This morning when I woke up the last two things I wanted to do was exercise and work.
You know what I did today, in addition to the dozens of small tasks that consumed my time?
I worked and I went to the gym.
It wasn’t fun. In fact, I struggled frequently in both endeavors. But I still did what I needed to do.
Why?
Because I give a damn.
This may sound dumb to you, but it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to success in any form. You have to give a damn, plan and simple. It is the foundation of every bit of progress we make. It is an absolute essential.
You have been told this in various ways throughout your life, but any successful adult will tell you most people never listen. They want things, they might even have talent at them, but they never really give a damn. They expect passion to be enough, but it’s not.
Don’t get me wrong. Passion is important. It is the second building block of success immediately following giving a damn, but without a foundation it is still not enough.
There are thousands of people who want any position in life you seek to hold professionally, possibly millions, but when you get down to it there are a few hundred – at most – who are truly qualified for that position. If you are fortunate enough to be one of those capable of doing the job well you still have to stand out as a leader, and that begins with giving a damn.
Giving a damn may sound easy, but it is a daily struggle everyone faces. There are a million excuses we tell ourselves to get over the fact we aren’t doing the things we want to be doing, and the only way to make that stop is by making a conscious decision daily to live in a different manner. To do the things you don’t feel like doing because it is what needs to be done. To going the extra mile when others would rather go home. To make sacrifices, within reason, in pursuit of a better life for yourself and those around you.
If you have struggled with this before now, don’t fret. Everyone struggles every day. It is how we respond to that struggle that defines our path in life.
Life won’t wait for you or anyone else. Start today.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music podcast.
If you want to work in music then you need to think about it as a business, and this business is never closed.
Today is President’s Day in North America, which many of you already know on account of the fact you are not currently at work or in class. President’s Day is one of the strange holidays where many people are given a day of rest, but not everyone, and where you fall in that spectrum depends entirely on what it is you do.
For music professionals, today is just another Monday, one of fifty-two we will work in 2017. Aside from a few major holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving), the vast majority of the music workforce wakes every weekday prepared to do business. Some even work on the weekend.
Many music professionals have no choice other than to work through holidays because that is a time when whatever it is they do is in high demand. a lot of musicians tour around the holidays because there is an increased demand for entertainment, which in turn means everyone who works for those musicians is in some small way working as well.
Every career demands certain sacrifices, and in the case of music almost every position you could dream of holding will demand your time and concentration far more than you may expect. This business never stops. The people who find the most success do so by working tirelessly, even when they should arguably be relaxing.
To be clear: You do not have to sacrifice your personal life to be a music professional. You can live a happy and successful career in music while also spending time with family and friends. Any career that demands otherwise is not a career you should aspire to call your own because everyone needs time for themselves. Even the people I mentioned above, who choose to work more than their peers because they feel it helps them get/stay ahead, need time to disengage from the business life. They might not know it now, and they might argue its necessity, but it’s nonetheless true and one day they too will agree.
All that said, you should be prepared to make sacrifices as needed to further your career. Especially for those just starting out, putting in extra time and effort can go a long way to establishing your reputation in this business. Once people see that you’re driven and hardworking they will want to align themselves with you. Jobs will come in time, and with the security of a paycheck comes the ability to exhale, step back, and relax. Not for too long, of course, but long enough to catch your breath.
This business never stops. If it one day should, we are all in deep trouble. Learn to ride the wave and take breaks when you need it. Learn to seek opportunities to showcase your skills and complete them. There is always something to be done.
Believe it or not, 2017 is already 12.5% complete.
We are a little over a month and a half into the year, which seems like as good a time as any to check-in on the goals we have set for ourselves. If you recall, we started this year by asking readers to set goals and work towards bettering themselves through simple, incremental changes to their daily routine. We also set some goals for ourselves.
So, where do you stand? Have you made any progress toward becoming the person, professional, group, company, etc. you aspire to be? Do you lay awake at night and continue to tell yourself that tomorrow will be different? If so, why?
For our part, change has been admittedly slow. A big goal of ours for 2017 is to expand our customer base while quietly working to develop the next version of our platform. We recently launched a bi-weekly newsletter to help these efforts, which you can sign up for here. We also brought back our podcast following a brief holiday hiatus, and we expanded the number of potential new clients we approach week to week. Some things we have done better than others, but engagement is up and we hope to see conversion follow.
I will say, and this is not a cop-out, that the music business is traditionally slow right now. There are not a lot of big releases in the immediate future, so there is not as much interest in promotional distribution as there tends to be closer to summer or in early fall. We see the ebb and flow of traffic repeat year over year, but we refuse to let that trend deter us from growing our customer base.
But what about you?
If you’re anything like us, then you probably have at least a few to-do items that you have managed to avoid until now. Maybe they are simply things that require more emotional effort than you’re prepared for, or perhaps they are something small that will inevitably lead to a much bigger commitment (such as healthy eating or fitness).
Whatever the case may be, just know it is not to late to start the next journey that will change your life. We try to approach business and life with fresh eyes and open minds every day. We take calculated risks and plan for the distant future at the same time. We, like you, are making it up as we go and doing the best we can in the meantime. That’s life.
Make this week the one where you finally get going. Take the first step, just one, and you will discover how easy the second will be. The third will follow, and so on.
“Climb these hills / I’m reaching for the heights”
Have you seen La La Land yet? The modern musical and critical darling from Whiplash director Damien Chazelle recently gained a wealth of attention for tying the record James Cameron’s Titanic set in the 1990s for the most Oscar nominations. Whether or not the film wins those awards doesn’t matter now because I am not here to discuss The Academy or the film’s worthiness of such adoration. Instead, I want to focus on something more personal. Something deep that La La Land manages to touch upon in its opening moments and leverage in order to win our adoration.
“Another Day of Sun” is the name of La La Land’s opening number, and it is one of the few numbers in the film to not feature stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in lead vocal roles. In fact, the song is sang before audiences even meet Sebastian (Gosling) and Mia (Stone). If you have yet to hear the track or simply want to experience it once more you can do so below:
La La Land is billed as a movie for dreamers, and it wastes no time appealing to that crowd with this song and its accompanying performance. Set on a crowded Los Angeles freeway, dozens of singers and dancers emerge from their vehicles for an elaborate performance that touches on the many things people do to express themselves. There is singing and dancing of course, but also extreme sports, hula hooping, and a wide variety of other talents on display as well. Most, if not all, of the people seen in this sequence are never seen again, but it doesn’t matter because they are nothing more than the movie’s version of us, the audience, who it believes to be dreamers.
The opening verse, delivered by a female vocalist, details the adventures of an aspiring actress who flees her lover and hometown in order to try her shot at fame. The reason for this, simply enough, is the movies. She has spent her whole life watching the way her existence could be projected onto a gigantic silver screen and now wants to see if she too can become someone that moves people from inside those darkened auditoriums.
“Summer: Sunday nights / We’d sink into our seats / Right as they dimmed out all the lights / A Technicolor world made out of music and machine / It called me to be on that screen / And live inside each scene”
The second verse, delivered by a make vocalist, doubles down on this concept and builds on it. The perspective changes from film to music, but the struggles and inspiration remain the same:
“The ballads in the barrooms / Left by those who came before / They say “you gotta want it more” / So I bang on ev’ry door”
“Another day of Sun” recognizes that wanting something is still not enough to succeed. True success only comes to those who accept these facts and push forward, but it’s still no guaranteed. As the second part of the second verse explains:
“And even when the answer’s "no” / Or when my money’s running low / The dusty mic and neon glow / Are all I need”
The beauty of “Another Day of Sun,” much like the beauty of La La Land itself, is the always present understanding that the stereotypical idea success may never come. You can be the best at what you do, but that does not mean the world at large will recognize it, nor does it mean they have to in order for your talent to be real. You are talented and unique regardless of whether or not you become a celebrity.
La La Land and “Another Day of Sun” tell us that if we look to the world at large for praise and adoration you may be left waiting forever. Happiness in your work must come from within, and no amount of external praise will change the way you feel about yourself when looking in the mirror. If you believe in you then that is all that matters. In fact, the end of the second verse highlights something that may be even more rewarding than short term monetary success:
“And someday as I sing my song / A small-town kid’ll come along / That’ll be the thing to push him on and go go”
You may not be the next Chris Pratt, Carly Rae Jepson, or Harry Dean Stanton, but you may be able to influence someone’s life in a similar way if you stay true to yourself. Live by example, and by doing so you will lead others to believe it is perfectly okay to chase their wildest dreams. Who knows? Your work may inspire the next chart-topping artist or big screen starlet to try their luck at the world of entertainment. Hard work and quality breeds more of the same. Do the best you can do and take satisfaction in that. Everything else is secondary.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music podcast, and ten-year music writing veteran. For more stories and nonsense, follow James on Twitter.
Life is crazy, and there is no way of getting around that fact. People come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities, weather changes in an instant, politicians make decisions that impact our lives without talking to us, and just when you start to think you’re finally pulling everything together something comes out of left field and changes your entire perspective.
Want to know something else about life?
Life is beautiful. The things that make us different are the sources of great art, and in that art there are universal feelings of love, loss, longing, happiness, sadness, and a wide range of similar emotions we all recognize. Maybe you don’t know what inspired a piece of art that speaks to you, but the fact you connect with it cannot be denied.
When life throws us curveballs we try to take comfort in the fact we know, deep down, that we are not alone. The unpredictability of existence is the one constant in the universe that ties us all together. We are all on this journey called life together, and though our individual experiences may differ the way we feel and react is largely the same.
This is why art, specifically music, is so powerful. Music allows us to take big ideas that feel unique unto ourselves and convey them in a way that help us connect with others who have gone through similar situations. As fans, music allows us to know we are not alone because somewhere out there is a singer-songwriter who knows the way we feels. That interconnectivity is everything.
So please, tell your story. Share your experience and connect with others who know your pain/joy/etc. That is the stuff that makes life great.
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.
Today was one of those days we never want to experience. One of our team members received a call early this morning that informed them a close family member had passed away. Though they had lived a long and adventurous life the news of their passing still came as a shock coupled with great sadness. All of us felt it, and it seems safe to imagine a few of you will feel it as well. Death is never easy.
We spend a lot of time discussing about the need to stop talking about the things we want and instead learning to chase after them. We do this because we have seen the wonderful things that can happen when you take a chance in life. We’ve admittedly had things go the other way when taking a risk as well, but those moments have ultimately helped us grow as people and therefore – in our minds – aren’t really that bad after all.
There is another reason we do this, and it’s one we tend to not discuss as often. Not long ago one of our team members lost a close friend to a horrible disease. That friend was only twenty-five at the time, and most of our team had known them for years. Their passing was the first time many of us had lost someone who was essentially our age, and in the weeks that passed we grew to have a new appreciation for the frailty of existence. We knew the goals left unachieved and understood the dreams that were never going to be realized. We felt a sense of loss as we never had before, and it lingers with many of us to this day.
Before they passed, that same close friends asked us to continue on in their honor. This probably happens all the time in similar situations, but for us this was a first. We were no longer a group of individuals who enjoyed one another’s company in between solo adventures through life, we were something more. Every success was a success for the team, including those no longer with us, and every decision to ignore something was immediately met with a reminder of just how quickly our time together can pass.
This morning when the news of another passing in our extended Haulix family came I was reminded of those we lost before and how their legacy is now ours to carry. Somedays it feels like we lost those people years ago, which we did, but all too often it still feels like they were with us just yesterday. Time is a funny thing like that.
When terrible things happen, the first thing you should do is be with those you love and check on those too far away to hug. Take time to mourn and remember those who have passed. Celebrate their lives and find a way to begin accepting what has happened. This is the most important thing you can do for yourself and those around you because those feelings are not going to go away. You have to deal with these big changes. There is no other option.
When you get through that, which could take anywhere from days to months or even years (everyone is different), you must find a way to carry on. Not just for yourself, but for those who can no longer do so. You cannot afford to wait for the perfect opportunity to come your way because there is no guarantee you have that kind of time to spare. If you know what you want or what needs to be done in order for life to be how you want it then you need to act. Not the next day, not in a few weeks, but as soon as the feeling hits you. Do whatever you feel driven to do and do it to the best of your ability so that you can honor those you have lost through your actions. If not for yourself then for them because they believed in you, they loved you, and they wanted the world to see you for the great person they knew you to be.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Haulix podcast, Inside Music, which features insight into the experiences of entertainment professionals from all walks of life. You should probably follow him on Twitter or at the very least visit his official website.
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.
Warning: This post might make the artist in you a bit a uncomfortable.
I’ve had the opportunity to speak at a number of music conferences across the United States in recent years, and no matter where I go there are passionate musicians hoping the world will recognize their talent. I always tell them that simply attending a conference is a good place to start because it shows a willingness to learn and financially back their dreams. Those things may sound like something everyone wishing to make it would possess, but trust me — it’s not.
Still, even the most driven musicians often have a sour look on their face when a speaker or panelist at these events refers to their art as a product and their career as being similar to that of a small business. Artists, by and large, hate thinking of themselves as a business, and they really dislike being told their creativity should be viewed as product. After all, music is one of the most sacred things on the plane. It’s an expression of emotion and thought that has been a part of the human experience since before we had a method of recording our history as a species.
In order to properly navigate the tricky waters of entertainment with the highest likelihood of financial success you need to learn to see your art as work. You need to accept that you are a business and that your songs are the products you produce. This kind of thinking in no way discredits the role creativity plays in your work, but it does make it possible for you to get your creativity in front of the most people possible.
What differentiates the artist’s mindset from that of a professional who sees their art as a product of their business?
An artist believes their art speaks for itself and doesn’t need promotion. A professional also believes art can speak for itself, but understands that marketing and promotion are key to that art being heard.
An artist believes people will discover them in time. A professional believes this as well, but understands the competition is fierce and that being proactive is a must.
An artist believes anyone listening to their music from any source is good because all exposure is the same. A professional also believes in people being able to access their music for free, but encourages the use official channels that aide them in making money off their creativity.
An artist doesn’t care how people access their music. A professional discourages the use of piracy.
An artist places creativity over financial gain. A professional does this as well, but understands the role money will play in longterm success.
An artist’s sole focus is to create the next thing or complete the next tour. A professional focuses on the next project while working to ensure they can continue their career once that is complete.
An artist relies solely on their creativity in order to succeed. A professional recognizes the need to understand how business works in order for their creativity to succeed.
In truth, all artists are professionals whether they like it or not. The ones who succeed accept this fact and set to gaining the skills needed to build a successful business with their art. The rest might create equally good – if not better – art, but due to their refusal to look at music as a business the world never hears their talent.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a motivational speaker focusing on careers in the entertainment industry, as well the host of the ‘Inside Music’ podcast. You should follow him on Twitter.
We told you this year would be one of transparency and we meant it, but who is going to keep us in check?
The music industry lives and die on teamwork, which is a little ironic when you consider the fact everyone who makes it into this business does so by being a self-starter. All music professionals had to find their own path into this industry, and many overcame great adversity to do so. As a result, we all have a tendency to try and do everything ourselves.
In 2017, attempting to do everything it takes to be successful on your own is a fool’s errand that ends in frustration more often than not. There is simply too many plates that need to be spun and balanced for any one individual to do everything they desire without some kind of support system.
For example, let’s look at the career of Chance the Rapper. Chance is one of the most high-profile independent artists working today. He built his career with the thoughts in his mind, but he is not the only one responsible for his music reaching your ears. That process took numerous people working in a variety of positions over a long period of time in a way Chance himself could never have achieved. Chance needed help, he still does, and so do you.
At the beginning of the month we laid out our goals for the year ahead and we encouraged you to do the same. Since that time we have run several articles on how to keep yourself in check from day to day, but in order to make the most of your work you need an outside influence. This can be us here on the blog, someone you know personally, or a professional connection you’ve made online. Find someone who understands your goals and the work you’re doing to reach them, then ask that person to keep you on track. They don’t need to force you to do anything, but they should make it a point to check in with you periodically.
You should also make yourself available to keep others in check as well. Learn what those you care about are working toward and find a way to help them reach those goals. Maybe this means taking time out of your schedule to assist on a specific task, or maybe this just means calling them to check in once a week and discuss and progress/setbacks that have occurred.
Success in the music industry is hard enough without isolating yourself from the world around you. Be open, and encourage others to do the same. Together, anything is possible.
James Shotwellis the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Managing Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music Podcast, and a 10-year veteran of the entertainment business. We recommend you follow him on Twitter.
