Professionalism Archives

Contrary to the iconic Daryle Singletary song, there is such a thing as “too much fun” in the music business

There are a lot of bad things said in regards to the music business and how it can sometimes appear to be an endless party where adults can act like perpetual children as long as actual young people continue to support their craft. There may be some truths to that, but as a whole, the industry is made up of people who know how to focus when it counts. That doesn’t mean the temptation to indulge does not exist, nor does it suggest that professionals always refrain. If anyone knows how to have a good time it’s music professionals, but it’s how people handle those moments that determines their career trajectory.

Commit this phrase to memory: Control your high.

What high am I referring to? A high is anything you do to cut loose. It is an escape from the current pains of existence. A high can be drinking, smoking marijuana, eating fast food, playing video games, combining all four, or doing something else entirely that makes you feel good and helps you unwind. Whatever that escape is that you think of when work is at its worst, that is your high.

A high can be good. Everyone deserves to relax and have a little fun after working hard. As long as no one gets hurt, including the individual, people should be able to do whatever they please to enjoy life a bit.

The problem is, not everyone can control their high, and some find themselves in a losing battle with the thing they thought was an aide. Addiction is a beast like no other. It has claimed countless industry lives, both on the artist and professional side. Attached to the monster, but also a creature in its own right is depression. There are more killers out there, but these two are in a league of their own, and many see the opportunities working in the music industry presents as a means to ignore the pain in their lives.

Let’s be clear: You should have a good time. There are perks to working in entertainment, and one of them is the opportunity to experiment with a variety of lifestyles and behavior.

If you want to drink, you should drink.

If you want to smoke, you should smoke.

If you want to spend a week driving cross-country in a van with a band cutting their teeth in the business while eating fast food every day and sleeping less than five hours a night, you should do that.

If you want to do anything that does not harm yourself or others, that is your decision.

AND – If you want to succeed in business and live a long life, you must learn to do all these things in moderation.

You have to control your high because you cannot afford to have it control you, and that is what will happen. People get addicted to life on the road the way others get addicted to their drug of choice. Others get addicted to gaming or exercise or laying on their living room floor binging their favorite series on their preferred streaming service. If you are lucky, there will be people along the way who help keep you on track, but you could as easily meet people who encourage behavior detrimental to your well being. You have to look out for you. Your life (and career) depends on it.

Few things are harder on young music professionals than the first problem to their progress without being directly a result of their action. Until that time, every mistake or setback was their own fault, which created a learning experience that ultimately benefitted their development. The same cannot be said in situations where a third party is the cause of the problem. Here are some examples:

The indie label you put your faith into folds
The band your indie label invested thousands into breaks up before the album they recorded is released
The tour announcement gets delayed because a agents are slow to respond
The startup that was going to revolutionize the industry suddenly loses all funding
The site you contribute to as a budding writing goes offline due to an error that goes beyond the staff’s understanding of how websites work, thus leaving your unpublished content stranded in purgatory while you await a resolution
The vinyl you paid to have press six months ago is delayed an extra two months
The PR person who guaranteed to secure your exclusive premiere needs another week

When these things happen it is very easy (and extremely common) for young professionals to get upset. After all, they have done nothing, yet their work has been stifled. They are unable to chase their passion because of something out of their control. for the first time in their careers – maybe their lives – they can do nothing about it except wait and nobody likes to wait.

These moments can be so infuriating for some young professionals that they choose to make rash decisions in hopes of more or less getting things back to normal. The desire to at the very least send a snarky email or tweet is too much for many to resist, and it’s hard to blame them. Setbacks of any kind are infuriating no matter where you are in your career. This is true for all work anyone is doing on Earth right now. What separates people is how they respond in these moments and what they do with the extra time it creates.

Here’s an example:

A writer contributing features to a publication on a regular basis wakes one morning to find their latest article has not been published because the site is offline. It’s early in the day, but the writer is upset, and the site own claims it may be hours or even a couple days before the site is fully functional once more.

In this moment, the writer has a choice: They can either complain or get back to work. Complaining will get them nowhere, and if they sound off to the wrong person or in the wrong place they may even lose their job. Worse yet. if other editors and site owners see the writer speaking poorly of a publication that may make them think twice before hiring that person themselves. Working, on the other hand, provides the writer with a chance to stockpile content and get ahead of their ever-increasing workload. When the site returns they will have content ready to go, and if for some reason the site goes down for good they will have content they can pitch to other publications.

There is no way to avoid having your professional plans go awry because of things out of your control. It happens to everyone on a fairly regular basis, and most people know this to be true. Those who wish to get ahead should see these moments as opportunities rather than hurdles and make the most of the time provided. Their peers will take notice and their professionalism will be rewarded.