I was having a conversation with a friend recently about what it means to be successful in the music business and it got me thinking.
I thought I'd share some of my thoughts.
Though I've never really had a concrete vision of what success in music looks like, it's been over a decade since I've been able to remove the pressure of what society believes is success and failure in the music business. That view never resonated with me at any point.. that being super famous is the end goal.
I've never had fantastical dreams of stardom, and honestly it wouldn't suit me well even if it did happen, as I'm pretty introverted.
The dream of becoming rich off of music, for most, will never be more than... well… a dream.
The music business is tough. Even for a wildly talented artist, the chances of making it big are extremely rare. For the ones who do 'make it, the industry is set up to scrape every dime possible away from the artist and into the pockets of labels, distributors and streaming platforms. The industry is that way by design.
I'm pretty logical, especially in matters of business.
Logistically speaking, making music is in no way a smart business move or good financial investment.
From a business mindset, pursuing a music career makes no sense whatsoever... no reasonable person would take up such an expensive business endeavor with such small odds of turning a profit.
It's a whole lot of squeeze for not much juice, if the juice is, say, money or recognition.
That being said, I do get A LOT out of music. My life would look so wildly different than it does now without it.
I feel gratitude for the doors it has opened, the communities I am a part of and for the absolute gems of humans I've connected with through music. I feel gratitude for the fact that music has financially supported me for much of my adult life.
I am grateful every time someone says my music moved them or helped them in some way.
I also recognize how integral music has become for my inner world. It is how I release, reflect and work though difficult emotions.
For everything music has brought into my life, I'd say I feel pretty successful.
When I was a teenager alone in my room, building callouses on my fingers, trying to turn my poems into melodies, I never imagined how far the path I was embarking on would take me.
I think many creative people can relate when I say that an artist doesn't make art for the purpose of fame or fortune, there truly isn't much money to be made in the business after all, at least not for the artist.
An artist makes art because they have to. Because it's a fire that burns in the core of their being and is as ever-present and vital to their existence as the blood flowing through their veins.
Sometimes I'll run into someone I haven't seen for awhile and they'll ask me, “Do you still play music?”
I laugh a little inside at the simplicity and absurdity of the question and think to myself, "Do I have a freakin' choice?"