s current goals and any progress has been made toward meeting them. This helps everyone stay on the same page, and it promotes a hive mind mentality in the office.

The digital age has given us the ability to consume and process more information than ever before, but unless we stop and focus on what is passing through our minds the bulk of what take in is lost almost as soon as it is recognized. In order to maximize your productivity and comprehension you need to take notes, set reminders, and above all else create a plan of attack for your daily life.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music Podcast, and a 10-year music writing veteran. If you enjoy this article and want more stuff like it – or if you hated it so much you have to say something – follow James on Twitter.

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5 Questions to ask yourself before setting goals for the new year

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.

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