I’m finding myself repeatedly struggling to do what a musician does: make music. Seriously, it seems there’s a new website popping up almost everyday that you can upload your music to. There’s new blogs to read on various marketing tactics. “Do this! Don’t do that!” There’s different ideas about what will make the most money. “Don’t wanna miss out! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!” It all eats up so much time.
And then a lot of my fellow musicians… some will tell you that making money with music is a thing of the past, to not bother. That your music is worthless to all the pirates that don’t support indie music and illegally download you hard work. Or that being piss-poor broke and working a miserable, self-deprecating, soul-sucking job is the only way to be a true artist. That the “business” part of the “music business” makes you a sell-out and less of an artist. On the other hand, some will argue that, to borrow some clichés, the dust will settle, the industry’s woes will dissipate, and that the cream will rise to the top. Either way, a lot of pessimists and optimists will tell you the same thing: “Don’t bother trying to make any money, because there’s no money to be made anymore or at the moment.”
But I couldn’t disagree more. There’s people out there that work themselves raw trying to make money with their music, and they’re succeeding at it. And I don’t mean to sound like some public sevice announcement, but quitters lose. If a person thinks their music is good, then they should demand success. To act like they don’t deserve it, to think that no one cares, or can care, about their art only serves to reinforce their lack of self-worth. Every time one gives up, they’re reinforcing the patterns in their synapses. Just like improving at an instrument or sport through practice, a person’s mind and body gets better at giving up hope every time they fail to treat their art with respect. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it’s wrong. People deserve more.
But let’s get back to how this all started. What about the music-making part? Some of you may ask, “Haven’t you already lost? You spend so much time working and not making music…”
I spend too much time on the business, it’s true. But here’s the kicker. The business end, for me, is an inspiration to make more music. And not because I like making money, although it’s nice to make some extra cash here and there. But it provides some life experience that fuels the art, and in return, the art fuels the business. It’s a nice cycle, kind of like an ecosystem, and I encourage others to not shy away from whatever system works for them. If you have a cycle that’s nontoxic, then listen to yourself more than to others, and let the good times roll! 
|Brian
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